Travel wishlist for 2019 – my resolutions

January 1 has always seemed like the worst possible day to make resolutions – cold and dark, plus you’re probably tired and hungover. Not surprising that most of us last between two and four weeks before giving up entirely – which is why I stick to making travel resolutions these days rather than a ruthless life overhaul.

And for the past couple of years, I’ve aimed for travel goals – a travel wishlist rather than a restrictive checklist of specific places to visit. As with last year, I’ve been struggling slightly about what to include: my list of places I’d love to visit is as long as ever, and my ability to stick to a list is as erratic as ever (I feel like a travel magpie, distracted by the newest shiniest latest destination I come across).

But having just looked back over our family travel of 2018, it was fun to be able to compare what we did to what I’d planned. So why fight it? I’m always going to be spontaneously booking and stumbling across places as the months go by rather than carefully researching a year or two ahead (for good or ill!). Let me know anywhere which you think should be on shortlist… but for now, here’s my 2019 travel wishlist.

Visit somewhere new

Well… that’s an easy one, and one I can guarantee I’ll have done by the end of February. My sole trip confirmed for 2019 is to Kerala for a friend’s wedding: my first visit to India, somewhere I’ve always wanted to see, I’ve still got some planning and booking to do but I’m hoping to cruise the backwaters, discover Fort Kochi and head into the hills.

This time I’m travelling with friends (although I’m managing to be away over half-term all the same!) so I feel there ought to be somewhere else new on the list for me and Minnie to discover together as well. A new country in Africa perhaps, a continent I’ve barely begun to explore. Namibia has been on my mental wishlist for a while, could this be the year?

Or Latin America – we haven’t got closer than the southern states of the US or the Caribbean since she was born, and it’s also somewhere I’ve visited very little. Costa Rica is down for the future, when Minnie is a bit older, but I’m being tempted by thoughts of Belize or Guatemala.

Plan a ‘big’ trip

I loved our UK summer, with a string of short breaks away discovering places from my own childhood with my daughter, revisiting some old favourites and managing to see city and beach. But I did miss having a ‘big’ break – in 2017 we had two weeks in Cambodia, the year before in Burma.

And while we didn’t miss out on a taste of South East Asia, with our Langkawi escape, that was definitely more of a chance to relax in the sun for a week. Japan is another destination that we’d all love to see, but I suspect that’s not going to happen for practical reasons this year. Vietnam is also still on the list.

I’d love to head a little further off the beaten track – Reunion, for the Indian Ocean with a difference, or Sao Tome and Principe, for example. Then again, a bit of beaten track does help when you’re travelling solo with a six/seven-year-old…

And when Laura on my Facebook page reminded me that the South Pacific was on my 2018 wishlist, it got me thinking. That definitely counts as a big trip!

Then again, I’m tempted to take a cruise – we both had a little taste, on board Norwegian Bliss and Celebrity Silhouette respectively. Perhaps some Caribbean sun (Guadeloupe sounds lovely) or the eastern Med? Decisions decisions…

See more of Europe

After our city breaks in Tallinn and Helsinki, as well as Porto, I’d love to add a couple of European cities to the 2019 list. Seville is another long-term contender (and I found myself researching cheap flights, and whether I could add Cordoba and Segovia on with the high-speed trains… hmmm, I think I could) along with Split.

Note to self: set up a flight tracker!

I’d also love to head off the beaten track in Europe (a bit easier than Reunion or Sao Tome!) – Georgia, Romania, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina have all caught my eye too.

Go to the Tower of London

One of my favourite places in London, only a short tube ride away, and my daughter is almost as fascinated by castles as I am. And I’ve been intending to go with her for at least a year. If I don’t fit this in over the next 365 days, you have permission to frog march me to Tower Hill!

Having started last year with no days out or trips in January at all (blaming the house move for that), I want to fit a day trip in at least once a month – there’s plenty more London for me to discover, let alone all the places we could reach within an hour or so.

Do something unexpected

Given my lamentable lack of planning, that’s another one which should be easy to keep. This time last year, I had one trip booked and was already hoping to make Lapland a reality… but you could argue everything else from 2018 was unexpected.

As my only confirmed trip is to Kerala (albeit with a another possible waiting for confirmation: fingers crossed), I’m guessing this should be an easy one to achieve as well.

I do love the idea of looking back and realising that I had no idea we’d be visiting this particular place when the year started – I wonder where it will end up being?

 

Main image courtesy of Depositphotos, all others copyright MummyTravels

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