For nearly every trip you embark on, your goal should be the same: to have the time of your life. You know, to go somewhere that will take your breath away.

And if you recognize these words as lyrics from the main track to “Dirty Dancing,” then you may just be ready for a weekend at Pembroke, VA’s Mountain Lake Lodge. The resort, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains — and not New York’s Catskills as the film purports — is the real-world back lot for the 1987 hit movie. Mountain Lake Lodge started offering “Dirty Dancing”-themed weekends to coincide with the film’s 35^th anniversary in 2022. The dance lessons and parties were so popular with travelers that they’re scheduled for 2023 as well.

For some, staking out a weekend on the 2,600-acre nature preserve to dance away the night with strangers may be a no-brainer. But for others, it means traveling out of their comfort zone.¹

There’s a reason we’re bringing up the idea of breaking outside your comfort zone as you plot 2023 travel plans. It’s because Dutch-based online travel agency Booking.com released a study indicating that today’s travelers are looking for a change. In the poll of more than 24,000 people hailing from 32 countries, 58 percent responded that they want to travel “out of their comfort zone” in the coming year.

Comfort zones, of course, are where familiarity and routine reign supreme, and the potential payoff of new experiences lies just outside. But that’s a high-level definition; for a more granular understanding of what respondents meant by “comfort zone,” you need to dig a bit into the survey results. Doing so reveals that travelers endeavor to:

• Get off the grid: More than half of those who weighed in on the Booking.com poll — a whopping 57 percent — answered that they want to escape the hustle and bustle, fleeing crowds and popular destinations where over-tourism has taken hold.
• Immerse themselves in new cultures: Ever desire to soak in a completely different cultural experience than what you’re accustomed to? If so, you join the 47 percent of respondents who feel the same way.
• Turn back time: Sometimes it’s not just where travelers want to go, but when. An incredible 84 percent of poll respondents said they wanted a nostalgic trip — hence our opening tribute to ‘60s era flick “Dirty Dancing.”²

The Benefits of Escaping Routine

The survey numbers tell the story: travelers want to embrace the great unknown.

But why?

Well, there’s not one reason. There are many reasons. Here are a few:

• You can boost your mental well-being. Benefits ranging from improved mental acuity to calmness and creativity have been tied to travel. Challenging yourself with new destinations and unfamiliar activities can make your brain stretch and grow in new ways.³

• You can gain new skills. Pitch enough tents under star-studded skies and you can find yourself becoming an amateur astronomer. Visit enough open-air markets in faraway lands, and you can learn how to prep healthy and delicious meals for yourself and others. Maybe you’ll even learn a new language on the fly. Challenging yourself to create more ambitious travel itineraries can help you learn a wide array of handy skills.⁴

• You can become… anyone. Listen, we’re not suggesting you take on new identities like an undercover CIA agent. But, learning about new cultures — from their guiding principles to their relationship with Mother Nature — is a great way to reassess your own place in life. This is especially true of solo travel, when self-reliance can expand your capabilities. Imagine coming back from a trip not just rested and recharged, but as the person you always hoped you would be.⁵

Ways & Places to Escape Your Comfort Zone

Planning 2023 travel that puts you out of your comfort zone can sound stressful — even with all the potential benefits.

So, we decided to take one more task off your plate by helping jump-start your itinerary.

First, a word of advice. Don’t fill an itinerary with tours, day trips, and adventures that feel foreign to you. Instead, sprinkle them in, incorporating a new activity each day or even every couple of days.

For example, if you’re on an international trip to a bustling city, choose a time to stray outside of the tourist-friendly confines — a place where they only speak the local tongue and you’re not actually sure what you just ordered for lunch.⁶

This way, you can work your way up toward choosing an entire destination that’s far from your comfort zone. If you’re looking for such a place, then how about New Delhi, the Indian capital city that can overload the senses of even the most experienced traveler? Here you’ll find wall-to-wall people — more than 32 million of them — which makes everything from driving to simply finding a little personal space a challenge. And if you’re thinking about stepping into a line to see attractions such as Qutab Minar, among the tallest minarets in the world, then don’t. That’s because the populace prefers the chaos of working their way to the front over forming an orderly line.

