The rise of passion travel: how your hobby can shape your next trip

By swapping postcard-perfect itineraries for passion-fuelled adventures, travellers are finding new ways to explore and connect.

If you’re anything like me, you’ll know what it feels like to have an intense passion or hobby quietly guide your choices, sometimes even subconsciously. For me, it’s always been words – they’re the reason I lose countless hours in a bookshop, pore over essays on linguistics for leisure and analyse the lyrics of all my favourite songs.

Words are the reason I chose to study Communications at university. The reason I took intensive French classes for eight years, a passion that took me to France as an exchange student at the young age of 14. Somehow, words have managed to influence most of my decisions in one way or another, and will no doubt continue to do so throughout my life – from the way I spend my weekends to where I travel next. Turns out, I’m not alone either.

What is passion travel?

To put it simply, passion travel is all about letting your hobbies lead the way. It’s when your love for something – whether that be food, art or sport – shapes your travel itinerary. Rather than ticking off landmarks, you’re connecting what you love doing at home with where you go in the world.

Biking in Thredbo, NSW — Passion travel is about letting your hobbies guide your holiday. (Image: Destination NSW)

According to a recent report by Booking.com , more people are chasing meaningful travel experiences that align with their interests, as well as a greater sense of purpose at the heart of each trip. Yogis are signing up for wellness retreats. Athletes are planning their annual leave around marathons. Foodies are mapping out itineraries based on local markets.

While I’ve never been lucky enough to book an entire trip based on my love for books, I have found ways to integrate my passion into the trips I take. On my way to a quiet weekend stay at Osborn House in the Southern Highlands, I made sure I had a few spare hours to spend at the Berkelouw Book Barn , which I’d been eager to check out for ages.

Berkelouw Book Barn in the Southern Highlands, NSW — On a recent trip to the Southern Highlands, I stopped at Berkelouw Book Barn. (Image: Destination NSW)

During a recent work trip to explore Townsville’s burgeoning arts scene, I still found time to check out the local bookshop. Even if I can’t find time for a visit, I always make sure I bring a book with me, so I can still indulge in my passion – even if it’s just for five minutes with my morning coffee or half an hour before bed.

As an introvert, it’s a comforting way to weave a little bit of home into an unfamiliar place – a reminder that even when everything around me is new, I can still ground myself in something I love. But it’s also a way to connect. Stories are often great conversation starters, and many bookshop adventures have led me somewhere unexpected. In that sense, it isn’t just about doing what you love but seeing where that love can take you.

What are the benefits?

In a 2025 study titled Igniting creativity through travel: The roles of interest, cognitive flexibility, and destination information presentation style, Lujun Su, Huixuan Chen and Zhibin Lin found that environmental novelty, the act of experiencing somewhere new, doesn’t just satisfy your wanderlust; it boosts your creativity, too.

Using the broaden-and-build theory developed by social psychologist Barbara Fredrickson in 1998, research revealed that being in an unfamiliar setting can evoke greater cognitive flexibility, making creative thinking more likely.

Nature journalling in the Adelaide Hills, SA — Studies have shown that travel improves creativity. (Image: Visit Adelaide Hills)

When you’re immersed in something you genuinely love, you tend to be more present, observant and engaged. You start to notice the little details: the texture of a local fabric, the scent of freshly ground coffee, the sound of waves crashing on the shore. These sensory moments can spark inspiration and creativity long after a trip has ended, turning travel into a journey of self-discovery and real memory making.

In her book, titled The Happy Traveler: Unpacking the Secrets of Better Vacations, professor of psychology Dr Jaime Kurtz further posits that travel rooted in passion or purpose tends to be more restorative, because it engages you in something intrinsically fulfilling rather than just escapism.

Yoga class at Elements of Byron Bay, NSW — Engaging in your hobbies can make travelling more restorative. (Image: Destination NSW)

While travelling has always been focused on exploring a destination, people are now choosing to invest in themselves along the way. In a world where time is precious and holidays are growing increasingly shorter, combining wanderlust and wellbeing seems like the ultimate way to spend your time off.

