Our Travel Resolutions for 2025

(And Why You Might Want to Steal Them)

New Year's resolutions are easy to make and even easier to break.

We've all been there — January 1st arrives full of possibilities, but by February the gym bag is collecting dust, the exercise bike gets used as a clothes hanger, and the good intentions have quietly packed their bags and hit the road. But we've found that resolutions tied to something you genuinely love have a way of sticking around longer.

For us, that something is travel.

As we looked back on everything 2024 brought us — the adventures, the mishaps, the moments we wished we'd handled differently — three honest resolutions rose to the top. We're sharing them here because we suspect a few of them might resonate with you too.

Get in Shape — and Mean It This Time

Yes, we're starting with the most clichéd resolution on the list. But bear with us, because for travelers specifically, this one matters more than people realize.

Visiting the European Christmas Markets this past holiday season was magical — and did absolutely nothing for our waistlines. But the moment that really drove this resolution home happened earlier in the year on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. We were hiking toward the Old Man of Storr, that iconic jagged rock formation rising dramatically from the hillside, and before we reached the steepest final ascent, we made the call to turn back.

It was the right decision in the moment. But standing there looking up at what we didn't reach, we both knew that more cardio, and fewer scones, might have changed that outcome.

Travel asks things of your body — long walking days, uneven terrain, early mornings, full schedules. The better shape you're in, the more of it you get to experience. So, we're committing to more daily movement, more consistency, and yes, stepping away from the Christmas cookies a little sooner this year.

Be More Selective

This one is harder to admit because it requires acknowledging that our ambition means we sometimes bite off more than we can chew.

On our last major trip, we visited six cities across four countries, took ten train rides, and did it all in fifteen days. On paper it sounds impressive. In practice, by the end of it, we were pooped!

We know we're not alone in this. Traveling long distances takes a lot of effort – and it’s not cheap. It makes you want to see everything, tick every box, and squeeze every possible experience into a limited window of time. We understand it because we feel it too. But the trips we look back on most fondly are almost never the ones where we covered the most ground.

Going forward we're resolving to choose depth over breadth. Pick the places that matter most, give them the time they deserve, and trust that the ones we skip will still be there when we come back. Because we will come back. We always tell ourselves that.

Give It a Rest

This might be the resolution we need most.

What a lot of our viewers don't see is what happens behind the scenes of every trip — the hours of filming, the evenings on the laptop editing and planning, the constant awareness of what content still needs to be captured. We love this work. We genuinely do. But somewhere along the way it's easy to lose sight of why we started doing it in the first place. We have to remember to stop and smell the roses.

This year we're resolving to remember to take a vacation from our vacation. To put down the camera, if only for a day, to linger over a glass of wine without thinking about the lighting. To visit a castle without planning where the best shot might be. The content will still get made. But the experience has to come first.

After all, the whole reason we started Two Gay Grandpas Travel was to share the beauty and diversity this world has to offer. You can't share what you haven't stopped long enough to feel.

Here's to a 2025 full of slower mornings, better choices, and adventures worth every step.

Grandpa Bobby and Grandpa Scott