90 Wanderlust Travel Quotes for Instagram (free posts)

Travel makes the world go round. And if you are looking for wanderlust travel quotes for Instagram, you are at the right spot. In this post, we have over 90 travel captions and inspirational travel quotes for use on Instagram.

We are also sharing 30+ files with some of our favorite travel Instagram captions for you to use – this is perfect for those who want a curated and cohesive feed. You can grab the templates here – Wanderlust Quotes about travel.

90 Wanderlust Travel Quotes for Instagram & Beyond

“Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.” – Dalai Lama

This quote inspired the name of our travel blog, ‘to-some-place-now’. It all started as an annual goal settings exercise in 2015, and then became our mantra. We now set travel goals every new year and check them off together.

“Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.” - Dalai Lama — Travel wanderlust quotes

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

Once you travel the world, it will help you understand where you stand, and how much more you can learn, embrace and experience. Our sorrows become smaller, when we explore the world from a different horizon.

“Experience, travel – these are as education in themselves”. – Euripides

So true. The more you travel, the more you learn about different places, cultures and local customs.

“The man who goes alone can start today, but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready.” – Henry David Thoreau

If you can’t find a partner to travel with you, travel solo. Don’t miss a chance to explore this wonderful world. There are group tours to help you get your feet wet into traveling, and so many destinations that are safe for exploring solo – try it!

“Life is short and the world is wide.” – Simon Raven

We only have a finite number of years, and of them all active years are even less. So don’t wait, just go – travel!

“The more I traveled the more I realized that fear makes strangers of people who should be friends.” – Shirley MacLaine

People all over the world are similar, our emotions, our fears and we all share an unseen bond. Go out, make friends!

“Live your life by a compass, not a clock.” – Stephen Covey

Of course, we have to go by the clock, when we work full time and earn a living, but this quote inspires me to work towards a life full of travel, where the compass determines what I/we do rather than the clock or our alarm.

“Travel far enough, you meet yourself ” – David Mitchell

“We travel for romance, we travel for architecture, and we travel to be lost.” – Ray Bradbury

We do travel for all of the 3 reasons, and also to experience different cultures and cuisines.

“Wherever you go, go with all your heart!” – Confucius

These words of the Chinese philosopher Confucius are so true.

“Don’t tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you’ve travelled.” – Mohammed

Our passport stamps and fridge magnets are our treasured trophies. It shows how well traveled we are! Don’t you think? What do you collect from your travels?

“Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by.” – Robert Frost

One of my favorite poets, Robert Frost, road less traveled is metaphorical. This wanderlust travel quote doesn’t only apply to destinations, but also to life and career choices!

“Not all those who wander are lost.” – J.R.R. Tolkien

This is one of the perfect wanderlust travel quotes to add to your T-shirt or phone wallpaper.

“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes

” Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

This quote is pregnant with so much meaning. We should lead a life without regrets. Live life according to your values, stay true to yourselves, travel, follow our dreams and our passions.

“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

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

Ibn Battuta was not only a writer, but a kick-ass world explorer. Imagine traveling all the way from Africa, Central Asia and then working with the Tughlaq Dynasty in India. He contributed to the movement of Dar al Islam and preserved the influences that Islam had on the globe. He was born in Tangier in Morocco.

“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” – John A. Shedd

John Shedd’s quote is all about going out there, and trying new things. It says that it’s better to get out and do the things you want to do, rather than sit and do nothing. And remember even if you fail, the good thing is that you have at least tried, and that experience will be rewarding.

“Travel, in the younger sort, is a part of education; in the elder, a part of the experience.” – Francis Bacon

“The gladdest moment in human life, methinks, is a departure into unknown lands.” – Sir Richard Burton

Unknown destinations spark a lot of interest, and it surely feeds a curious mind!

“This wasn’t a strange place; it was a new one.” – Paulo Coelho

This wanderlust travel quote was taken from a novel by Paulo Coelho, ‘The Alchemist’, one of my favorites. The novel is filled with bits of wisdom you can believe from the story, and use it to guide your travel inspiration.

“Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.” – Henry David Thoreau

Travel opens up opportunities to understand our core better – who we are, what are our limitations, what we miss the most, our confidence, our fears and build a better version of ourselves.

“ Quit your job, buy a ticket, get a tan, fall in love, never return”

“ Quit your job, buy a ticket, get a tan, fall in love, never return” — Travel wanderlust quotes

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people just exist.” – Oscar Wilde

To live is to experience all emotions from happiness, sorrow, excitement, fear, to adrenaline rush in trying new things. This life is worth living, rather than mere existence.

“We travel, some of us forever, to seek other places, other lives, other souls.” – Anais Nin

Anaïs Nin’s honest accounts of her private life are very inspirational, as no other woman author showcased that in those times. Her writing on life, love, growth, and fulfillment had touched millions, and still keeps inspiring us to this day.

“I wandered everywhere, through cities and countries wide. And everywhere I went, the world was on my side.” – Roman Payne

This wanderlust quote is so us. Everywhere we traveled to, we have been treated well, and felt welcomed. People, regardless of color, country or values have good intentions and are warm and loving!

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

“Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life – and travel – leaves marks on you. Most of the time, those marks – on your body or on your heart – are beautiful. Often, though, they hurt”. – Anthony Bourdain

One of the finest travel documentarian Anthony Bourdain shares how travel changes you in so many different ways – some small, and some life altering.

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

In travels (or otherwise), we always have to start small. And these small steps lead to bigger things and help you achieve your wildest dreams!

“I dislike feeling at home when I am abroad.”- George Bernard Shaw

Don’t you agree with this quote of GB Shaw? I mean, a new destination abroad should be exciting, fresh and should feed curiosity in you!

“I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” – Mary Anne Radmacher

Having explored so many unique cultures and cities, it had definitely made us more humble, well-educated and well-traveled. This is much more than the masters degrees and the professional work experiences we have gained.

“So shut up, live, travel, adventure, bless and don’t be sorry.” – Jack Kerouac

Who’s in?

“Wherever You Go Becomes A Part Of You Somehow.” – Anita Desai

I love this travel quote by Anita Desai. If I were to start another travel blog, I will probably name it, ‘Travel-a-part-of-you’. Because it is true. From Paris, Lisbon to Sarajevo, all the cobblestone lanes, cuisines to historical nuances become a part of you, and your thought process (about the world!)

“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” – Albert Einstein

I learnt this important lesson during my University days, when learning about world history, and that is not to never stop questioning. Question things, be eager, be curious and explore and learn more.

“To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.” – Aldous Huxley

Our views about the world (and people) around us are based on literature, print and social media. But all of this is ‘someone’s’ version/perspective or experience. You must travel to see for yourself, and make your own opinions. More often you will discover a different side of this world – that you didn’t even know existed.

“To move, to breathe, to fly, to float, To gain all while you give, To roam the roads of lands remote: To travel is to live.” – Hans Christian Andersen

Ah…..to travel is to live! Just LOVE – LOVE – LOVE this quote! What about you?

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.” – Helen Keller

“The World Is Big And I Want To Have A Good Look At It Before It Gets Dark.” – John Muir

Live this life, and chase your dreams before time runs out, and you are no longer able to travel. John Muir was born in the United Kingdom, but he is best known for his time spent at the Yosemite National Park, USA.

“No place is ever as bad as they tell you it’s going to be.” – Chuck Thompson

We couldn’t agree more. I mean, there are places that you will love, some you will visit probably once, and some never. But all in all, what appeals to me, may not to you, and vice versa. Hence it is super important to read, but go and see for yourselves.

“Remember that happiness is a way of travel – not a destination.” – Roy M. Goodman

Happiness isn’t an end goal – like an end destination. It is a state of being, where you constantly find happiness in small moments, and occasions. It is a conscious choice, we all have to make.

