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Wanderlust celebrates the best in travel at the 2023 reader travel awards.

The prestigious ceremony took place at the iconic British Museum, with legendary broadcaster Ben Fogle hosting the celebrations...

For the past several months, Wanderlust readers have been voting in their tens of thousands for the destinations they most desire. Last night (7 November), those results were revealed.  

The ceremony for the 22 nd annual Wanderlust Reader Travel Awards took place at one of London’s most iconic museums, the British Museum. Hundreds came to celebrate the best in travel for 2023, as well as  Wanderlust' s 30th anniversary.

With the magazine's   golden logo illuminated above the Greek Revival style columns and a red carpet rolled out, the museum’s grand entrance was ready to welcome hundreds of travel specialists, writers and celebrities.

Before the main ceremony began, guests were invited to take a virtual trip to Italy through the power of Wanderlust MetaTravel . After returning to reality, they moved on to the Egyptian Sculpture Gallery, which had transformed into a unique event venue. While dining on Italian gourmet cuisine and accompanied by a string quartet, guests could admire the fascinating artefacts surrounding them – including the Rosetta Stone, one of the most famous objects at the museum.

Guests gather in the Egyptian Sculpture Gallery (Wanderlust)

Guests were transported to Italy with Wanderlust MetaTravel (Wandrlust)

Covers - old and new - of Wanderlust were on display (Wanderlust)

Opera singers welcome guests as they take their seats (Wanderlust)

They were then escorted to the ceremony taking place in the remarkable Great Court, where two opera singers serenaded the room with their mesmerising vocals.

Legendary British broadcaster and writer Ben Fogle then took to the stage to present the evening’s much anticipated awards, joined by special guests throughout the evening, such as Simon Calder.

Wanderlust 's Editor-in-Chief George Kipouros had several moments with the audience, speaking about the future of   Wanderlust  and the drive to continue highlighting the world's lesser-known destinations and diversifying travel journalism. 

Founding Editor Lyn Hughes also said a few words, reminiscing about the magazine's journey over the past 30 years and thanking industry friends, tour operators and readers for their loyal support and partnerships.

The Wanderlust team with their 30th birthday cake (Wanderlust)

The results

This year, the Wanderlust Travel Awards celebrated destinations, tour operators and airlines who have inspired and excited our readers in 2023.

The top ten in 20 different categories were all announced during the proceedings, with the top three being awarded Bronze, Silver and Gold accolades.

Readers voted for Croatia as the Most Desirable Country in Europe, while Australia took home Gold for the Most Desirable Country in the World.

The top prize for Most Desirable City in Europe went to Seville in Spain, while the World’s Most Desirable City was awarded to Cape Town in South Africa

Wanderlust's Founding Editor Lyn Hughes presented an award (Wanderlust)

Ben Fogle and Wanderlust Editor-in-Chief George Kipouros (Wanderlust)

Ben Fogle poses for a photo with one of the evening winners, Croatia (Wanderlust)

Regions were also celebrated, with The Greek Islands reclaiming the Most Desirable Region in Europe title that it previously won in 2021, while the Canadian province of British Columbia also took home the honours for the World’s Most Desirable Region.

Ireland remains the reigning champion for the World’s Most Desirable Island in Europe, whereas Cuba was named the Most Desirable Island in the World.

New for 2023,   Wanderlust   also awarded countries for being the Most Desirable for Culture & Heritage, Nature & Wildlife, Adventure, Gastronomy and Sustainable Experiences, as well as the Most Desirable Emerging Destination. 

Tour operators were also recognised for their outstanding contribution to travel. Among the five Gold winners were Trailfinders, who won Favourite General Tour Operator, and Journey Latin America, who won Best Specialist Tour Operator.

All the results, including the top ten in each category, can be found online   here .

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There’s Actually A Scientific Reason You Feel The Urge To Travel

If you're constantly daydreaming about traveling the world, rarely feel settled in one place, and get a case of the itchy feet regularly, you probably have wanderlust. But indulging in this urge to travel often takes up more resources than we may readily have available — for one, it's expensive, and for another, it's pretty inconvenient, requiring you to pick up your life for a few days and deal with the consequences of missing them. Obviously traveling is worth it, when you're able, but these inconveniences beg the question: why do we like to travel so much? Turns out that there's a scientific reason our suitcase is always half packed.

Wanderlust is strongly embedded in human evolutionary history. Modern humans, it's estimated, lived in nomadic communities for as much as 99 percent of our history , following the seasons, hunting, opportunities and ritual patterns. Sometime around 10,000 years ago, agriculture , aka the skill to harvest crops in one place that could feed bigger communities, was developed. The catch? You had to stay in that area to tend the things you were growing. Human settlements popped up, people stayed and had kids, and gradually villages became towns and then cities. But a nomadic urge isn't unnatural; if the situation in one place seems dire, it's always made good evolutionary sense to pack up and move on, even if in today's world you actually have rent to pay and a 9-to-5.

The feeling behind wanderlust doesn't necessarily have to do with the glamor of getting on a plane, though there isn't too much that's glamorous about air travel anymore. It's about novelty: seeing new places and new things. Human brains are acutely attuned to novelty and find it deeply pleasurable. We seek new and interesting things all the time, and our brain makes completely novel information "stand out." Various neurons have the specific job of finding novel things , and can distinguish between sights you've never seen before and stuff you saw once many years ago.

Why? Because curiosity and pleasure at discovering unfamiliar stuff are also a major evolutionary advantage. When you want to go to a place you've only ever seen in travel brochures, you're playing into an age-old reward system in your brain that gives you dopamine hits for new experiences that can help you understand the world around you. Thanks to a characteristic called neoteny , which means that we tend to act more child-like than other primates even when we're grown up, humans retain childlike curiosity and a desire to try new things into our adulthood. In many other species that tendency stops at maturity, if it exists at all.

