Anyone else lost excitement for travel?

[Anonymous]

I don’t feel this way at all! I traveled a lot as a kid with my parents, then alone/with friends/husband in my 20s, and since having kids 13 years ago, all the time with them. We have done all different kinds of trips - outdoor adventure, city breaks, beach, ski - and all are great and different. Of course these trips are different to the travel I did when I was younger but I still love the change of scene, trying new cuisines (yes PPs are right that you can get everything here but also.. you don’t get all the different local and regional variations, the local produce, all of that), seeing amazing views, beautiful sights, meeting different people - all of it. I can’t get enough and it really gives me energy. We just returned from an amazing Thanksgiving trip and I can’t wait to travel again over winter break. I prioritize travel over almost all other discretionary expenses (newer cars, clothes, house, etc).

[Anonymous]

I felt this way when our kids were younger, OP.

Once they got into teenage years and really take things in, I came to enjoy it again- they are easy to travel with and I love experiencing things that are new to them. It freshens it up for me, too.

Only thing I miss is how cheap it was to travel before family trips- budget is definitely an issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As someone who did not have the opportunity to travel to lots of places abroad when I was younger, I feel like I really missed out and now it's almost too late to get to know all these places bc everywhere is crowded and expensive. Is it worth it to take my kids to these places so they get the opportunity? Is it even enjoyable anymore?

Same, when I was young, my family did not travel much. After I started working and made enough money, I started traveling. At first, I was such a novice that I did not even know how print my own boarding pass or check a bag at the airport. Some trial and error. But it's worth it, even with the crowds and the expense. It's not too late. My DC started traveling with us around 8 years old. We've been to many great places in Europe and Asia. Some trips were just magical and others not so much. Even so, I'm so glad that we experienced it together and made lasting memories. DC is in high school and its a good time to scale back to focus on school.

[Anonymous]

I love to travel, except flying is generally miserable. If Scotty could beam me up I’d be very happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So many places, in Europe especially, have been ruined by over tourism. Everyone I know who went to a major, or even secondary, European city this year said it was shoulder-to-shoulder tourists just about everywhere, and many of them got Covid, too. You need advance tickets for many sights, which kills spontaneity and makes the day a logistical puzzle. I feel fortunate that I go to go to a lot of those cities in my 20s and 30s, but now the thought of going to Paris or Rome just makes me tired. Air travel is much more of a hassle, too. Yes, there are plenty of other places that are less-touristed, but it dampens my enthusiasm all the same.

You’re doing it wrong. I have been to 110 countries, including every European country, and know quiet, untouristed spots in all of them. You can still have incredible authenticity in Europe, but if you’re only hitting first and second tier cities, then it’s no surprise this is your experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I agree with much of what you said, and I'm a travel veteran of 40+ countries along with 12 years of expatdom. And I'm typing this while on vacation in Germany right now. The older I get, the more I find the travel logistics a hassle, including dealing with airports, jet lag, rushing from station to hotel and killing time till check in at 3 PM. And walking through local streets to find them crowded with the same Thai/Vietnamese/Lebanese/pizza/Italian restaurants you now find globally. I've seen so many museums that I can't get excited by them any more unless it's a truly special exhibition like the Vermeer exhibition in Amsterdam earlier this year. And it's true Europe has lost a great deal of its distinctiveness in the last 20 years, becoming both more global and with more immigrants everywhere.

There are still a few places on my bucket list but I am increasingly attracted to some kind of activity as the focus, such as a hiking or cycling trip with a day or two at the end in a city or even forsaking cities altogether. And, frankly, I'd rather spend two weeks each summer in my favorite New England coastal town just relaxing and swimming.

I wouldn’t call 40 countries “a veteran,” but I guess perspective varies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I agree with much of what you said, and I'm a travel veteran of 40+ countries along with 12 years of expatdom. And I'm typing this while on vacation in Germany right now. The older I get, the more I find the travel logistics a hassle, including dealing with airports, jet lag, rushing from station to hotel and killing time till check in at 3 PM. And walking through local streets to find them crowded with the same Thai/Vietnamese/Lebanese/pizza/Italian restaurants you now find globally. I've seen so many museums that I can't get excited by them any more unless it's a truly special exhibition like the Vermeer exhibition in Amsterdam earlier this year. And it's true Europe has lost a great deal of its distinctiveness in the last 20 years, becoming both more global and with more immigrants everywhere.

There are still a few places on my bucket list but I am increasingly attracted to some kind of activity as the focus, such as a hiking or cycling trip with a day or two at the end in a city or even forsaking cities altogether. And, frankly, I'd rather spend two weeks each summer in my favorite New England coastal town just relaxing and swimming.

I wouldn’t call 40 countries “a veteran,” but I guess perspective varies.

lol get over yourself. Do you realize how obnoxious you sound. Pretentious travel snobs are the worst.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love to travel, except flying is generally miserable. If Scotty could beam me up I’d be very happy.

ha ha. The only thing I really regret about travel is that I couldn't afford to travel back when flying was a better experience.

[Anonymous]

Silly question, but super crowded + super expensive, more than ever before, how are all these other people getting $$? Where are they all coming from?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many places, in Europe especially, have been ruined by over tourism. Everyone I know who went to a major, or even secondary, European city this year said it was shoulder-to-shoulder tourists just about everywhere, and many of them got Covid, too. You need advance tickets for many sights, which kills spontaneity and makes the day a logistical puzzle. I feel fortunate that I go to go to a lot of those cities in my 20s and 30s, but now the thought of going to Paris or Rome just makes me tired. Air travel is much more of a hassle, too. Yes, there are plenty of other places that are less-touristed, but it dampens my enthusiasm all the same.

