I thought it would be fun to look back on some of these trips and what made each one so special. Keep reading to take a virtual trip around the world with me!

The One That Started It: Spain

This was my first long and international trip as an adult. Three friends and I traveled to Spain for a whirlwind two-week trip visiting nine cities. We saw so much history, indulged in all the food, and had adventures every day. It was a packed trip but an unforgettable one that solidified friendships and sparked wanderlust. One day I hope to go back to a finished Sagrada Familia!

Read more about Spain in these posts.

The Stars at Night are Big and Bright: Terlingua, Texas

When I think about being surrounded by stars in the middle of nowhere, I go back to that quiet night in West Texas. A big storm had just passed through, we were staying in a teepee, and the clouds cleared so we could sit among stars touching the mountain tops. Seeing a sky full of stars in the middle of nowhere reminds me how small I am, just a speck in the world. 

Read more about that Terlingua experience in this post.

History Came Alive: Luxor, Egypt

Luxor is an indescribable place. I’ve tried my best to show and tell about it on the blog because it’s been the most incredible trip I’ve ever taken. It’s a place I think everyone should see for themselves. The architecture and history behind the architecture are awe-inspiring. Every turn would lead you towards something new to see. Egypt is definitely a bucket list trip!

Read more about Egypt in these posts.

When Diving Opened My Eyes: Thailand

Becoming a scuba diver has changed my priorities for travel destinations but that wasn’t always the case. I was very apprehensive about diving when I took my first trip. In fact, as you learned from this post commemorating 100 dives, diving scared me because I had a rough time through my certification dives in a murky lake and I was the worst diver in Thailand. But diving in the ocean also opened my eyes to how magical diving could be. I can’t wait to go back and dive in Thailand again one day.

Read more about Thailand in these posts.

This is How Chocolate Starts: Belize

A few years ago, I started learning about chocolate and how it is created. As with most food, it’s a special process when you learn about the people who grow and process it to become what you see in a grocery store. What luck that I was able to take this passion and tour a cacao orchard in Belize. We even made chocolate!

Read more about Belize in these posts.

The Biggest Wildlife Encounter: Komodo National Park, Indonesia

Diving with manta rays is an out-of-body experience. You’re not only in an unfamiliar environment underwater, but you’re near these massive creatures that are 12 feet from one fin to the other. It was an awe-inspiring experience and one of my favorite things I’ve seen while diving. I’m so glad we got to dive in Indonesia and hope to return someday.

As a runner-up, getting up close and personal with elephants in Chiang Mai, Thailand was also an incredible experience! These gentle giants were rescued and live at a sanctuary where people can visit and learn about their journey.

The Best Food Trip: Thailand

I love Thai food and eating Thai food in Thailand for two weeks was a dream! Noodles, coconut desserts, curries, and spices, Thai food is vibrant and exciting. This was also one of my favorite places to go on a food tour. It had to do with racing tuk-tuks!

Read all about the food in Thailand in this post.

Best Long Weekend Trip: Mexico City

Mexico City is a perfect weekend trip, though you could easily spend more time there. The city is filled with delicious food, from street tacos to some of the best restaurants in the world, like Pujol and Quintonil. It also has plenty of places to experience culture and history, like Museo Frida Kahlo.

Read more about Mexico City in these posts.

I’m so glad I have a blog to keep track of all my travels! It’s a great way to share tips and recommendations and to reminisce on adventures.

What’s your most inspiring trip and why?

P.S. If you’re looking for more travel stories, I wrote about my favorite six memories from my Thailand trip in this post.

P.P.S. When I travel, it’s usually for diving! Here are 10 reasons why you should dive on your next trip.

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The post Most Inspiring Travel Experiences in the Last Decade of Adventures appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

As the wheels went up on the plane, leaving Belize behind, I settled into my seat and thought to myself, “have I ever been this relaxed?”

I didn’t think my life was that stressful. I usually don’t come home from work stressed. I don’t have kids. Heck, I don’t even need to walk a dog. I mostly stick to a routine, which makes life less stressful. But I create plenty of stress for myself by overscheduling, thinking too much about the future, and planning very active vacations.

Thinking back on my vacations for the last four years, they all involved jumping from one city to the next in a short period of time (four days to two weeks), diving four times a day, or lots of scheduled activities. Don’t get me wrong, they were all very fun and adventurous trips that I would do again, but I came back needing a vacation from my vacation.

Belize was the vacation I didn’t know I needed. We stayed at the same resort and in the same room all week, so there was no re-packing or moving our stuff from place to place. We had daily adventures and dives, but we returned in the afternoon to a carefree routine: take a leisurely shower, get ready to look somewhat presentable (flip-flops ok!) for dinner, enjoy happy hour, eat dinner, and be in bed by 9:30 p.m. at the latest. We laid in hammocks with nowhere to be. We ate our meals leisurely. We got plenty of sleep. We took our time.