Interestingly, a study in 2015 highlighted a genetic variant, DRD4-7R, that could be related to the desire to wander. It was immediately touted as "the wanderlust gene" , but genetic reality is a lot more complicated; DRD4-7R appears to be tied to a greater likelihood for novelty-seeking behavior , impulsivity and adventurousness. Researchers hasten to point out that there isn't just one gene responsible for anybody's wanderlust tendencies, but some of the science behind DRD4-7R is very intriguing. It's an unproven hypothesis that migration in your past might make you more full of wanderlust now, but it's an interesting idea.

The flipside of the novelty coin is also fear of boredom. Humans hate boredom and will do a lot to get away from it. The poet Joseph Brodsky, in a commencement speech at Dartmouth College in 1989 , told students, "Whether rich or poor, you will inevitably be afflicted by monotony. Potential haves, you’ll be bored with your work, your friends, your spouses, your lovers, the view from your window, the furniture or wallpaper in your room, your thoughts, yourselves. Accordingly, you’ll try to devise ways of escape [....] changing your job, residence, company, country, climate." The problem with that, Brodsky explained, was obvious: that you'll wake up eventually feeling the same sense of boredom and have to change everything all over again. Sometimes we experience wanderlust because we want to get away from the familiar, and travel represents the best way to do it.

If you're feeling the urge to pack up your life and run to somewhere else, there are good scientific reasons for that sensation, from a need for novelty to a potential genetic "push". Go get those new passport stamps.

The Science of Wanderlust

By Mark Ellwood and Laura Dannen Redman

Todd Bliwise was nine years old the first time he tried to stow away on an airplane . Hopping a taxi solo to the airport from his home in Palo Alto, California, Bliwise almost made it onto a flight before a staffer asked him for a boarding pass . Busted, he confessed; the staffer quickly called Todd’s frantic mother, who rushed to the terminal and collected him. “I didn’t think about the logistics—it was just the drive: I wanted to go see things, to experience the world, something new,” Bliwise says of that day, two decades later. “I went into my parents’ closet and got one of my dad’s brown suitcases , one of those 1980s, beat-up cases and packed it full of what I thought were necessities: socks, some underwear, and crackers. I remember picking it up and feeling so accomplished.”

As Bliwise grew older, his yen to travel only intensified. Teenage Todd asked not for a stereo or new shoes, but trips and hotel certificates, and, like many 15-year-old teenagers, he secured a fake ID from a friend—in his case, though, it wasn’t for underaged bar-hopping: rather, with proof that he was 18, Bliwise could check into a hotel alone. “I remember the first time showing that ID was a hotel near [New York's] Times Square,” says Bliwise. “I was nervous, but that experience started the rest of my life.” By the time he actually turned 18, Bliwise had checked into hotels alone in 48 of the 50 states. What career did he end up alighting on? Globetrotting travel agent, of course. “I have never had a 9 to 5 job, because I have a very difficult time with that—it’s my restlessness,” he says. “But I still love the journey to the airport , even to this day. It’s so exciting.”

The wanderlust gene is so powerful.

Like many, Bliwise can’t remember a time when traveling wasn’t a central drive to his life, and to his personality. But can we be born wanderlusters? It’s a question travel junkies like Todd—professional wanderers who might never, say, own a home, or who count passport stamps like badges of honor—ask themselves when they haven’t slept in their own bed for nine straight weeks...and don’t seem to care. It feels innate, this impulse to travel. Or, if not a case of nature over nurture, then hormonally-driven in some way—a chemical compulsion. Can science explain it?

To a degree, perhaps—especially if one theory holds. It suggests a clear genetic component behind Bliwise’s innate need to travel—call it PPP, or Permanent Passport in Pocket syndrome. In 2016, a number of articles touting a “wanderlust gene”—DRD4-7R, to be precise—made the rounds. Several traced their source back to a psychology blog that suggested that 7R, a variation of the gene DRD4—which acts on dopamine levels in the brain, and so motivation and behavior as a result—existed in 20 percent of the human population. The key fact with the 7R variant, per researchers, was a link “with restlessness and curiosity.” This restlessness, according to writers, can propel people to take bigger risks, which includes—you guessed it!— exploring new or different places .

Dopamine is a well known brain chemical, but it’s often mislabeled, at least in pop culture shorthand, as "feel-good juice." In fact, one of its prime roles is to encourage us towards novelty-seeking—and also then to seek it out again and again. In essence, that intoxicating hormone screams at our brains: New! More! New! Dawn Maslar, a Kaplan University biologist has studied the effect that hormones such as dopamine can have on our brains. She believes there’s a definite correlation between this gene and the number of stamps in any given person’s passport .

“The wanderlust gene is so powerful. It appears that the DRD4 gene is more predominant in the traveling type of person,” Maslar tells Condé Nast Traveler . “Dopamine is the liking hormone, and when you want to get more, it doesn’t sate you—you get hooked.” Even more intriguingly, Maslar cites studies that suggest an uneven distribution of this gene variant; overall, 20 percent of human beings live with this variant, but its distribution worldwide varies. Such lopsidedness, she says, might be a fossilized remnant, an evolutionary holdover from recent human history.

“We see a greater portion of the DRD4-7R gene in South and North Americans, at least the ones descended from Europeans who came over to settle it, which makes sense,” says Maslar. (The word wanderlust, of course, is a borrowing from the German wanderlust , meaning ‘passion to wander,’ and first appeared in English early last century; ironically, Germans now generally prefer a borrowed word for the same idea—the English term, globetrotter.)

The word wanderlust is a borrowing from the German wanderlust , meaning "passion to wander," and first appeared in English early last century.

