Inside: Poems packed with the theme of adventure!
When was the last time you went on an adventure? You know you’ve already caught the travel bug when you find yourself staring off into the distance—daydreaming about another trip to the beach, the mountains, or the city. Or scrolling through photos of azure waters and clear skies, wishing you were halfway across the world. You’re always thinking how nice it would be to spend a weekend (or two) with your favorite travel buddies.
These poems about travel are filled with wonder and excitement to remind you of your own adventures. They are the thoughts of travelers like you who love to explore the world and venture out of their comfort zones. They talk about visiting foreign places and the personal discoveries that come with their journey.
Here are twenty adventure poems to feed your wanderlust and inspire you to pack your bags for your dream destination.
Poems about travel
Life is too short to stay in one place forever. No matter how old (or young) you are, it’s never too late to hit the road and set off on a new adventure.
- “My heart is warm with the friends I make,
And better friends I’ll not be knowing;
Yet there isn’t a train I wouldn’t take,
No matter where it’s going.”
—Edna St. Vincent Millay, Travel (1921)
- “To move, to breathe, to fly, to float,
To gain all while you give,
To roam the roads of lands remote,
To travel is to live.”
― Hans Christian Andersen
- “I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
—Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken
- “Set fire to all your maps,
forget how it’s always been.
We’re explorers of the heart,
learning to dream again.
The adventure of a lifetime,
with Love alone as our guide.
Exotic places beyond imagination –
ones we’ve longed for deep inside.”
—John Mark Green, A Call to Adventure
- “The wanderers of life
are made of earth and sky.
They see the universe
with stars in their eyes.”
—Christy Ann Martine
- “You’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So get on your way!”
―Dr. Seuss
- “Only as high as I reach can I grow
Only as far as I seek can I go
Only as deep as I look can I see
Only as much as I dream can I be”
― Karen Ravn
- “All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost”
―J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
- “Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.”
—Walt Whitman, Song of the Open Road
- “And if it chose to lay itself down
in a new way; around a blind corner,
across hills you must climb without knowing
what’s on the other side; who would not hanker
to be going, at all risks? Who wants to know
a story’s end, or where a road will go?”
—Sheenagh Pugh, What If This Road
Adventure poems
Going to a foreign place exposes us to different cultures and new ways of thinking that we won’t find in our hometowns. So when we go on an adventure, we are influenced by the new environment and the people we meet along the way.
- “Perhaps we only leave
So we may once again arrive,
To get a bird’s eye view
Of what it means to be alive.
For there is beauty in returning,
Oh how wonderful, how strange,
To see that everything is different
But know it’s only you who’s changed.”
—Erin Hanson, Returning
- “Travel, because travel teaches
to say good morning to everyone
regardless of which sun we come from.
Travel, because travel teaches
to say goodnight to everyone
regardless of the darkness
that we carry inside.”
—Gio Evan, Travel
- “May you travel safely, arrive refreshed,
And live your time away to its fullest;
Return home more enriched, and free
To balance the gift of days which call you.”
—John O’Donohue, For the Traveler
- “The world is calling,
and you must go;
I understand if you wish
to adventure alone.
Climb the mountains
and swim the seas,
but always remember
to come back to me.”
—Alicia N. Green
- “We travelled empty-handed
With hearts all fear above,
For we ate the bread of friendship,
We drank the wine of love.”
—Bliss Carman, The Enchanted Traveler
- “We find ourselves
after airplane doors close
and wheels touch
the heavens.
We discover
the maps to our hearts
when we lose the maps
to this world.”
—Tyler Knott Gregson
- “Because I am most usually where
The way is strangest and the wonders thick,
Because when wind is wildest and the bay
Swoops madly upward and the gulls are few
And I am doing as I want to do,
Leaving the town to go my aimless way”
—Richard Avedon, Wanderlust
- “I should like to rise and go
Where the golden apples grow;—
Where below another sky
Parrot islands anchored lie
And, watched by cockatoos and goats,
Lonely Crusoes building boats”
—Robert Louis Stevenson, Travel
- “I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.”
—John Masefield, Sea Fever
- My days are filled with yearning
for the ocean outside my window.
It looks so blue and inviting
and makes me want to go
to places I have never been,
to wonders I have never seen
far across the water,
somewhere beyond the seas.
At heart, I am a traveler
my longing will not cease.
More Poems You’ll Love
- Love poems – Send love to your significant other through these lovely poems that will surely make their heart flutter! A love poem is a great way to express your affection for your partner no matter what occasion. Let the words of the poets help you say “I love you” when you share with them these poems about love.
- Animal poems – This collection of poems will make you appreciate animals even more. Whether it’s your pets at home, your favorite animal at the zoo, or a wild animal you’ve just read about. It’s truly wonderful how many different kinds of animals are out there living on land, water, and air. Some are loyal companions like dogs, some are fierce predators like lions, and some are strong and majestic like horses.
- Funny poems – Laughter is the best medicine, so they say! These funny poems can cheer you up on a gloomy day and brighten your mood. Funny poems bring a smile to anyone who reads them (Bonus if you’re reading it out loud!). No matter how serious you are, it’s alright to be ridiculous from time to time! Add humor to your greetings and messages with the funny poems in this list.