Our guides even reminded us to take our time during our daily adventures. Granted, a lot of times they said that because we were doing an intense physical activity and they didn’t want us to get hurt, but it still echoed the thought of slowing down and enjoying everything happening in the moment. We stopped to admire the landscape. We stopped to catch our breath. We were present, experiencing all the beauty and adventure Belize was offering us.

I’ll admit, all this extra leisure time during our vacation made me a little uneasy. I felt like I should be doing something, maybe out discovering something at the resort I hadn’t seen before. But settling into a leisurely routine and not having the usual distractions of internet and TV helped me slow down and enjoy the present to simply be and reflect.

I experience an abbreviated version of complete relaxation on the weekends sometimes, like a quiet morning at home, but in reality, I’m always planning something and on the move. The next week of work, activities with friends, the next blog posts. My brain is constantly thinking about schedules, deadlines, and to-dos. (I hope this isn’t only me!) More than two days of absolute relaxing is unfathomable.

And it wasn’t until leaving beautiful Belize and returning to the hustle that I realized having that many days in a row to truly relax and unplug was an essential luxury. This is what it really means to re-charge! I may not be able to take vacations like this as often as I’d like, but now I remember what slowing down is like, and I can make it a goal for my days and my life, at least sometimes.

I’ve always been the one who would rather be exploring and moving instead of sitting on the beach all week. It looks like my future vacations need a little more time to go slowly.

When was the last time you truly relaxed? Do you plan relaxing vacations or adventurous vacations?

P.S. This relaxing Belize vacation did have some fun activities. Read this post about our resort, this one about the diving, and the full Belize guide here!

P.S. What are these busy yet adventurous vacations I speak of? Check out Spain, Greece, and Thailand!

Keep up with my adventures. You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Bloglovin’. You can also subscribe to the exclusive email list.

The post Why Belize Was the Most Relaxing Vacation I’ve Had in a Long Time appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

Feeling wanderlust? Weekends are nice but nothing beats a long vacation to get into full relaxation and exploration mode. When you enjoy traveling, you’re itching to leave on the next trip soon after you return. You crave the opportunity to have a new adventure and explore a new city. Getting a break from work and daily life doesn’t hurt either!

But until you build up that PTO or bank account, it looks like you’ll be at home until the next trip. What do you do to curb the wanderlust a little?!

Here are 10 tips that can help feed your wanderlust until your next trip!

1. Take day trips and weekend trips.

Are there areas a few hours from your city you can explore? Living in Austin, the Hill Country is not far to go visit breweries or weekend trips to Fredericksburg, San Antonio, and Houston are also possibilities. Day trips to check out the barbecue in Lockhart or lake in New Braunfels are also on the to-do list. What are places within an hour to three hours near you?

See this post for more day trip and weekend trip suggestions!

2. Take a staycation.

What haven’t you seen in your city? In Austin, there are always new restaurants, art exhibits, and attractions to make a staycation feel like I’m discovering a new city. That’s one of the reasons why I did a staycation at a new, bustling area for my birthday last year. Also, staying at a hotel makes it feel like a vacation! (Check out this post for all the secrets to booking a hotel room.)

3. Read a book.

There are some great books out there that will take you on an adventure while you’re sitting on your couch. If you’re a nerd like me, I would also recommend picking up some guidebooks to spark interest for your next trip. Here are some favorite travel books:

• Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
• All Over the Place: Adventures in Travel, True Love, and Petty Theft by Geraldine DeRuiter
• What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding by Kristin Newman

4. Watch a movie or show.

Movies show you beautiful settings and great adventures. They might give you more wanderlust but they’ll also take you on a trip without leaving the house. Here are some favorite travel movies and shows:

• The Motorcycle Diaries
• The Darjeeling Limited
• The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
• Into the Wild
• Any of Anthony Bourdain’s shows
• Chef’s Table

5. Follow travel blogs.

Travel blogging boomed, thanks to adventurous souls. Travel bloggers usually have new posts weekly or you can read through their archives to plan your next trip. Here are some of the travel blogs I enjoy:

• The Blonde Abroad
• Hand Luggage Only
• Alex in Wanderland
• World of Wanderlust
• Pssst…I have lots of travel posts here too! Check out my destinations page.

6. Subscribe to travel websites.

Travel websites are a great wealth of inspiration also. You can also follow these sites on social to get updates in your feed.

