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If you know me, you know that my head’s always filled with travel ideas.
My biggest “problem” is really that the more places I visit, the longer my list of places I want to visit becomes. That might sound strange, but it’s true. I’m constantly dreaming of new destinations, reading travel articles and watching tourism videos.
Compared to previous years, 2016 wasn’t exactly filled with extensive travel. In fact, besides spending a week in Belgium, I didn’t fly anywhere in the past year. After moving to Charlottesville last spring, Caroline and I spent the vast majority of our time exploring Virginia. That has been lots of fun for sure. There’s so much variety in this state that it’s kept me occupied for almost a year.
Now, however, I feel like I’ve covered most of the state’s highlights and attractions—from Shenandoah National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway to historic colonial towns, Civil War battlefields and sandy beaches.
In 2017, I’m redirecting my focus to other states/countries once again. It’s been great exploring Virginia, but now that we’re settled here in Charlottesville, it’s time to look a bit further. (I do still have to visit Colonial Williamsburg and Assateague Island, though, which I definitely will at some point this year.)
3 Travel Plans For 2017
Photography Tour in Iceland
Somehow, I keep getting drawn to northerly destinations. I’m not exactly sure why, but I assume it’s because they’re better suited for adventure travel. There’s a reason I cycled to the North Cape in Norway a few years ago, and not to Spain or Italy or something.
So now, it’s Iceland that tops my list. I has for a while, articles like this only increasing my desire to visit, and it’s about time that I get my butt over there. I also mean to visit Belgium more often this year—one week like last year isn’t nearly enough—and Iceland happens to be conveniently on the way.
In fact, I’m going for a visit to Belgium and Iceland in just a couple of weeks. I’m super-excited to be able to check one of my biggest priorities off my list this early in the year. During my visit to Iceland, I’ll drive the Golden Circle, a superb loop drive from Reykjavik taking in a few major highlights such as ƥingvellir National Park, the Gullfoss waterfall, and the Strokkur and Geysir geysers. I will also try to take in as many waterfalls as I possibly can in the southwest of the country. Hopefully, luck’s on my side and the Northern Lights will be visible. To do all this, I got a 4WD rental car from Sadcars.com.
U.S. National Parks Road Trip
What I love most about the United States is not its cities or food but its nature. Although I haven’t seen even a fraction of the epic landscapes the U.S. has to offer, I’m well aware of what’s out there. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed exploring the mountains of New England and Virginia—all part of the same Appalachian mountain range—but now I yearn to see some other, different landscapes.
Which is why one of my travel priorities for 2017 is a national parks road trip. Nothing concrete has been planned at this point, though, but the options are plentiful.
At this point, I’m thinking about going on a road trip in the American Southwest. Ideally, I’d like to combine a few states in the Southwest, specifically California, Arizona, Utah and Colorado, and take in the following national parks: Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Arches, Capitol Reef, Great Sand Dunes, Yosemite, Joshua Tree, Death Valley and Sequoia.
Hiking the Belgian North Sea Coast
Although it’s less spectacular than Iceland’s waterfalls and volcanoes or America’s rock formations, the Belgian North Sea coast is my third travel priority this year. As a kid, I’ve spent many days building sand castles on the beaches of Belgium, playing in the dunes and jumping into waves—I have very fond memories of the area.
This year, I want to spend some time hiking along the Belgian coast, which extends for 41 miles (67 kilometers) between France and the Netherlands. I know there are superb hiking trails crisscrossing the region and running through coastal towns and across the dunes. It’s a virtually unknown part of Belgium—at least to foreign visitors—and I want to shine a light on it. I’m also quite excited about seeing this part of my home country from a photographic perspective.
In particular, I really want to see the Belle Epoque buildings in De Haan, see shrimp fishing on horseback in Oostduinkerke (which is designated Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO) and revisit the amazing Zwin nature reserve.
These are my three travel priorities for 2017. Subscribe to my monthly newsletter (and get a free photography ebook!) and follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for updates on my travel plans for 2017.