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10 of the best travel quotes of all time

If you ever needed inspiration to travel, then hopefully these quotes will offer just that. Here are ten of our favourites which we hope will inspire you to get out and see more of the world in which we live. Please tell us your favourites (whether they be listed here or not) by submitting a comment at the end… “Once a year, go some place you’ve never been before.” Dalai Lama Travel quote “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” St. Augustine Travel quote “A good traveller has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.” Lao Tzu Travel quote “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the things you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour and catch the Trade Winds in your sails.” Mark Twain Travel quote “Remember happiness is a way of travel not a destination.” Roy Goodman Travel quote “Not all those who wander are lost.” J.R.R. Tolkein Travel quote “I haven’t been everywhere but it’s on my list.” Susan Sontag (photo courtesy of Seattle Dredge) Travel quote “No one realises how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” Lin Yutang Travel quote “We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.” Hilaire Belloc Travel quote “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” Mark Twain Travel quote

Paul Johnson

Paul Johnson is Editor of A Luxury Travel Blog and has worked in the travel industry for more than 30 years. He is Winner of the Innovations in Travel ‘Best Travel Influencer’ Award from WIRED magazine. In addition to other awards, the blog has also been voted “one of the world’s best travel blogs” and “best for luxury” by The Daily Telegraph.

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45 Comments

  1. Oh I completely missed the last one. :-) the one about sailing away from the safe harbour and regretting things I didn’t do.

  2. Tolkien gets my vote:

    Not all those who wander are lost.” J.R.R. Tolkein –

    Brilliant :-)

    I also like: It is better to travel well than to arrive. Buddha

  3. It’s not necessarily about travel, but I like to take it literally: “When a great ship is in harbor and moored, it is safe, there can be no doubt. But that is not what great ships are built for.”

  4. The one from St. Augustine is on the cover my journal, but my new fav must be the last one by Mark Twain about travel being “fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow mindedness”. I would sum it up by adding one word – “ignorance”.

  5. Way too many times, we hear so much negativity about countries, but we go anyways, to throw away all the prejudices and preconceived notions. This quote is one of my favorites and is perfect for those situations.
    “To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.” – Aldous Huxley

  6. ‘Tis better to have traveled and gotten lost than never to have traveled at all (in fact, the getting lost is sometimes the most valuable part).

    – Dan Brook

  7. “It’s not what you spend or pack that makes your trip memorable; it’s the state of mind you bring. … Savor the differences. … Be ready to ad-lib, to be imaginative while conquering surprise challenges. Make an art out of taking the unexpected in stride. … Good travelers – like skiers bending their knees to make moguls more fun – enjoy the bumps in the road. … Don’t complicate your trip: simplify! Travelers can get stressed or waste time over the silliest things, which, in their niggling ways, can suffocate a happy holiday. … Avoid unnecessary burdens. … Ask questions all along the way. Make yourself an extrovert, even if you’re not. … Don’t be afraid to butcher the language. … Be a catalyst for adventure and excitement. … Be open-minded. Absorb, accept, and learn. Much of the success of your trip will depend on the attitude you pack. If you can think positively, travel smartly, adapt well, and connect with the culture, you’ll have a truly rich … trip. So raise your travel dreams to their upright and locked positions, and let yourself fly away.” – Rick Steves

  8. i just couldn’t choose between these two: “Once a year, go some place you’e never been before.” Dalai Lama

    and

    “I haven’t been everywhere but it’s on my list.” -Susan Sontag

  9. My favorite is, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” Mark Twain
    Yet another reason to travel with children and establish those mindsets early in life!

  10. Here’s an old favorite of mine by Sir Francis Drake: “It isn’t that life ashore is distasteful to me. But life at sea is better.”

  11. thanks for these wonderful quotes! we repined some on our Pinterest board. Here is one of our favorite quotes: “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”
    – Henry Miller

  12. I would like to offer the corollary: “I am not the same having drunk the moonshine on the other side of the world.”

  13. I was on a bus in Thailand going to Laos when we stopped in a small village to eat and rest a bit and found a book of poetry by Stevie Smith someone haf left. One of my favorite lines: Do you hear the north wind outside the window? He calls me, do you think I should stay when I can so easily go?

  14. Ok, how about this?
    “Travel is an addiction. There is no cure, the only treatment is planning your next trip”
    -unknown

  15. Make sure you travel to Nepal before dying. Besides the highest peak on Earth, it is a paradise on Earth! You can literally see mountains floating on an ocean of white clouds, and you can see how nature has woven time and space differently in certain locations such as the Crystal Mountain that will intice your mind!!!

  16. Hi Paul. Great inspiring quotes in your post.

    How about this one From Nelson Mandela…fitting for this week:
    “Tread Softly, Breathe Peacefully, Laugh Hysterically.”

    And here are a couple of others that I like:
    “Not till we are lost do we begin to find ourselves.”
    and “Replace the fear of the unknown with curiosity.”

    And what about one from the legendary Dr. Seuss:
    “You’re off to great places.
    Today is your day.
    Your mountain is waiting.
    So get on your way.”

  17. @Michle i am agree with you. Once in a life you must have to visit the Himalaya Kingdom of Earth, where every guest are treated as GOD. In every corner of street statue are waiting to greet you , the Open museum of Nature and Culture. Naturally Nepal Once is not Enough.

  18. Not directly about travel, but a great quote. I was on the Helsinki-Tallin ferry a week or so ago (Tallinn is amazing by the way if you’ve not been) and I saw an ad for Finlandia Vodka – loved the bit at the bottom, which read:

    “Live Magnificently. Drink Responsibly.”

    Great way to liven up some otherwise dull small print. And definitely a good one for travellers :o)

    The ‘everywhere’ quote is definitely my favourite!

  19. Brilliant, love it! Going totally off topic, my favourite quote ever is a Groucho Marx one, on leaving a party:

    “I’ve had a wonderful evening, but this wasn’t it.”

    :o)

  20. Love these. My son is travelling (again) and it makes me giddy thinking about him when I read these inspiring quotes.

    So jealous, can’t wait to retire.

  21. We tented for a month in Africa last year and the cover of my travel journal I wrote in each day was “It always seems impossible until it is done” by Nelson Mandela

    I enjoyed the other quotes too. Thanks!

  22. I’ve been to a heck of a lot of places in the world, but there’s always something pulling me home.
    However, I’m so glad I have had the opportunity and I realise just how fortunate I have been and so much wiser. One day I will go visit those hidden places in good ole GB(I hope).

  23. Happiness is a way of travel not the destination,. this one is epic! the greater happiness is found in travelling and discovering new destinations and culture.. That feeling!

  24. I really like quote “Once a year, go some place you’ve never been before.” Dalai Lama. This makes lot of difference in a life and brings happiness. We should find some time to go places which we never been.

  25. Thanks for your useful tips. Thank for sharing this list with awesome picture.
    Great way to liven up some otherwise dull small print. And definitely a good one for travellers :o)

    The ‘everywhere’ quote is definitely my favourite!

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