Other studies have also suggested that this particular variant predisposes those who carry it to risk-taking as an expression of that urge towards novelty and newness. If you’ve ever felt the need for a thrill—a shot of adrenaline from betting your entire pile of chips on black or braving a black run for the first time—it could be that very same genetic marker driving the urge.

Dr. Cynthia Thomson is a researcher at Richmond Hospital in Vancouver who specializes in the science of thrill-seeking. She is more cautious in drawing conclusions. Smart risk-taking was likely prioritized in our genetics from the hunter-gatherer era, when those with enough chutzpah to explore new territories , and so food sources, were likeliest to survive and propagate. But she won’t ascribe that impulse entirely to our DNA. “Personality is polygenic—in other words, a ton of genes contribute to it—and it’s hard to separate them out from chemicals [in our brain] or the environment.”

So should we look to behavior, or nurture, for a better explanation behind wanderlust? Society seems to think so. Consider, for a moment, idioms we use around it, like “catching the travel bug,” that suggest it’s infectious rather than innate. Adam Galinksy agrees; he’s a professor at Columbia Business School who has worked extensively on the psychology of travel . Despite globetrotting professionally for many years, it wasn’t until Galinsky met and married his wife that he began truly to crave those trips. “I love going places, but I’m not a big solo traveler,” he says, “I need an additional catalyst, and that’s my wife.”

Or, take Gloria McCoy. The La Jolla, California-based retiree is head of the Travelers' Century Club , a worldwide organization that’s like Rotary for anyone who’s set foot in 100 countries or more . Much like Professor Galinsky, McCoy traveled widely for work across the world; in her case as a sales rep and trainer, it didn’t ignite wanderlust. “I think wanderlust comes from having relationships that expose you to it,” she says. “I definitely caught the travel bug from my husband when I met him 29 years ago—he’s a real traveler.”

In both of these cases, wanderlust might simply be a new expression of an existing character trait that’s merely activated or redirected by the right context. If someone you love and trust has already made traveling central to his or her life, it’s much easier, and more intuitive, to mimic their behavior and tag along. Columbia’s Galinksy again: “One of the core five personality traits many people identify across the world is openness to experience, and that is both a trait that increases the probability people are likely to go abroad and the likelihood of whether they’ll benefit from those experiences.”

Whatever the origins of the urge, whether a legacy of long ago migration that’s baked into our DNA or a psychological tendency triggered by the right conditions, one thing remains unarguable. The best way to treat a case of wanderlust? By surrendering to it.

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One of the most exciting aspects is the chance to discover welcoming and accepting destinations. Many countries and regions around the world are becoming more LGBTQ+ friendly. Along with it, a growing number of accommodations, restaurants, and activities are catering specifically to LGBTQ+ travelers. Researching your destination before you go can help you find these LGBTQ+ friendly options to ensure a warm and inviting experience.

In addition to connecting with local communities, LGBTQ+ travel offers a chance to learn about different cultures and ways of life. By immersing yourself in new experiences and meeting people from diverse backgrounds, you expand your horizons. You also get the opportunity to gain a new appreciation for the world around you.

Ultimately, LGBTQ+ travel is a joyful and enriching experience that offers endless opportunities for growth and discovery. By taking the time to research your destination, stay informed and aware of potential risks, and connect with local LGBTQ+ communities, you can ensure a safe and fulfilling travel experience as an LGBTQ+ individual. So pack your bags and get ready for an adventure unlike any other!

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Denby Fawcett: How A Young Man With Wanderlust Traveled The World For 50 Years Capturing Humanity In Photographs

Steve McCurry, who visited Punahou School last week, made the famous National Geographic cover of the "Afghan Girl" and many other memorable images.

By Denby Fawcett

April 9, 2024 · 9 min read

About the Author

Denby Fawcett

Denby Fawcett is a longtime Hawaii television and newspaper journalist, who grew up in Honolulu. Her book, Secrets of Diamond Head: A History and Trail Guide is available on Amazon. Opinions are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Civil Beat’s views.

Steve McCurry, who visited Punahou School last week, made the famous National Geographic cover of the “Afghan Girl” and many other memorable images.

I met Steve McCurry at a gathering at Punahou School last week.

No sooner had I introduced myself when we got into a funny and heated conversation over whether he was a photographer or an artist.

I thought he should call himself a photographer. He said he was an artist. I said, no he was a famous photographer. And so it went, back and forth, laughing, until we were asked to sit down to a fancy bento box lunch of roasted vegetables and sauteed kajiki.

McCurry was at Punahou April 1-3 as part of the school’s Creative Greats, a program to introduce students to legendary figures in the arts. For more than five decades, he has traveled the world as a photographer/artist capturing scenes of humanity and beauty to connect viewers to people and events they might never experience themselves.

He is famous, very famous, for his photograph “Afghan Girl, ” the 12-year-old refugee with penetrating green eyes whose face in June 1985 became one of the most widely viewed National Geographic magazine covers ever.    

McCurry photographed the girl in 1984 — without recording her name — coming across her in a makeshift girls’ school in a tent in a refugee village near Peshawar, where he stopped to take photos of the students and noticed her stunning face.

She had escaped with her siblings and her grandmother after walking for two months over high mountains to get to the Pakistan refugee camp after Russians bombed her village during the Soviet-Afghan war. 

McCurry is renowned today not just for his image of the Afghan Girl but for hundreds of other pictures taken in places stretching across the world — depicting people in wars, natural disasters, celebrating important cultural festivals or just living their daily lives.

His photos evoke surprise and wonder mainly through the direct gaze of many of his subjects who make a viewer feel at one with them.

During a presentation on April 2 in the Punahou chapel for students, faculty and alumni, McCurry was asked by Punahou alumna Marcia Kemble how he approached his subjects to get them to relate to him so he could take such close personal photos. It was a question many other people asked during his visit.

