Traveling appears on many to-do lists for a variety of reasons. For some, it's simply a time to recharge their batteries, while for others it's a time to experience things firsthand or disconnect from the stresses at home.

For many others who choose to go one step further and travel deeper, it's because travel has the ability to enrich your life in some other indescribable way.

After traveling, you return a different person than when you arrived.

Ways to experience more during the vacations - Have more positive travel experiences

While many people associate having meaningful travel experiences strictly with volunteering, there are many ways to travel more deeply, explore the world purposefully, and make your endeavors more meaningful. You are the only one who can determine what type of travel experience will be meaningful in your life, but here are 9 ways that can help make your travels more meaningful:

Experience more on vacation, open yourself up to a different culture

When many people arrive in a foreign place, they make the mistake of visiting without leaving their own world. They decide the route of being a tourist looking in from the outside, basically observing from the sidelines, taking in everything going on around them, but never really participating.

On the other side of the coin, others gain a better understanding, live more and have a deeper experience through cultural immersion, which is really just a matter of leaving the comfort of a hotel room and being absorbed by the world around you. The deepest journeys happen when you integrate yourself into the community through active participation, opening yourself up to interacting with locals and understanding the way others live. This can be as simple as actively participating in their rituals, eating the traditional foods of a region, or learning about the history that makes a city what it is today.

Tips on how to open yourself up to another culture:

• Learn some basic phrases in a foreign language and look for opportunities to interact with locals.
• Get off the beaten path, drink at local pubs and visit local establishments.
• Stay away from the tourist traps, but if you are there, ask the right questions of the souvenir stand staff. Ask real questions about what it's like to live, work and eat in their city. Where are their favorite places to visit?
• Be patient if you are traveling to a foreign country, as English is probably their second language. Act with curiosity, love and a willingness to learn.

Experience more on vacation, plan to commune with nature and animals

Many encounters with nature are brief escapes from a stressful day; you may stop for a moment to look out your office window at an afternoon rainbow or spot a deer in the fields on your way home from the city. For a moment, this chance encounter energizes and calms you at the same time, but you may not be sure why. Connecting with nature is more than just getting some fresh air. Rather, it has the potential to make us aware of something bigger than the new product we bought, or maybe even ourselves.

Traveling gives you many opportunities to be among nature and consciously connect with it in its natural habitat, rather than in a zoo or animal park. Look for places that allow you to interact with dolphins in the wild, participate in turtle conservation programs or watch birds in natural habitats; visit national parks, UNESCO world heritage sites.

Experience more during the vacations, be generous

As the old saying goes, "it is better to give than to receive." While giving should be a selfless experience, it benefits both ourselves and the recipient. Studies have shown that humanitarianism has incredible benefits: it builds relationships, benefits people who are less fortunate, strengthens communities, and provides a different perspective on the world. Simply put, giving makes you feel good.

Whether you focus your entire trip on helping others or add a few aspects of volunteering to your itinerary, there are many opportunities around the world to be generous. There are many organizations that create tour itineraries where you can join development projects. You can also try organizations that organize trips that are the perfect combination of learning about local culture, food, and community service.

There are also simpler, less time-consuming projects where you leave some space in your suitcase to pack the things you need for community projects or to lend money to a future entrepreneur.

Experience more during the vacations, change your comfort zone

Just like I mentioned that one of the benefits of setting goals with a to-do list is its ability to push you to step outside of your comfort zone. Expanding your boundaries is also another way to get the most out of a great vacation. Every time you try something for the first time you will grow, a small piece of fear of the unknown will be removed and replaced with a sense of empowerment.

You should end a great vacation by stating: I can't believe I had the courage to do this.

When traveling internationally, many things will take you out of your comfort zone; dealing with the language barrier, navigating the streets and ordering foreign food. But also do something that scares you at least a little bit. Plan something new and a little uncomfortable each day of your itinerary. Eat something quirky, try a different activity, get adventurous, and explore the secret corners of a unique city.

Experience more on vacation, travel by your own rules

Let's face it, sometimes you are the best travel companion for yourself - you can do what you want, when you want. This makes planning so much easier when you don't have other opinions on what to do. Also, you are more open to meeting new people when you are alone; most of us tend to stick with our travel companions.

Although, many people, especially women, will put off their travel dreams because they don't have the perfect companion who has the same available time, money or desire to adventure. In doing so, not only will you miss out on what the world has to offer, but more importantly, the feeling of empowerment you get by relying solely on yourself while traveling.

Experience more on vacation, share the experience with someone special

Have you ever been somewhere, seen something truly amazing, and wished someone was with you to share the experience? Just as traveling solo can be an enlightening experience, traveling with someone special can also create precious memories. A sunset spread over the water in Bora Bora, tossing tomatoes at the La Tomatina festival in Spain, or a wine dinner in Argentina set on top of a hill overlooking the city can be more magical when shared with someone else. Traveling together builds bonds.

Traveling together can strengthen your relationships by building trust and creating opportunities to learn more about your companion. A tandem bungee jump in New Zealand can cement a relationship. A trip to Las Vegas can be an unforgettable experience. A weekend getaway with your parents can be their most special memory.

Experience more on vacation, learn something new

Traveling is one of the best educations you can have, it teaches you things that no textbook could ever teach. It's not hard to learn something new because many travel situations will force you to figure some things out in a foreign place. You'd be surprised how long it takes to learn how a Japanese toilet works! But the real magic happens when you learn something new about the culture, history of the city and people of the country you're visiting, and even something new about yourself.

Look for opportunities to learn more deeply during your successful vacation; take a cooking class on a local dish, go on a historical tour of the city, or learn a local dance.

Experience more on your vacation, support the locals

Many small businesses, especially in developing countries, base their survival on tourism. Spending dollars at an international hotel and restaurant chain is only partially supporting the locals. These companies do create local jobs, but much of the profits may go to the owners of large corporations rather than to the locals in the area.

Continuing to support locals in the cities and countries you travel to means booking tours with local guides, eating at local restaurants, staying at independent hotels, shopping at street markets, or buying souvenirs directly from the artisans who make them. Have a mindset of travel globally, think locally, and it will pay you back doubly in experiences. Not only will this help the local economy, but it will also create a more authentic experience.

Experience more during the vacations, take care of your body, mind and spirit

For some, a truly successful vacation means pampering themselves with deep-fried foods and glasses of over-sweetened cocktails, and dancing all night on the bar at the hottest club. The only real physical activity is walking from the room to the pool and bar and back again. Vacationers usually come home from these types of trips needing another vacation, their bodies feeling tired and their bellies with a few extra rollers. They may have had a good time, but they will be paying for it for the next few weeks.

The opposite feeling comes when you have just spent a week nourishing your body, mind and spirit. It can be as simple as practicing meditation in India, going on a retreat in India or attending a detox retreat in the Philippines. For me, it was spending a peaceful week at a yoga retreat in Costa Rica. These types of trips nourish not only your body, but also your soul. You come home feeling refreshed and revitalized, a better version of yourself.

People travel for different reasons and there are several different ways to experience more on vacation, get more out of your trip. The most important thing is that your experience makes you happy.