100+ Best Travel Quotes to Kickstart Your Wanderlust
Looking for the best travel quotes to inspire wanderlust? Well, look no further because we’ve pulled together our favourite ones that remind us of the vast world out there.
This list include some of the most famous quotes out there that have decked the halls of many living rooms, but we’ve included some of our personal favorites as well. Most of these instantly make us want to hop on a plane at the first possibility. Some others instantly bring us back to a specific place or scene – a reminder of how we were feeling sitting up on that one mountain top. Funny how a stranger’s words can trigger your personal memories, right?
PS- this is a great list to use if you’re looking for travel quotes for captions as well. Because hey, travel quotes never go out of style!
INSTAGRAM CAPTIONS FOR TRAVEL
1. “Not all those who wander are lost.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
You may have seen this online because it is one of the most popular Instagram captions for travel. We’ve been guilty of using this a few times, and because it’s a classic- we will move likely continue using it.
3. “Live, travel, adventure, bless, and don’t be sorry.” ― Jack Kerouac
Sounds like something that should be printed on every Instagram caption and on the back of plane tickets.
2. “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” ― St. Augustine
Chances are that you’ve seen this before as well. It’s the travel caption that motivated a lot of us to get on the road.
4. “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” ― Lao Tzu
The reason why most of us started travelling was to explore that world. This particular travel quote reminds that while planning a trip can be overwhelming, it gets easier as you start.
5. “Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.” ― Anita Desai
We don’t know about other people, but travelling to different corners of the world leaves a pretty big imprint that stays with you for a long time. This is honestly one of our favorite travel quotes.
6. “A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” ― Lao Tzu
Ever just get lost on purpose so you can explore unseen corners of your surrounding? Yeah, us too.
7. “I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” ― Robert Louis Stevenson, Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes
The wonders of being able to explore. There’s magic in those moments where you get to experience a new situations. And if you’re looking for travel slogans for Instagram captions then we highly recommend this one.
8. “It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” ― Ursula K. Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness
There’s always a reason and a takeaway from each trips. The lucky ones know that enjoy every second. This is one of the most beautiful travel sayings, and an inspirations travel quote that’s been floating around for a while now.
9. “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” ― Marcel Proust
Like the quote above, the beauty of travel is understanding the journey is the most important thing.
10. “Traveling has less to do with seeing things than experiencing them…” ― Nicholas Sparks, The Choice
But seriously, is there a better travel quote than the message in this one?
SOLO TRAVEL QUOTES
11. “A nomad I will remain for life, in love with distant and uncharted places.” – Isabelle Eberhardt
This is the Instagram travel slogan for digital nomads.
12. “Don’t be scared to walk alone. Don’t be scared to like it.” — John Mayer
Solo travel quotes are hard to find, but one is of the best travel sayings. It doesn’t hurt that it’s from John Mayer.
13. “If you make friends with yourself you will never be alone.” – Maxwell Maltz
Learning to enjoy your own company is such a beautiful thing. You can keep yourself entertained for hours.
14. “Travel only with thy equals or thy betters; if there are none, travel alone.” — Buddha
One of our mottos is that you should never wait for someone else to come with you if you want to explore a place. And this travel quote from Buddha reaffirms that.
15. “The man who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready.” – Henry David Thoreau
Why do we allow others to dictate our travel plans? If you can book and flight and are ok exploring on your own, then there is no reason to wait for others. Though this isn’t the best travel buddy quote, it does speak the truth.
16. “There are some places in life where you can only go alone. Embrace the beauty of your solo journey.” – Mandy Hale
Solo travel club members unite!
17. “You are the one that possesses the keys to your being. You carry the passport to your own happiness.” – Diane Von Furstenberg
One of the best solo travel quotes out there by the queen DVF herself.
18. “The steward just asked me if I was not afraid to travel alone, and I said, “Why, it is life.” ― Emily Hahn, Congo Solo; Misadventures Two Degrees North
There is not reason to be afraid of travelling alone as long as you take the necessary precautions.