McCurry said he learned to gain acceptance over time by trial and error. In 1983, he said he was photographing a family in Old Delhi, India when a man started screaming at him to give him the film. A crowd gathered. “I knew they would kill me if I didn’t give him the film. I did not want to ever have that happen again. I always try to understand, is this the right thing to do? Is it respectful? I always try to treat people with dignity and respect.”

He said he tries to make conversation with a person he hopes to photograph and when there is no common language between them, he said he even uses gestures or a tip of the head. A smile can go a long way.

A student asked about the danger of his work.

He said he came close to getting killed in Mumbai, India in 1993 while taking pictures of people in a festival carrying large statues of the Indian god Ganesha into the water. He was in the water himself to get the pictures at twilight when a group of men attacked him, pushing him under. 

“They were pounding on me, holding me down,” he said. “I lost every piece of camera equipment, but the film was OK in canisters.”   

He also nearly perished in a two-seater airplane taking aerial photos of a lake in Slovenia. The pilot flew too low. One of the planeʻs wheels hit a wave in the lake and it crashed, flipping upside down in the water. McCurry was trapped underwater until he figured out how to wiggle out of an elaborate safety harness and heavy helmet holding him down. “It was the worst experience in my life,” he said.

He was asked how much of his work is technique versus art and how he knew when he had a great photo.

 “As time goes on, you learn how to translate what goes onto paper. In the early days when I got back to the darkroom with photos I thought were great, I saw I had not paid attention to the background in a picture and how it should fit together with the foreground. You learn to pay attention to the quality of light. You learn to hone your eye,” he said.

At an earlier event at Punahou, McCurry talked about the Afghan Girl, Sharbat Gula, a singular photo considered by many to be a work of art.

He said he came across her when was covering the war, traveling back and forth across the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in 1984 and stopped to visit one of the many refugee camps in Pakistan.

In the camp, he said could hear the voices of children in a tent that turned out to be a girls’ school taught by a woman who had been injured in the war.

The teacher gave him permission to photograph the students in hopes that it might draw the attention of the outside world to the plight of the refugees.

When he saw the girl with the green eyes sitting in a corner, he found her face astonishing. “I knew I had to get a picture of this girl,” he said.

She was shy, he said, but when she saw him photographing the other girls, she became more comfortable. “It was almost like she felt excluded if I didn’t take her picture,” he said. He took photos of Gula both with her shawl covering half of her face and her full face.

McCurry said at the time he knew it was a great picture. But the most important photo shoot of his life was over fast. Gula jumped up and ran off to play with the other girls, just like that.

After her face appeared on the National Geographic cover, McCurry said not a day passed without dozens of readers writing or calling the magazine asking how they could help her with money, food, goods. Men even wanted to marry her. She became the symbol of the suffering of Afghan villagers caught in the middle of death and destruction not of their own making.

In 2002, McCurry and a film crew from National Geographic returned to Pakistan where they launched a difficult search for her, initially not even knowing her name.

“So many people pretended to be her. They swore up and down they were the girl,” he said. Men pretended to be her husband. When they finally found Gula in a village in the mountains on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, she of course looked much older, a married woman with four children.

Gula now lives in Italy , where she was granted asylum in 2021 after the Taliban took over Afghanistan.  She had been welcomed back to Afghanistan in 2017 after she had been arrested and threatened with deportation by the Pakistani government for using forged identification papers — a common practice by hundreds of Afghan refugees in Pakistan as they struggled to remain in the country. The Afghanistan government at the time welcomed her back with a large new home and a stipend.

But when the Taliban seized Afghanistan, Gulaʻs supporters knew she needed to leave for her own safety with the government cracking down on women, especially celebrities in a country where Taliban officials wanted women to be invisible.

McCurry still lives in Philadelphia, where he grew up. He said when he was 19, he took off from his family’s home to live in Europe for a year, which made him realize he wanted to travel for the rest of his life.

“I started to realize there is a big world out there. I wanted to see it all but I realized I needed a purpose. I couldn’t just travel. I went back to school,” he said.

After he graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a degree in film and fine art photography, he worked for two years as a news photographer at the now-defunct newspaper, the Philadelphia Bulletin.

When he had saved enough money, he took off for what he expected to be six-week trip to India, which turned into two years. After that trip, he kept returning to India as his career as a photographer flourished. In the years since, he has worked in dozens of other countries.

He urged the Punahou students to put down their devices and get out to see the world, “to enjoy the adventure of being human. To experience life happening right in front of you. To see the commonality of humanity no matter where you are. You can really learn a lot.”

At age 74, he doesn’t intend to stop. After the Punahou visit, he headed home to Philadelphia to regroup before taking off on assignments in Italy and Cambodia.

“If you are doing what you love, why stop? This is what energizes me,” he said. “This is what gives purpose to my life.”

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A Little Wanderlust… Yep, There’s a Genetic Reason We Love to Travel

Last updated on January 16, 2024 by Shannon

The wanderlust gene is a real thing, and as someone who spent ten years traveling the world before settling in Barcelona, Spain in 2018, it was refreshing to hear there might be a genetic component to my wanderlust. For those of us who love travel more than your average person, you just might also have the wanderlust gene, known as DRD4-7R.

This gene has been linked to an increased level of curiosity and restlessness, which can explain why some of us are born with an innate desire to explore the world. According to research, those who possess this gene tend seek out novelty and new experiences. Full cultural immersion becomes the minimum bar for your travels.

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Understanding the Wanderlust Gene

I have often mentioned that in my family, the idea of world travel was a not given . I never thought a person like me— from a low-income family who had never left the country before—could plan and execute more than 15 years of exploring the world.

