100+ Short Travel Quotes to Rev Up Your Wanderlust

Nothing like some short quotes on travel to spark that good ol’ wanderlust. Whether I’m planning my next adventure or reminiscing about past journeys, travel sayings have a way of stirring my soul and fueling my passion for exploration.

These short travel quotes are not only perfect for sprucing up Instagram captions; they also serve as reminders of the transformative power of travel.

So, fasten your seat belt, dear fellow adventurer, and immerse yourself in these quotes (there are over a 100!) that succinctly capture the essence of travel.

FAMOUS SHORT TRAVEL QUOTES

1. “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” –
― Saint Augustine

2. “Traveling—it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.”
― Ibn Battuta

3. “Not all those who wander are lost.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien

4. “To travel is to live.”
― Hans Christian Andersen

5. “A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”
― Lao Tzu

I especially love this quote. So often we get caught up in the glamor and glitz of Instagram influencers jet-setting around the globe, giving us serious travel FOMO. Yet we forget to appreciate the beauty in our own backyard. Travel isn’t just about distant destinations; it’s about embracing the adventure right outside our door. 

After all, as Lao Tzu said, every journey begins with that first step. So, tell me, when was the last time you played tourist in your own city? When did you last wander through its streets with the eyes of a traveler?

 6. “Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.”
― Gustave Flaubert

7. “Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.”
― Dalai Lama

8. “We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.”
― Unknown

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

10. “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by.”
― Robert Frost

11. “Travel is about the gorgeous feeling of teetering in the unknown.”
― Anthony Bourdain

12. “The journey not the arrival matters.”
― T.S. Eliot

13. “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.”
― Mark Twain

14. “Take only memories, leave only footprints.”
― Chief Seattle

15. “Travel far enough, you meet yourself.”
― David Mitchell

INSPIRATIONAL SHORT TRAVEL QUOTES

16. “Live your life by a compass, not a clock.”
― Stephen Covey

17. “A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.”
― John A. Shedd

18. “Travel is the best teacher. The only way to an open mind is by taking a plane out into the open world.”
― C. JoyBell C.

19. “Traveling is not something you’re good at. It’s something you do. Like breathing.”
― Gayle Foreman

20. “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences.”
― Eleanor Roosevelt

21. “Life is short and the world is wide, the sooner you start exploring it, the better.”
― Simon Raven

22. “Travel is like knowledge: the more you see, the more you know you haven’t seen.”
― Mark Hertsgaard

23. “Don’t listen to what they say. Go see.”
― Chinese Proverb

24. “The journey is the destination.”
― Dan Eldon

25 .”Traveling is not a race; it’s a dance. Enjoy every step, and let the world be your partner.”
― Unknown

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26. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.”
― Mark Twain

This timeless travel quote by Mark Twain hits home. It is the experiences we pass up that linger as regrets. The quote is a fierce reminder to seize each moment, to explore, to dare, and to live fully, for in the end, it’s the memories of our courageous leaps that color the canvas of our existence.

27. “Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.”
― Andre Gide

28. “Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.”
― Miriam Beard

29. “The world is too big to stay in one place and life is too short to do just one thing.”
― Unknown

30. “Travel far, travel wide, and never lose your sense of wonder.”
― Unknown

FUNNY SHORT TRAVEL QUOTES

31. “Traveling is like flirting with life. It’s like saying, ‘I would stay and love you, but I have to go; this is my station.”
― Lisa St. Aubin de Terán

32. “I need a six-month vacation, twice a year.”
― Unknown

33. “I travel a lot; I hate having my life disrupted by routine.”
― Caskie Stinnett

34. “Life is an adventure, it’s not a package tour.”
― Eckhart Tolle

35. “I’ve got 99 problems, but a vacation would solve all of them.”
― Unknown

36. “I’m a travel addict on the road to recovery. Just kidding, I’m on the road to the airport.”
― Unknown

37. “The worst thing about being a tourist is having other tourists recognize you as a tourist.”
― Russell Baker

38. “I always wonder why birds stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on earth. Then I ask myself the same question.”
― Harun Yahya

39. “Airplane travel is nature’s way of making you look like your passport photo.”
― Al Gore

40. “The greatest achievement of modern civilization is not indoor plumbing or air travel, but rather the ability to complain about them endlessly.”
― Bill Bryson

In my opinion, Bill Bryson is the funniest travel writer there ever was. His wit is sharper than a well-packed suitcase and his humor more infectious than a bout of traveler’s diarrhea. 😉

Bryson’s travel quotes are worthy of being jotted down in a journal, to revisit on rainy days or during long layovers. I highly recommend reading some of his funniest travel books for a hearty dose of laughter and wanderlust.

