New Year's Resolutions for Travelers

Make your travel time more meaningful with these New Year's Resolutions for travelers.

Resolve to Keep a Travel Journal

Whether you use a leather-bound notebook, spiral bound notebook, or a laptop, keeping track of your adventures and misadventures while traveling is a valuable exercise. Memories are often jogged by location, and if you aren't sitting at the cornerside café, you may not remember the small event that happened there, whether it was hilarious or tender. Events don't have to be spectacular to write down, even the most mundane of facts will be interesting in years to come, such as gas prices, the cost of breakfast, and the trendy drink of the day.

Resolve to Visit Local Attractions

The people in that are least likely to visit the tourist hot spots are the ones that live a short drive away. As a Northern Californian, I am amazed at how many locals have not crossed the Golden Gate Bridge by car or by foot, stood at the base of Yosemite Falls, or strained their neck looking up at a giant redwood tree. But those three experiences are at the top of the list for any of my friends or family who visit from other states or nations. So, plan a day-long vacation this year to visit that natural or man-made wonder that you have always planned on visiting.

Resolve to Find Balance

Some travelers tend to be either uber organized-planning their itineraries and budgets with little room for flexibility, or they arrive at their destination without a plan or an idea of what there is to do and see or how to get around. Both tendencies will leave the travelers, and their companions, stressed. Research your destination, and decide on a few must-see destinations, but leave time available to visit that little known beach or restaurant that one of the locals mentions to you in passing.

Resolve to Spend Wisely

Search for the best price on a hotel room before, but remember that if you are saving money on a hotel that is further from your destination, you may be making up for it spending extra on cab fares of bus fares just to get where you are spending your vacation. Don't forget your time is valuable, so don't waste it on unnecessary transportation. Also, plan on an inexpensive meal or two a day. Sending one person out to get juice and bagels to enjoy on your hotel's balcony or poolside tables is less expensive than the same meal at a restaurant. Sandwiches taken out from a local deli and enjoyed as a picnic are both delightful and inexpensive. Use the money you save to splurge on nicer bottle of wine at dinner or on a decadent dessert.

Also by this Author: 5-Step Guide to Keeping your New Year's Resolution