19. “Everything I was I carry with me, everything I will be lies waiting on the road ahead.” ― Ma Jian, Red Dust: A Path Through China
The more you travel (especially out of your comfort zone), the more life on the road will shape you. We certainly agree.
FUNNY TRAVEL QUOTES
20. “Travel is never a matter of money but of courage” ― Paulo Coelho, Aleph
This one will certainly spark heavy debate when you bring it up on a friday night with friends. Yet, it’s one of the truest ones. Travel need not be expensive, as long as you´re flexible.
21. “Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re going.” ― Paul Theroux
If this doesn’t describe most of us travelers then I don’t know what does. It also happens to be one of my favourite funny travel quotes because it works really well as an Instagram caption too.
22. “Travel is glamorous only in retrospect.” ― Paul Theroux
Ever have the trip from hell while you’re on it, and get home and realize that it wasn’t that bad, and that you had a great adventure along the way? Yeah, us too.
23. “I chose the road less traveled. Now I’m lost.” ― Darynda Jones, Third Grave Dead Ahead
Who else relies on Google Maps? Because without that wonderful app we don’t know if we would have made it home the last few times.
24. “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the road less traveled by and they CANCELLED MY FRIKKIN’ SHOW. I totally shoulda took the road that had all those people on it. Damn.” ― Joss Whedon
Those of us who love Joss Whedon totally miss Firefly to this day.
25. “If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion, and avoid the people, you might better stay home.” ― James A. Michener
This triggers a memory… overhearing a lady in Nicaragua complain how the (very rundown) lunchroom didn´t do free coffee refills. Allow travel to teach you new things and broaden you´re perspective.
26. “To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.” ― Huxley Aldous
You can research all there is to know about a place, only to have it completely surprise you upon arrival. Sounds familiar?
SHORT TRAVEL QUOTES
27. “Travel brings power and love back into your life.” ― Rumi Jalalud-Din
Because a good trip can energize you for years.
28. “Travel far enough, you meet yourself.” ― David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas
Traveling far isn’t always about distance. For us, it means you’ll learn most about your boundaries, priorities, likes and dislikes when visiting cultures that are most different to yours. In the most wonderful way.
29. “I read; I travel; I become” ― Derek Walcott
Not familiar with Sir Walcott? This poet and playwright was awarded a Nobel Prize in Literature, and we certainly value his words here.
30. “Never travel faster than your guardian angel can fly.” ― Mother Teresa
A little safety precaution in between wanderlusting here.
31. “To travel is worth any cost or sacrifice.” ― Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love
She’s one to know, coming for the author of the famous book-turned-movie with Julia Roberts.
32. “To travel is to live.” ― Hans Christian Andersen, The Fairy Tale of My Life: An Autobiography
His fairy tales made countless children dream of great adventures. And with this quote, he has adults daydreaming still.
33. “Wherever you go, you take yourself with you.” ― Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book
Some might use travel as an escape, but the company is the same wherever you go.
34. “The traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see.” ― G.K. Chesterton
Do you visit a place with a must-see sights to check off your list? Or do you sometimes sit down, breathe, take it all in and let yourself be surprised of what’s happening around you?
35. “If life is a journey then let my soul travel and share your pain.” ― Santosh Kalwar
Knees weak if someone would tell us these words.
36. “Sometimes you have to travel a long way to find what is near” ― Paulo Coelho, Aleph
Stepping away from your environment might make you love the things you have back home more dearly. The same can apply to the people in your life.
37. “In the World through which I travel, I am endlessly creating myself.” ― Frantz Fanon
Words by a psychiatrist and political philosopher, the meaning of his words go beyond a travel quote.
ROAD TRIP QUOTES
38. “All my days I have longed equally to travel the right road and to take my own errant path.” ― Sigrid Undset, Kristin Lavransdatter
39. “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” ― Robert Frost
One of the most famous travel quotes out there, that can resonate with many aspects of life.