41. “Travel is glamorous only in retrospect.”
― Paul Theroux

UNIQUE SHORT TRAVEL QUOTES

42. “When overseas you learn more about your own country than you do the place you’re visiting.”
― Clint Borgen

Why this quote is relatable is because it encapsulates the perspective that comes with travel. Exploring foreign lands often serves as a mirror, reflecting both the beauty and the imperfections of our own homeland. Being immersed in a different environment forces us to step outside our comfort zones and see our country through new eyes. We not only discover the world but also develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of our own culture.

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43. “To travel is to take a journey into yourself.”
― Danny Kaye

44. “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”
― Marcel Proust

45. “Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends.”
― Cesare Pavese

46. “Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe.”
― Anatole France

47. “Traveling tends to magnify all human emotions.”
― Peter Hoeg

48. “You can shake the sand from your shoes, but it will never leave your soul.”
― Unknown

49. “We wander for distraction but we travel for fulfillment.”
― Hilaire Belloc

50. “Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.”
― Anita Desai

51. “Every dreamer knows that it is entirely possible to be homesick for a place you’ve never been to, perhaps more homesick than for familiar ground.”
― Judith Thurman

52. “The best souvenirs from your travels are not the trinkets you bring back home, but the memories you carry in your heart.”
― Unknown

53. Every once in a while, I hope you remember to let life blow you away a bit.
― Tanya Bindra

Took the liberty of throwing in a quote by yours truly as well 😉 I hope this short quote on travel (and life, too) resonates with you as much as it does with me!

54. “Traveling is not just seeing the new; it is also leaving behind.”
― Jan Myrdal

55. “Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you.”
― Anthony Bourdain

Renowned for his fearless exploration of diverse cultures and cuisines, Bourdain’s profound insights and candid narratives have inspired countless adventurers worldwide. This short travel quote captures that zest for unequivocally embracing the journey. Travel is a lot of things, some good and some bad. What makes it worthwhile is taking what it throws our way and running with it.

56. “Travel is never a matter of money, but of courage.”
― Paulo Coelho

57. “The impulse to travel is one of the hopeful symptoms of life.”
― Agnes Repplier

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SHORT TRAVEL ADVENTURE QUOTES

58. “Adventure is worthwhile.”
― Aesop

59. “Jobs fill your pocket, but adventures fill your soul.”
― Jamie Lyn Beatty

60.  “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.”
― Helen Keller

61. “The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.”
― Oprah Winfrey

62. “Oh, the places you’ll go!”
― Dr. Seuss

63. “Adventure awaits at the edge of your comfort zone.”
― Unknown

64. “Every exit is an entry somewhere else.”
― Tom Stoppard

65. “Adventure is calling, and I must go.”
― Unknown

While this quote may border on cliché, its timeless allure resounds deeply within the restless soul. Even in the mundane routines of daily life, endless possibilities for adventure are waiting to be embraced. Whether it’s trying a new cuisine, exploring a nearby hiking trail, or striking up a conversation with a stranger, there are plenty of everyday adventure ideas beckoning you to seek the thrill in the ordinary.

66. “It is not down in any map; true places never are.”
― Herman Melville

67. “How wild it was, to let it be.”
― Cheryl Strayed

68. “You must go on adventures to find out where you truly belong.”
― Sue Fitzmaurice

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HAPPY SHORT TRAVEL QUOTES

69. “There are no happy endings in travel, because nothing ends.”
― Bill Bryson

70. “To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world.”
― Freya Stark

71. “The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.”
― W.B. Yeats

72. One of the great things about travel is that you find out how many good, kind people there are.”
― Edith Wharton

This is something I realized recently while visiting Paris solo. The kindness and empathy complete strangers showed me is hard to describe in words, especially for a city whose people get a bad rap for being ‘rude’.

