Carlos Bastarache: alex-perez-541067.jpg

see how I told my boss to take this job and shove it!

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There are scores of reasons to strike a new path and hit the road in 2018. Travel is the great character builder and the ultimate humanizing tool. It’s not always easy, but the ends are always rewarding.

Since 2010, Instagram has made an indelible impact on the travel world. The combination of direct marketing, influencers, and the common person being able to share insight from literally every corner of the world has led travel to feel far more accessible. At the same time, long-term vagabonding — once the domain of hippies, wanderers, and weirdos — is suddenly ruled by insta-celebrities.

For better or worse, this is where we are. And no one can deny the power of a great photograph on Instagram and its ability to lure us like a scintillating siren. Let’s dive into the best this week has to offer!

Check Uproxx Travel’s favorite photographers to follow on Instagram.

Antarctica

2018 is the year for an adventure. Traveling to Antarctica is the ultimate travel-cred holy grail. It’s never cheap. It’s legit dangerous. And only a (relative) few have made the journey.

You can either sail around the islands and mingle with penguins or you can go full-Shackleton and trek from the coast to the South Pole — truly becoming one of the mad ones.

Brazil

Brazil just made it way easier and cheaper to travel there as a tourist. The cost of a visa for an American dropped from $160 to $40. Now’s the time to go.

Brazil is a massive country with as much to offer as the United States when it comes to terrain, cultures, and possibilities. Plus, it’s crazy inexpensive to wander around. What are you waiting for?

National Parks

No collection of the best Instagram shots is complete without some national parks love. From coast to coast, the national parks offer the ultimate naturalist escape from the grind of modern life. Leave the phone in the car, sleep under the stars, and recharge.

Iceland

Iceland is the tourism equivalent of a rock god right now. Even five years after the boom, tourists are flocking to the volcanic island to partake in the hot springs, eat fermented shark, and follow the path of Star Wars and Game of Thrones.

While the country is one of the more expensive (in the world), the natural beauty is second to none. And don’t sleep on the awesome street hot dogs.

India

India’s travel slogan is “Incredible India.” The country 100 percent lives up to the moniker. There’s staggering mountains, grassy plains, desert dunes, swampy backwaters, river deltas, sequoia forests, and cities that are full of both wonder and strife in equal measures.

Be prepared for a wide range of human experiences as you explore a truly unique corner of the planet.

#VanLife

Living the van life is the hippest way to traverse this blue marble of ours — at the moment anyway. The explosion of people living the van life is in no small part due to the explosion of Instagram and social media’s influence on travel and the willingness of people to throw off the yoke of “normal” and live outside the pillars of society.

Here are some of your favs this week.

The Super Blue Blood Moon

If there was one event that dominated photographers, travelers, and social media this week, it was the Super Blue Blood Moon’s rising. So, without further ado, here are some of the best pics from that astro-event.