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

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” – Andre Gide

So true. You cannot experience a gorgeous sunset, photograph amazing landscapes and buildings without leaving the comfort of your home. Travel is hard work (from planning, saving to booking a trip), and the rewards are amazing!

“Better to see something once than hear about it a thousand times.” – Anonymous

This travel quote amplifies the fact that we learn a lot by exploring, rather than just reading or listening about it.

“The use of traveling is to regulate imagination with reality, and instead of thinking of how things may be, see them as they are.” – Samuel Johnson

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

You do need a little money to book flights, accommodation, insurance and food for your trips, but you don’t have to be a millionaire to explore this wonderful world. Make plans, budget well, and look for destinations that give you the most of your money (tons of affordable cities that you can choose from)!

Travel tips: Start creating your bucket list from Iceland Ireland Italy to Thailand, and saving for your travel fund, and get inspiration here

“I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.” – Mark Twain

“Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.” – Seneca

This wanderlust travel quote really resonates with us. It is just wonderful to travel to a new place, and take time to refresh and rejuvenate ourselves. New places, change of pace definitely brings in a fresh perspective to things!

“No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” – Lin Yutang

“Travel is never a matter of money, but of courage.” — Paulo Coelho

Another delightful quote from Paulo Coelho, and so true. Travel is never about money, it is about courage – taking the time from the day to day responsibilities, making sacrifices to save money to book that trip. Be brave, go travel!

“A wise man travels to discover himself.” – James Russell Lowell

“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

RL Stevenson is another novelist and poet we love. His well known works include Treasure Island and Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and this quote definitely inspires us to keep moving!

“The pleasure we derive from journeys is perhaps dependent more on the mindset with which we travel than on the destination we travel to.” – Alain de Botton

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller

“Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.” – Anonymous

Travel doesn’t require a ton of money, but it surely does make you richer with all the wisdom and experiences you gain through your journeys.

“Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” – Jack Kerouac

‘On the Road’ is one of the well known works of Jack Kerouac, an American author. He took several cross-country road trips to Chicago, Los Angeles, Denver and Mexico City, and these trips provided the inspiration for Kerouac’s next and greatest novel, On the Road.

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

The year 2020 was all about exploring your own backyard. And this travel quote shows that it is important for travelers to love their own countries, and not despise them.

“People don’t take trips, trips take people.” – John Steinbeck

We plan, but sometimes things don’t go as planned. So you know we/the traveler is not necessarily in total command of the trip, but just needs to go with the flow.

“Do not follow where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”

“If we were meant to stay in one place, we’d have roots instead of feet” – Rachel Wolchin

I find this travel quote very interesting. This actually popped up on my Facebook feed once, and it instantly clicked. If you desire travel, you shouldn’t be wasting any opportunity to explore – we have two feet, and we go to use them to wander this beautiful world.

“Travel is an investment in yourself.”

“I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.” – Susan Sontag

Our bucket list keeps expanding. With so many destinations, new UNESCO heritage sites, and sister cities – I can safely say – I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list’ 🙂

“Nobody can discover the world for somebody else. Only when we discover it for ourselves does it become common ground and a common bond and we cease to be alone.” – Wendell Berry

“Take only memories, leave only footprints.” – Chief Seattle

“We must not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we began and to know the place for the first time.” – T. S. Eliot

This travel quote is from T.S. Eliot’s poem “Little Gidding”, which means that humanity will always have a desire to explore and push itself further than where it is now. Isn’t it true? Once we know what is out there, we want to strive and get more, using our new knowledge and strength.

“It is not down in any map; true places never are.” – Herman Melville

“Life is short and the world is wide, the sooner you start exploring it, the better.” – Simon Raven

With over 195 UN recognized countries, there is not enough time to explore it all. But we can definitely try to add more destinations to our ‘explored’ list!

