16 New Years Resolutions for Adventure Travelers

With 2016 here it’s that time of year again to reflect on the year that was and make plans for the coming 12 months. It’s a good time to think about what you want to achieve and how you want to spend your time. Take the time to plan, dear adventure travelers, because it’s your chance to seize the day and make your plans and dreams a reality!

Photo By: Kat

Write a Bucket List

Photo By: Chris Lott

A Bucket List is a common concept among travelers, it’s basically a list of things you want to do before you kick the bucket (aka die) so to speak. New Years is a great time to write this kind of list. Think big, think small, think all kinds of things. It doesn’t just have to be travel related.

Tick One Thing Off Your Bucket List

Once you’ve written your Bucket List, which can be as long or as short as you’d like it, make the resolution to at least just tick one of these items off your Bucket List in 2016.

Visit a New Place

Photo By: Bureau of Land Management

Your Bucket List might include a few countries you’d love to visit, but even if it doesn’t try to visit one new place in 2016. It could be a town in your country you’ve never been, or a city faraway you’ve always wanted to go. Or perhaps it’s just a neighbouring country you’ve always overlooked because it’s close and boring. Well go, you’ll never know what you’ll uncover somewhere new.

Try One New Adventure Sport

We wrote a handy A-Z of adventure sports that you can pick from, so pick any of the ones you haven’t done and give it a try in 2016. Why not write all the sports that made it onto our article, and pick one randomly out of a hat?

Solo Travel

Photo By: Image Catalog

Plan one holiday alone. Totally alone. Do it.

Sign Up For A Race Somewhere Else

While losing weight might not be your new year’s resolution, having a fitness goal is always a good idea. So why not combine travel and fitness and sign up for a fun run, half marathon, cycle, Iron Man or any other form of race in some exotic new location.

Learn a New Language

Photo By: Anders Lejczak

Almost every adventure traveler wants to learn a new language. Perhaps it’s French, Mandarin, Spanish, Arabic or something more rare like Finnish or Bahasa Indonesian. If this has been your long-held new year’s resolution that somehow never eventuates then make a resolution that in 2016 you will book a holiday to a destination that speaks that language – there’s no better motivation to start learning than to be able to speak with the locals in their lingo.

Learn a New Technical Skill

Photo By: Jeff Turner

Are you a scuba diver? Hang glider? Bungee jumper? Sky diver? Kayaker? Snowboarder? Hiker? It’s time to add just one technical component to your practice. Sign up for a technical scuba diving course, or learn how to tie better knots, improve your navigational skills or get more proficient at snowboarding. Whatever it is that you need to do to improve… sign up for a course, look at online tutorials, buy a handbook – just do something that gives you the chance to better yourself at your favourite hobby.

Visit a New Place in Your Home City

You don’t need to spend hours on a plane or spend thousands of dollars to go on an adventure holiday. Find out about a hike in your home town that you haven’t done yet, or perhaps there’s a lookout you’ve never been too? Maybe there’s a hot air balloon company offering scenic flights over your city so you can see it from a new vantage point. Do something adventurous close to home.

Do a Foreign Cooking Course

Photo By: David Johnson

Love Thai food? Want to learn how to make an amazing curry? Or perhaps you’d love to know the basics of French cuisine? Find a local foreign cooking course and you’ll be going on a kind of spiritual adventure travel.

Meet Up With Other Adventure Travelers

If you have a trip planned, or you would like to get together with others who are going somewhere you are, Facebook and travel sites make it easier than ever. You’d be surprised how far you might get with a call out on Twitter or Instagram. For example “Anyone going to be in New York this summer?” You can also use your contacts and extended network, for example “Anyone know someone who lives in Perugia who could show me around or let me know cool places to go,” or just find out from your network their best tips, for example: “What must I see or do in Spain? Go!”

Keep in Touch with People From Past Travels

One of the things people recount the most of their travels is the “amazing people they met along the way.” It’s true when you travel you do meet plenty of like-minded people, at a time when you’re feeling free and experiencing the wonder of the world. It can be easy to forge close bonds with people you meet along your travels through the binding of shared incredible experiences. Facebook, Skype, email and myriad other social networks make it easier than ever to stay in touch. So in 2016 – make the effort to say hello again to some of those people from past travels.

Look Back at Your Old Travel Photos

Photo By: Matt Ming

Sometimes when we get back from a trip, it can be a whirlwind of getting back into work so we don’t often find time to reflect on our previous travels. Set your old travel photos as a rotating screen saver, or print some of your favorite photos in a gorgeous album and remember to look back on your experiences from time to time.

Review Your Travel Spots – Good and Bad

Photo By: Giorgio Montersino

Reviewing your accommodation wherever you booked it (like AirBnB, Hostel Bookers, or Hostel World) or places you ate and drank on spots like Trip Advisor or FourSquare may seem like a chore but consider that you’re paying it forward and could be helping fellow travellers have a great experience or avoid a disappointment. We’ve all taken advantage of these sites, so pay it forward.

Sign Up for Airline Sale Emails

We know it can be a pain to get loads of spammy emails, but if they’re letting you know about cheap flight deals then that’s something we’re keen on. If you have a plan to travel to a certain area, sign up for local airlines and major airlines that fly to that destination and see if you can snag a good deal. Sometimes you might get lucky and get a sweet deal for a destination you might not have thought of and it could inspire you to take the plunge!