What is intentional travel?
Hello and welcome back, travelers! (New to the Compass Travel Coaching blog? Check out my welcome post here!)
Today, I thought it would be useful to explore what intentional travel is. I talk about it a lot, and if you’ve spent any time on my website you’ve probably seen this term pop-up multiple times. So before we dive into other topics, let’s explore what this concept means and why it matters.
In the simplest terms, intentional travel means traveling with purpose. It means putting some thought into not only where you want to go, how you’re going to get there or what you want to do while you’re there, but WHY you want to go at all. What do you want to get out of the trip? How do you want to be or feel differently when you return?
To be clear, the “what,” “where,” and “how” parts are all important. And you can have a great trip just focusing on those things. But connecting with the “WHY” adds a layer of depth that can turn a great trip into a transformational one, into a catalyst for change and growth, into an experience that still stirs your soul and allows you to connect with a different part of yourself even years later.
Traveling intentionally means aligning your trip with your core values and being mindful of how you want to show up in your travels. Does it feel important to be curious, to connect with new people or with yourself, to travel sustainably, to prioritize adventure? What kind of pace or balance feels important for your trip? What are your main objectives? And how can you prioritize those things, rather than just hope they happen?
Intention does for travel what it does for most (if not all) things in life – it helps you get more out of it. It helps you show up in alignment with who you want to be, rather than in constant reactivity to external circumstances. It helps ground you and remind you of the bigger picture, rather than getting too lost in the details. It helps you stay connected with what’s important and let go of what isn’t.
Intrigued? Interested in learning more about what travel coaching is? Great; stay tuned! In my next few posts I will break down the travel coaching process into three key parts: pre-trip preparation, mid-trip engagement, and post-trip reintegration.
Happy traveling!
~Tiffany