2026 New Year’s Travel Resolutions
Happy 2026! We’ve never been big on New Year’s resolutions, but this year we’re giving them a proper trial run and, bravely, planning to hold ourselves accountable. These are travel resolutions: a chance to look back at where we’ve been, notice a few patterns, and think about how we want to travel a little better this year. With that in mind, let’s get into it.
Amy’s resolutions
Slowing down - I love to travel. I love navigating a new place, trying unfamiliar foods, soaking in great art, and getting out of my own head for a while. I love all of it. But this year, I want to slow down and stop trying to cram every travel day with a rushed itinerary. Let’s hear it for lazy afternoons in cafés, people-watching with a cuppa. Let’s hear it for choosing one museum instead of four. Let’s even hear it for spending an afternoon in the hotel room we paid for, binge-watching Netflix. Yes, we absolutely did that in Busan this year.
Packing with intent - I’ve written a little about the joys of making a packing list. This is something that I do every time. But with the trip planning for this year I’m thinking more deeply about what I put on that list. I’m trying to identify things that do double duty. Like these board shorts that can be worn to swim or as regular shorts. Clothes that actually get worn instead of “just in case” outfits that never leave the bag. Less variety, better choices, and a lighter suitcase to prove it.
Reviewing old travel posts - We’ve had this blog for a few years now, and it finally feels like the voice has settled in. I’ve learned what formatting actually helps readability, what style feels like us, and what kind of stories I want to tell here. With more content on the site, it also makes sense to look backwards: linking older posts where it’s useful, smoothing a few rough edges, and giving some early pieces a little attention. No massive rewrites. Just spending time with the posts that deserve a bit of love.
Richard’s resolutions
More local travel — Growing up in Australia, it was easy to believe that “travel” meant “overseas.” On an island continent where most destinations are an 8–15 hour flight away (and Europe far longer), that mindset sticks. Yet I live in a city the world wants to visit. Sydney is framed by mountains, coastlines and bushland; the country is girt by domestic islands that are tropical paradises in their own right. Decamillennia of First Nations culture sits beneath my feet, and Papua New Guinea, Fiji, New Caledonia, Vanuatu and New Zealand are only three or four hours away by plane.
Get out of my comfort zones — When Disney Cruise Line arrived in Australia just over two years ago, we quickly became frequent sailors. If they hadn’t withdrawn from the region this year, I’d probably still be happily looping the same itineraries. But I sometimes wake with the almost desperate realisation that there’s so much more of the world to see. Some of that repetition is anxiety-driven; when I’m stressed, it’s easy to retreat into the warm blanket of the familiar. So this is a conscious push to try something new, whether in places I know well or somewhere entirely different.
Writing — I’ve long kept a travel diary, part reflection, part scrapbook for stamps, stickers and other ephemera. Rereading last year’s entries, it’s clear the strongest pieces aren’t the itineraries, but the small moments, people and oddities that surface while travelling. This year, I’m starting a new volume with the aim of refining my writing, experimenting with form and continuing to hone my craft.