There’s something inherently optimistic in a trip. We hope that the flight departs on time, the hostel is clean, the street snacks won’t make us sick and the experience ends with more stories than scars.

Some of the most infamous journeys began with little more than a well-packed trunk and unassailable confidence in a successful ending. (Without such hopefulness, would history ever have been altered by Battuta, Amundson or Lewis and Clark?)

Sure, there will be days when every globetrotter struggles to muster up – or convincingly offer – hope. But as centuries of travel writers have proven, this emotional strength may be the only thing that really makes or breaks the journey.

So may the following quotes keep our chins up, our hearts still, and our eyes brightly focused on whatever lies ahead. . .

“You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.” – William Faulkner

“Hope / Smiles from the threshold of the year to come, / Whispering ‘it will be happier’…” – Alfred Lord Tennyson

“It’s the possibility that keeps me going, not the guarantee.” – Nicholas Sparks

“The very least you can do in your life is figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof.” – Barbara Kingsolver

“It’s amazing how a little tomorrow can make up for a whole lot of yesterday.” – John Guare

“I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward.” – Nelson Mandela

“Hold fast to dreams / For if dreams die / Life is a broken-winged bird / That cannot fly.” – Langston Hughes

We need the possibility of escape as surely as we need hope. – Rolf Potts

Where do you hope to travel to this year? If you’re dreaming of that next passport stamp, dig through these travel quotes about timing.