If, by now, travel is embedded into your very soul, then it’s probably safe to say that you’re a true child of the 21st Century. Travel is about pushing boundaries, having new experiences, and seeing places, things and cultures that we may never have imagined before. Let’s get real though – travel is also super expensive, to a sometimes heartbreaking degree. While there’s a lot of emphasis on the travel scene with regards to budget travel – which we welcome wholeheartedly – it might be worth considering quality over quantity in 2019. No, we don’t mean resort travel (although there’s certainly nothing wrong with that), we’re talking about getting the most from your money and taking more specialized trips occasionally, rather than backpacking or other cheap getaways regularly. Of course, you can do both, if funds allow it! But if you’re really looking to explore new travel avenues, then boutique travel may well be for you.

Boutique travel can get very niche

If you’re into a particular hobby, there’s probably a style of boutique travel to suit you. Traveling in this manner allows you to tailor it to the things you like best, which means the whole trip will be incredibly memorable for you. Any niche that you can think of, you can travel in a way that reflects the best it has to offer.

Let’s say you’re a life-long soccer fan, obsessed with Manchester United. Heading to watch a match at Old Trafford, their ground, could tick off a few boxes. Not only would you get to visit the UK, but you’d also get to experience your favorite thing about it. You could take a tour of the stadium, place a bet using Oddschecker to bet for free on the winning team (Man U, obviously), and hit Manchester’s shopping district to pick up a new soccer strip.

Or perhaps you’re an avid festival-goer, and Coachella has always been on your radar. If you’re from California, it’s probably not such a big deal. But if you hail from across the country – or even the world – the chance to go over, see the bands, and have the whole crazy experience really could be once in a lifetime, especially if you rent a van and have the luxury of being chauffeured. See this page to learn more.

But again, you might not fly over just for that. Boutique travel means you get to put the niche you love at the heart of your journey and have other fun activities surrounding it.

It’s immersive and personalized

If you’re looking to really experience a particular place in style, boutique travel offers you the opportunity to design every aspect of the journey yourself – with the guide of a local expert, if you wish. No two adventures will be the same and you can actively get to the heart of a particular culture or activity.

You can go off on wild adventures, get to know the locals, or simply perfect your craft, such as writing and yoga. You can get to know the world, not only for the way it looks or what you can do there but also by the way that a particular location is capable of making you feel. Boutique travel is the best, most respectful and genuine way to get involved with new places.

Lazing by the pool is fine but don’t you want to do something a little different, that not everybody else has?

You’ll love the aesthetic

Boutique travel is often associated with luxury travel, and while this is often true, it’s not luxury for luxury’s sake. You’ll get the chance to see places off-the-beaten-track and have unparalleled access to different locations. Your money – instead of being spent on sipping cocktails and fine dining, will be spent on getting you around largely untouched paradises in corners of the world that most people can only imagine.

Many of the places will be authentic and untouched by “old-style” tourism – what you’ll see is what you’ll get. If nothing else, these places make the best memories and the best photo opportunities – so yes, dare we say it, you can “do it for the ‘gram”.

If you’re looking to do something new and have travel experiences to match your unique personality, look into boutique vacations for 2019. Everyone’s doing it – but then nobody is, too.