How Throwback Trips Let You Relive Your Childhood
When you were a child or teenager, what experiences were on your bucket list or filled you with nostalgia? Perhaps it was seeing your favorite band in concert, cheering on players at a big sports game, or visiting a special place in the great outdoors. These may be the kinds of moments you couldn’t wait for.
But between school, extracurricular activities, and the demands of everyday life, you may have missed out on one or two of those events. Or perhaps your dreams came true and you now find yourself longing to experience the good old days. A nostalgic travel trend called a “throwback trip” is giving adults a chance to reconnect with their childhood dreams and memories, according to Bustle.
What Is the Throwback Trip Trend?
The beauty of the trend is that it allows participants to use their own money and vacation time to enjoy their childhood interests. Whether you see T-Pain, Hilary Duff, or No Doubt in concert, there are plenty of opportunities, with many artists who were popular in the 2000s going on tour this year.
@bethanylearmont I did in fact hop on a plane yesterday to see Hilary Duff in concert 🦋 @hilaryduff #hilaryduff #hilaryduffconcert #girlhood #concert #thisiswhatdreamsaremadeof ♬ Why Not – Hilary Duff
The trend is also a way to listen to songs from your old playlists and see favorite artists live on your own terms. As an adult, you have more freedom to plan nostalgic experiences that may not have been possible during your early years. Throwback trips can help you treat your inner child while celebrating the life you’ve built.
Returning to Meaningful Places
A throwback trip can also center on a place that holds special memories, Vice reports. It can inspire you to go back to a location that still feels meaningful years later. “I think ‘throwback trip’ is a new name for something travelers have been doing forever: going back to a place that got under your skin,” Alice Wright, co-founder and travel writer at Panoramic Pathways, LLC, tells Vice.
Wright first became fascinated with Arches National Park in Utah after reading about it in Edward Abbey’s Desert Solitaire. “The massive red-rock fins, impossible arches, and huge blue sky were unlike anywhere I had ever been,” she explains. “I literally cried when we had to leave … Years later, my husband and I went back without our children. This time, we had more time to just be.”
How to Plan a Throwback Trip
Plan your trip based on what you hope to experience, whether that means returning to a beloved destination or embarking on an adventure you’ve dreamed about since you were a kid.
“We didn’t try to recreate the first trip,” Wright explains. She recommends going back to familiar spots without following the original itinerary too closely, while leaving room for new experiences and discoveries. “The best throwback trips don’t reproduce the nostalgia; they expand it,” she adds.
So whether you plan on attending an event for the first time that reminds you of your teenage years with your best friends or revisiting your favorite childhood destination, make sure to treat yourself. You may even get the chance to see those memories in an entirely new light. Your inner child deserves it.
