Some travel content goes viral because it’s beautiful. Some because it’s shocking. And some — the rarest, most powerful kind — because it hits you somewhere deep and true, and you don’t quite know why until you’re already sharing it with everyone you know. That’s exactly what happened with @landon_paschall‘s Instagram Reel. Four words. “Those were the best times.” 146 million views. 18.1 million likes. 15,200 comments. 1.1 million shares. It is, by any measure, one of the most viral travel reels ever posted — and it didn’t need a drone shot, a luxury resort, or a perfect blue sky to get there. All it needed was a man running down a dusty mountain road toward a golden sunset, and the simple, aching truth that some moments in life are so good that looking back at them fills you with both joy and longing. This reel didn’t just go viral. It became a feeling. 🌅✈️
The Reel That Broke Instagram: “Those Were the Best Times”
Landon Paschall is a verified travel creator on Instagram known for visceral, cinematic travel content that captures the raw emotion of adventure. But nothing in his catalog — nothing in anyone’s catalog — prepared the internet for what “Those were the best times” would do. The reel features stunning footage of travel — sun-drenched landscapes, mountain roads, the kind of wide-open freedom that reminds you the world is enormous and your corner of it is just the beginning.
But it’s the feeling the reel evokes that made it impossible to scroll past. It captures a universal truth about travel: that the best trips aren’t just trips — they’re chapters of your life. The periods where you felt most alive. Most free. Most yourself. The comment section became a confessional of travel nostalgia, with hundreds of thousands of people sharing the trips they’d give anything to relive, the places that changed them, and the friends they’d traveled with who were no longer around. It was more than a reel. It was a monument to wanderlust and memory.
“The best trips aren’t just destinations — they’re the periods of your life when you felt most alive.”
Why Nostalgia + Adventure = The Most Powerful Travel Content
The staggering reach of Landon’s reel — 146 million views, to put it in perspective, is roughly the entire population of Russia — reveals something profound about what travel content resonates most deeply in 2026. It’s not the expensive. It’s not the exotic. It’s the emotional. Content that makes you feel something — longing, inspiration, joy, even bittersweet nostalgia — is content that gets shared. And that’s exactly what “Those were the best times” delivered in spades.
Psychologists call it the “rosy retrospection” effect — our tendency to remember past experiences more positively than we experienced them in the moment. Travel memories are particularly susceptible to this effect. The trip that felt exhausting and challenging at the time becomes, in memory, one of the most treasured experiences of your life. Which is, of course, the greatest argument for booking more trips.
Create Your Own “Best Times”: The Destinations That Make Legendary Memories
Not all trips become “those were the best times” stories. The ones that do share common ingredients: adventure, challenge, freedom, authentic connection with a place and its people, and moments of genuine wonder. Here are five destinations where those ingredients are guaranteed:
- Patagonia, Argentina & Chile — The end of the world. Torres del Paine, the Perito Moreno Glacier, Fitz Roy at sunrise. Patagonia is where humans are reminded of how small and magnificent they are simultaneously. Every hour here is “the best times” material.
- Southeast Asia Circuit (Thailand → Vietnam → Cambodia) — The classic backpacker trail remains one of the world’s great adventure routes. From Bangkok’s chaos to Ha Long Bay’s serenity to Angkor Wat’s majesty, this circuit delivers a lifetime of memories in six weeks.
- East Africa (Kenya & Tanzania) — A safari at dawn in the Maasai Mara or Serengeti. A million wildebeest crossing a river. Mount Kilimanjaro through the clouds. East Africa doesn’t give you memories — it gives you transformation.
- New Zealand’s South Island — Fiordland, Queenstown, the Milford Sound, glacier hikes, and bungee jumps over turquoise rivers. New Zealand’s South Island is adventure travel’s greatest playground.
- Colombia — The country that surprised everyone. Cartagena’s colonial magic, Medellín’s remarkable reinvention, the Coffee Region’s green valleys, and some of the warmest, most welcoming people on the planet. Colombia is having its moment — and it deserves every bit of it.
How to Make Every Trip Feel Like “The Best Times”
The secret to creating trips you’ll look back on with the deepest joy isn’t about spending more money or going to more exotic places. It’s about showing up fully — present, open, and ready to let the destination surprise you. Here are the practices that transform good trips into legendary ones:
- Say yes to the unexpected — The spontaneous detour, the stranger’s recommendation, the rainstorm that forces you into a tiny café where you end up staying for four hours. These unplanned moments become the best stories.
- Disconnect to connect — Put the phone down (except for photos). Actually look at the view. Taste the food without photographing it first. Be in the moment, not the content.
- Travel with the right people — Or alone. The right companions (or beautiful solitude) can turn an ordinary destination into an extraordinary experience.
- Plan less, wander more — Leave room in your itinerary for the magic to find you. Use our Travel Planner for the logistics, then give yourself permission to improvise.
Gear Up for Your Best Times: What to Wear on the Road
The right gear doesn’t just make travel easier — it makes it feel more intentional. When you’re dressed for adventure, you feel ready for it. Here are three pieces from Around the World in a Rush built for the traveler who’s chasing their best times:
🛍️ Gear for Your Greatest Adventures
🎽 Travel Performance Shorts
From mountain trails to beach runs to impromptu city sprints, these compression shorts are built to move with you through every adventure. Lightweight, fast-drying, and made for the fearless. From $20.86
🧥 Adventure Travel Hoodie
The kind of hoodie that ends up in every travel photo because you never take it off. Warm for dawn starts, stylish for evening arrivals, and soft enough for overnight flights. From $22.00
💎 18K Gold Bracelet & Ring Set
Because the best times deserve to be worn beautifully. This elegant gold set is the kind of jewelry that looks as good in a Patagonian wilderness as it does at a rooftop bar in Medellín. $9.55
Go Make Your Best Times
146 million people watched Landon Paschall run down that mountain road because they recognized something in it — the universal human longing for freedom, adventure, and the feeling of being fully alive. The good news? Your best times aren’t behind you. They’re ahead of you, waiting to be lived.
Use our free Travel Planner to start building the trip that becomes your greatest story. And explore Around the World in a Rush for the destination guides, travel tips, and gear reviews you need to make it happen. 🌍✈️
✈️ Ready to Plan Your Trip?
Use our Free Travel Planner to plan flights, hotels, packing lists & more — all in one place. Visit Around the World in a Rush for more travel inspiration, gear, and guides.
💬 We Want to Hear From You!
What trip in your life do you look back on and say “those were the best times”? And what destination is calling your name for your next great chapter? Share your story in the comments — we’d love to hear about the journey that changed you most! 👇🌅✈️
