25 Reasons We Love Travel

Travel is so uniquely personal and experiential that it offers an endless supply of reasons why each of us loves it. We’ve narrowed it down to 25 reasons, one for each year that we’ve been exploring the world together. See how many of yours match up with our list.

You! Clinking glasses with us across the table on the last evening of a tour.

Guests are our number one for what makes travel amazing. From brainstorming the trip beforehand to sharing experiences together, and reliving your stories after you’ve returned home. We’ve traveled with rocket scientists, TED talk superstars and stay-at-home moms. You all share our passion for exploring the world and it wouldn’t be the same without you.

Mario the shepherd boy.

In Peru’s Sacred Valley. Who you share a stick of gum with, then race down a hill…
Incredible places are filled with incredible locals. From chance meetings like Mario, to the people you spend all week with, like our Icelandic guide Atli, descended from Vikings, it’s the people who live in the destinations we travel to who really bring it to life.

Fresh lobster rolls.

Made under the guidance of a Cordon Bleu chef. Devoured by a Nova Scotia lakeside.

It you’re anything like us, even the sound of that will make you sprint to the nearest seafood restaurant.

Travel brings delicious variety to every table, as we bite into new flavors and textures, and discover eating and cooking methods we’d never experience at home.

And it’s not just the food itself, it’s the culture behind it and the people who make it, on top of the location and whoever you happen to be dining with (we’ve heard fascinating stories from guests and guides about everyone from Fidel Castro to Asian royalty).

With the right setting, ingredients and company, something as simple as a lobster sandwich picnic becomes the lunch of a lifetime.

Ice cold Aperol Spritz.

Masterly mixed, and handed to you as golden hour drenches the colorful Amalfi Coast.

One sip of a single drink on vacation could be something you savor for decades. Whether it’s fresh ground-espresso at a Colombian coffee plantation, wine in a Bordeaux vineyard, Pimm’s in an English pub garden… the list goes on.

Nothing beats an expertly crafted tipple in its home country. But the brilliant thing about beverages is that the people you meet while traveling can teach you to recreate them at home…

Toe-tapping. And head nodding. Maybe even hip swinging…

…to the irresistible beat of Havana jazz.

Each country and region has its own take on dance and music. From our Tuscany guide Luciano, a talented tenor and friend of the Bocelli’s, to Berber drummers in the Moroccan desert, the beats and melodies that treat your ears while traveling can be like none you’ve heard before.

Untidy bedrooms.

Sun lotion flung in the direction of the suitcase. Clothes strewn across the carpet. We might not sleep for all the excitement, but it doesn’t matter because in the morning, we’ll be on a plane to Portugal!

We’ve always relished build-up, the ‘we’re actually going’ moment. The calendar countdown. And the trip hasn’t even started yet…

Happy hormones.

A heart skipping surge of them, as your family leap into the sunny Aegean Sea.

A dollop of dopamine and shot of serotonin is the recipe for increased happiness, and travel serves that up on a platter (including new scenery, sunshine, activity, family time and more,) ushering away stress hormones in the meantime.

Science has proven all kinds of ways travel alters our chemical makeup for the better—before, during and after your trip Even the stressful parts.

A medieval villa to call home.

The rolling hills of Tuscany for your backyard. And an Italian Count and Countess as your hosts.

While traveling, your base and surroundings can be whatever and wherever you want them to be. If not the villa in Chianti, an over water bungalow in blissful Bora Bora, or an eco-lodge in the Costa Rica rainforest… Either way, a world away from home and no chores needed.

Saving sea turtles.

Two of them, trapped in a fishing net. On the way back from a snorkeling session in the Galapagos.

Traveling puts us in situations where we can save and support endangered species, in the company of change makers, conservationists and everyday locals who care for their environment. (video link)

Going around the world helps make the world go round. Even if we don’t happen upon turtles to save (watch a video of our sea turtle saving efforts here), we’re supporting local communities by visiting them and learning about them. Travel gives us a newfound respect for nature and opens our eyes to why we should help it, and how.

Game night glory.

Because who else knows the world’s biggest volcano (you hiked it in Hawaii), speaks basic Japanese (your Tokyo cherry blossom guide taught you), AND can disembark at Santa Fe playing Ticket to Ride while recounting the adobe architecture you saw there…

Travelers ace trivia. Journeys are a week-long lesson in history, geography, art, literature, problem solving, risk taking, perception and more.

Fresh air, exercise and new scenery clear our minds, then travel fills them with things we’d never know otherwise: words in other languages, fascinating facts and more are remembered better because of the unique ways, and environments we learn them in.

Going back in time.

And underground. Torch in hand, access granted only because our guide knows the farmer who owns the apple orchard where the cave with the prehistoric paintings is located.