But hey, maybe it’s because of the wanderlust gene. While the idea of a “wanderlust gene” may seem like a romantic notion, scientific evidence supports its existence. Studies show that individuals with the DRD4-7R gene are more reactive to a dopamine hit in their brains—new experiences and calculated risks can actually lead to a greater sense of fulfillment and happiness.

I’ve found that to be the case in my life. Despite some controversy surrounding the idea of a “wanderlust gene,” it’s clear that I fall into the category of those with a deep-seated desire to put foot to pavement and each new foods, meet new people, and see firsthand every place that has ever piqued my interest.

It’s not that having the wanderlust gene, which is a genetic variant, guarantees you’ll be a world traveler, but rather that there is simply a slightly different chemical process happening in the brains of those with it.

So many factors—many out of your control—may have impacted if you can find the money and gumption for world travel —upbringing and life experiences may mean you have that unrealized desire.

And if you’re like me, you have a bevy of close friends for whom travel resonates at a different frequency. Only about 20% of the population carries this genetic mutation. This means that while some people (me) have an insatiable desire to travel, others are perfectly content staying close to home (my bestie).

These are the best travel books for wanderlust travelers.

I read a lot of books—these are the 17 travels books that will change your perspective, and maybe even your life.

8 Signs You Have the Wanderlust Gene

The discovery of the wanderlust gene has raised some interesting questions about its implications for society. Some have suggested that the gene may be responsible for the rise of tourism and travel as a global industry—as travel has become increasingly accessible and affordable, more people are seeking out new experiences and adventure.

Since genetic testing will run you upwards of $50 to test if you actually have this gene variant, it’s more fun to look at some of the traits that might manifest in your own life if you’re a frequent traveler.

Each of these aspects is more than just a quirky trait; it’s a watermark on your soul, proof of your wanderlust gene.

You trace intricate journeys on maps.

I’m just as likely to hang a beautiful map on my wall as I am my travel photos. If you look at a map and your eyes dance from continent to continent, you just might have the wanderlust gene.

Many look at a map just to plan a trip, but if you’re like me, you study them because you’re intrigued by the possibilities. Where others see cartography, you see an intricate web of stories , connecting not just cities but cultures, histories, and souls.

You speak the language of many lands.

Fluency isn’t the goal, but connection is. If you’re like me, you pick up “hello,” “thank you,” and “goodbye” in languages that most people wouldn’t venture to explore. More than mere words, these phrases are keys that unlock tiny, yet meaningful, interactions—a respectful nod from a local vendor, a shared smile with a passerby.

My best moment was volunteering in Nepal for two months , when I took a week of language lessons before living in a rural town in the Kathmandu Valley for a month. While I certainly didn’t learn Nepali in that short time, I did pick up a handful of fun phrases—and a few crude ones. Those would come in handy during my long hike in the Annapurna circuit in the Himalayas .

You curate a globetrotting playlist on the reg.

Your playlists aren’t confined by genre or language; they’re an aural journey around the world. Each song conjures a vivid scene—perhaps a bustling African market or a sun-soaked Caribbean beach. Your eclectic musical tastes become a way to relive your travels and inspire new ones, as each note ushers in a sense of place.

On my play lists is the Danish song I learned to love while driving around Fraser Island with an eclectic mix of backpackers, a song Rowe from Australia introduced me to while I couchsurfed with him in Melbourne, and many more.

You savor the world on your plate.

For you, each dish is a geographic riddle, told through spices and textures . From the aromatic curries of Southeast Asia to the hearty stews of Eastern Europe, you relish in the ways food can convey a sense of community and history.

And while others may shy away from unfamiliar flavors, you dive in with the zeal of an explorer discovering a new land.

Even as a vegetarian, I have made a point to explore every new culture with as much gusto and curiosity as it allowed. Bosnia wasn’t great for vegetarians , but I loved the bureks with sour yogurt. Jordan mains are meat-tastic, but the mezzes are a feast for the curious vegetarian . And while I lacked much ability to communicate in Burma, I may have eaten better food in Burma there than anywhere else in Southeast Asia!

You transform airports into wonderlands.

Airports aren’t just transfer hubs; they’re realms filled with untold stories and unexplored corners. Every lounge, every gate, every duty-free shop becomes a microcosm of the world beyond, a snapshot of our globalized society.

While others bemoan layovers, I love the vibes. I seize those moments as opportunities to dream, to observe, and perhaps even to make fleeting connections that span continents. And at the very least, it’s a good time to sit and read a great book about the place I’m visiting next.

You unearth answers through curiosity.

The world is your classroom, and you are its eternally curious student. Why are the houses in Burano so colorful? What’s the historical significance of a Turkish hammam?

If you’re anything like me, you’re not just snapping photos, you’re collecting insights.

You align your adventures with celestial events.

Who plans a trip around a solar eclipse or the northern lights? I do. While many of my travels are dictated solely by the Earth’s wonders—the Taj Mahal is popular for a reason—its celestial dance with the universe is also worth my travels.

Whether it’s capturing the ethereal beauty of bioluminescent bays or trekking to a remote corner for an astronomical event, travel can be a way to touch the sublime—the extraordinary aspects of our world often overlooked by other travelers.

You forge sustainable paths.

Your footsteps tread lightly, but your presence is deeply felt. By choosing locally-sourced meals, eco-friendly accommodations, and sustainable modes of transport, you’re embracing a form of grassroots travel that respects both the environment and its inhabitants.

You’re not just a visitor but a conscientious contributor to the places you adore, ensuring that they can be equally enjoyed by future generations.

Why Did the Wanderlust Gene Develop?

The wanderlust gene is a genetic variation of the DRD4 gene. This variation, DRD4-7R, occurs in a region of the gene that is repeated between 2 to 11 times. The prevalence of the wanderlust gene varies across different populations, according to researches. For example, migratory people tend to have a higher proportion of the DRD4-7R variant compared to those who stay closer to their origins.