Dr Kurtz, who has written for several research publications on the topic, states that travel is most beneficial when it’s “pleasurable, meaningful and engaging." It’s a sentiment that perfectly captures why passion-driven travel is on the rise. Trips grounded in what we find the most enriching and inspiring create a deeper sense of purpose, satisfaction and overall happiness.

And really, isn’t that what travel is all about? Whether you’re following your obsession for food through Melbourne’s best restaurants or bookshop hopping through the Blue Mountains, these are the experiences that make us feel the most connected not just to the world, but to ourselves.

How to do it

If you’ve ever considered booking an entire holiday around what you love most, here’s your sign to do it. Whether it’s sipping your way through the Barossa Valley’s best cellar doors or hitting all of Sydney’s top art galleries in one go, your passion-led itinerary is sure to add an extra layer of excitement to every moment.

Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney, NSW — Art aficionados can visit the iconic MCA in Sydney. (Image: Destination NSW)

Mountain bikers, why not tackle the Munda Biddi Trail ? Or if you’re a big fan of sport, plan your next trip to Melbourne around the Australian Open . Wherever your interests lie, there’s always a destination ready to match them.

But before you start booking, there are a few handy tips and tricks that can help you along the way. Firstly, it’s important to pick one hobby that really matters to you – it’ll keep choices manageable and ensure the trip feels meaningful. Be sure to do your research and prioritise key bookings in advance, too. If there’s a workshop or event you don’t want to miss, make sure it’s booked in early.

As much as itineraries can help, you should leave a little room for surprises. Try to avoid planning every minute so there’s still space to explore. It’s also crucial to factor in time to rest. A passion trip can easily become exhausting if you overload your schedule, so allowing time to relax and recharge will make the whole experience more enjoyable.

Kayaking in Pambula, NSW — Add your favourite activity to an upcoming itinerary. (Image: Destination NSW)

Of course, not everyone has the resources to book an entire holiday around a single hobby or interest – and that’s perfectly okay. The beauty of passion travel is that it can be as simple as slipping your latest read into your carry-on. Or packing a sketchbook to capture the scenery. Sign up for a local cooking class. Join a local kayaking tour. Even visiting the weekend market in a new town can help you connect with what you love.

If you don’t really have an interest that truly speaks to you, don’t worry. Sometimes it’s the trip itself that helps you discover a new passion. Maybe you’ll fall in love with photography while chasing sunsets along the coast. Or discover your green thumb after visiting a botanical garden. Travel has a funny way of awakening hidden parts of ourselves – and the best souvenirs are often the ones we bring home in our hearts.

Video credit: Visit Victoria/Tourism Australia

The Grampians just might be the ultimate antidote for the metropolis, writes one returning Aussie ready to disconnect from the modern world and reconnect to the Great outdoors.

There are no kangaroos back in Chicago: they’re all here in the Grampians/Gariwerd . In the heart of the Grampians National Park’s main gateway town, Halls Gap, pods of eastern greys are eating grass beside my parked rental car beneath the stars. Next morning, when I see the backyard of my rented villa on the edge of town for the first time, there are kangaroos feeding beside a slow-moving creek, lined with river red gums.

Five hundred metres up the road, 50 or so of them are eating by the side of the road in a paddock. I pull over to watch and spot three emus. Yellow-tailed black cockatoos fly overhead towards the tall green mountains just beyond town.

‘Kee-ow, keee-oww’… their calls fuse with the maniacal cackle of a kookaburra (or 10). Gawd, how I’ve missed the sound of them. Far above, a wedge-tailed eagle watches, and there you go: the ‘great birds of Australia’ trifecta, all half a kay from the town limits.

Exchanging city chaos for country calm

kangaroos near Halls Gap, Grampians National Park — The park is renowned for its significant diversity of native fauna species. (Image: Visit Victoria/Robert Blackburn)

I’ve come to the Grampians to disconnect, but the bush offers a connection of its own. This isn’t just any bush, mind you. The Grampians National Park is iconic for many reasons, mostly for its striking sandstone mountains – five ridges run north to south, with abrupt, orange slopes which tumble right into Halls Gap – and for the fact there’s 20,000 years of traditional rock art. Across these mountains there are more than 200 recorded sites to see, created by the Djab Wurrung, Jardwadjali and Gunditjmara peoples. It’s just like our outback… but three hours from Melbourne.