Travel takes us to destinations and traditions unchanged by the modern world, and teaches us to appreciate time in all its forms.

Losing time.

All sense of it, as you wander the maze-like markets of Bangkok.

The exploding colors of fabrics, excited chatter of vendors and scent of street food whisks you into a different dimension. With none of the time constraints of everyday life, we can lose ourselves to the multi sensory wonders of a destination—whether a Thai town, US National Park or Moroccan Medina.

Gaining time.

And using it to listen to stories of your Mother’s childhood as you walk the Croatian coast together.

Away from everyday demands, travel lets us spend quality time with ourselves and those we care about. It gives us the opportunity to hear, see and do things we wouldn’t be able to do otherwise.

And marveling at time.

Stood at the Grand Canyon, six million years in the making. Or under Stonehenge, built over 5,000 years ago. Or on an Alaskan glacier which won’t exist in a decade.

Landscapes have formed over millions of years. Some have looked the same for centuries, while others (like Iceland and Hawaii) are in a constant state of change.

Architectural feats from Ancient Greeks and Incas, and markings left by prehistoric civilizations have stood the test of time, incredibly preserved so that we can tread in the footsteps of mankind millennia ago.

For some parts of the planet—like certain ice fields, islands and rainforests—time is running out.

So many takes on time teach us how vast and fragile it is, encouraging us to appreciate the past, protect the future and make the most of the time we have.

A waterfall of fire.

At sunset. In one of the world’s greatest National Parks.

Yosemite’s firefall, visible only a certain time of day, at a certain time of the year, is one of Mother Nature’s many mind-boggling natural phenomena. Travel takes us close to these otherworldly masterpieces in their full splendor. Witnessing the Northern Lights in Iceland, Norway and Alaska, or seeing the solar eclipse, rekindles our wonder at the world and ignites imagination.

Frogs smaller than your thumbnail.

In the Amazon. Or whales bigger than your apartment in Alaska.

If nature hasn’t wowed you enough, along comes the animal kingdom. Whether you’re taking a South Africa safari to see lions and zebras or wandering a coastal path filled with bird life, you don’t have to be an animal lover to go traveling—but traveling will make you one.

Patting ourselves on the back.

Because we weren’t sure about river rafting in the Rockies, but we did it anyway. And it was awesome.

Pushing us outside of comfort zone, travel reminds us that we can do amazing things, it makes us proud of who we are and what we can achieve.

Thanksgiving dinner.

That could go on for days. Because there’s too much to be grateful for.

Travel gives us so much to be thankful for, from the multitude of experiences we have while we’re away, to the things we look forward to coming home to.

Bruises.

Self-caused by pinching ourselves, to check that we’re still in America, and haven’t been abducted by aliens and taken to Mars.

Travel gives us experiences we couldn’t dream up. Like how Bryce Canyon‘s landscape is so startling, how Halong Bay can be so vividly green, and how a Swiss mountainside can be so utterly silent.

Better vision.

Thanks to the new lenses you’re seeing the world through.

Travel gives us a whole new sense of perspective. We’re humbled by feats of nature and architecture. We experience realities we didn’t know existed. We recognize similarities with people from completely different backgrounds and learn to appreciate the people and places around us.

Goosebumps.

The hair-standing-on-end, raised heart beat kind of goosebumps, as you tread onto a rainforest bridge in Costa Rica.

Leaving home in itself is an adventure. But that’s just the beginning. Whether braving a high bridge, or simply trying a new dish in India, travel is packed with adventure thrills big and small.

Monet’s waterlilies.

At the National Gallery in London, and in Giverny where he painted them.

It’s no coincidence that the world’s greatest artists are linked to the world’s greatest destinations. Whether you’re marveling at Monet in the Giverny gardens, reading Hemingway outside his house in Cuba, or meeting Michelangelo’s David, exploring the world gives you a wonderful connection with wonderful art.

Your holiday card list.

Growing. Each trip you take.

On the plane, in your tour group, in the places you stay and visit. Travel brings us together with people who think like we do, forging new friendships that last a lifetime.

Your kids are amazing.

They just ordered ceviche, in Spanish, and devoured it.

You can wrap as many birthday gifts as you want, but no gift is better than travel when it comes to children. It immerses them in all kinds of experiences, teaches them all kinds of lessons and helps them grow into open minded, grounded adults.

Champagne corks.

Popping into starlit Moroccan skies. And fizz filling the glasses of your favorite people.

Travel is a celebration. Of milestones and achievements. Of family and friends. Of technology, engineering, art, and nature.

So, cheers to 25 years of trips of a lifetime with you, the world’s best guests, and here’s to many more!