While reminiscing about the prior travel year, we look ahead to 2025, and we couldn't stop thinking about the travel trends that we saw appearing lately.
We offer a unique perspective as travel guide curators, vacation rental owners in Goa, and our Austrian touristy alpine home base adds another layer of point of view to the picture.
I explore the most common travel trends in this post and how they could define the way you book and prepare for your imminent voyage in 2025.
Travel Where No Influencer Has Been
I don't know about y'll, but the world is tired of influencers and the phony vibe that they radiate.
Gone are the days of picture-perfect Instagram getaways because, well, they are either overrun by visitors or it was all a photoshopped AI experience that didn't exist in the first place.
I'll tell you a hidden truth, popular influencers rarely come across great places on their own. They copycat, they use ChatGPT, they have assistants, and they get promoted by those who have the deepest pockets in the industry.
Once you recognize the folie of it all, you will stumble upon intriguing places and spots where no influencer has been, and it will be freeing!
Coolcation
I heard the term coolcation for the first time from the World Economic Forum.
A couple of excessively hot summer months later, and we yearn for cooler temperatures when others head to the beach in Italy or Spain.
Coolcation is to seek cooler temperature in the hot summer months.
In July 2024, we decided to visit the Romanian Carpathian Mountains, thinking that we would avoid hot European summer days. We were surprised by daily 100° Fahrenheit (38° Celsius) conditions, and we were not the only ones to complain about the sudden weather change.
Consequently, a rising number of travelers choose to book trips to cooler places and summits, and this trend won't end so soon.
Bonus Detour Escapes
Bonus detour escapes are places that were not part of your initial trip itinerary. These are often day trips from a major travel destination, and they enrich your travel experience greatly.
That means, you pick a base where you visit the main attractions of your prime destination and on the following days you make arrangements to visit dazzling places nearby that are probably not that well known yet.
For example, if you are in Verona, Italy, you could plan a visit to Trento, a Renaissance city at the base of the dolomite mountain range.
More such examples include:
- Budapest — Győr, one of the prettiest towns in Hungary.
- Munich — Augsburg, the city named after a Roman Emperor, which counted one of the richest men alive as their own.
- Vienna — Carnuntum, the immersive Roman city, where Roman emperors formed historical alliances.
- Paris — Reims, the capital of the Champagne region in France, known for the Notre Dame cathedral where all the French kings were crowned.
Journey to Iconic Movie Destinations
When we watch an engaging movie or show set in a stunning location, we literally feel moved to see it with our own eyes.
Most recently, I watched my wife type in Solitano Italy, while she was watching Emily in Paris on Netflix.
My niece is a great fan of Wednesday (Netflix Adams family) that we decided to visit the school castle, which is one of the legendary castles in Romania.
And then there is the Lauterbrunnen valley in Switzerland, which inspired the Lord of the Rings and the Mount Schilthorn was featured in a prominent James Bond movie.
What's your current favorite show or movie, and would you want to travel there in 2025?
Authentic Local Things To Take Home
I think it's safe to say that we are all tired of superficial souvenir shops at prime vacation spots.
The “I love Amsterdam” T-shirt is outdated now, and we definitely can't see those miniature Eiffel Towers anymore.
Picking up authentic local things from your trip is super en vogue. We briefly highlighted this point in our Paris souvenir post, which essentially lists the things that you should buy if you are looking for authentic keepsakes.
Why? Because these are items that you will not get anywhere else in the world.
They are very specific to the region, a specialty from there or a handcrafted masterpiece with an age-old savoir faire, which, honestly, can be priceless.
Authentic things can be household items, foods and drinks, and other specialties from the region. Besides, your dollars can support true craftsmanship before it becomes extinct.
Visit heritage exhibitions, local markets, grocery stores, fairs or specific towns to unearth the most interesting treasures.
Feel Better Travel
This is not a new one, in fact, this travel trend is simply called Wellness travel. The term, Wellness, feels a bit salesy and something attention-seekers would say. It doesn't encompass the full aspect of “Feel better travel”.
Feel Better Travel means to travel for your personal health, physical and mental health.
The objective is to feel great again, honestly and without lying to yourself.
That can be a weekend in a thermal bath in Europe, a noise and air pollution free chalet in the Austrian alps or an exclusive treatment in a 5-star establishment.
But it can also mean a simple meal made from a Nona in Italy, which can help you overcome your eating struggles.
