Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions for Travelers in 2026

Let’s overthink something together. If a New Year's resolution is popular because we always set the same goal, does that mean that resolution is only popular because we keep abandoning it? We wouldn’t have to repeatedly set that goal if it worked the first time, right?

So instead of setting ourselves up for disappointment, let’s look at these 2026 New Year’s resolutions ideas from a different perspective.

Maybe you’ll be more motivated to spend less money when you know you’re saving for a once-in-a-lifetime vacation.

Maybe you’ll be able to spend less time online when a digital detox involves an incredible trip to a remote area.

Maybe strengthening relationships with loved ones feels less pressure-filled when you’re traveling together.

You might actually love keeping these top 10 New Year’s resolutions when you think about them in terms of traveling more in 2026.

1. Spend Less Money.

With the rising cost of vacations — and just about everything else — everyone is asking, “How do you travel on a budget?” While it might not always be easy, it also doesn’t have to be as hard as you think.

• Find creative ways to make money for vacation. Something as low-effort as opening a high-yield savings account (simply set it and forget it) or choosing the right travel rewards credit card can get you started.
• Prioritize the parts of your trip that mean the most to you. If being comfortable is a high priority, go ahead and spend more on a nicer hotel or upgraded flight, but cut corners elsewhere. If fun activities are what’s important, fly economy and budget more for admission fees.
• Don’t get surprised by hidden travel fees. Some fees you can avoid if you know how to look for them. Others you’ll still have to pay, but at least you can budget for them when you know they’re coming.
• Get travel insurance. When something unexpected happens — you have to cancel your trip, you have extra expenses because your flight was delayed overnight, you got sick overseas and holy moly those hospital bills add up! — travel insurance can help you recover that money.
• Figure out how to travel for free. You might be surprised how many ways you can take a trip and barely open your wallet.

2. Exercise More.

More and more people are choosing to go on running vacations (AKA runcations), and adventure activities like kayaking, hiking, cycling, and surfing have always been popular excursions. While fun, we're making the resolution to “exercise” a little differently this year.

In 2026, you might make one of these promises to yourself.

• Exercise your creative muscle by visiting a destination off the main tourist track. Just because a destination is less popular doesn’t mean it’s less real or less amazing. Look for cities and sites that fly under the radar to find a new perspective on the world around you and to do your part to combat overtourism.
• Exercise your ability to travel sustainably. Visit eco-friendly destinations with the same dedication to public transit, sustainably sourced food, and other positive environmental actions that you have.
• Exercise cultural sensitivity. It's thrilling to visit another location during holiday times. Remember that these celebrations might have deep cultural or religious meanings and should, therefore, be treated with respect.
• Exercise an open mind. It can be exciting to compare what you see at your destination to how you live every day at home. Just don’t pass judgement because it’s different.

3. Get More Sleep.

Not having to set a morning alarm during vacation is a big perk for many of us. While sleep resorts have been popping up recently, you don’t have to spend tons of money on a luxury getaway just to get a few Z’s. A few travel hacks and adjustments to how you vacation can do just as much good.

• Adopt a slow travel mindset. Sometimes called soft travel, the point is to slow down and settle in one place for longer. Get a feel for how the locals live instead of hopping from one site to the next like a hectic tourist.
• Beat jet lag by trying to get on the local time as quickly as possible. That usually means skipping that nap you so desperately want, but you’ll sleep better later and feel more refreshed earlier on your trip if you do.
• Know your limits when road tripping. It’s tempting to say, “Just 10 more miles” before pulling in for the night. But driving while exhausted is a dangerous risk you don’t want to take.

4. Get Organized.

Putting all your cereal in matching, labeled (from a machine, not handwritten, obviously) containers and giving each kid their own cubbie to hold shoes is nice, but it doesn’t really get our heart pumping. Getting organized for a vacation — even for spontaneous getaways — is where it’s at.

• Don’t overpack. Fewer bags means there’s less to keep track of. Keep your baggage to a minimum to help keep your sanity when you aren’t rifling through all those pockets saying, “I know I packed it!”
• Stock your car organizer like a pro for your next road trip. It’ll help keep your car clean, the kids entertained, and the vacation smooth.
• Use a travel agent or book a packaged tour. If you struggle to find things that everyone in the family or group will enjoy and get everyone on the same page, a professional agent is a great resource. They’ll not only plan the trip, but make sure you have all the details handily organized with minimal effort on your part.
• The best way to get organized is to simplify as much as possible. And if you travel frequently, streamlining your planning can be a major timesaver. Make annual travel insurance part of that streamlined plan. With one purchase, you’re covered for every trip you take the rest of the year. You don’t even have to notify us before you travel, making it a super convenient way to be prepared for every trip, even the spontaneous ones.

5. Improve Mental Health.

We won’t go so far as to say that travel will fix any mental health challenges you might be facing. However, we do recognize that switching up your routine or enjoying a change of scenery is sometimes enough to help break out of a rut.

• Take “the trip.” You know, that adventure you’ve been dreaming about but hasn’t turned into reality yet. This could be the year you stop putting it off and start feeling unstuck.
• Step outside your comfort zone. We’re not encouraging you to do something unsafe, but if you have the chance to try something you probably wouldn’t at home, now could be the time to be bold and take a chance.
• Manage travel anxiety proactively. No two people and their experiences are the same, so it helps to figure out how you’ll handle the headaches, nausea, panic attacks, and other symptoms you might experience before your trip even begins.
• Take care of your mental health on the road. From practicing gratitude to talking to your doctor about managing regular medications, it’s as important to take care of your mental and emotional health during vacation as it is your physical.

