The things you miss most about travel

The planning and anticipation

“I miss the excitement of researching a trip prior to leaving home which would include travel there, options of places to stay and places to visit and activities that are available but not necessarily booking too much in advance.”

- Peggy Martin

“I really miss getting new guidebooks, sorting out a few silk sarongs and swimsuits, and escaping!”

- Linda Gemesi

“I miss spending all my time researching where I am going to go, finding the best prices, prepping at the beauticians (I fake tan before I go lol), cleaning the flat before I leave, telling other people to look after my pets, getting stressed about packing and getting up early…”

- Sue Abrahams

“I miss the exciting anticipation of knowing I am going somewhere I have never been. The run up to a trip – making plans, researching the area is half the fun.”

- Teresa Williams

“Getting out of the taxi at the airport.”

- Michael Butler

“That feeling of excitement and anticipation when you arrive at an airport and are about to embark on an adventure. Arriving a little early so that you can browse the airport shops, have a coffee or glass of bubbles and stock up on holiday magazines and aeroplane snacks. It is almost better than the trip itself!”

- Lynelle Swanepoet

“The stomach flutters while waiting for boarding."

- Debbie Dahan

“The excitement waiting to board the outbound flight and not quite knowing what to expect in a new destination...”

- Patricia Bucknall

The travelling and arriving

“I miss the travelling, people watching at airports. Borders and boats, trains and buses, and walking new paths.”

- Andrew Noble

“Being a redundant pilot, I miss flying towards the rising sun on an early morning flight, and the brilliant blue skies above the clouds.”

- Judith Mitchell

“That transfer from the airport to the hotel and having that first look at the city that will be home for the next few days. No guidebook or website can beat that feeling and your thoughts as you see the city pass by as you look through the train or car window. The city smells, atmosphere, the traffic.”

- Paul Sandel

“I miss the smell of the air at night when you arrive after a long-haul flight; the jasmine and ginger lilies; the hot, steamy air and waking the next morning full of excitement to discover what you couldn’t see last night.”

- Fiona Parr

“The warm air hitting you as you step off the plane, the sound of crickets, the adopted carefree holiday attitude, people/culture watching behind the comfort of dark sunglasses.”

- Maria Cleverly

“I miss getting in my hire car and putting the window down and getting on the open road en route to my destination.  I miss popping the first bottle of wine that first evening, the crickets chirping in the fields, the smell of lavender in French fields.  I miss it all, even the insect bites!”

- Martin King

“Hiring a jeep, no destination in mind, just seeing where the road takes us. The freedom! The unexpected! The hidden and unexplored gems that other people miss. I miss pulling over to the side of the road for a spectacular view, or to buy something from a street vendor and to feel the fresh air rush past on to the next unknown destination. I long for that next adventure.”

- Rebecca Bromwich

“Arriving in a new place, and launching yourself out into the streets to find out more.”

- Chris Goddard

“I miss the sounds and smells of a new place hitting my senses as I step foot into a new place for the first time.”

- David Harrington

“That slight feeling of disorientation as you wake up somewhere new – then the smile as you remember you are on holiday.”

- Mark Adamson

“I miss forgetting where I am when I wake up!”

- Jill Douglas

“I miss that first morning when you wake up somewhere new, with new smells and sounds everywhere. Whether it is the sound of a call to prayer, a hippo chuckling or spices in the air. Experiencing another culture isn't an intellectual exercise, it's a sensory one.”

- Isobel McVey

“I miss the sounds of early morning, when you wake from your sleep and you instantly know you are not at home but in someone else's home, where all these unfamiliar sounds are their everyday and most probably go unnoticed. I love to lie awake and just listen.”

- Andrea Hickling

“Stepping off an aeroplane on holiday, feeling the wall of heat hit you, knowing I have a week to lie by the pool, catch up with my Kindle and explore different places to eat every night.”

- Judith Mitchell

Being there

“Watching the same sun rise in a new place where the colours, scents and sounds are different to home, but familiar at the same time. There's no better way to get a sense of perspective on the world.”

- Justine Johnstone

“A different view from the window...”

- MJ McKay

“Reading (and laughing at) those instructions you'll find in most hotel rooms that have been poorly translated into English.”

- Eamonn Wright

“I miss finding that one special cafe or restaurant; the one all the guidebooks rave about, or a wise friend recommended, the one you found last time and can't wait to return to, or perhaps best of all the one you stumbled on by chance and then wanted to dine at every day of your holiday.”

- Heather Mackin

“I miss the excitement of living and breathing the experience of a new country. The tastes, smells and culture are what I miss terribly. I can not wait to travel again.”

- Sue Feist

“I miss all the chemical responses that my body produces when I am adventuring as I travel, causing the feel-good factor, happiness, tranquillity etc.  The feeling of living.”

- Linda Saunders

“As counter-intuitive as it may seem, I really miss the true feeling of being alone; only you to rely on and to make important decisions, being alone with your thoughts.”

- Antonia Majcher

“The smell of a new place”

- Michael Cowan

“Watching and pretending to understand all the wonderful and weird foreign TV shows.”

- Rebecca Hay

“The thing I miss most about travelling is the people you meet. I love meeting travellers from all over the world and experiencing their cultures. I miss being able to listen to and share travel stories with others and getting suggestions for the next place I visit. It's also great to make friends all over the world so that next time you travel, you may even have a place to crash as well as a personal tour guide!”

- Nicole Garratty

“I miss sitting in beautiful squares drinking coffee and people watching. It’s the best way to learn about a country.”

- James Kinnear

“The searing sun on my back, the icy wind blasting on my face.”

- Andrew MacGregor

“Meeting people with different backgrounds and world views; exploring new and unique environments; seeing endemic flora and fauna in their natural environments; and sampling exotic food made by locals in their home countries.”

- Brittany Rohm

“"Unusual experiences", ie, meeting Chief Yali in a Dani village in Wamena and watching the celebrations, then the following day in our hotel, by chance seeing Yali and inviting him to join us for lunch, just with his penis sheath on! Not many people experience this! But you soon forget and enjoy their company.”

- Anne Banks

“Really miss writing up my travel journal each night describing my day – which interesting place I’ve visited and who I have spoken to – realising how lucky I am to be able to do this.”

- Pauline Dennison

“Getting lost. Sometimes it is nice just to walk around and enjoy the place visited, I once went for a break to Luxembourg and got "lost" but saw a bar carved into rock.”

- Kenneth Parker

“Embracing a heightened sense of curiosity. Whether trying some stuttering linguistics, sampling new delicacies, or a wander/paddle/pedal of discovery, because you'll probably never have that same chance again.”

- Lloyd Cameron

 “The actual journey getting from A to B and the sights are stop offs on the way. I love the cultures, languages, customs, lifestyles, different diets, religions and currencies. I am in my favourite place when I am travelling to anywhere. For me, travelling means to live.”

- Valerie Brammer