It doesn't have to be extravagantly expensive. Put yourself first in 2025 whenever the world becomes unbearable.
Workation
This is something we do all the time, and we have a hard time explaining that to our family members.
Workation is when you are traveling for work, but you don't stop there, in fact, you combine it with a leisure trip.
Most people associate travel with vacation only, and they don't grasp the combo, but when you travel a lot for work, you end up doing that automatically. Can you relate to that?
Cruise ship workers, air hostess and pilots are the best example. Why would you not visit Istanbul during your leisure time on a work layover there, right?
When we travel, we do that for our readers and yes, it's work, but we also take an evening break where we, for example, get to enjoy the best foods in Venice.
Travel for Events
We have all survived the last pandemic and since that we have been experiencing FOMO (fear of missing out).
Pair this with unbeatable reduced concert ticket prices on foreign soil, and you have people combining a concert with a sightseeing trip.
This trend started in 2024, but is sure to continue with large concert events taking place in some of the most stunning locations in the world.
Especially since world tours finally appear to be actual world tours, with music concerts taking place outside the usual North America, Australia, and Europe locations.
Maroon 5, Green Day and Coldplay are touring Asia, and we hope more are to follow suit with emerging locations on the Southern American and African continents.
Food Travel
An oldie but a goodie! We LOVE to travel for food, not only to taste fantastic eats, but to also unearth unusual ingredients, tasty new dishes and almost forgotten cooking techniques.
My wife upgrades her international food cooking skills for MasalaHerb.com, collects ingredients for UnknownBite.com, and I learn about new food cultures, that I didn't know existed.
If you can relate to this, you will want to visit some of the trendiest food places in the world. Add Milan, Paris, Bangkok to your itinerary, and you won't be disappointed.
Solotravel
Solotravel isn't awkward anymore, and increasingly more people confidently solo travel without compromising on the experience.
It can be very freeing to travel to a destination alone. While it may sound a big task at first, it actually isn't, especially in a world where we are truly never alone thanks to the internet and social media.
Traveling solo comes with perks. You design an itinerary that fits your needs, and you meet other great people during the process.
It's as if a veil was lifted, people approach you more and your social life has a Renaissance, just because you are traveling alone.
Besides, plenty of solo travelers have visited the Kunsthistorische Museum in Vienna alone or enjoyed a show at the Moulin Rouge on their own.
Embrace Shoulder and Off Season
Shoulder season is the period between peak season and off season. The duration depends on the destination, but that usually means spring or autumn.
These seasons are great for various reasons. Fewer crowds, better prices, no queues, better weather and the landscapes can be more dramatic.
Take for example, South Tyrol in the Italian alps. Winter is peak skiing season, summer is peak hiking season, your perfect shoulder season to see yellow fields of Dandelion is May.
Besides that, keep an eye out for timings in the day when the crowds are less. That typically means early in the morning or late in the day, but your experience can be elevated just because you organized your day differently than most visitors.
With that in mind, we took off to Neuschwanstein castle in June last year and clicked some epic pictures of the castle without a soul nearby. How did we do it? Well, the sun doesn't set until 9 pm, and most people go home by 7 pm in Germany.
Cut-to-Your Personality Travel Experience
Imagine, you could embark on a trip that was completely cut to your personality.
Well, the world is moving swiftly towards such a reality, with travelers looking for various customized destinations, rooms, and experiences that come with added benefits.
Short-term rentals somewhat opened up the Pandora's box, when they let us book rooms that were beyond our expectations. We soon realized that one-box-for-all was a thing of the past.
Individualizes shine through, and we love exploring and visiting places that are cut to our expectations.
Keep an eye out for such places in 2025 and use AI to help you set up a customized trip.
Spontaneous Trip
A little luxury, spontaneous trips, are fun and give you the feeling of freedom and excitement to embrace life.
Last-Minute New Year's celebrations in Goa? A momentary snap decision to book a room with a view in Alpbach or how about taking part in a cultural event such as the Fasnach carnival in the Tyrolean alps?
Unplanned trips can be short to accommodate your busy work-life schedule, or they can be a welcoming, prolonged time-off from everything.
We love spontaneous trips because, life happens, and these trips are usually more enjoyable.
If you haven't tried it yet, I'd recommend a sudden last-minute trip in 2025. It's refreshing!
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