While the exact origins of the wanderlust gene are not fully understood, some researchers believe that it may have provided an evolutionary advantage to early humans.

The ability to explore new territories and adapt to changing environments may have increased survival rates and led to the spread of human populations across the globe . While the impulsivity associated with it wouldn’t have upped your chances when facing off against a lion in the wild, overall, the more adventurous were more likely to survive and pass on their genes since they sought new territories and spread their reach wider.

That tracks with the fact that the gene is found most prominently in descendants of Europeans —who went on to explore, colonize, and spread across North and South America.

Psychological Aspects of Having the Gene

The DRD4-7R gene is also associated with increased levels of dopamine in the brain, which is a neurotransmitter that plays a role in reward-seeking behavior. Its a hormone associated with falling in love , as well as many other types of human behavior.

“Dopamine is the liking hormone, and when you want to get more, it doesn’t sate you—you get hooked,” according to biologist Dawn Maslar .

This may explain why people with the wanderlust gene are more likely to seek out new experiences and take risks, as they are driven by the potential rewards of these experiences. Associated with that innate drive for daredevil behavior is a yen for newness and novelty .

All things you find in spades when you travel a lot.

This gene is also linked to impulsivity, which may explain I had a hard time staying in one place for too long—and why I’ve lived abroad for months and years at a time in a number of places all over the world.

Additionally, research has shown that people with the wanderlust gene tend to have a more open and curious personality, which may make them more receptive to new experiences and more likely to seek out adventure.

That’s the nature side of the equation, but nurture plays a big role too.

How the Gene Influences Behavior

People with the wanderlust gene may be more likely to engage in travel and exploration, but genetics alone does not determine behavior. Environmental factors, such as upbringing, life experiences, and your eventual life partner or close friends also play a significant role in shaping behavior.

“One of the core five personality traits many people identify across the world is openness to experience,” says Adam Galinksy of Columbia Business School . “And that is both a trait that increases the probability people are likely to go abroad and the likelihood of whether they’ll benefit from those experiences.”

The fact is, the presence of the wanderlust gene may make you more susceptible to the influence of environmental factors that encourage travel and exploration. If your parents exposed you to travel young, you could have caught the travel bug from them .

Or if your college roommate saves every penny to travel —or convinces you to study abroad, these are all factors that could make someone with the wanderlust gene fall in love with traveling.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, DRD4 gene can be tested through genetic testing. DNA testing companies can identify the presence of the DRD4-7R gene variant. Mainstream tests like 23andMe are not going to indicate if you have the gene or not. While most tests cost in the $150 range, a quick Google shows you can find out for as low as $50 .

Research has found that the DRD4 gene, specifically the DRD4-7R variant, is associated with personality traits like novelty-seeking, risk-taking, and impulsivity. These traits are often linked to a desire for exploration and adventure, which may explain why people with the DRD4-7R variant are more likely to have a strong sense of wanderlust.

The DRD4-7R variant is estimated to be present in about 20% of the population. However, it’s important to note that having the gene variant doesn’t necessarily mean a person will have a strong desire to travel or be more adventurous. The influence of genetics on behavior is complex and can be influenced by a variety of factors, including environment and life experiences.

Planning Your travels

If you’re in the early stages of planning your travels, the following resources should help.

Dreaming of Travel » Letter to Travel Dreamers | How Do You Make Big Decisions? | Why I Decided to Travel the World | Creating Transformative Travel Experiences | The Best Travel Books

Affording Travel » How to Save for World Travel | How Much Does it Cost to Travel the World | Best Credit and Debit Cards for Travel | Using Geoarbitrage to Live Abroad | How to Work Remotely

Planning Travel » Plan Your World Travel Itinerary | Pack for Long-Term Travel | Homeschooling While Traveling | How to Purge Everything You Own | How to Pick the Right RTW Backpack | Buying RTW Flights

Staying Healthy » Safety and Solo Female Travel | How to Pick the Right Travel Insurance | Travel Vaccines 101 | How to Stay Healthy Abroad

Featured Trips

Unlock Your Wanderlust: Discover the Ultimate Travel Essentials for Women

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Prepare for your next trip with our list of the top travel essentials for women. From safaris in Kenya to hiking the Colorado mountains, we've got you covered. Our list of the best travel gear will help you reach your destination in style and comfort.

But let's face it, there's so much you can pack, and today, there are so many incredible travel tools. That's why we've researched and tested products to find the best travel essentials for women.

1. Blu Atlas Essentials Travel Set

Take the stress out of packing the "perfect toiletry kit" with a bundle of basic body washing needs from Blu Atlas. Essentials Travel Set from Blu Atlas is the best travel essential for women because it cleanses your body and hair and keeps your skin moisturized wherever you are in the world.

Essentials Travel Set is a TSA-friendly kit with Blu Atlas Shampoo, Conditioner, Body Wash, and Face Moisturizer from a premium brand. Start with the shampoo to gently cleanse your hair and scalp, remove product buildup, and leave the hair feeling fresh. Follow up with the fortifying Conditioner to inject moisture into the hair, leaving it strong and hydrated.

Inside the set is another hygiene staple-Blu Atlas Body Wash. The cleanser gently removes dirt, grime, and excess oil from the body while lightly exfoliating and rejuvenating the skin. Face Moisturizer is a necessary tool for anyone with a skincare routine, and it locks in moisture and keeps your skin free from lines.

Each Blu Atlas formula is free from parabens, sulfates, phthalates, and other harsh chemicals that stress out the skin. Instead, the premium skin and hair-care brand combines natural ingredients to cleanse, soothe, and restore. Backed by a medical advisory board, the brand makes products for men and women that make showering a breeze and full of healing ingredients.

