The best travel new year’s resolutions

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It’s that point of yr once more: after we all write down our best intentions for the yr forward (protected within the information that at the least of half of them can have fallen by the wayside by the primary week of January).

But in relation to New Year’s resolutions, it doesn’t must be all marathon lists of rigorous self-improvement.

We can even set ourselves enjoyable challenges or ambitions, particularly in relation to travel – corresponding to exploring new locations, attending to know locations on our doorsteps a bit higher with a deep dive, or discovering other ways of transporting ourselves throughout the globe.

On The Independent’s travel desk, we’ve set ourselves the duty of developing with the travel-related resolutions we’re going to do our best to stick to in 2024.

Looking for inspiration? Feel free to affix us in our pledges for the following 12 months – or give you some travel targets of your individual.

Read extra on travel inspiration:

Make the many of the journey: Simon Calder, travel correspondent

The flip of the yr is a time for retrospection: studying from the previous as you look to the longer term. Compared with my shiny younger colleagues, I’ve a considerably longer private travel historical past wherein to delve. In explicit, 2024 marks half a century since I first went additional west than Cornwall and Ireland. The vacation spot: California. The means: the most affordable potential ticket between the UK and North America, which occurred to be to Montreal on the now-defunct Belgian airline, Sabena, along with a pair of one-week Greyhound bus passes. Unlike right now’s 11-hour flight from London to Los Angeles, that nice continent was progressively revealed to me from the countless plains within the east, threading by means of the Rocky Mountains and throughout the desert to the promised Pacific shore – whereas assembly a succession of welcoming strangers who unlocked their nook of this new world. Coming residence by means of the deep south of the US, I paused in cities and cities and learnt infinitely extra about this patchwork of humanity than ever I may when gazing from an plane window. I received’t be repeating the highway journeys in 2024, and I’ll nonetheless be profiting from the widest horizons in aviation historical past. But for a summer time journey to the Greek islands, for instance, I resolve to fly in a single route and return slowly, curiously by means of still-strange and great lands.

Going flight-free for 2024: Helen Coffey, travel editor

So, this isn’t a new one for me; I’ve been making the similar New Year’s Resolution since 2020, once I first determined to take a yr off flying in response to the local weather disaster. If I full 2024 with out hopping on a aircraft, it’ll mark 5 full years with out taking a single flight – one thing I by no means would have thought potential again in 2019, particularly for a travel editor. But I’ve found two issues over the course of my ongoing flight-free journey. 1) Slow travel – by prepare, bus, ferry, coach, bike and my very own two legs – is a vastly pleasant expertise, the place the journey turns into an integral and superb a part of your journey. It’s infinitely extra rewarding than the same old stress-filled aviation expertise, permitting the traveller to calm down, decelerate, see the world go by and truly get a way of the space travelled. And 2) now, greater than ever, we must be rethinking our emissions-heavy travel habits and flying much less wherever potential. Air travel is already again to pre-pandemic ranges, with worldwide travel journeys anticipated to exceed pre-pandemic ranges in 2024 by 3 per cent and surpass two billion for the second time ever. For these of us privileged sufficient to travel recurrently, swapping flying for overland transport is among the most impactful methods of slashing our carbon footprints.

Staying native(ish): Benjamin Parker, deputy travel editor

This seems like a pandemic throwback – keep in mind the debates over the definition of ‘staycation’? – however I’m going to make an additional effort to have enjoyable exploring with out straying too removed from residence. This is closely influenced by the approaching arrival of a beautiful child boy, which is prone to curtail worldwide swashbuckling in the interim. But it’s also an important probability to recapture that enthusiasm for the UK that many (together with myself) discovered – then shortly paused – in the course of the time Covid halted abroad holidays. I need to spend time within the cities which have by no means appeared unique sufficient in comparison with European counterparts (I’m taking a look at you, Leeds), to climb the hills I’ve seen in photos however by no means set foot on, stroll the streets I often ignore. It doesn’t imply I received’t be going overseas, with plans already in place for a jump over to France in the summertime, however having simply learn Peter Ross’ good A Tomb With a View, my first days out can be discovering London’s ‘Magnificent Seven’ cemeteries. If anybody has every other options (particularly pushchair-friendly ones), I’m all ears…

Lightweight baggage: Natalie Wilson, junior travel author

My ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ strategy to packing has firmly cemented me as the ready good friend, full with plasters and a transportable charger – but it surely’s time I hung again up my spare hoodie and began lightening my travel load. Albeit largely influenced by my screaming checking account at check-in, I may do with out the vacation buying stress for seven completely curated outfits pre-airport – clearly all white and blue if I’m heading to Greece – that I’ll by no means put on once more. Having taken to suitcase sharing on women’ holidays this yr to scrimp an additional £50 for boat journeys, avenue meals excursions and truly experiencing the vacation spot, the idea of compromise has lastly been launched to my vacation wardrobe. Apparently, I don’t want 10 bikinis for a five-day journey. Revolutionary. Who is aware of, perhaps I’ll even take to the skies with simply the bag on my again in 2024… You win, Ryanair.

Chris Wilson, junior travel author

Even as probably the most tourist-centric locations on the planet, Europe has managed to cover some fascinating, under-the-radar gems. The second cities, lesser-visited capitals and provincial cities have caught my consideration, ones which have a tradition and historical past you hear a lot much less about. My decision is to go to extra of these kinds of locations in 2024 to seek out out what units them aside, whether or not that’s a specific cultural pageant – corresponding to Krampusnacht in Salzburg, Austria – or only a picturesque setting and Christmas markets in someplace like Estonia’s capital, Tallinn. Perhaps this yr I uncover new locations on a flight-free interrail tour of northern and japanese Europe; I positively know easy methods to plan an intriguing route after writing about among the best final yr.

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