73. “To travel is to live with intention, to explore with curiosity, and to embrace every moment with gratitude.”
― Unknown

74. “Wherever you go, go with all your heart.”
― Confucius

75. “Happiness is the sound of waves crashing and the feeling of sand between your toes.”
― Unknown

Oh, what I would give to be at the beach right now! If happiness had a soundtrack, it would surely be the rhythmic ebb and flow of the ocean and the melting of sand underfoot. From the sun-kissed shores of Phuket to the tranquil coastlines of the Caribbean, nothing compares to a good ol’ beach vacation!

SHORT SOLO TRAVEL QUOTES

76. “The world is big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark.”
― John Muir

77. “A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.”
― Lao Tzu

78. “I travel because it makes me realize how much I haven’t seen, how much I’m not going to see, and how much I still need to see.”
― Carew Papritz

79. “You go away for a long time and return a different person – you never come all the way back.”
― Paul Theroux

80. “There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.”
― Robert Louis Stevenson

81. “A nomad I will remain for life, in love with distant and uncharted places.”
― Isabelle Eberhardt

82. “Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves, and so I chose to tell myself a different story from the one women are told.”
― Cheryl Strayed

Fear is often rooted in the narratives we construct about ourselves and the world around us. This travel quote emphasizes how we can consciously choose to rewrite those narratives. Solo travel, especially as a woman, is daunting. Yet, if we trust the process and tell ourselves a different story—one of safety, strength, and bravery— it can unlock the door to remarkable self-discovery.

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83. “Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road.”
― Walt Whitman

84. “I travel not to go anywhere but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.”
― Robert Louis Stevenson

SHORT QUOTES ON TRAVEL WITH FRIENDS

85. “A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.”
― Tim Cahill

86. “The best things in life are the people we love, the places we’ve been, and the memories we’ve made along the way.”
― Unknown

87. “There are three things you can never get enough of in life: chocolate, friends, and the theatre.”
― Bill Bryson

88. “The more I traveled, the more I realized fear makes strangers of people who should be friends.”
― Shirley MacLaine

89. “There’s not a word yet, for old friends who’ve just met.”
― Jim Henson

90. “When traveling with someone, take large doses of patience and tolerance with your morning coffee.”
― Helen Hayes

SHORT TRAVEL QUOTES FOR COUPLES

91. “Together, we write a story of love in the pages of the world.”
― Victor Hugo

92. “Love and travel go hand in hand.”
― Unknown

93. “Will you give me yourself? Will you come travel with me? Shall we stick by each other as long as we live?”
― Walt Whitman

94. “As soon as I saw you, I knew an adventure was about to happen.”
― A. A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh

95. “Together is a beautiful place to be.”
― Unknown

96. “I would like to travel the world with you twice. Once to see the world. Twice, to see the way you see the world.” – Unknown

SHORT FAMILY TRAVEL QUOTES

97. “Home is not where you live, but where they understand you.”
― Christian Morgenstern

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98. “Traveling in the company of those we love is home in motion.”
― Leigh Hunt

99. “Family is where the journey begins and love never ends.”
― Unknown

100. “The greatest legacy we can leave our children is happy memories.”
― Og Mandino

101. “In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years, especially when spent with family.”
― Abraham Lincoln

SHORT TRAVEL CAPTIONS FOR INSTAGRAM

102. “Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.”
― Unknown

103. “The best dreams happen when you’re awake.”
― Cherie Gilderbloom

104. “The journey itself is my home.”
― Matsuo Basho

105. “The best stories are found between the pages of a passport.”
― Unknown

106. “I am not the same, having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.”
― Mary Anne Radmacher

107. “Let’s wander where the Wi-Fi is weak.” ― Unknown

108. “I’m in love with cities I’ve never been to and people I’ve never met.”
― Melody Truon

109. “Wanderlust: A desire to travel, to understand one’s very existence.”
― Unknown

110. “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
― Mary Oliver

Which of these short travel quotes resonated the most with you?

I hope the quotes on this list did a solid job scratching that wanderlust itch.

That’s the thing about travel quotes – like snapshots of inspiration, they linger in our minds, fueling our ‘fernweh’ and beckoning us to embark on new adventures, one word at a time.

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