40. “Nothing travels faster than the speed of light, with the possible exception of bad news, which obeys its own special laws.” ― Douglas Adams, Mostly Harmless
Well, Douglas clearly hasn’t met me post-covid. Faster than the speed of light.
41. “I address you all tonight for who you truly are: wizards, mermaids, travelers, adventurers, and magicians. You are the true dreamers.” ― Brian Selznick, The Invention of Hugo Cabret
The world´s surely filled with magic. Go and explore!
42. “I went to collect the few personal belongings which…I held to be invaluable: my cat, my resolve to travel, and my solitude.” ― Colette
A wonderful travel quote to hang by the door as a daily reminder.
43. “It’s hard being left behind. (…) It’s hard to be the one who stays.” ― Audrey Niffenegger, The Time Traveler’s Wife
Apologies to all family members. A quote from a best-selling novel that’s well worth the read.
44. “Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life—and travel—leaves marks on you.” ― Anthony Bourdain
Sometimes it happens so little by little, you don’t realize it until much later. But you’re never the same person you were stepping out of your front door.
45. “We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls.” ― Anaïs Nin, The Diary of Anaïs Nin, Vol. 7: 1966-1974
Anaïs Nin was, amongst other things, a novelist and diarist and most certainly a free spirit.
46. “Sometimes the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason” ― Jerry Seinfeld
Perhaps. But let´s find out anyway, Jerry.
INSPIRATIONAL TRAVEL QUOTES
47. “Traveling—it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” ― Ibn Battuta, The Travels of Ibn Battutah
Perhaps one of the most famous travel quotes out there, Ibn Battuta was an explorer and scholar from the 14th century.
48. “If I’d learnt one thing from travelling, it was that the way to get things done was to go ahead and do them. Don’t talk about going to Borneo. Book a ticket, get a visa, pack a bag, and it just happens.” ― Alex Garland, The Beach
Strange things happen when you just… go for it.
49. “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” ― Henry Miller
A travel quote that get´s you wondering: what is the reason that you travel?
50. “I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” ― Mary Anne Radmacher
Same moon, new perspectives. Mary Anne is a writer that teaches about living a balanced life.
51. “See the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories. Ask for no guarantees, ask for no security.” ― Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
Coming from a dystopian novel about a society in which literature is outlawed by burning all books. A must-read.
52. “I wandered everywhere, through cities and countries wide. And everywhere I went, the world was on my side.” ― Roman Payne, Rooftop Soliloquy
It’s rare to find a place that isn’t in your corner – and it’s people all the same.
53. “A person does not grow from the ground like a vine or a tree, one is not part of a plot of land. Mankind has legs so it can wander.” ― Roman Payne, The Wanderess
So go and sprout, my world travelers!
TRAVEL BOOK QUOTES
54. “Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey. They are home.” ― Anna Quindlen, How Reading Changed My Life
Taking you wherever you want to go, really.
55. “That’s the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet.” ― Jhumpa Lahiri, The Namesake
One of the positive things about 2020 and 2021. Escapes will always remain possible through books.
56. “I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.” ― Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest
Now make sure your diary gets filled with all the thrills you can find.
57. “In books I have traveled, not only to other worlds, but into my own.” ― Anna Quindlen, How Reading Changed My Life
Which book have you read that can be applied to this quote?
58. “The world is a book, and those who don’t travel only read one page.” ― St Augustine
Ok stop, we’re packing our bags. This extremely well-known saying is attributed to a fifth century bishop and philosopher.
59. “Luckily, I always travel with a book, just in case I have to wait on line for Santa, or some such inconvenience.” ― David Levithan, Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares
Or a train, plane, automobile. During yet another layover. Or simply while waiting for your visa to finish.
TRAVEL BUDDY QUOTES
60. “I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.” ― Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer Abroad
Truth! A best friend might be the greatest, but if they don’t enjoy foodie tours, then we can’t hang.