But New Delhi is also a stunning destination with the power to transform all who visit. Take the Lotus Temple, which is impressively built to mimic the blossom of its namesake. The marble marvel is the Baha'i House of Worship and symbolizes oneness and humankind. And the sprawling, adjoining gardens offer plenty of space for visitors to wander around.^{7, 8, 9}

After visiting New Delhi, an off-the-grid location might sound like just what you need. And that, of course, was another popular travel plan for respondents to the Booking.com survey.

The idea of traveling to sparsely populated areas to escape everything from light pollution to crowds and Wi-Fi has grown over the past several years, fueled partly by pandemic restrictions. And we have one just for you: Goblin Valley State Park. The southern Utah park’s sandstone formations have been worn down by the wind to resemble — you guessed it — goblins. Travelers can spend the night beside them at one of the park’s yurts, simply appointed structures with no electricity. As a certified dark sky park, be sure to pack a telescope alongside the flashlight.^{10, 11}

Finally, that brings us to our “Dirty Dancing” hotel, just one destination where travelers are looking to romanticize the past. Another option for turning back time and relishing nostalgia is to point your rental car toward Rte. 66, the historic stretch of asphalt connecting Chicago to the Pacific Ocean — or as the song says, “more than 2,000 miles all the way.”

Here you’ll find roadside attractions including Missouri’s ‘30s-era Wagon Wheel Motel and New Mexico’s Tinkertown Museum, where kitschy sculptures and old-timey dioramas await.^{12, 13}

How Travel Insurance Fits In

Traveling out of your comfort zone doesn’t mean being reckless or foolhardy.

Actually, if you’re changing up your habits for 2023 travel, having added peace of mind when you’re in a new city, traveling solo for the first time, or simply wandering off the beaten path toward fresh adventures is especially important.

In the travel industry, we have a name for peace of mind: travel insurance.

A travel insurance plan from Allianz Global Assistance packages up peace of mind into powerful benefits that can come in handy on the road or in the air.

Here are a few examples of how this can work:

• Emergency Medical & Emergency Medical Transportation: Here’s the scenario: you decide that it's time to move on from the strolling the same well-travelled streets meandering through the usual suspects of destinations. This time, you’re packing your hiking boots and belt bag — and blazing a trail through a national park. But what happens if an unwieldly root trips you up — causing a bad sprain that keeps you grounded? Well, when you get knocked down, you can get up again with a travel insurance plan from Allianz Global Assistance. Emergency Medical and Emergency Medical Transportation benefits can help you get to the nearest hospital and receive treatment without breaking your personal finances. (And with our free TravelSmart app, you can find the best facilities, translate medical terms, and have quick access to local emergency numbers.)
• Travel Delays & Trip Interruption: Not all delays and interruptions to your schedule travel itinerary are the same. And if you’re adding some new wrinkles into your getaway, the complications could become quickly compounded — maybe you’re at an airport you’ve never visited or a country where you don’t speak a lick of the native tongue. Travel Delay and Trip Interruption benefits can pay for that airport lunch you weren’t expecting to have or also reimburse you for having to make a beeline back home for a covered reason. Just be sure to become familiar with your specific plan’s financial limits, what constitutes a covered reason, and other key details.¹⁴

This is a great time to take a moment and find a travel insurance plan that’s right for your 2023 travel and beyond.

So, are you ready to explore beyond your comfort zone during 2023 travel? If so, we hope you have the time of your life, whether you dance the night away or blaze a trail to exciting new destinations.

Related Articles

• Bucket List Travel: Where to Go & Why It's More Popular Than Ever
• How to Plan More Inclusive & Diverse Travel - the Right Way
• Best Destinations for Glamping in the U.S.