The world is amazing, so explore and enjoy it, and bla. Bla. BLA. We all know a few travel quotes. Words cobbled together by someone famous to inspire us. There are quotes about anything and everything. Travel is no exception, and boy, do people love to share these quotes. We take a nice picture, slap some words on it, and boom: instant motivational, inspirational poster.

And for all these words of wisdom, there are even more quotes that are just stupid, dumb, false, or meaningless. In the end, it’s just some shit somebody said. Sure, the point is to inspire, and it inspired me to write this article. But, with some playfulness, anybody can conjure up a bunch of travel quotes. Let me demonstrate:

“It’s human nature to settle, but it’s human spirit that makes us travel.”

• “No matter where to, or how we travel, our heart must make the first step.”
• “All journeys start right now, right here.”
• “To sail the oceans, all one has to do is wear a hat.”
• “Gibblycook.”

See? Straight from the top of my hat. Wow, so amazing, much poetic. Until you break it down. That doesn’t just apply to all my writing, but to the following 12 meaningless travel quotes as well.

 

“You don’t have to be rich to travel well.” – Eugene Fodor

But it helps. This is like saying “money doesn’t make you happy.” Yes it does. If I were to give a you a million dollars right now, you’d be pretty happy about it to. Sure, you don’t need much money to travel well, but if you do have it, you’d travel a lot better, and a lot more often. Nobody chooses economy over business class because it’s so wonderful. We choose economy class because we can’t afford a more expensive ticket.

 

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

So I’ll wait for the movie.

 

“Our happiest moments as tourists always seem to come when we stumble upon one thing while in pursuit of something else.” — Lawrence Block

Maybe that’s because you were pursuing the wrong things. It’s okay to plan your trip, it’s okay to look up information. The internet, google, wikipedia. Use em!

 

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

I hate people. Period.

 

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

HAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh wait, you’re serious? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Have you ever met a travel blogger? We’re assholes. We can’t stop showing off all the great things we have seen. Travel these days makes people narcissists. That’s why they can’t stop sharing their vacation photos and stories and nonsense on facebook, twitter, instagram, and whatnot.

 

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

Unless you wake up in bathtub full of ice, with one of your kidneys missing. Happened to me at least six times. True story.

 

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

Duh? Unless you’re paraplegic? How pointless a quote. Arguably, the quote might be about taking things one step at a time, or the that the best way to start is just to simply start, or how small things can lead to great things, but it can be applied to anything! A trip to the super market starts with a single step! And what if I take the car? Did we really need to single out that single step?

 

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

Said no one stuck in a smelly plane, or trapped in the airport, ever. Also: choose a better destination next time.

 

“A wise traveler never despises his own country.” – Carlo Goldoni

As a Dutchman, I disagree.

 

“Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re going.” – Paul Theroux

What on earth does this even mean? They booked the trip, right? Of course they know where they’ve been! Stop trying to divide tourists and “travelers” in categories. We’re all on vacation, we’re all on a trip, and we all know where we’re going, and we all get lost sometimes.

 

“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

This is how go people go missing.

 

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

And that’s why we keep quoting other people instead of coming up with our own words.