Have you ever experienced that nature smells sweeter, food tastes better, buildings seem more photo-worthy, and people-watching is far more engaging when you are travelling?

It’s not that these simple experiences are never “as good” at home, but rather foreign or different settings can heighten or deepen the way we process these as a travel experience. It’s largely psychological: our minds are primed by unfamiliar surroundings, stimulated by new challenges, and highlighted by emotions. Travel (and solo travel especially) puts us into a state where we notice more and feel more.

When we get distracted by other people’s actions and marketing messages, our “Bucket List” of travel wishes simply grows without consideration of personal alignment... I advocate transforming it from a long ‘check off’ list to one that is firmly rooted in self-knowledge and designed with intention. This will help to avoid the pitfalls of a shallow, narrow and disconnected list. The next level, though, is a travel vision board.

The weeks leading up to Christmas are magical all around Lisbon in December. From the extravagant decorations and 2.1 million LED bulbs being hung to the cozy and fun Christmas markets. Lisbon, Portugal will satisfy your holiday spirit!

I am passionate about travel and well-being as important, healthy, and meaningful and my messages are often about personal development, growth, and stepping out of your comfort zone. “Fun” sounded less important. But then it dawned on me…oh yeah, of course! Travel is also fun! And fun is really good for us too.

Travel with intention - a thoughtful and deliberate approach to exploration. It goes beyond merely hopping on a plane and ticking off a checklist of tourist attractions. Instead, it involves aligning your travel plans with WHY you are travelling. Intentional travel boosts our happiness and well-being!

You are in very, very good company if you feel pre-trip jitters and the frightening discomfort of travel anxiety before you embark on any kind of trip or vacation. It's normal to worry before you leave home. Travel is a change that distances us from our comfort zone.

A travel story not far from home. There is a tributary of the Campbell River on Vancouver Island called the Quinsam. It is small and quiet, with a maze of beautiful riverside paths that wind through the forest leading to a fish hatchery. My husband and I often camp in the Campbell River area and love to explore this beautiful place not too far from where we live. I’m a nemophilist, a term I learned recently that describes someone who loves the forest for its beauty and solitude. Canada (and especially Vancouver Island) attracts fellow nemophilist visitors from around the world.

I know I’m in my challenged state when my vision narrows and my brain turns my outside world into a fuzzy blurriness. My body slowly moves like I’m going through heavy water, and butterflies emerge from their slumber and slip into my belly, tickling my insides and lathering up my stomach acid. This state of challenge can be uncomfortable and scary, especially in a foreign or unfamiliar place.

I have no memory of my grandmother. She is described as a formidable woman, who expressed emotions not through words or hugs, but through hard work and baking. Growing up, my grandmother and her six siblings were often written about in the Chilliwack newspaper’s society column.

I remember nature walks as a child with my mother. Sometimes down a forest trail but more often along a beach, she would always point out little things like a colour, a plant, a rock, or a seashell that I would have blindly passed by. Our pockets would become heavy with heart-shaped stones, sea glass or twisted driftwood. Sometimes my load would become so unwieldy that I’d have to flip up the front of my t-shirt like a kangaroo pocket. Her ability to notice unexpected things made walks feel like treasure hunts.

I have a childhood memory of playing in a local, abandoned graveyard near my friend’s house. I was living in London, England at the time and the tombstones were from the 1800s. The moss growing in the cracks of the stone and the ivy re-claiming the space made our “play space” private, wild and welcoming of our imaginations. My friend and I would make up stories about the people and imagine life “way back then.” My much beloved Anne of Green Gables stories were also set in the 1870s, so 11-year-old me developed an association that cemeteries were like libraries, holding the stories of interesting people.

One of the many amazing outcomes of travel is the stories! Sometimes they are travel stories of adventure and misadventure, sometimes they are the stories behind the adventure - the extraordinary little things you learn about the place and about yourself because of being in that place.

For some people, trip planning is a thrill and a joy. For others it's a nightmare. If you've gotten to know me through my articles you'll know that I fall firmly in the joy category!

I have two friends visiting southern Spain as I write this and I am so thrilled and excited that their trips look very different from mine. Not because they are doing it better or that my month in Spain was anything less than amazing, but because they created highly personalized travel plans. THEY are the heart of their itinerary - not any instagram influencer, not a guidebook, not a tour company, and not me.

The concept of belonging plays a significant role in our well-being. In fact, belonging hangs out, right alongside love in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Belonging is fundamental to us as humans. Given that I also believe that travel offers people a way to foster well-being, I got curious about the relationship between belonging and travel.

Looking for fiction books set in Canada? Here are some of my top picks for novels about Canada. They will satisfy any bookworm and will make want to book your next trip! Explore your curiosity and get inspired to visit with these fiction books including mysteries, romance, and Canadian historical fiction.

Looking for fiction books set in Spain? Here are some of my top picks for novels about Spain. They will satisfy any bookworm and will make want to book your next trip! Explore your curiosity and get inspired to visit with these fiction books including mysteries, romance, and Spanish historical fiction.

Often when friends reach out to me for travel planning advice I quickly get swept up in sharing their excitement and anticipation… almost as much as with my own planning! I love to help maximize travel time and dollars while matching activities with a person’s dreams and goals.