Whether you need a mantra for your next adventure or just a caption for your next Instagram post, we’ve got you covered with 20 of our favorite wanderlust quotes below—and no, you won’t find John Muir’s famous “The mountains are calling and I must go” quote on this list (we know you know that one!).
1. “The important thing is not how many years in your life, but how much life in your years.”
– Although this quote is often attributed to Abraham Lincoln, and occasionally to Adlai Stevenson, it’s actually from a newspaper advertisement for a self-help book from the 1940s. But we don’t think that makes it any less impactful.
2. “If you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
– Yogi Berra. You don’t have to be a Yankees fan to appreciate the approachable and lighthearted take on life from baseball legend Yogi Berra.
3. “One way to open your eyes is to ask yourself, ‘What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?’”
– This one goes to Rachel Carson, one of the earliest and most prominent female conservationists in the U.S. We love the idea of approaching every day as if it were your last chance to experience this amazing place.
4. “As soon as you’re born, you start dying, so you might as well have a good time.”
– Cake (the band, not the food). Not every quote has to be deep, as this lighthearted look on life illustrates.
5. “Nature never did betray the heart that loved her.”
– With the eloquence you’d expect of an English poet, William Wordsworth gives us this sweet quote we think perfectly captures the connection between nature and nature lovers.
6. “Everything you’re sure is right can be wrong in another place.”
– Dealing with a major life decision? Stressed? Seek a new destination and a little peace and you may come up with a new way of looking at things, as suggested by American novelist Barbara Kingsolver.
7. “Half the fun of travel is the aesthetic of lostness.”
– While we’re not sure if Ray Bradbury was talking about road travel or space travel, this makes a great quote for when you’re not sure if you’ve made the right turn (literally or figuratively).
8. “I suddenly realized I was in California. Warm, palmy air—air you can kiss—and palms.”
– There’s always been something magical about California and Jack Kerouac got it just right. Fortunately, Cali is loaded with RV owners just waiting to rent out their vehicles to Kerouac-inspired adventurers.
9. “The view of earth is spectacular.”
– Even though Sally Ride had a more—ahem—holistic view of earth, you don’t have to be looking down from a space shuttle to appreciate our planet’s beauty.
10. “And then there is the most dangerous risk of all—the risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later.”
– If anyone knows what a life spent working does to your happiness, it’s the tech wizzes in Silicon Valley like Randy Kosimar. So we trust a former Silicon Valley exec when he says life isn’t all about looking forward to what might happen later.
11. “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”
– Not only was Eleanor Roosevelt one of the first first ladies to grow the role into a powerful one, but she also gave us this lovely quote that any explorer can understand.
12. “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.”
– Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland, definitely has no shortage of thoughtful quotes about finding yourself lost, but we especially like this one.
13. “I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring.”
– Adventurers with nothing more than an RV, a clear schedule, and a sense of adventure, this quote from David Bowie is for you.
14. “A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.”
– While this is of course true literally, we suggest interpreting it as the fact that you’re safe when you don’t take risks—but humans are made to go outside their comfort zones. This quote comes from American businessman John Shedd.
15. “The most effective way to do it is to do it.”
– Think of a woman who was constantly breaking barriers, and you’ll think of Amelia Earhart. We like her attitude on life.
16. “Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go everywhere.”
– We expect to see this quote from Mae West on everyone’s Instagram travel posts immediately. Just be sure to tag us @Outdoorsy when you do.
17. “Don’t wait around for other people to be happy for you. Any happiness you get you’ve got to make yourself.”
– Sure, it’s always fun to travel with friends. But if there’s a park you want to see or a road you can’t wait to drive, let this quote from novelist Alice Walker inspire you to have a good time by yourself instead.
18. “At some point in life, the world’s beauty becomes enough. You don’t need to photograph, paint, or even remember it. It is enough.”
– If there was ever a quote reminding you of the importance of being in the moment in the middle of an amazing trip, this quote from Toni Morrison is it.
19. “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.”
– Various versions of this Mark Twain quote are out there, but the gist is the same in them all: take risks and go places now, or be disappointed later.
20. “It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
– Author J. R. R. Tolkien has given us no shortage of fantastic prose, but this less-popular quote always makes us smile.
