8 Travel Goals for my Round the World Trip

In general, I’m a “Make it Happen” kind of girl. I’m pretty driven and purposeful, and I like to have goals and measure my accomplishments (you can take the girl out of corporate, but you can’t take the corporate out of the girl… at least not yet!). So as I complete my second week of travel, I wanted to have some goals that I can measure at the end of my trip. Some of my goals are simple and others rather broad, but here are a few things that I’d like to experience as I discover the places I will go.

Mix it Up – I tend to plan my own trips. Come into a city for three days, experience it and move on. I want to mix it up this time. Try a tour; take a cruise; stay in one place for more than a week (I’ve never done that on vacation!). Go luxury one night and camping another and then switch to an Airbnb to really get a feel for the city. I’ve already managed to stay with friends in an apartment in Tel Aviv, sleep in a Beaudoin tent in the Jordanian desert and spent a night at a disgusting hotel by Petra (hopefully I won’t need to tick that off the list more than once!). I also want to stay in a hostel for the first time (although probably not a dorm room since I’m not a good sleeper!) and rent/hire a car (that drives on the left side of the road!). Basically I want to limit the limits.
Fear Less and Do More – I want to ride in a hot air balloon, experience the Midnight Sun and Northern Lights, visit Petra, spend the night in the desert, see the Great Wall of China, live like a local in Italy, hike in Switzerland, snorkel in Southeast Asia, see a baseball game in Japan and visit a couple of Disney parks.
Visit all of the Continents – This one could be a challenge (I’m looking at you Antarctica!) but I started the year visiting Australia and New Zealand (now continent number 8?!), so I’d love to be able to see the others. I started in the U.S. – visiting my “hometown” of NYC – and then traveled to Tel Aviv in Israel. Next, I’ll be heading to Europe, touching a bit of Africa via Morocco and then off to Asia in September. I’ll be home in the U.S. for the winter holidays, but if the stars align (and the budget!), I’ll head to South America (and hopefully Antarctica!) in January.
Pay for as Little as Possible – I’ve been saving up points and miles and signing up for credit cards so that I can do a bit of travel hacking (I’ll share more on this as I get further along). I know it won’t pay for my entire trip, but so far my main flights (US to Europe; Europe to Asia; Asia to U.S) have all been paid for using miles and many of my intra-Asia flights are on miles as well.
Meet Awesome People and Experience Different Cultures – While I’m setting off on this trip solo, so much of life is about the people you meet along the way. They say people come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. I’m hoping to meet all of them on this trip. I’m hoping to see their way of life – whether I’m in their country or we’re both in countries foreign to us. If you’ll be traveling to some of the same places as me, let me know!
Pay it Forward – I recognize how fortunate I am to be able to do this, so I want to find some ways to pay it forward. I’m not exactly sure how I’ll do this, but it’s important to me to give and give back. Hopefully sharing my experiences will be a small step in accomplishing this goal. If you have any suggestions in this area, please pass them my way.
Live in the Moment – I am a big planner. I mean, I’ve been researching this trip for a year now! I also like to be control and am constantly thinking about “what’s next.” So I’m challenging myself to be in the moment. I know I’m not the type of person who can just show up in a destination and find a place… and that’s fine. But I do want to take it day by day, enjoy what I’m doing in the present, and try not to rush to the next experience.
Figure out What’s Next – Yes, this kind of contradicts living for the moment, but as I said, I have goals! By the end of this experience, I hope that I’ve been able to hit the reset button, cleared my mind and determine where I want to be and what I want to do. At this point, my mind is open. Travel Blogger, Corporate Communicator, Culture Consultant or all of the above!