I’ve come here for a chance at renewal after the chaos of my life in America’s third-largest city, Chicago, where I live for now, at the whim of a relative’s cancer journey. Flying into Melbourne’s airport, it only takes an hour’s drive to feel far away from any concept of suburbia. When I arrive in Halls Gap two hours later, the restaurant I’m eating at clears out entirely by 7:45pm; Chicago already feels a lifetime ago.

The trails and treasures of the Grampians

sunrise at Grampians National Park /Gariwerd — Grampians National Park /Gariwerd covers almost 2000 square kilometres. (Image: Ben Savage)

Though the national park covers almost 2000 square kilometres, its best-known landmarks are remarkably easy to access. From my carpark here, among the cockatoos and kangaroos on the fringe of Halls Gap, it only takes 60 seconds’ driving time before I’m winding my way up a steep road through rainforest, deep into the mountains.

Then it’s five minutes more to a carpark that serves as a trailhead for a hike to one of the park’s best vantage points, The Pinnacles . I walk for an hour or so, reacquainting myself with the smells and the sounds of the Aussie bush, before I reach it: a sheer cliff’s edge lookout 500 metres up above Halls Gap.

walking through a cave, Hollow Mountain — Overlooking the vast Grampians landscape from Hollow Mountain. (Image: Robert Blackburn)

There are hikes and there are lookouts and waterfalls all across this part of the park near town. Some are a short stroll from a carpark; others involve long, arduous hikes through forest. The longest is the Grampians Peaks Trail , Victoria’s newest and longest iconic walk, which runs 160 kilometres – the entire length of Grampians National Park.

Local activities operator Absolute Outdoors shows me glimpses of the trail. The company’s owner, Adrian Manikas, says it’s the best walk he’s done in Australia. He says he’s worked in national parks across the world, but this was the one he wanted to bring his children up in.

“There’s something about the Grampians,” he says, as he leads me up a path to where there’s wooden platforms for tents, beside a hut looking straight out across western Victoria from a kilometre up in the sky (these are part of the guided hiking options for the trail). “There are things out here that you won’t see anywhere else in Australia.” Last summer, 80 per cent of the park was damaged by bushfire, but Manikas shows me its regrowth, and tells me of the manic effort put in by volunteers from town – with firefighters from all over Australia – to help save Halls Gap.

wildflowers in Grampians National Park — Spot wildflowers. (Image: Visit Victoria)

We drive back down to Halls Gap at dusk to abseil down a mountain under the stars, a few minutes’ walk off the main road into town. We have headlamps, but a full moon is enough to light my way down. It takes blind faith to walk backwards down a mountain into a black void, though the upside is I can’t see the extent of my descent.

Grampians National Park at sunset. (Image: Wine Australian)

The stargazing is ruined by the moon, of course, but you should see how its glow lights up the orange of the sandstone, like in a theme park. When I’m done, I stand on a rocky plateau drinking hot chocolate and listening to the Aussie animals who prefer nighttime. I can see the streets of Halls Gap off in the distance on this Friday night. The restaurants may stay open until 8pm tonight.

What else is on offer in The Grampians?

a boat travelling along the Wimmera River inDimboola — Travelling along the Wimmera River in Dimboola. (Image: Chris McConville)

You’ll find all sorts of adventures out here – from rock climbing to canoeing to hiking – but there’s more to the Grampians than a couple of thousand square kilometres of trees and mountains. Halls Gap may be known to most people, but what of Pomonal, and Dimboola, and Horsham? Here in the shadow of those big sandstone mountains there are towns and communities most of us don’t know to visit.