61. “We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend.” ― Robert Louis Stevenson
Looking back on your favorite trip, what were the highlights? Quite often the most special moment aren’t about the scenery, but that time spent with random strangers along the way.
62. “We leave something of ourselves behind when we leave a place, we stay there, even though we go away. And there are things in us that we can find again only by going back there.” ― Pascal Mercier, Night Train to Lisbon
Basically our bucket list just doubled.
QUOTES ABOUT TRAVELLING THE WORLD
63. “Traveling in the company of those we love is home in motion.” ― Leigh Hunt
And some much needed comfort.
64. “Every dreamer knows that it is entirely possible to be homesick for a place you’ve never been to, perhaps more homesick than for familiar ground.” ― Judith Thurman
Homesick to the point you can almost physically feel it.
65. “Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us, or we find it not.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson, Emerson’s Essays
It doesn’t matter how many stunning sights, objects and people you encounter, unless you open your eyes (and heart) to them.
66. “I think you travel to search and you come back home to find yourself there.” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
It’s peculiar how so many of these travel quotes talk about the balance between home and looking for yourself during the ride. As do these words by Nigerian feminist and writer Adichie.
67. “Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” ― Gustave Flaubert
And often heard, it turns backpackers into minimalists.
68. “The three saddest things are the ill wanting to be well, the poor wanting to be rich, and the constant traveler saying ‘anywhere but here’.” ― E.E. Cummings
Because there’s no escaping that feeling.
69. “The trail is the thing, not the end of the trail. Travel too fast, and you miss all you are traveling for.” ― Louis L’Amour
Essentially a different twist on “It’s about the journey, not the destination”.
70. “Did you ever notice that the first piece of luggage on the carousel never belongs to anyone?” ― Erma Bombeck
One of life’s great mysteries.
71. “They should tell you when you’re born: have a suitcase heart, be ready to travel.” ― Gabrielle Zevin
Having a ‘suitcase heart’ is now coming on our resumes.
72. “There is meaning in every journey that is unknown to the traveler.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Bonhoeffer was an extraordinary man, to say the least. This pastor and writer was executed in 1945, accused of plotting to assassinate Hitler.
73. “Life is what we make of it. Travel is the traveler. What we see isn’t what we see but what we are.” ― Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet
Because one hundred people might take the same trip, but none would experience it in the same way.
74. “I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts.” ― Herman Melville
That statement is to be expected from the author of Moby Dick.
75. “No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” ― Lin Yutang
A bit of longing for home in between wanderlusting.
76. “Now more than ever do I realize that I will never be content with a sedentary life, that I will always be haunted by thoughts of a sun-drenched elsewhere.” ― Isabelle Eberhardt, The Nomad: The Diaries of Isabelle Eberhardt
Isabelle lived a unique life. She descended from Russian aristocracy, enjoyed more freedom dressed as a man, travel far and wide, had affairs, investigated murders and died young. Oh and that was all around 1900.
77. “The road that is built in hope is more pleasant to the traveler than the road built in despair, even though they both lead to the same destination.” ― Marion Zimmer Bradley, The Fall of Atlantis
Like that time you’re hoping for a glimpse of the Mona Lisa, even though you know that all you’ll see are heads, hands and cell phones.
78. “I was born lost and take no pleasure in being found.” ― John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America
This quote alone is well worth the Nobel Prize in Literature he was awarded.
79. “Once the travel bug bites there is no known antidote, and I know that I shall be happily infected until the end of my life” ― Michael Palin
Hear hear, sir. The one addiction that has no rehab or support groups.
80. “Don’t let your luggage define your travels, each life unravels differently.” ― Shane Koyczan
No, not that kinda of luggage.
81. “Those who travel to mountain-tops are half in love with themselves, and half in love with oblivion.” ― Robert Macfarlane, Mountains of the Mind: A History of a Fascination
Well that’s a fun quote to remember if you ever meet mountain climbers.
