This post is an extension of an old blog post ‘How To Keep The Travel Momentum Alive‘ when you’re not actually travelling. If you have a few trips lined up and absolutely cannot wait (much like me), this post is for you. I have collaborated with fellow travel blogger Sarah from SarahToyin.com to get you all gassed up from the moment you get the flight (or train) confirmation email.
Travel Bloggers
Sarah: I love travel bloggers and being one myself may have something to do with it! Travel bloggers can give you real life insight into a destination, introduce you to those restaurants, hotels, historic sites, famous spots and other locations you just have to visit in a destination. They also help you with the planning of your trips with itineraries and recommendations. Travel Bloggers have basically done all the work so you don’t have to! Here are some of my favourite travel bloggers that I would recommend checking out! They all so different with perspectives and writing styles which means you need to check them all out.
Char: Travel bloggers are probably my number one reason for booking a place to begin with. It’s much more of an authentic connection knowing someone you can relate to has been to a place versus than looking at pretty travel photos online. Not only that us travel bloggers will have the intel on what I would call the most annoying phrases of the past few years; ‘hidden gems’, ‘off the beaten track’ places and ‘Instagrammable travel’.
Read more: The Travel Bloggers You Should Be Following in 2018
Looking at Pictures on Instagram and Pinterest
Sarah: If reading travel blogs is not your thing and need something a bit more visual, Instagram and Pinterest may be the right platform you to excite you for your upcoming trip. I love looking at travel photos on Instagram and Pinterest for travel inspiration. The images help to visualise what a place will be like and the majority of time, people pin the locations of the pictures so you can save the pictures in collection which can help you plan your upcoming trip.
For example, images of northern lights in Iceland help to visualise what a place will be like and the majority of time, people pin the locations of the pictures so you can save the pictures in collection which can help you plan your upcoming trip.
Simply type in a country, continent, specific place of interest or type of trip in the search bar using normal text or hashtags and you will surely find travel photos and pages that will to excite you and get you hype about your upcoming trip! Go ahead, get excited!
Here a few of my fav Instagram accounts that have amazing pictures, starting with mine! PS. This is not an exhaustive list because there are so many wonderful travel instagrams around!
Char: Again Instagram is a great tool and saving other’s posts in a personal album is a great way to reference them when you visit. But Pinterest is the OG, when it comes to travel planning and inspiration. Check out my account here.
Shopping /Planning Outfits
Sarah: I love shopping, I actually find it quite relaxing to physically visit shops and I love planning outifts for trips. If you love shopping or just simply envisioning your outifts, planning them for a holiday can definitely excite you on a whole new level. Thinking about what you will wear on the beach or on a day trip for sighseeing will allow you to look up the weather expected during your stay and think about your trip a whole lot more. I love trying on all the outifts in the mirror and seeing what shoes I will take along. In reality I won’t be able to take all the items I try on but let’s just say I am NOT a light packer. Go on and get excited and try on those outfits. While you are at it you can also pack your suitcase!
Char: I’m more of a make up gal myself so you’ll catch me planning my looks more than you’ll find me outfit planning. However you can catch me buying accessories in preparation for a trip. One I have been loving wearing lately is this beautiful personalised necklace I was Kindly gifted by the team at The Personalised Gift Shop. It’d make a great gift for yourself or the traveller in your life. You’ll probably be flying to the moon in 2040 anyway!
You can find out more and purchase it here. (£35.99)
Watching Vlogs on YouTube
Sarah: Watching travel vlogs on YouTube definitely get me excited with my notebook out to write down where I need to visit on my trip. You are not just seeing a photo snapshot but a real footage of different locations. I tend to type in the country or specific city I will be visiting when I am travelling and find a lot of exicting content. They give a great way of visualising a country and can go a lot more in depth than a picture can. I love a well put together travel vlog and watching food travel shows get me so excited about what I could potentially eat on my upcoming trip. Below are some I have enjoyed in the past starting with my own of course.
One final thought from Char:
And I will always say this. Travel is a privilege. In the travel blogging world these days there can be a sense of elitism over how many countries you visit or how much time you dedicate to travelling. Life gets in the way and in my opinion comes first, not all of us can afford to or even want to “quit your job and travel the world” because it simply isn’t suitable to our lifestyles. Maybe one day but it’s important to make people feel included rather than put them down. After all, much like love, travel is blind. It’s what you make of it.
So whether you’re going on one trip this year or a hundred, travelling in your hometown or getting on a 16 hour plane journey, I hope you’re excited!
How do you get excited for an upcoming trip?
Char xo
Please note, the necklace was kindly gifted by the team at The Personalised Gift Shop. All views are my own.
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