Make A Travel Wishlist

Not Sponsored: I enjoy traveling. It's always fun to visit new places, see new things and meet new people. Traveling teaches you a lot and can be very educational. A couple of years ago, I started a travel journal. It was a place to keep all of my ideas and thoughts together, as it relates to the trips I want to take. I want to share some of those things with you. Hopefully, it will encourage you to start one as well and give you inspiration.

Image by Stefan Schweihofer from Pixabay

Explore Locally 

When one thinks about traveling, it's often about a place far away. You don't have to go very far, to "get away" from it all. Jot down and explore places that are nearby. This could be a local hotel within your vicinity, bed and breakfast, an inn, Vrbo or even an airbnb. Ask yourself ... Is there a hotel in your city, in which you've always wanted to stay? I always wanted to stay at The Windsor Court Hotel here in New Orleans and treated myself one birthday. It's extremely expensive, but it was a Dream, Wish and Desire of mine fulfilled. Do you need some rest and relaxation? Do you just want a break from your own home? Why not check out the airbnb's in your area and take in the beauty of someone else's home. Do you want to connect with other people, travelers etc? Book a bed and breakfast or inn. Usually you eat and socialize together at those type of establishments. It's a great way to meet new people. When exploring locally, carve out sections of your city (neighborhoods, parishes, counties, uptown, downtown etc). Research them piece by piece. Write down what you would like to do in each and explore those areas.

Tour Your State

Every state, offers great things. Have you familiarized yourself with everything your state has to offer? I bet you haven't. I know I haven't. I have driven through a city called Lafayette, on my way to other places. However, I've never stopped to see what it has to offer. I decided last year to stay there. Through Louisiana's Office of Tourism website, I found a charming place to stay in Lafayette called Maison D' Memoire. It was such a beautiful place. I was served breakfast every morning, there was a caterer that delivered food and I explored all of the local restaurants in that area. I really enjoyed myself. So check out your state's local tourism website, do a little research and explore what your state has to offer. 

Travel To Other States

Make it your goal, to travel to every state in the United States. I haven't even accomplished this one yet. Every state has a tourism website. Within the website, activities, attractions etc. will be broken down by city. So within a particular state, ask yourself ... What city or cities would I like to visit within that state? Write those down. Then take each city separately. Write down EVERYTHING you would like to do in that city, such as visit museums, parks, theatres, attend concerts, festivals, restaurants, historical monuments and places, shopping, churches, hotels etc. Write all of those places down, along with their addresses and telephone numbers. Research hotels to see if any are near the places you want to visit, their amenities and such. Once you know where you will be staying, jot down nearby hospitals, medical, police department, pharmacies and packaging places. This is really good information to have available. You never know when you will have an emergency. 

International Traveling

Do you know, I've never traveled internationally!?! It's not because I don't want to. It's because either I don't have the time or lack all the money for the things I want to do. But I will eventually get to all the places I want to go. I'm working on it. Let's start with credentials! For the majority of places, you need a US Passport. I didn't mention it above, when I talked about traveling the various US States, but you will also need a Real ID (deadline May 7, 2025). Also before traveling, it wouldn't hurt to make a doctor's appointment and see if you're up to date with all your shots. Be sure your cell phone plan works for international travel. Do you have proper cords, adapters, and such? Be sure to find out the currency for that country and take out the proper currency at your bank. Check with your credit card company about international travel. Will your credit cards work overseas? Those are all things to think about BEFORE taking your trip. 

But back to your wishlist! Where would you like to go internationally? Paris, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Scotland, London etc. These places also have tourism websites. But you have to remember, when you visit a tourism website, the places shown to you often pay a lot of money to be "seen" on that page. Do your own research as to what is available around you. I love Google Maps. You just plug in an address to a location and it shows you what is near your hotel and other attractions. When I was researching Paris, I didn't know they had Burger King's. LOL  Tourism websites are great guides, but also research things on your own. 

Just as with safety traveling the US States, when traveling Internationally, find out where their police stations, pharmacies and hospitals are located. Find out where the US Consulate is located for that area. That's always good information to know. 

What Is Your Budget?

For every place on your travel wishlist, assign it a cost.  About how much will it cost to do each one? Of course some will be more expensive than others, but the point is to have an assortment of places to go no matter what your budget. If money is tight, do one of the things on your list that doesn't cost very much. When you have extra money, splurge on one of your DREAM TRIPS! No matter how big or small, these are all things YOU want to do. 

What's also great about a Travel Journal and Wishlist!?!

All of your ideas are in one place. Take your journal with you on vacation. You may want to jot down some things, you didn't think about while planning the trip. You may want to tell others. Also, sometimes you can't get to everything you want to do while visiting a place. You may need to go to that place several times to cover it all. While on your trip, write down the places you don't have time to see and then revisit those places in the future. 

Conclusion

I hope this information enlightened you and maybe brought some fresh ideas to your mind. I have some more travel ideas to share with you. I will be writing some more posts in the future.

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