Hobbies can make you feel happy, develop your creativity, and eradicate boredom. If you are a regular traveler, however, it can be hard to commit to your hobbies.
Fortunately, you can take up a travel hobby, which can be great for your health and mental well-being.
Taking up a travel hobby will not only help you unwind and relax, but it can also help reduce your stress levels. If you would like to try something new and expand your talents, here are 10 travel hobby ideas for you to try.
1. Drawing/Sketching
Indulging your love of art is one hobby that’s particularly great if you travel regularly. All you require is a sketchbook, a pencil, and perhaps some colored pencils.
If you are naturally talented or have an art background, you can start recording the scenes, places, and people you encounter on your travels.
If you have never tried your hand at art previously, you can always sign-up for a foundation course in your hometown or find a class in the place that you will be visiting. Group classes can also be an excellent way to get to know the locals.
2. Yoga
Traveling constantly will eventually take its toll on your mental and physical well-being. Yoga, however, could solve all that. Learning and practicing the ancient movements of yoga can be beneficial for you physically, mentally, and spiritually.
You can choose from many different styles of yoga, and your eventual choice may be determined by the parts of the world that you are traveling to.
For example, if you are Indian, you could learn from a yoga master. You will also find several online videos that can guide you through the moves.
How you eventually decide to practice a yoga hobby on your travels will be up to you. You can attend a local retreat, hook up with a free class in a park, or go through the motions in the peace and quiet of a hotel room.
3. Journaling/Writing
If you would like to capture the raw experience of your travels, you should make it a habit to write it down in your journal that you update daily. Make notes, highlight events, and write a story based on your experiences while on the road.
Journaling is like a time capsule and will likely have the longest lasting impact of all the travel hobbies featured here. If you take a moment to make note of your experience, you will remember more of the details after looking back years later.
4. Volunteering
If you want to make a difference on the road, all you have to do is sign up for it.
If you would like to make friends with the locals, or really get a feel for a place, you should try volunteering for several days. After all, there’s always someone in need of help, no matter the part of the world you’re in.
If you prefer volunteer work, there are entire programs built around offering volunteer opportunities for people that like to travel. Check out national programs, such as the Peace Corps or even summer volunteer programs.
5. Cooking
Cooking is one of the best travel hobbies that will help you make friends instantly. If you regularly stay at a hostel when you travel or prefer traveling with a group, knowing your way around the kitchen will make yourself invaluable.
You don’t have to opt for very complex recipes, although you will likely win extra points with a complicated meal as opposed to just a bowl of rice. Just ensure that you aren’t the one always footing the bill for ingredients.
6. Scrapbooking
You might find it hard to throw away travel memorabilia such as receipts, ticket stubs, and any foreign money that you might have forgotten to exchange. Scrapbooking might be what you need if you are inundated with bits of random travel paper.
It is a great hobby to unleash your creativity to design lovely memory books of your adventures. A scrapbook on a coffee table is a definite way to keep your experiences fresh in your mind.
If you share them with house guests, you might actually inspire them to set out on their own adventures.
7. Nature Walks or Hiking
Hiking is a travel activity that allows you to explore and enjoy nature wherever you go. Hiking also allows you to explore places that you can’t get to via car. Furthermore, besides it being one of the most adventurous and fun travel hobbies, hiking also helps you get fit.
Hiking can be a wonderful hobby to get into, whether you are at home or traveling. You can go hiking in a national park or go on nature walks in the local gardens if there aren’t any national parks close to your home.
8. Wine Tasting
Visiting vineyards for wine tasting is a popular activity when people travel. It allows you to have a relaxing and indulgent day outdoors. If you like to have an alcoholic drink, wine tasting is a highly recommended travel hobby.
Wine tasting is a highly entertaining hobby. It not only makes you merry, but it helps you learn about wine. Whether you visit a vineyard or a wine bar, wine tasting is a refreshing experience and you often get the opportunity to enjoy good food with the wine.
9. Photography
Photography is the ideal hobby to take up as you travel. Being able to have new and lovely locations to shoot is a good thing for any budding photographer.
Try finding the beauty in each place that you visit. Try looking for opportunities for taking unique pictures that have not been taken by each tourist for their new Facebook profile picture.
It helps to have a nice dedicated camera, but you shouldn’t worry if your phone is all you have. Today, even the most basic smartphone has a camera that can take amazing pictures.
Whether you are lounging on the beach or exploring a new city, you should have enough opportunities to take the perfect photos as you travel.
10. Learning New Languages
If you travel to a location that uses a different official language than your own, you can probably pick up a few polite phrases and terms throughout your trip.
Why not go deeper than that? With free language learning apps, online tutoring, or even amazing software, it is now easier than ever to learn a new language in your own time even when traveling.
You can even start at home so that you have a solid foundation before the start of your adventure. The more you know about a language, the easier you will find it to put yourself out there during your travels.
Furthermore, the more you practice speaking, the easier it will be to keep learning even when you travel.
Pick Up a Travel Hobby Today!
The vast majority of people think of hobbies as something that you do at home. Painting, woodworking, or playing a musical instrument are hobbies that you leave behind immediately when you step out of your door, right?
Not really. It is actually possible to turn most normal hobbies into travel hobbies. The great thing about travel hobbies is that they make traveling much more fun.
Chances are something has stood out to you on this list. If not, you might probably be just overwhelmed with options. If that’s the case, just pick one and get started with it.
Sometimes, you never know that you love something unless you try it. If you’re stuck, just choose something that your destination is known for.