The voiceover for this video lends a fairytale quality to the piece. It makes us think of journeys that we’ve undertaken in the past with fondness, but it also inspires the familiar feeling of wanderlust. The thrill of adventure and imagining having our own narrator to catalogue our travels are both appealing prospects.

Solo travel is an amazing opportunity for adventure. It’s a chance to discover yourself as you discover the world. It is safe. It is fun. You’ll also meet more people – locals and travellers – than you would travelling with a companion. You’ll have amazing experiences you will never forget.

Hitchhiking certainly isn’t the safest way for women to travel – and I hope if I ever have a daughter that she never does it – but I must say that I have had nothing but positive experiences. Some of my most rewarding travel moments were when I was vulnerable and looking for a little help from a soon-to-be-friend.

Spiritual travel runs the gamut of transcendental experiences, from traditional religious pilgrimages to yoga retreats and shamanic healing. The global religious travel market generates almost $20 billion per year and is growing fast, however, religious belief is not a prerequisite. An interest in the culture and history of the world’s most mystical places is reason enough to visit our top five picks of spiritual travel destinations.

Forget ritzy restaurants and fine gourmet dining. If you want to taste the real essence of a place, you need to hit the streets and see what’s cooking. These eats are more than just for locals and budget travellers, they’re also a sure-fire way to get straight to the heart of a country and its people. Just look for the busiest pushcart, stall or street hawker you can find and say hello to the tastiest and cheapest, although not necessarily healthiest, grub of your trip.

Mention literary destinations and many people immediately conjure up images of 19th-century Britain – dingy Dickensian London and the rolling hills of Wordsworth’s beloved Lake District – or the United States, with its Beat poets in New York and San Francisco, and Mark Twain’s tales of life on the Mississippi. Of course, literature has left its imprint far and wide across the globe. Here is just a smattering of other novel (excuse the pun) locations.