You’re doing it wrong. I have been to 110 countries, including every European country, and know quiet, untouristed spots in all of them. You can still have incredible authenticity in Europe, but if you’re only hitting first and second tier cities, then it’s no surprise this is your experience.

Yawn, another dilettante.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I traveled a lot when I was younger and lived abroad as an expat in my 20’s. Now that I am married and have kids I seem to have lost that desire/spark for travel. Don’t get me wrong, I love trip planning but the world is just so much more global now and every small town has ethnic restaurants, Amazon gives us access to random special international products we could want and it seems like we do the same novelty things on every trip with the kids whether it’s horseback riding, random museum, going for dim sum, going white water rafting or surf lessons. Some of the big bucket list trips for me are just out of budget/not realistic w young kids like an African safari or Galapagos. Anyone feel this way? The last two times we dropped a considerable amount for us …$10k+ on a trip (again with a family of 4 this is a nice trip, not extravagant) I wish we had just put it towards an exciting house project.

I understand, I could have written this. Including that I used to travel a ton, lived abroad, and have bucket list destinations that are just not realistic right now.
And you know what? It's ok. Likely, since you were a former frequent traveler, that spark will come back in due time. Likely when kids get a bit older and get excited about certain things.

[Anonymous]

Both my husband and I have traveled a lot when we were younger. Also, both have lived overseas. I LOVE traveling still - although, I'm less likely to want to go to Paris (where I've been multiple times) or more likely to want to go to Antartica and Rapa Nui. I will say, that my kids have been traveling since they were in diapers and having them go to places I've been and see with new eyes is exciting for me. YMMV

[Anonymous]

I think there's a difference between travels now and back in the day when it wasn't a zillion people somewhere. When I look at Rome's Trevi Fountain OMG. Just OMG. I was there this summer with my kids and I didn't want to be. I was there as a student years ago and it was amazing. you can't even see the fountain in the sea of people now!!

As for going to places not a tier 1 or 2 town - I mean part of travelling is to these tier 1 or 2 towns for the beauty and something that makes it a tier 1 or 2 so I'm not sure why you would only go to the places nobody goes to? Sure, sometimes you find a diamond but there is a reason why people go to Paris. There was a year I did Paris 3x just because I had the opportunities. Now, I wouldn't take my kids there. You can see it better online. I would go to Normandy and travel the N towns. I would go to Mt St Michel in the off season.

I don't know how you see anything unless you go in the offseason to some of these amazing destinations. As for the road less travelled, it would of course be amazing to see Antarctica but I struggle at the morality of disturbing a place where it's actually awesome because people aren't there LOL!

I just think there are WAY to many people travelling these days and it makes everything suck. The only thing I prioritize now is going to places where my kids likely won't be able to enjoy in 10-15 years because of global changes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Traveled from ages 25-40 or so even with young kids. It was fun but really tiring. Novelty of new spots does wear off with age.

With growing wealth, we have now realized that we like going to the same four or five places, and no need to explore weird crazy off the beaten path things. We like good food, a bit of luxury, manageable touring.

So we generally travel to the same 4-5 destinations, and have even bought a place in one of these international locations.

My suggestion is find your spots. Settle down there.

You can still explore but in a more manageable way, especially with family in tow.

If you have the means/interest, explore r/FATTravel

+1

This is us now as a family of 4. I think we've narrowed it to a few destinations we really enjoy domestically - NYC, Chicago, national parks. Internationally we love CR and Italy. Specifically Manuel as it's been cited on this thread - having been everywhere - what we love about Manuel is the nearby restaurants with locals and the proximity to a lot of great activities from MA. For us, we stay at Tulemar, enjoy the private beach there and use this location as a way of doing a lot of CR based activities like rafting, ziplining, horseback riding, pool time. That's our annual holiday and we love it. We can go to other spots from there but we always want to make time for MA. Travel to us is going to places that feel like "home" though away from home.

We don't travel to explore anymore although our kids are at the age where it would be great to do so. But you can get so much online. Rather, we go where we are comfortable and "explore" in the sense that we soak up the energy and culture of a specific place away from home. We may not be seeing a ton of "things" but it is still exploring because we are in a different country and culture - eating delicious foods we can't find at home and experiencing a different way of life on a daily basis. It's not the traditional definition of travel I think, where you go to as many different exciting places on a map for a week and take a ton of pics of famous and pretty things. Totally different context of exploring and travel but our kids seem to really be happy with this new approach.

Seriously, have you seen the gobs of people everywhere?? We went in Aug a couple yrs ago to Jackson Hole and it was so crowded with hikers we had to wait until almost sunset to hike so we felt like we were hiking. Went to Venice this June and it was like like being herded like cows even in the evening walking the streets due to so many people. I mean, how do you explore when you are just in crowds that deep?!! People don't talk to each other anymore either - they are all on their phones. It's impossible to have the conversations I used to have while I travelled solo in my 20s because people just don't talk anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love to travel, except flying is generally miserable. If Scotty could beam me up I’d be very happy.

ha ha. The only thing I really regret about travel is that I couldn't afford to travel back when flying was a better experience.

When do you think flying was a "better experience"? I was flying long-haul back in the day that first class had a chef on board, your eggs were cooked to order, yada, yada, yada . . .it was still miserable.