#25 If you believe social media, then there are only boring travel destinations left

"Really? America? I mean, I don't know. Everybody's going to America!"

Here's the thing: It's a beautiful country - of course! - and it's always great to travel there. But why exactly would anyone want to travel to America nowadays? It's already been traveled to death!". Virtually every route can now be found many times on Youtube or on travelogues on various websites.

How about Australia then? Here you are facing the same problem. It is also the same with destinations like Portugal, Spain, South Africa or Patagonia. Every self-respecting traveler on social media already has been there. These places have been traveled to so many times and even if you haven't been there yourself, you still want to experience something unique and new and share it with others afterwards.

So, in order to experience something else as a traveler or to find a place that has not yet been traveled to intensively, this place must be very obscure or even very remote. How about Trinidad & Tobago or Surinam? Anything that hasn't been called a "must go there" or an "epic" adventure destination.

Because let's face it: there are so many places that carry that designation, and most ADV magazines that feature travelers inevitably fall back on the classics: Patagonia, Southern Africa, Mongolia, or even more mundanely, Alaska. In Europe, it's usually Romania or the trip to the North Cape that are hyped as the ultimate challenge.

Every year there is a new traveler who sets out on the same path, faces more or less the same challenges and photographs the same peaks, dirt roads and dunes. On social media, the same pros and cons of each route or "10 things you absolutely have to know about destination XXX" are presented videographically and with lurid texts with a lot of pathos.

"The pumpkin-spice-latte-adventure"

So what do you need to declare your adventure as unique one? You could combine a motorcycle trip across Baja with surfing or a trip to Thailand with a silence seminar in a Buddhist monastery. And of course: all of this documented on film.

In recent years, we have been inundated with "epic" and "must-do" trips by all media and at all events, and we have become too accustomed to a new normality. In this one, it's no longer enough to simply travel. It feels a bit like going to Ushuaia in Argentina is now common. And the only adventures that still stand out are truly unique feats - like riding the entire distance on a unicycle. Especially since we have met so many travelers who have done the same "epic" routes over and over again, we often feel that they are no longer worth the title.

This is not only true for so-called adventure travel. But also for the current culture itself. Today, you don't just go jogging anymore. You have to prepare for a marathon, of course, and for that you need the best designer clothes from the current collection. And on top of that, everything has to be for a "good cause." A decade ago, graduating from a prestigious university or starting a successful business would have been considered a major accomplishment. Today, it's a small thing at best. Unless you're also, in addition, a vegan blogger, extreme mountaineer, and crypto trader who starts his morning at 4 a.m. with a cup of ethically sourced herbal chai latte while giving a motivational workshop and vacationing on his yacht, combining mindfulness exercises with surfing and motorcycle riding.

Much of what used to be the stuff of dreams - like a trip to South America for example or a trip from Europe to Australia - has become so available and so tangible today that it feels like those things just aren't enough anymore. The pressure to find something new, to discover a unique angle, and to create something original is now enormous. The problem with all of this is that being overwhelmed rarely leads to anything original, but usually just leads to severe burnout. This can even happen while traveling!

But one thing we definitely realized on our trip. There is NO such thing as a boring adventure destination - and neither America nor Norway have been traveled to death.

Putting aside all the images on social media, the pressure, the expectations and the fear of not being able to do something if you haven't done X, Y or Z yet, it becomes clear that what was true a decade ago still counts today: namely the adventure itself! The journey itself. The sheer joy of being on a dirt road, it doesn't matter if it's in a neighboring country or in Mongolia. The wonder of a sunset on a deserted beach, no matter how many times you've seen exactly this picture on the internet. A clear night, with not only the moon but the stars visible. And also the smallest bird, which can also be seen everywhere, but which is hopping around funny in front of us right now, making us laugh!

And most of the time it's just enough to get on the motorcycle and go.