Pin for Wanderlust Travel Quotes — Wanderlust Travel Quotes

“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” – Miriam Beard

Travel is definitely more than sightseeing, it is about learning the history and culture of the destination, trying out local cuisines, and talking to locals. What does travel mean to you?

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

“Travel only with thy equals or thy betters; if there are none, travel alone.” – The Dhammapada

“If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine. It’s lethal.” – Paulo Coelho

Day to day, mundane tasks are just that – mundane. It is a good idea to break the regular norms, come out of your comfort zone, and try something new. Routine can also be the killer of creativity. Adventures inspire stories, and actions that bring profound changes to our lives.

“To travel is to live.” – Hans Christian Andersen

Aren’t these words the most musical and magical? For us, to travel truly is to live.

“Adventure is worthwhile.” – Amelia Earhart

Travel and adventure is always worthwhile.

“Your true traveler finds boredom rather agreeable than painful. It is the symbol of his liberty-his excessive freedom. He accepts his boredom, when it comes, not merely philosophically, but almost with pleasure.” – Aldous Huxley

“One must travel, to learn. Every day, now, old Scriptural phrases that never possessed any significance for me before, take to themselves a meaning.” – Mark Twain

100% completely agree with these words of Mark Twain. When we travel, we must be open to learning new things, sometimes un-learning and breaking away from old thoughts is also a rewarding travel experience in itself.

“The most beautiful in the world is, of course, the world itself.” – Wallace Stevens

The world is wonderful, and we love exploring every inch of it!

“Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and enjoy the journey.” – Babs Hoffman

Not all of our trips were flawless (potholes). There are flight delays, long wait lines, missed trains, sometimes waking up early with little to no sleep, can be exhausting and tiring, but it pays off in the end. We forget all the pain, and toil once we eagerly reach our destination and check off the bucket list. So stop worrying about small discomforts, look at the bigger picture.

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm, and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” – Jawaharial Nehru

If we are open to all and any destination, we can explore a lot in a short time. On a practical note, if you open up ‘last minute deals’, you can find so many international travel destinations. Take a leap forward, book and go explore.

“Of all the books in the world. The best stories are found between the pages of a passport”

How cute is this Instagram caption?

“I’m in love with cities I’ve never been to and people I’ve never met.” – Melody Truong

That’s me! Absolutely me when it comes to cities. I fell in love with Paris even before I visited. I knew a lot about Sarajevo, its delights and scars, decades before I explored this capital city!

“To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” – Bill Bryson

Imagine sipping the same coffee from the Swiss Alps, or Venice, or in a casa from Havana Cuba. A new destination fills our every day with tons of excitement.

“A man of ordinary talent will always be ordinary, whether he travels or not; but a man of superior talent will go to pieces if he remains forever in the same place.” – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

“Half of the fun of travel is the aesthetic of lostness.” – Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury was an American author, and this wanderlust quote apty summarises that some of our fondest travel memories come from being lost in a new destination. Some of the biggest lessons we’ve learned, those hidden gems we have found, the yummiest coffee we had in a small coffee corner is all from being lost. And that’s the beauty of it: sometimes getting lost brings in delightful encounters.

“Somewhere on your journey, don’t forget to turn around and enjoy the view.” – Unknown

When you are constantly on the go, it is also important to stop and enjoy the scenery and the world in front of us. This travel quote is metaphorical too, as in, in your life time – after all the jobs, relationships and hard work, we need to stop and admire the work we have done so far, and celebrate our successes and hurdles we overcome.

“Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain.” – Jack Kerouac

This is another — Jack Kerouac favorite 🙂

“It is better to travel well than to arrive.” – Buddha

It is important to enjoy the journey.

“To me, travel is more valuable than any stupid piece of bling money can buy.” – Raquel Cepeda

We all like to own fancy nice items. Everyone is different, and some things that delight one person, may not delight another, and it is totally fine. It is important to enjoy But the amount you gain from travel can far outweigh a new watch, can you really evenly weight self development against a possession?