Inspirational Travel Quotes

Are these the best travel quotes of all time? Feed your wanderlust with these inspirational travel quotes from famous travelers along with beautiful images you can share.

I’m slightly embarrassed to say that I love inspirational travel quotes.

These memorable travel quotes have the ability to capture little moments of clarity that highlight truths about travel, adventure, and life.

Great traveling quotes like these remind me that emotions I’ve felt while traveling the world for the past 10 years have been experienced by many.

We’re all beautifully connected with each other by a love for travel!

Below you’ll find some of my favorite travel quotes, and feel free to share the included image quotes on your own social media accounts too.

Best Travel Quotes List For 2020

Top 10 Travel Quotes

1. “Adventure is worthwhile.” – Aesop

It doesn’t get more simplistic than Aesop’s take on traveling, the ancient Greek fabulist and storyteller. This classic travel quote continues to inspire me.

Adventure can remind you to explore new horizons, and step out of your comfort zone. Like it did for me hiking 100 miles across Greenland’s Arctic Circle Trail!

2. “Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.” – Anthony Bourdain

The late, great Anthony Bourdain really hit the nail on the head. I will truly miss his wisdom. Many think of traveling as a way to relax, and it absolutely can be!

However, I’ve also found traveling can help you understand what’s going on in the world. Like my trip to the Palestinian West Bank, which left me feeling both sad and angry. But I’m still glad I went.

3. “Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta

I’ve seen awe-inspiring things that I thought I’d never be able to explain to another person. These experiences have helped me to become a better storyteller.

For example, witnessing the unreal-looking pink lakes where sea salt is produced on Mexico’s Yucatan Penninsula. It was like right out of a fantasy novel!

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4. “We travel, some of us forever, to seek other places, other lives, other souls.” – Anais Nin

Anais Nin’s quote about traveling on a constant search for things that will make us feel whole sums up the desire to keep learning through experiences. To discover ourselves just as much, if not more, than to discover new places.

I’ve felt this pull many times, like while road tripping through Morocco. Seeking out the vastness of the desert, and looking inward at the same time.

5. “A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.” – Tim Cahill

I couldn’t agree more! I’ve made many friends around the world, and it’s the time I’ve spent with them that has made my travels so fulfilling. People are always more memorable than checking things off a bucket list.

Meet Pedro. We hired him as a guide to hike up a volcano in Guatemala. Through our broken Spanish, we learned he was quite the comedian! He was the highlight of the trip instead of the volcano.

6. “The gladdest moment in human life, methinks, is a departure into unknown lands.” – Sir Richard Burton

Sir Richard Burton eloquently captured the spirit of wandering off into the unknown with this travel quote. The moment of anticipation is often sweeter than the final result. This photo of the Northern Lights is from one of my camping trips in Iceland.

7. “No place is ever as bad as they tell you it’s going to be.” – Chuck Thompson

Have you ever seen your hometown through the eyes of a tourist? It’s easy to get jaded, but the truth is every place in the world has something of interest.

You’ll always hear about the negative before you hear about the positive. Because people love to complain! Don’t listen to them, and go see for yourself.

8. “I am not the same, having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” – Mary Anne Radmacher

I often gaze at the stars when I’m visiting a new destination or on a road trip. It’s amazing to consider how places are the same, yet so very different.

9. “Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” – Gustave Flaubert

Flaubert continued Radmacher’s wise observation in this insightful trip quote. I definitely used to think that my life, and my country, played a bigger role in the world until I packed up and hit the road.

10. “He who would travel happily must travel light.” – Antoine de St. Exupery

This is one of my travel mottoes after an unfortunate experience trying to schlep a massive travel backpack from the airport to a hotel via public transportation. I know exactly what ol’ Antoine was talking about in this travel quote!

Enjoy these travel quotes? Feel free to share my quote photos on Pinterest or Instagram! Also, check out my favorite motivational adventure quotes

Famous Quotes About Travel

11. “The man who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready.” – Henry David Thoreau

I’ve heeded Henry David Thoreau’s advice on many occasions. In fact, of all the quotes about traveling I’ve collected here, this one has been the most influential. Don’t be afraid to travel alone.

12. “To awaken alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world.” – Freya Stark

A change of view always helps give me a new perspective on life. Traveling allows waking up to a different view on a regular basis. The perfect traveling quote. This photo is from my time wandering the streets of Marrakech in Morocco.