Essentials Travel Set is the number one travel essential for women who want to stay squeaky clean on their next great adventure.

2. Diva Menstrual Cup

When traveling, that time of the month can get a little…messy. You probably don't want to carry a backpack full of menstrual products when you could be enjoying the beach and soaking in the sun.

Menstrual cups are the best way to participate in your next vacation, even when it's your time of the month. They collect four to seven times more blood than other products like pads and tampons. Cups come in various sizes and slide into place around the opening of the cervix like a tampon.

While menstrual cups are a fabulous tool, bear in mind that you'll need to empty the cup. How often you empty it will depend on your flow. The heavier you bleed, the more frequently you'll need to empty it. We recommend practicing using a menstrual cup before using it on vacation because it may take a bit of practice to get down.

3. Manta Sleep Mask

Take 100% blackout curtains with you everywhere you go. Manta's Sleep Mask is a customizable mask with C-shaped eye pads that are customizable and fit your face perfectly.

When appropriately fitted, the mask blocks out all light and hugs your face with breathable fabric. Find the best position for your face by adjusting the eye pads and back clasp. (You'll know it's in the correct position when no light comes through).

Sleep Mask is made with soft, lightweight fabric that remains durable. Sleep Mask from Manta takes a long time to wear out, and you could use one eye mask for more than ten years. A high-quality eye mask like the Manta Sleep Mask is one of the best travel essentials for women.

4. Epicka Universal Travel Adapter

Most travel adapters look the same and offer similar benefits, but Epicka's Universal Travel Adapter stands out for a few reasons. The adapter is an all-in-one charger with no extra accessories and comes with the top three international plugs and a US-style plug in the front.

On the bottom of the cube are three USB-A plugins and one USB-C plug that allow you to charge multiple devices simultaneously. Epicka's Universal Travel Adapter is the best travel essential for women who need great charging options. Not to mention, the adapter comes at an incredible price.

Please note that the travel adapter is not a voltage converter, and you should not use it for high-wattage items like hair styling tools. Hair styling tools like blow dryers or straighteners can overload an electrical outlet or adapter and fry the electronics.

5. Bagsmart Compression Cubes

Are you a notorious overpacker? Or maybe you aren't sure what outfits and shoes you'll need on your next vacation. We recommend harnessing the power of compression cubes to help you pack as much as possible.

Compression cubes can help you save up to 50% of the space in your luggage and leave room for essential things like toiletries or your favorite swimsuits. Each cube is made with lightweight fabric, so it doesn't add weight to your luggage.

How do you use them? Unzip the cubes, fold and place your clothes inside, and then zip up the regular zipper and the compression zipper to make it up to 50% smaller. Bagsmart's Compression Cube set also comes with a shoe bag where it's easy to store up to two pairs of shoes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What items should i take when traveling.

Make the ultimate packing list before heading out on your next vacation. If you're a frequent traveler, you may have your packing list down pat, but if you're a newbie looking for a solid plane, here are a few things you shouldn't forget to pack.

A basic packing list should include: toiletries, clothes, chargers, a laptop, a camera, an eye mask, headphones, a travel adapter, a menstrual cup, and shoes.

What are the best travel essentials for women?

The best travel essentials for women are hygiene and technology-related. Your hygiene is important, which is why the Blu Atlas Essentials Travel Set and Diva Cup are our top picks for travelers. It's also essential to have a travel adapter to keep your technology charged.

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View when driving from Yelisovo airport to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky

The first myth I want to disprove is that getting to Kamchatka is extremely costly. It’s not. Going between February and April, a return flight from Moscow can be had for 11,000 roubles (US$380 / £220). Not bad for 18 hours total flying time. In summer the flights are more expensive but still, if you book them a few months in advance, can be got for 16,000 roubles return.

It’s true, many people will tell you that March and April are the worst months to visit because the snow is starting to melt and everything’s a bit sloshy and dirty in settlements. On the other hand, these are great months for the independent traveller! During winter zimniki (temporary winter roads made of compacted snow or simply frozen river surfaces) open up all over Kamchatka, granting access to communities that in summer are totally isolated. Hitch hiking is possible right from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to the very north of the peninsula. Alternatively, vehicles can be hired in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky from tour firms. Also in the winter or early spring months places can be reached that are away even from the zimniki, either by snowmobile or by the use of cross country skis. For example, Klyuchevskaya Sopka, Eurasia’s largest active volcano, can be accessed from the village of Klyuchi without the need even for a guide by a traveller with a pair of cross country skis. Bears do not wake up until mid-April so this is not a danger, but bears almost never attack anyone anyway.

The main disadvantages of winter travel in Kamchatka are that it is cold, there is no greenery and there are no bears, which some people come here especially to see.

The second myth I’d like to dispel is that travel around the peninsula requires hiring a helicopter. As mentioned above, in winter you can get almost anywhere by hitch hiking. I even hitched a lift with bear hunters on snowmobiles from their village to a reindeer herder encampment 100km away. In summer snowmobiles are replaced by horses, and transport is reduced from long distance ice-road journeys to irregular inter-settlement all-terrain vehicle trips. Hitch hiking is possible on these all-terrain vehicles though.

