The Travel Resolutions Our Editors Are Making for the New Year

22.12.2023 - 14:13 / cntraveler.com / Meaghan Kenny / Art

The arrival of a new calendar year is as good a reason as any to look back on our past journeys and determine some new travel resolutions for the year ahead. Whenever the holidays roll around, we here at Condé Nast Traveler like to take stock of what we can fine-tune or do better for the next time we hit the road—or sky or seas—whether it's about airport strategies or how we engage with the people and neighborhoods we find at our next destination. What worked well and what should we keep doing? What do we want to change and improve? So we asked each other to fill in the blanks: In 2014, I resolve to…

Here are some of our answers to those questions—may they invite you to reflect on your own travel resolutions for the coming year. Happy new year, and cheers to new and better adventures to come.

I’ve always loved to travel with friends and family, and while enjoying someone’s company can make a trip more memorable, there won’t always be someone willing to take every trip with you. This coming year, I hope to take my first solo trip (and second, and third) because I think learning to really sit with that uncomfortable feeling of being alone and not having a crutch to rely on can lead to some incredible experiences. When you travel alone, you’re more likely to meet new people, try things you may have never done, and learn more about yourself. There’s something so special about exploring a new city on your own terms—doing exactly what you want and not having to think about pleasing anyone else. —Jamie Spain, travel bookings editor

Every time my big vacation of the year approaches, I feel this imaginary pressure to buy a whole new wardrobe—memorable, vacation-ready pieces I’ll live in all trip long. Truth is, I love my basics! When it comes time to get dressed on vacation, I reach for my tried-and-true essentials—that white tank top I’ve had for years, my go-to pair of denim, those comfy sandals I know I can actually walk in for hours, you know what I mean. I’m hoping to win back some extra luggage space (and money) and ignore the “I have nothing to wear” nonsense before I travel in 2024. —Meaghan Kenny, associate commerce editor

After getting married last year, my partner and I have been busy with big milestones—moving into a new home, remodeling it, focusing on big work opportunities—and less focused on the adventurous, winging-it type of trips we’ve always planned for just the two of us. The travel we have done recently has been less about ourselves, and more to and from family, as matriarchs have gotten older and we’ve assumed a clearer vision of what’s most important. So this year, I’d like to meld those two things together with a return to taking multi-generational trips to new places with our