13. “The life you have led doesn’t need to be the only life you have.” – Anna Quindlen

Anna Quindlen’s words have made a big difference in my life. It’s so easy to get stuck believing that what we’re doing right now is all we’ll ever do. This is a great travel caption for Instagram…

14. “Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all of one’s lifetime.” – Mark Twain

I wish the entire world could understand Mark Twain’s insight into traveling. We all have preconceived notions, but traveling has shown me that many are usually false. One of his top travel quotes!

READ MORE: How To Work & Travel The World

15. “Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” – Andre Gide

I used to be afraid to reach beyond my comfort zone. This is a great travel quote about throwing off the so-called safety net of your comfortable surroundings to discover new parts of the world (and yourself).

16. “The use of traveling is to regulate imagination with reality, and instead of thinking of how things may be, see them as they are.” – Samuel Johnson

There’s so much wisdom in Samuel Johnson’s quote on travel. Take a second to visualize a place you’ve never been. If you make that your next vacation spot, I bet you’ll find out that it’s completely different from your internal image.

17. “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” – Saint Augustine

We may feel safe in our little bubble, but it’s also boring. That’s the primary reason I started traveling several years ago, and I’ve fallen in love with the thrill of discovery. It doesn’t get any more real than this short travel quote.

18. “Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.” – Seneca

When I travel, I’m able to give my mind something new and exciting to focus on. Studies say that we need to keep learning in order for our minds to thrive.

19. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” – Mark Twain (?)

While this is one of the most popular travel quotes of all time, it’s actually FAKE. Mark Twain never said this. The real author is H. Jackson Browne Jr. in his book PS I Love You, about letters written to his mom.

There are a few fake travel quotes out there, so be careful what you share!

20. “With age, comes wisdom. With travel, comes understanding.” – Sandra Lake

Anonymous Quotes On Traveling

21. “Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.” – Anonymous

This simple travel quote says it all. My mind craves new experiences, and I quite simply cannot get them from my hometown anymore. By going somewhere new at least once a year, I continue to grow in numerous ways.

22. “Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.” – Anonymous

Money makes traveling a possibility, but it doesn’t enrich you like sharing experiences with new cultures. I’m not sure who coined this inspirational travel quote, but they hit the nail on the head!

23. “Better to see something once than hear about it a thousand times.” – Asian Proverb

This Asian proverb is truly one of the world’s most accurate travel quotes. I am always in awe when I find myself standing in front of an iconic landmark. Sometimes, they’re less impressive than the stories I’ve heard, but even that’s a worthwhile experience.

24. “Work, save, travel, repeat.” – Anonymous

This is basically the story of my life! I work to save money for travel, in a never-ending cycle. Travel is an addiction for some of us. This photo was taken on a very expensive trip to Antarctica!

25. “We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.” – Anonymous

I feel a heavy weight on my heart when I don’t travel for an extended amount of time. As soon as I set off for someplace new, the burden of stagnation falls away and I feel renewed.

26. “Stuff your eyes with wonder, live as if you’d drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.” – Ray Bradbury

Nothing can replace the thrill of travel for me. I’d rather see things in the real world than spend my time imagining them. None of the entertainment devices that humans have invented can come close to the joy I experience exploring the world.

27. “Traveling tends to magnify all human emotions.” — Peter Hoeg

I’ve been at my best, and at my absolute worst while traveling. Emotions are bigger during these trips because there’s so much new information to process. Peter’s travel quote reveals a truth that many travelers can relate to.

READ MORE: My Favorite Travel Books & Writers

28. “You don’t have to be rich to travel well.” – Eugene Fodor

Creator of the famous Fodor Guides Eugene Fodor’s quote helps highlight that people of almost any budget can travel. For example, a few years ago I hitchhiked across the United States for 5 weeks, and it was one of my best travel experiences.

29. “If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.” – James Michener

I completely agree with Michener. There’s really no point in traveling to a new country if you’re only interested in staying inside the walls of a resort. I believe that the point of traveling is to learn about new cultures and customs and truly open our minds.