Throughout the year there are fairly expensive public helicopter flights to all settlements which are nevertheless much cheaper than hiring your own helicopter. There is also one permanent, year-round dirt road leading halfway up the peninsula. Some distance after the town of Milkovo, about 350km north of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky , it forks. The right fork leads to Klyuchi , site of Eurasia’s largest active volcano, and further to the port town of Ust-Kamchatsk. The left fork leads to the indigenous Even villages of Anavgay and Esso. Daily buses go from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to Klyuchi , Anavgay and Esso, costing about 1000 roubles each way. In winter a zimnik passable by lorries heads north from Anavgay 36 hours to the otherwise isolated town of Palana. From Palana more zimniki head further north to yet more isolated settlements. From the peninsula’s very northernmost settlements there are even EXTREMELY irregular snowmobile and all-terrain vehicle connections with Magadan Oblast and Chukotka. Another zimnik, only passable by all-terrain vehicle, heads from Anavgay to the village of Ust-Khayryuzovo on Kamchatka’s west coast.

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Jennifer Aniston Wishes 'Ageless Freak' Paul Rudd a Happy 55th Birthday

Jennifer Aniston shared a moment from her and Paul Rudd's 2012 movie 'Wanderlust' in celebration of the actor's birthday

Gregg DeGuire/Getty

Jennifer Aniston is wishing her friend and past costar Paul Rudd a happy birthday!

Aniston, 55, shared a scene featuring her and Rudd, who turned 55 on April 6, from their 2012 movie Wanderlust to her Instagram Stories on April 7 as she wished Rudd well.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAUL RUDD," she wrote in a caption to the video. "I love you, you ageless freak! ❤️🍰🎂🍰🎂❤️"

The scene Aniston shared from Wanderlust — a comedy in which she and Rudd star as a married couple who move from New York City to a commune in Georgia after losing their jobs — shows various commune members played by Kathryn Hahn, Alan Alda, Jordan Peele and more chastising Rudd's character after he swats a fly out of the air.

Jennifer Aniston/Instagram

Wanderlust marked the second time Rudd and Aniston worked together on the big screen. The duo previously costarred in 1998's The Object of My Affection . Rudd also memorably played a supporting role in the final two seasons of Aniston's television classic Friends as Mike Hannigan, a love interest for Lisa Kudrow 's character Phoebe.

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Rudd has developed a reputation for seemingly never aging over 30 years and counting working in the film and television industry, which Aniston has shouted out in past social media posts marking the actor's birthday. "Happy birthday #PaulRudd!! You don't age, which is weird - but we celebrate you anyway ❤️ ❤️ ❤️," she wrote in a similar post shared to her Instagram Stories on Rudd's 52nd birthday back in 2021.

Aniston also echoed that comment later in 2021 when she congratulated Rudd on becoming PEOPLE's  Sexiest Man Alive , writing on the social media platform, "You don't age, which is weird, but we still love you."

Moviestore/Shutterstock

In a January 2023 interview with Men's Health , Rudd himself shared that his secret to staying young and remaining in shape for his superhero role in the Ant-Man movies is getting eight hours of sleep each night.

"People ask me, ‘Can you send me your meal plan? How many times a week do you work out? Do you drink? Do you eat carbs? Do you have a cheat day?’ The most important part of training is sleep," he shared at the time.

Rudd, who has been married to his wife Julie Yaeger since 2003, most recently appeared on the big screen in Ghostbusters: Afterlife .

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Search for Cheap Deals on Hotels in Elektrostal

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You’re not an average traveler—and Hotwire knows it. Your wanderlust takes you off the beaten path to discover unique adventures and every travel destination’s lesser-known tourist scenes. Hotwire has the hookup! Book your Elektrostal hotel with Hotwire to complete your one-of-a-kind travel checklist.

For you, intrepid voyager, Hotwire has a large selection of the best hotels in Elektrostal.

Choosing the right hotel in Moscow Oblast has everything to do with the way you want your trip to go. If you’ve scribbled a few obscure destinations on your itinerary, you probably already have a good sense of how your getaway is taking shape. Lean into that by booking one of Elektrostal’s hotels. Choose the one that best catches your trip’s tourist drift.

If you’re traveling during the week for business, Hotwire can score you a luxury hotel for as low as . In town for pleasure? Hotwire still has you covered. If you’re in the mood for a quick last-minute weekend getaway or spa retreat, you can get up to 60% Elektrostal hotel deals at the last minute.

While traveling, where you stay plays a major role in your overall vacation enjoyment. Choosing the right hotel is just as important as making sure you book the right flight and car rental. If you’re traveling with family or friends, you may need to book a hotel with connecting rooms. If you enjoy an elegant and relaxing hotel ambiance, opt for one of Hotwire’s luxury hotels in Elektrostal. No matter your reason for visiting Elektrostal, with Hotwire’s large selection of hotels in the area, you’re sure to book a hotel that meets all your accommodation needs.

Frequently Asked Questions About Elektrostal hotels

Where can i find the best last-minute travel deals.

If you’re traveling in the spirit of spontaneity, you’ll love the idea of leaving your exact hotel choice up to chance. With Hotwire Hot Rates, you can save up to 60% off your next flight, hotel, or car rental. Just plug in your general preferences and let Hotwire choose last-minute hotel deals in Elektrostal for as low as .

How many hotels are there in Elektrostal?

With over hotels in Elektrostal, you’re sure to find one that best matches your travel mood. When you book with Hotwire, you can score a stellar home away from home for as low as .

How to find cheap car rentals in Elektrostal?

Finding a cheap car rental deal in Elektrostal is as easy as scoring cheap hotels in Elektrostal. Hotwire partners with top-of-the-line car rental companies to bring you a large selection of affordable options. Whether you’re in need of a large SUV for the entire family or a more compact but stylish vehicle, Hotwire has you covered. You can even save up to 60% off a car rental deal if you book a Hotwire Hot Rate at the last minute.

Is it safe to travel to Elektrostal now?

With recent COVID-19 closures and reopenings, many people are wondering, “Is it safe to travel to Elektrostal right now?” When it’s time to book your getaway, be sure to check out the most up-to-date information on all safety measures, any restrictions, and  guidance on traveling during the coronavirus  pandemic.

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