• National Geographic Travel
• Travel + Leisure
• Conde Nast Traveler
• Afar

7. Seek cultural activities in your city.

Sometimes simply experiencing something new and different can take you to another place. Dine at a restaurant of different cuisine. Join in at a food festival or cultural celebration like Lunar New Year. Take a cooking class or take a food tour. See visiting art exhibits or musical acts. Immerse yourself in a different culture, even for an hour or two.

In Austin, you can tackle lists like my ultimate Austin foodie bucket list.

8. Scroll through Instagram.

Instagram is where you can see current adventures others are having, and it’s fun to live vicariously through them. Most of the travel blogs and websites (tips number five and six above) will also have a daily feed of beautiful photos! Here are some Instagram accounts I enjoy following:

• Passport to Friday
• muradosmann
• Helene in Between

9. Prepare for your next trip.

Feed your wanderlust by getting everything ready to take your next trip. Plan out how you’ll pay for your trip. How long will it take to save funds? Can you take on a side hustle or save in other areas to get to your goal faster? Improve your health so that you’re physically and mentally in the best place to travel.

10. Research and plan a future trip.

Something that gets me excited is planning for future trips! I love doing research about future destinations and gathering information about the sights I’ll visit, restaurants I’ll dine at, and more. It also makes actually booking the trip easier. Having a real trip to look forward to can help curb the wanderlust! (Here’s a post about how I plan a trip.)

I know wanderlust can be a tough beast to tame, so hopefully these ideas help hold you over until your next adventure!

Have more suggestions? I’d love to hear them! How do you feed your wanderlust?

P.S. Want to read more travel posts? Check these out:

• How to Travel the World Like a Foodie
• The Pros and Cons of Solo Travel
• 10 Ways to Maximize Your Vacation Time

P.S.S. Want to know more about that gorgeous destination in the photo above? Check out this Thailand post.

Keep up with my travel posts and adventures. You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Bloglovin’. You can also subscribe to the exclusive email list.

The post How to Feed Your Wanderlust appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

You can never get enough wanderlust inspiration. The monthly feature Fearless Wanderlust will include recent travel news, articles and inspiration to encourage you to put more travel adventure in your life! Check out this month’s version.

Enter to Win a Trip!
–Weekend in D.C., including a cocktail crawl? In!
-You could win a trip to Bali, the Greek Islands or Buenos Aires. Enter here.
-Weekend in San Diego plus $$ for a workout gear shopping spree!
-All-Inclusive Spa Holiday in St. Lucia sounds great to me!

25 Girl Travel Bloggers and their Favorite Travel Destinations
This Huffington Post article is filled with beautiful photos and great ideas for your next trip.

Favorite Travel Inspiration
Many of the bloggers I follow enjoy travel like I do. Here are my favorite 2015 posts that sparked my wanderlust.

• Seattle by Oh Joy!
• Miami by Sugar & Cloth and A Taste of Koko
• Istanbul, Turkey by Butterlust
• Marfa by One Little Minute Blog
• Mexico City by Super Duper Fantastic
• Big Sur by The Fresh Exchange
• San Miguel de Allende by The Simple Sol
• Nicaragua by DESIGNLOVEFEST

More Travel Inspiration from Me
This year, I traveled to Costa Rica, Chicago and San Francisco. Here are the posts I put together to give you some inspiration! I also created a guide about my hometown Austin.

https://fearlesscaptivations.com/2015/03/11/what-to-seedo-when-visiting-austin/

https://fearlesscaptivations.com/2015/04/06/pura-vida-costa-rica-adventure-trip/

https://fearlesscaptivations.com/2015/07/24/chicago-travel-guide/

https://fearlesscaptivations.com/2015/09/29/san-francisco-travel-guide-5-day-schedule/

https://fearlesscaptivations.com/2015/11/10/travel-guide-muir-woods-national-monument/

https://fearlesscaptivations.com/2015/11/03/sonoma-travel-guide-wine-tour-restaurants-hotel/

 
2016 Travel
Have you planned your trips for next year yet? Besides my long weekend in Costa Rica in January, my schedule is wide open. I’ve got a lot (maybe too many) options on my list though. The most likely are weekends in Fredericksburg, Fort Worth and the Texas coast. The possibilities are Charleston, Nashville, Miami, Marfa, the Grand Canyon, Alaska and skiing somewhere. It all depends on vacation days, the year’s travel budget and everything else going on in the year. Tell me about your travels. Where are you headed in 2016? If you need more suggestions, check out these best 2016 trips lists:

• National Geographic
• Travel + Leisure
• Lonely Planet
• U.S. News Travel

The post Fearless Wanderlust v.9 – December 2015 appeared first on Fearless Captivations.