30. “People don’t take trips, trips take people.” – John Steinbeck

Here’s another quote that isn’t exactly true. While not completely fake, it is a paraphrase of Steinbeck’s actual words in Travels With Charley: In Search Of America that reads:

“A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policies and coercion are fruitless. We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us.”

Going on a trip may start with a lot of planning, but the truth is that once you arrive somewhere new, the area instantly begins to change you.

31. “When overseas you learn more about your own country, than you do the place you’re visiting.” – Clint Borgen

If you think your country does everything the right way and is revered by other nations, you’ll definitely have those notions put to the test when you enter another country. I’ve learned so much about the way my nation is viewed on the international stage. This is the perfect travel quote for Instagram or Pinterest.

32. “To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” – Bill Bryson

Have you ever felt the rain on your skin in multiple countries? I have, and I’m here to tell you that it’s always a thrilling sensation each time it happens somewhere new. By traveling, I’ve learned to appreciate things that I would normally ignore.

Short Travel Quotes

33. “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” – Helen Keller

Just like everyone else, I spend some of my days sitting on a couch watching television. Of course, these aren’t the moments that define me, nor are they what I think of when wandering through my favorite memories. It’s the adventurous side of life that makes living truly worthwhile to me.

34. “Travel is never a matter of money, but of courage.” — Paulo Coelho

Yes, travel does require some money. However, you’ll also need to gather enough courage to temporarily cast off everything about your daily life that makes it so comfortable — and boring.

35. “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” – Neale Donald Walsch

What is your comfort zone? If I’d never learned to stretch mine, I’d still be sitting on the same couch after work every single day for the rest of my life. Instead, I challenged myself to tackle new challenges and to see areas of the world that had intimidated me.

36. “Every man can transform the world from one of monotony and drabness to one of excitement and adventure.” – Irving Wallace

If we’re being honest with ourselves, the routines of daily life are monotonous. For me, all it takes is a trip to a new city or country to reignite my sense of adventure.

READ MORE: How To Find The Cheapest Flights

37. “Not all those who wander are lost.” – J.R.R. Tolkien

Tolkien’s wisdom really shines through in this quote. I have applied it to several of my trips by allowing myself to simply wander through a new land as opposed to plotting everything out first.

38. “The more I traveled the more I realized that fear makes strangers of people who should be friends.” – Shirley MacLaine

This quote is as relevant today as it was when it was first uttered. People have an unfortunate tendency to claim others as their enemy without even getting to know them first. This is an issue that’s propagated by fear of the unknown, and it has led to a lot of lost opportunities throughout history.

39. “I travel a lot; I hate having my life disrupted by routine.” – Caskie Stinnett

Staying in one place for too long definitely makes my wanderlust start itching for a new adventure. Routine has its place, but too much of it makes me feel stagnant. I love shaking up my daily life by visiting a new place and immersing myself inside a different culture.

Wanderlust Travel Quotes

40. “A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes

Everything I’ve learned during my travels has forever expanded and changed my mind. This travel quote shows Holmes clearly grew in a similar way by visiting new lands.

41. “Remember that happiness is a way of travel – not a destination.” – Roy M. Goodman

Many chase the elusive dream of happiness when they should be embracing it inside of each little moment, as Roy alludes to in this inspiring quote. I learned long ago that happiness is found in the details.

42. “Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and enjoy the trip.” – Babs Hoffman

I used to obsess over every single little thing that could go wrong during a trip. This caused me to overly plan everything. Little things can go wrong anywhere, so they’re not worth worrying about.

43. “Once in a while it really hits people that they don’t have to experience the world in the way they have been told to.” – Alan Keightley

One of my favorite travel memories involves sitting on a sidewalk in Nicaragua eating some chicken & rice. I watched local people walk by for at least 30 minutes, going about their daily routines. This simple experience still defines Nicaragua for me in a way that visiting a famous tourist attraction never could.

44. “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller

I frequently remind myself of this quote about traveling from Henry Miller. After all, simply checking off travel locations means nothing if you don’t allow each trip to change you in some way. I love to soak up a new culture and learn more about the locals’ point of view.

45. “I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.” – Susan Sontag

Every place on the planet has great potential to help us learn and grow. That’s the primary reason that there’s nowhere in the world I wouldn’t go if I had safe passage. Right now, there are some cities and countries that aren’t very welcoming, but I’d still love to see them someday.

