The power of intentional travel

Dec 17

Let’s talk about something important that does not always make it onto a packing list: intentional travel. Intentional travel is about building trips around experiences that matter, not just checking off landmarks or snapping photos for social media. On a recent family trip to the Dominican Republic, that idea stopped being a cute concept and became very real. Somewhere between booking flights and choosing outfits, it hit me that I had not seen my family in years, and I had never actually traveled with my mom as an adult.

Setting off with my mom, we landed in the Dominican Republic for a week built around reunion, not resort-hopping. The centerpiece of the trip was my grandmother’s eighty-eighth birthday, which already set a very different tone than a typical “escape to the islands” itinerary. Instead of racing between all-inclusive resorts, clubs, and must-see attractions, we stayed at my grandmother’s house, on her schedule, in her world. I was there as a fully formed adult, not the shy teenager who waddled up to her door twelve years ago, and that shift changed everything.

Intentional travel asks a simple question: why this trip, and why now?

For me, the answer was connection. I wanted to sit in the living room where so many family stories started, to hear them again with adult ears and adult context. I wanted to see my cousins not just as “the kids” but as grown people with jobs, opinions, and lives that kept going even when I was not there. I wanted to finally “sit at the adult’s table” and understand where I come from in a way no Instagram reel could ever explain.

The days were not glamorous in the curated-vacation sense, but they were rich. Mornings meant coffee and conversation, not brunch reservations. Afternoons were for revisiting old stories about my aunts and uncles, laughing at half-remembered details, and filling in the gaps of family history. Even small moments—helping in the kitchen, walking to the corner store, watching my grandma hold court in her own home—became the kind of memories that stay long after a tan fades. Research backs this up: shared travel experiences deepen connection, create lasting memories, and help us realign with what actually matters in our lives.

Intentional travel does not mean you never hit a resort, a club, or a tourist hotspot again; it just means you choose them on purpose. There will absolutely be a time for beach chairs, pool bars, and dancing until sunrise in the Dominican Republic. But this trip was about something else: slowing down, honoring family, and letting presence be the main event. When you start with a clear intention (reconnection, rest, creativity, adventure), it becomes easier to decide what fits the trip and what you can let go of.

If this resonates with you, think about your next trip through that lens. Maybe it is visiting the relative you have not seen in a decade, returning to your hometown as an adult, or finally giving yourself a week with no agenda except rest. Your flights and hotel are just the container; the intention is the real itinerary. Read more about intentional travel on my blog, and let’s talk about how to design a trip—whether to the Dominican Republic or somewhere entirely new—that feels aligned with who you are now, not just where everyone else is going.