And who knew that the Grampians is home to Victoria’s most underrated wine region ? My disconnection this morning comes not in a forest, but in the tasting rooms and winery restaurants of the district. Like Pomonal Estate, barely 10 minutes’ drive east of Halls Gap, where UK-born chef Dean Sibthorp prepares a locally caught barramundi with lentil, pumpkin and finger lime in a restaurant beside the vines at the base of the Grampians. Husband-and-wife team Pep and Adam Atchison tell me stories as they pour their prize wines (shiraz is the hero in these parts).

dining at Pomonal Estate — Dine in a restaurant beside vines at Pomonal Estate. (Image: Tourism Australia)

Three minutes’ drive back down the road, long-time mates Hadyn Black and Darcy Naunton run an eclectic cellar door out of a corrugated iron shed, near downtown Pomonal. The Christmas before last, half the houses in Pomonal burnt down in a bushfire, but these locals are a resilient lot.

The fires also didn’t stop the construction of the first art centre in Australia dedicated to environmental art in a nature-based precinct a little further down the road (that’s Wama – the National Centre for Environmental Arts), which opened in July. And some of the world’s oldest and rarest grape vines have survived 160 years at Best’s Wines, outside the heritage town of Great Western. There’s plantings here from the year 1868, and there’s wines stored in century-old barrels within 150-year-old tunnels beneath the tasting room. On the other side of town, Seppelt Wines’ roots go back to 1865. They’re both only a 30-minute drive from Halls Gap.

Salingers of Great Western — Great Western is a charming heritage town. (Image: Griffin Simm)

There’s more to explore yet; I drive through tiny historic towns that barely make the map. Still part of the Grampians, they’re as pretty as the mountains behind them: full of late 19th-century/early 20th-century post offices, government offices and bank buildings, converted now to all manner of bric-a-brac stores and cafes.

The Imaginarium is one, in quirky Dimboola, where I sleep in the manager’s residence of an old National Australia Bank after a gourmet dinner at the local golf club, run by noted chef and teacher, Cat Clarke – a pioneer of modern Indigenous Australian cooking. Just south, I spend an entire afternoon at a winery, Norton Estate Wines, set on rolling calico-coloured hills that make me think of Tuscany, chit-chatting with owners Chris and Sam Spence.

Being here takes me back two decades, when I lived here for a time. It had all seemed as foreign as if I’d driven to another planet back then (from Sydney/Warrane), but there seemed something inherently and immediately good about this place, like I’d lived here before.

And it’s the Australian small-town familiarity of the Grampians that offers me connection back to my own country. Even in the better-known Halls Gap, Liz from Kerrie’s Creations knows I like my lattes with soy milk and one sugar. And while I never do get the name of the lady at the local Ampol station, I sure know a lot about her life.

Kookaburras on a tree — Kookaburras are one of some 230 bird species. (Image: Darren Donlen)

You can be a local here in a day; how good is that? In Chicago, I don’t even know who my neighbour is. Though each day at dusk – when the kangaroos gather outside my villa, and the kookaburras and the black cockatoos shout out loud before settling in to sleep – I prefer the quieter connection I get out there in the bush, beneath these orange mountains.

A traveller’s checklist

Staying there

Sleep beside the wildlife on the edge of Halls Gap at Serenity .

Playing there

abseiling down Hollow Mountain — Hollow Mountain is a popular abseiling site.

Go abseiling under the stars or join a guided hike with Absolute Outdoors . Visit Wama , Australia’s first environmental art centre. Check out Dimboola’s eccentric Imaginarium .

Eating there

steak, naan bread and beer at Paper Scissors Rock in Halls Gap — Paper Scissors Rock in Halls Gap serves a great steak on naan bread.

Eat world-class cuisine at Pomonal Estate . Dine and stay at much-revered icon Royal Mail Hotel in Dunkeld. The ‘steak on naan’ at Halls Gap brewhouse Paper Scissors Rock , can’t be beat.

Dunkeld Arboretum in Grampians National Park — The serene Dunkeld Arboretum.

For Halls Gap’s best breakfasts head to Livefast Cafe . Sip local wines at Great Western’s historic wineries, Best’s Wines , Seppelt Wines and Norton Estate Wines .

two glasses of beer at Paper Scissors Rock in Halls Gap — Sink a cold one at Paper Scissors Rock.