46. “Nobody can discover the world for somebody else. Only when we discover it for ourselves does it become common ground and a common bond and we cease to be alone.” – Wendell Berry

You cannot possibly hope to learn the true nature of the world by doing nothing more than reading about it. As valuable as reading is, it always takes a backseat to discovering the world for yourself.

READ MORE: Money Saving Travel Resources

47. “Take only memories, leave only footprints.” – Chief Seattle

This is one of the classic travel quotes that everyone would be well-advised to remember. It breaks my heart to see historic areas filled with trash by careless travelers. We have a responsibility to preserve things as much as possible.

48. “Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by.” – Robert Frost

I took Frost’s words at face value in my teen years, but as an adult, I realize there’s much more to his sentiment. Seeing and doing the same things as everyone else can make it difficult to discover your own true identity.

49. “There is no moment of delight in any pilgrimage like the beginning of it.” – Charles Dudley Warner

The start of each new trip is an exciting time that’s characterized by a mixture of wonder and fear. You have no idea if the trip will go as planned, but the unknown is what makes everything so exciting.

Best Travel Quotes For Inspiration

50. “Oh the places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss serves as a reminder that we can go anywhere if we stop putting restrictions on ourselves. The world is waiting; we just have to have the courage to answer the call. Doing this, again and again, has given my life meaning.

51. “It is not down in any map; true places never are.” – Herman Melville

Much like the hidden parts of our souls, we cannot hope to find something completely original and unspoiled without wandering off the map. I give myself the freedom to explore anything that catches my attention.

52. “Investment in travel is an investment in yourself.” – Matthew Karsten

Yup. I’m Matthew Karsten, and I totally just snuck in one of my own travel quotes. Haha! But I really mean this too. When I first quit my unfulfilling day job to go backpacking around the world, I didn’t know what I was doing, or where it would all take me. But traveling taught me a lot about life, as well as myself.

53. “For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

Stevenson was much more than just a revered novelist; he was also a travel writer. This particular inspiring quote has always spoken to me. The urge to go somewhere new, no matter where it is, frequently grabs me.

54. “Our happiest moments as tourists always seem to come when we stumble upon one thing while in pursuit of something else.” — Lawrence Block

There is nothing more exciting than turning a corner while traveling and finding something riveting. I remember this happening when I stumbled onto a work of art by street artist Banksy. I don’t even remember my original destination, but I do remember the way I felt looking at Banksy’s art!

55. “To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.” – Aldous Huxley

In perhaps the timeliest travel quote of all, Huxley reminds us that countries themselves aren’t bad, nor are their residents. Governments can be corrupt, but the spirit of the people always lives on.

56. “Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” – Jack Kerouac

Is there anyone more uniquely qualified to provide insightful quotes about traveling than the author of “On the Road?” Traveling doesn’t always go as smoothly as you’d expect. Despite this, I’ve discovered many times that the trip itself is every bit as exciting as the destination.

57. “Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comforts of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things — air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky. All things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” – Cesare Pavese

Pavese’s books often spoke about loneliness and the inability to connect to others in a meaningful way. Although his commentary on traveling does contain some truth, I’ve always taken it with a grain of salt. Yes, traveling can be brutal at times, but I believe it’s also one of the most freeing experiences a person can have.

58. “And then there is the most dangerous risk of all — the risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later.” – Randy Komisar

Many people say inspiring things, but Komisar has lived them as a successful venture capitalist. Don’t fall into the trap of believing there will eventually be a perfect time to follow your dreams. Through traveling, I’ve learned the only perfect time is now.

59. “Life is short and the world is wide, the sooner you start exploring it, the better.” – Simon Raven

Controversial author Simon Raven said a lot of odd things in his time, but his travel quotes were typically spot on. After all, the only way to see the entire world is to start taking travel-sized bites out it as early as possible.

60. “The journey not the arrival matters.” – T.S. Eliot

Eliot’s poetry inspired countless writers, but I’ve always been the most taken by this simplistic quote. When I first started traveling, I placed way too much focus on getting to my destination. By learning to let that go, I’ve developed some of my fondest travel memories.

Unique Travel Quotes

61. “To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” – Bill Bryson

If you want to read humorous but insightful books about traveling, you should definitely check out Bill Bryson. He’s absolutely right about not taking things for granted on the road.

