Travel Goals, Big Journeys:
How Having a Purpose Transforms Travel
october 2025
Welcome Back to La Paz, Bolivia
This week’s blog is all about travel goals and big journeys, the kind of trip that starts from your own interests or dreams and slowly turns into an adventure. It’s about those moments when you move past the usual plans and aim a bit higher. Travel goals don’t just take you somewhere new; they give your journey direction, depth, and something to hold onto when things get tough.
The other day, I was sitting in the café working when two Argentine guys came in for breakfast. We started talking, and they told me they’re biking from Buenos Aires all the way to the United States to watch Argentina’s first game at the World Cup. How crazy? Or better yet, how amazing. Our chat made me think about the beauty of not just booking a trip, but creating goals around it and with in it. They don’t have to be as big as our new biker friends’ mission, but even small goals can give a trip more meaning and depth. That’s what today’s post is about, and if you want to hear their full story, check out this week’s podcast episode. It’s in Spanish, but worth a listen, a completely different way of traveling and the spark for this week’s blog.
From La Paz to the World
Life in La Paz moves quickly, sunny mornings, rainy afternoons, and Café del Mundo, with travelers from every corner of the world. They come to eat, plan their routes, and share stories.
One of our favorite parts of this storytelling has been the Market Tour, created together with Travel del Mundo. Side by side with travelers, we dive into the colors, flavors, and the people who bring them to life.
If you have a morning in La Paz and want to feel the real city, and see the daily movement how locals, this is the tour for you. We walk, we taste, we greet vendors, and we swap stories along the way. Together, we buy fresh ingredients for brunch, while picking up local slang and learning how to shop like a true paceño.
It’s not just a tour, it’s a slice of everyday life in La Paz, shared with new friends from around the world. Get more info here.
Why Purposeful Travel Hits Different
Travel can be more than just checking off places on a list. Some trips start with a ticket, but others begin with a clear idea, a purpose that gives shape to everything that follows. When you have that purpose, every choice, from the bus you take to the food you try, feels connected to something bigger. A late bus or a wrong turn becomes part of the story, not just a hassle, because you know why you’re out there in the first place. You notice more, stay curious longer, and connect with people in a deeper way. The trip stops being about “seeing everything” and becomes about “experiencing something.” And when you come home, you carry back not just photos, but stories that still make you think long after the bags are unpacked.
Traveling with Purpose
The goal of your trip doesn’t have to be huge or extreme, it just has to give your journey some direction. Maybe it’s learning something new, chasing an adventure, creating, giving back, or challenging yourself in a way you’ve been putting off. Whatever it is, the point is to pick something that excites you enough to keep going when the road gets messy.
Once you’ve chosen that goal, the way you travel naturally falls into place. If your focus is deepening knowledge, you might stay a week in Cusco, taking day trips into the Sacred Valley. If it’s adventure, you might hop buses through Bolivia and let detours become part of the story. Long-term goals need more time, like living a month in Medellín to catch the daily life of the city. And sometimes the journey itself is the goal, whether that’s biking the Carretera Austral in Chile or riding a motorbike through northern Argentina.
Here are five ideas to spark your own South American trip:
Learn Something New:
Don’t stop at one city — take Spanish lessons in three different places, or try a new dance class everywhere you go and see how styles change across the continent.
Take on an Adventure: Make hiking your theme — walk at sea level, in the jungle, at high altitude, and finish by climbing a mountain in Bolivia, Peru, or Argentina.
Create Something: Start a travel journal or photo project and keep adding to it — document markets, street art, or daily life in every town you pass through.
Give Back: Spend time with locals in more than one place — volunteer on a coffee farm, help with a beach cleanup, or join a community tourism project in the Amazon.
Challenge Yourself: Ask yourself what scares you a little — then do it. Learn to surf, go paragliding, ride a bike on the world’s most infamous road, or camp under the stars far from the city.
Coming Home with More Than Souvenirs
The trip might end, but the purpose doesn’t have to. Take time to reflect, write about what you learned, share your story with friends, or post it online.
Keep practicing what you started, whether it’s cooking Bolivian food, speaking Spanish, or hiking on weekends. Turn your trip into something you carry with you: a photo wall, a playlist, or a journal you can revisit. Inspire others by sharing what worked (and what didn’t) so they can dream up their own adventures. And when the itch to travel hits again, let the lessons from this trip guide the next one, this is how one big goal can lead to the next.
Big goals can transform a trip, pulling you toward something bigger and giving meaning to the tough days on the road. But the real magic isn’t just in hitting the target, it’s in how the journey reshapes you along the way. The long bus rides, the missed connections, the tiny wins that no one back home will understand, that’s where the story lives. Setting a few goals can guide you, but don’t forget to leave space for the unexpected. Some of the best moments are the ones you never planned. In the end, it’s not just about reaching the stadium, it’s about every single turn of the pedals that got you there.
I hope this post inspires you to set a few goals for your next trip, they don’t have to be as big as our new friends’ ride to the World Cup, but they can make your journey feel deeper. Don’t forget to subscribe for weekly travel inspiration, our best deals, and a free e-book about traveling to Bolivia,
