Travel Quotes – rebeccawanderlusting

Travel Inspiring Quotes by Female Authors

I’ve already done the male version of this, so now it’s time to let my feminist heart soar. Not only do quotes about travel make me want to go out and see the world, but they reaffirm my reasons for traveling. Which are to broaden my knowledge of cultures and customs, to be independent and find my own way, and to write about all I experience. There have of course been many before me who have paved the way, and I’m forever grateful for their inspiration and words of wisdom. Below are my five favorite travel inspiring quotes by fellow female adventurers:

“I’m not telling you to make the world better, because I don’t think that progress is necessarily part of the package. I’m just telling you to live in it. Not to endure it, not just to suffer it, not just to pass through it, but to live in it. To look at it. To try to get the picture. To live recklessly. To take chances. To make your own work and take pride in it.” – Joan Didion. I love JD. She’s a marvelous writer and an inspiration to women everywhere. This quote is a great reminder to do more than just move mindlessly from day to day.
“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.”- Maya Angelou. Travel can turn stereotypes and prejudices on their heads, and help the traveler understand new cultures and customs. Maya Angelou perfectly captures that magic in this quote.
“Whatever you choose, however many roads you travel, I hope that you choose not to be a lady. I hope you will find some way to break the rules and make a little trouble out there. And I also hope that you will choose to make some of that trouble on behalf of women” – Nora Ephron. You don’t always have to be perfect, made-up and on your best behavior. This quote embodies what it’s like to be a woman on the road. Be daring, be rebellious and do you – love, Ms. Ephron.
“If adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad.” – Jane Austen. This quote feels personal to me, as I’m from such a small town. Growing up where I did, I never would have dreamed I would have had the experiences that I’ve had. This quote is a call to action to anybody who’s immediate realm seems minuscule compared to the great, wide world out there.
“I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, ‘This is what it is to be happy’.” – Sylvia Plath. Ms. Plath was such an amazing writer and poet, and each of her lines resonates with many of her readers. This quote perfectly describes the feeling I get each time I arrive in a new destination and take it in for the first time.

What are your favorite travel inspiring quotes? What author has inspired you most?

Travel Inspiring Quotes (Part 1)

Welcome to my newest weekly feature, Top Five Fridays!

For my first edition, I wanted to quote some of my favorite writers speaking about my favorite subject: travel. Some of my biggest travel inspirations have been found in books and essays. And, in my humble opinion, travel and tales go hand in hand. Whether it’s been a book that I’ve read on the road, or a book that has inspired me to get on said road, most of my travel memories have been paired with good books. So with that, I give you my Top Five Travel Inspiring Quotes, the Male Author Edition:

“Stuff your eyes with wonder. Live as if you’d drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.” – Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451: The original and more eloquent “YOLO”. This book gets truer and more poignant with each passing year, and the quote itself is a serious call to action. Get out there! See the world! Adventure awaits!
Midwest is Best

“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely of places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” – Roald Dahl, The Minpins: A whimsical and thoughtful reminder that you don’t have to travel far to find the beauty in the world. Some of my favorite trips have been short excursions to explore my own city and state.

“Wandering is the most addictive drug there is, I think, and every hidden road leads to a dozen more.” – Stephen King, Wolves of The Calla (Dark Towers Series, Book 5): This is an accurate statement that all travel addicts know to be true. Once the travel bug bites, it’s hard to shake. Luckily, the only thing that is harmed with this addiction is my savings account.

Jean Lafitte National Park, New Orleans, LA

“So we shall let the reader answer this question for himself: who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed?” – Hunter S. Thompson: A simple answer, really. And one that leads me to another great, travel-inspiring quote: “Do not wait for your ship to come in, swim out to it.”

“Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain.” – Jack Keruoac, The Dharma Bums: This quote is perhaps the one that inspires me the most at the moment, as I attempt to balance my travel writing with a corporate 9 to 5 job. But! It’s also a great reminder to make no excuses. Desk jobs are a dime a dozen, but travel experience is irreplaceable.
Climb that goddamn mountain.

Stay tuned for more Top Five Fridays!