“I don’t think a vacation is complete unless you come back with a new friend in a different country.”
– Bill Weir, host of The Wonder List
We had the distinct pleasure of meeting Bill Weir when he was speaking at the 2018 Travel and Adventure Show. There is no way to deny that we are fans. We loved him on the weekend edition of Good Morning America, and through his time at Nightline. When he moved to CNN, we followed along, and were excited when he was given free reign on his latest project, The Wonder List. So you can imagine that it was hard to contain ourselves when we got to shake his hand, look him in the eye, and say, “We love you, man!”
Listening to him, it’s immediately apparent that Bill Weir is a master storyteller with insatiable curiosity. He can (and did) regale you with tales of adventure, intrigue, and yes, wonder. While he was on stage for an hour, we sense that he could have been there for several, and that, even then, he’d just be getting started.
He spoke about the genesis of The Wonder List, and the places they have visited. Places that are teetering on the brink of change. As he put it, the Garden of Eden just before they bit into the apple. He spoke about Blue Zones, and Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Index. He spoke about the need to find and explore these places before they’re gone, not just as scientists and reporters, but as people.
Professional Level Travel Tips!
Of course, Bill had some travel tips for us, too. Our favorite? ”Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we can take a nap!” In other words, don’t miss a moment. Don’t be afraid to wonder (or wander). His advice resonated with us: “When you go out there with a little more curiosity, and a little less fear, you would be surprised what you can find.”
His best advice, though, related to making friends with the locals. Sure, you can find monuments and mountains in guide books, but there is so much more. We believe there are times when a local guide or tour is the best, if not only, way to go. Their knowledge can make a special trip extraordinary. Bill drove that point home: “Without a local, without a guide, a local fixture, we’re just a bunch of dorks with cameras taking pictures.”
One thing we’ve always admired about Bill Weir is his ability to befriend people. Whether he’s reporting on an invention that could change the world, or the devastation of a hurricane, at the heart of each story is a person. Bill has the ability to make friends with that person, almost instantly, it seems. As viewers, we feel the connection, and suddenly his new friends are our new friends.
Which takes us back to our travel quote from Bill Weir:
“I don’t think a vacation is complete unless you come back with a new friend in a different country.”
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Some really interesting quotes here and it seems like Bill is quite the enthralling speaker. Think I’m going to have try to be less of a dork with a camera 😉
Ha! I’m a total dork with a camera. You really manage to get around and find stuff, so I wouldn’t put you in that category! But hey – with your photo skills, I think being a dork with a camera pays off! 😉
I do love a good travel quote, and it’s great to hear more about Bill Weir! I was curious to more when you mentioned him in our #FeetDoTravel Saturday Spotlight so thanks for this guys! Pinned #feetdotravel
That’s such a true quote!!! Love it 🙂
I have never heard of him – will go and find out more! And a great quote!
I haven´t heard this travel quote before – couldn’t agree more! Making friends with the locals helps you to see a country through their eyes and become less of a tourist! #TheWeeklyPostcard
What a great chance to meet Bill Weir. Love his philosophy on traveling that we need to make a local friend. Like his quote “we’re just a bunch of dorks with cameras taking pictures” if we do not use a local. How true to meet and interact with the locals of where ever we are traveling. Great quotes! Thanks for sharing! #feetdotravel
Hi Stephanie! We just loved his line about being dorks with cameras – maybe because that describes us really well sometimes! We take plenty of photos of things that appeal to us, but having a local to help you focus on what’s unique, special, and meaningful is priceless. (See what we did there?) Thanks for reading!
We love watching Bill Weir’s show! Lucky you for having to chance to meet him and listen in to this talk. Such great quotes to live by and I’m going to remember these. It is so true that locals are such a great resource. Some of our best tours have been with the locals and some of the best places we’ve eaten or seen were due to locals’ recommendations. Thanks for these inspiring quotes.
We love the Wonder List, too! When we found out he was going to be at the Travel & Adventure Show, there was no question were were going. 🙂 We didn’t expect so many great insights! So happy we could share the experience. Thanks for reading, Mary!
Travel and Adventure Show must have been a very interesting meeting. Ah, but there are so many in our industry, aren’t there? I usually go to the TBEX meetings in Europe and I come home with more friends. However, when traveling on our own is more difficult to make new friends. #TheWeeklyPostcard
We always enjoy the Travel & Adventure Show. It’s a veritable supermarket of destinations – although we’ve noticed the “travel deals” aren’t as many or as rich as years gone by. Still fun, though. Thanks so much for reading, Anda!
I love having local tours guides and meeting the locals. I have to admit I need to work on being better with keeping in touch with those that I meet on my travels! #TheWeeklyPostcard
We know what you mean – we need to keep in touch more regularly with some friends, too. Hopefully, we can go see them more often, too! 🙂 Thanks for reading, Anisa!
I have the curiosity part down, it’s the fear that I need to overcome. Luckily for me, my husband traveled Europe quite a bit in the past for business and met many people that way so we have friends who are locals that we can visit. Thanks for introducing me to Bill Weir – I had not heard of him.
Good to have someone to help you past the fear to satisfy the curiosity! It’s great having locals to go visit – you get to catch up with a friend and see someplace with a local. Win-win, right? Thanks for your comment, Jill!
It’s pretty cool you get to meet all of these leading industry people when you go to these travel shows. I think his point on being a dork with a camera is interesting because so many “travelers” are so opposed to going on tours our with guides. I like his view point on it! So much to learn from people like this!
We’ve been really lucky. Whenever we go someplace, we never seem to see the wildlife everyone else does, but we have a pretty good record of travel-celebrity spotting! I really liked his point on going with guides, and it’s probably even better when it’s a local guide but not necessarily a set tour. What a great way to see someplace with a local! As always, thanks for your comment, Jenn!
I went to the T&A show in Philly – Idid not see this gentle man in the line up! I love his quotes – going local and seizing the moment are def ones I try to honor!
Oh, that’s too bad. Hopefully, he’ll be back next year and can do more of the shows. He did have some great insights – definitely motivated us! Thanks for your comment, Harmony!
Oh I like that quote! I should really take it to heart a little bit more! I have lots of friends from all over the place but not from anywhere I traveled! #TheWeeklyPostcard
Isn’t that awesome? It really brings traveling back to being a personal connection. Even if you go somewhere you don’t know anyone, you have an opportunity to make a friend! That always makes such good vacation memories, too. Thanks for your comment, Lolo!
How exciting to meet Bill Weir in person. Thanks for sharing your experience!
It was pretty fun! Always nice when a celebrity turns out to be warm and genuine. Thanks for reading, Sharon!
Some speakers are so natural and draw you right into their life and experiences. It sounds like Bill is just this type of speaker and it was great you got to meet him. #TheWeeklyPostcard
It was just fascinating listening to him and his stories! What really intrigues us was his curiosity, and how that led him to some pretty exotic locations! Thanks for reading, Annette!
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