6. Spend Less Time Online.

If doomscrolling is part of your nightly routine, it’s time to break the habit. A lot of us are trying to escape the hold social media, email, and all those other phone notifications have on us.

• Do a digital detox. You don’t have to go off grid in the backcountry to get away from technology. Try a cruise without the on-ship Wi-Fi plan, a city tour with your phone on airplane mode so you can take pictures but won’t get texts, or plan for an analog weekend with boardgames, books, or simply watching the rain.
• Don’t post about your vacation on social media. Try keeping a journal instead. We know it’s tempting to capture every moment of every trip. You still can, but wait until you get home to share it with the digital world. Jot down some ideas in a notebook about what you loved, then share a more thoughtful post when you get home. The practice will help you stay in the moment so you can squeeze out every last bit of joy.
• Try a wellness retreat. Some spas and retreats create the perfect environment to disconnect from outside distractions and focus on the present. Use this to your advantage and learn a new skill or meet people with similar interests while you’re at it.

7. Eat Better.

Eating better on the road can be a struggle. There might be greater temptation to eat something you wouldn’t normally indulge in. Time changes and jet lag can throw off your routine. All these and more can lead to a bit of tummy turbulence. But there are ways to set things right again.

• Pack your own meals and snacks for the airport. Not only is airport food expensive, but it’s also usually not the most nutritious. Avoid snacking on junk food or letting yourself get hangry by bringing your own from home.
• Plan for treats, but maybe not for every meal. Trying local foods is one of the best parts of traveling, so you absolutely shouldn’t miss it. But to keep your gut happy and healthy, plan to indulge in rich meals and treats only occasionally and try to work in more “reasonable” foods when you can.
• Stay hydrated. We feel better when we get plenty of water. Staying hydrated can help fend off jet lag symptoms better than caffeinated beverages and ease headaches from sudden changes in altitude (like when visiting parts of Colorado).
• Know how to treat travel constipation. For all those people who’ve wondered, “Why can’t I poop on vacation?” you should try getting physical activity, which can help prevent and treat travel constipation. So can giving yourself a gentle gut massage or making sure you include probiotics in your diet.

8. Learn a New Skill.

Being better tomorrow than we are today is at the heart of many New Year’s resolutions. Learning a new skill or picking up a new hobby is a great way to grow personally or professionally. And while you can do that at home, why not let the world be your classroom?

• Learn a foreign language. Instead of telling yourself you’re going to be fluent in another language, make your resolution more manageable and aim to learn just enough to hold your own in common travel situations.
• Sign up for a voluntour trip. You might be handy, but do you know how to erect an entire schoolhouse in a week? There are more types of volunteer trips than just construction, and they all have the ability to teach us new skills and new ways to do things.
• Opt for a homestay or farmstay. There's a reason grade school always evaluated us on our ability to play well with others. That skill doesn’t get any less important as we get older. Choosing lodging accommodations that connect us with people who live differently than us can teach us a lot.

9. Improve Work-Life Balance.

Being totally balanced all the time is an unachievable goal. The reality is that we’re pulled in multiple directions by multiple obligations every day, and the best we can hope for is for everything to even out over the long term.

Travel can help us recharge so we’re better equipped to handle everyday life’s responsibilities. If work obligations are an obstacle to getting that time away, try these strategies for getting more vacation time.

• Turn your business trip into a leisure trip. Add some personal days to extend your business travel. These workcations are an efficient way to sneak in some time away without burning all your PTO.
• Become a digital nomad. Instead of being in your guest bedroom-turned-office in Boise, you could be finishing those reports from a cabin in Aspen.
• Bargain for PTO the same way you negotiate salary. Let your boss know that time to travel and recharge your batteries is important so that you can be a more effective team member. They might be willing to help with your resolution.
• Consider an adult gap year. Call it a sabbatical if you think it makes you sound more mature. Regardless of how you label it, you’ll get valuable time off while you develop personal and professional goals.

10. Strengthen Relationships.

There are many ways travel can strengthen relationships. You’re more apt to share one-on-one quality time, free of everyday distractions. You may learn to see the world from different perspectives, improving empathy. You might even develop a deeper sense of trust with a travel mate, especially if something goes wrong and you find yourself in a vulnerable situation together.

Whether you’re traveling with family, a romantic partner, a bunch of friends, or even solo with hopes of meeting people on the road, travel has a way of bringing people together in meaningful ways.

• Introduce someone new to travel. You have amazing travel stories, tips, and tricks. Encourage someone to have eye-opening experiences, too.
• Travel solo. Sometimes when we’re on our own, we have to stretch a little more to connect with people. Instead of relying on companions from home, solo travelers often are more successful in meeting new people on the road.
• Book a tour with a local company. When the guides are local, you get the inside scoop on your destination that outsiders simply miss and really get to the heart of a destination and its residents.
• Be kind to strangers. This includes the person at the airline ticket counter, the cab driver, the hotel housekeeper, the random person on the street, your own travel companion, and everyone in between.

Travel Insurance for Your 2026 Resolutions

Whether your travel goals are to be able to afford getting away more often or to finally take your loved ones on a special trip, let Seven Corners protect your investment and your health with travel insurance. We offer a variety of plans to meet your needs — from coverage for single trips to annual plans — and help you achieve those travel resolutions in 2026.

Contact our licensed travel insurance experts or get a quick quote online today.