62. “To travel is to live.” – Hans Christian Andersen

I grew up reading Anderson’s fairy tales but didn’t know about his travel writing until later. Now, I know that his many quotes about traveling truly captured the essence of why it’s so important to explore new areas.

63. “What you’ve done becomes the judge of what you’re going to do — especially in other people’s minds. When you’re traveling, you are what you are right there and then. People don’t have your past to hold against you. No yesterdays on the road.” – William Least Heat Moon

Heat-Moon was so dedicated to writing unique travel books that he journeyed across the U.S. in a 1975 Econoline van. I also love the idea of getting a fresh start in every new town.

64. “Travel makes a wise man better but a fool worse.” – Thomas Fuller

Fuller broke new ground with his literary skills, which allowed him to earn a living long before being an author was a viable full-time career for writers. Some say that everyone is changed for the better by traveling, but Fuller warned us that this wasn’t the case.

65. “I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.” – Mark Twain

American treasure Mark Twain wasn’t one to mince words, but his humor made even the bitterest truths easier to swallow. Unfortunately, I found out the wisdom behind his words the hard way through experience.

66. “The most beautiful in the world is, of course, the world itself.” – Wallace Stevens

Stevens had a love for the simple things in life, as evidenced by one of his titles: “The Emperor of Ice-Cream.” He’s also right; the entire world contains beauty. That’s why I long to travel to every country on earth.

67. “We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm, and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” – Jawaharial Nehru

It’s unsurprising that someone who learned directly from Gandhi would have such an inspiring way of looking at the world. Open your eyes to the beauty of a sunrise or waves rolling into the shore. No matter how many times you’ve seen them, they’re still full of beauty.

68. “I’m in love with cities I’ve never been to and people I’ve never met.” – Melody Truong

Melody Truong’s words resonate with me because they’re so full of truth. The feeling of loving unexplored parts of the world is exactly what pushes me to keep traveling.

69. “When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.” – Susan Heller

Heller’s widely quoted travel adage has influenced the way I travel. I used to pack way more than I needed, and this hindered my travels. Cutting your luggage down and packing more money always makes things easier.

Travel The World Quotes

70. “Travel far enough, you meet yourself.” – David Mitchell

David Mitchell’s best-selling novels typically involve traveling, as evidenced by this quote from “Cloud Atlas.” It’s difficult to get to know yourself when you’re stuck in the rut of normality. I always have the best self-awareness breakthroughs after a period of travel and inner reflection.

71. “Live your life by a compass, not a clock.” – Stephen Covey

People have turned to Covey for business advice for years, but I’ve found the most value in this one simple quote. I used to meticulously plan each trip down to the minute.

72. “I travel because it makes me realize how much I haven’t seen, how much I’m not going to see, and how much I still need to see.” – Carew Papritz

Being born in Yosemite National Park enabled the travel bug to bite Papritz at birth. His thought-provoking spin on the purpose of travel has greatly influenced me. I may never see it all, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try.

73. “Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.” – Anita Desai

Indian novelist Anita Desai nails this one with her inspiring quote about traveling. We’re all shaped by each of our experiences. I love it that every new adventure helps shape me for the better.

74. “We travel for romance, we travel for architecture, and we travel to be lost.” – Ray Bradbury

Bradbury’s books often transport readers to another time or place. We cannot travel to other time periods in the real world, but we can take in the architecture of the past.

75. “Wherever you go, go with all your heart!” – Confucius

Confucius was an early proponent of social equality who urged people to live a life of morality and sincerity. I’ve interpreted this quote to mean that it’s important to be fully committed to each new experience.

Final Thoughts On Traveling

Traveling is one of the best ways to open your mind and heart to the world. As a result, I’ve experienced the full range of emotions during my travels.

Although this has sometimes meant having my lifestyle and point of view challenged, I wouldn’t give up a single second of it because it helped shape me into the person I am today. Travel can change your perspective.

Many of these quotes have inspired me to keep exploring our world.

If you’re looking for inspiration to fuel your wanderlust, you’re certain to find the perfect quotation above!

I hope they inspire you to pack up everything and head out into the unknown, to explore the farthest reaches of our planet (and your soul) — to see the world for what it really is.

Browse these fun quotes when you need wanderlust motivation — to make travel a priority in your life!

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