82. “A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.” ― George Augustus Moore, The Brook Kerith
This is certainly a helpful statement in times when we can’t travel.
83. “Maybe you had to leave in order to really miss a place; maybe you had to travel to figure out how beloved your starting point was.” ― Jodi Picoult, Handle with Care
The travel version of ‘You don’t know what you have until it’s gone’.
84. “Travel brings wisdom only to the wise. It renders the ignorant more ignorant than ever.” ― Joe Abercrombie, Last Argument of Kings
Of course, we’re all in the first category here.
85. “As you walk and eat and travel, be where you are. Otherwise you will miss most of your life.” ― Siddhārtha Gautama
Beautiful words by the Buddha.
86. “Sometimes it’s a little better to travel than to arrive” ― Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values
Great quote to stick on your dashboard next time you have to drive for hours to get to a place.
87. “All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” ― Martin Buber
So just let each trip surprise you.
88. “It is always sad to leave a place to which one knows one will never return. Such are the melancolies du voyage: perhaps they are one of the most rewarding things about traveling.” ― Gustave Flaubert, Flaubert in Egypt: A Sensibility on Tour
Desperately longing back to a place is the very best thing that can happen.
89. “Own only what you can always carry with you: know languages, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag.” ― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago 1918–1956
To be fair, knowing a few languages will forever be the best accessory.
90. “A man who has been through bitter experiences and traveled far enjoys even his sufferings after a time” ― Homer, The Odyssey
If the Odyssey taught us anything, it’s that life is filled with obstacles.
91. “Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey.” ― Pat Conroy
Because that’s the thing about travel. Nobody can ever take away the memories from the time spent exploring.
92. “There’s something about arriving in new cities, wandering empty streets with no destination. I will never lose the love for the arriving, but I’m born to leave.” ― Charlotte Eriksson, Empty Roads & Broken Bottles; in search for The Great Perhaps
Charlotte left all she had behind and spend a year homeless, in search of a life filled with music and art.
FAMOUS QUOTES ABOUT TRAVEL
93. “Every traveler has a home of his own, and he learns to appreciate it the more from his wandering.” ― Charles Dickens
Nothing beats stepping into your front door after a long trip, or sleeping in your own bed.
94. “The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.” ― Maya Angelou, All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes
This quote derives from Angelou’s fifth book in her autobiographic series, where she moved to Ghana.
95. “A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” ― Mark Twain
As said by the ‘father of American literature‘.
96. “There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.” ― Robert Louis Stevenson, The Silverado Squatters
So better behave as the curious visitor we are.
97. “Half the fun of the travel is the esthetic of lostness.” ― Ray Bradbury
A screenwriter for science fiction films, Ray sure got a lot of good quotes in on this list.
98. “The farther you go, however, the harder it is to return. The world has many edges, and it’s easy to fall off.” ― Anderson Cooper
Our CNN fella is well traveled from his time in the field and knows his stuff.
99. “Traveling is all very well and good as long as you knew there is a place or person you can call home.” ― Jodi Picoult, Mercy
Having roots somewhere is important, even for the most enthusiastic nomads among us.
100. “Some beautiful paths can’t be discovered without getting lost.” ― Erol Ozan
Ah, the road less traveled. And that has made all the difference.
101. “No matter how far you travel, you can never get away from yourself.” ― Haruki Murakami, After the Quake
A lesser known travel quote by the Japanese writer Murakami.
102. “Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” ― Jack Kerouac, On the Road
Dating back to the fifties, Kerouac talks about his travels throughout Mexico and the United States.
103. “It can hardly be a coincidence that no language on earth has ever produced the expression, ‘As pretty as an airport.” ― Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul
In all fairness, Douglas wasn’t alive to see Singapore’s Changi Airport in full swing.
Thus end our long list of 100+ travel quotes. With this, you’ve listened to the advice of some of the world’s most brilliant authors and philosophers. Well, and that one quote from Jerry Seinfeld.
Does this inspire you to travel? And what was your personal favorite?