2016 was such a great year for travel. Memories were made, places were discovered, and stories are shared. Here are 10 of the most popular, the ones that made the headlines, the ones that you loved. These are the stories that show why we all love travel so much.

It turns out that traveling makes us far happier than any material wealth ever does – who can argue with science? According to this short report by Bright Side, “going to various kinds of unusual events, going on trips, learning new skills, even extreme sport — all of these are an ideal source of happiness for each and every one of us.”

There’s nothing boring about this following story reported by Bored Panda: Poland Unveils Glow-In-The-Dark Bicycle Path That Is Charged By The Sun. The story describes the cycling strip near Lidzbark Warminski in the north of Poland. The strip charges during the day and stays luminous at night. The technology used is innovative: the synthetic material in the bike path can emit light for around 10 hours.

Travelling on a budget? Yes, it’s possible. Although only two Eastern European countries (Bulgaria and Greece) made this list, we still love it: 16 Affordable Places To Go If You’re Young, Broke And Want To Travel The World.

This is not popular just because it is The New York Times. We bet you will find great value discovering the 52 Places to Go in 2016 recommended at the beginning of 2016 by this prestigious publication. Eastern European destinations featured include Cesme (Turkey), Korcula Island (Croatia), Brno (Czech Republic), and Thessaloniki (Greece). Maybe their future lists will consider more destinations in this part of the world.

A Beer Company Will Pay You $12,000 to Travel and Drink Beer All Summer – it’s pretty obvious why this got so much attention. In this article, Thrillist describes a campaign by World of Beer.

We always love a story with a spooky twist: This Hotel Is So Haunted You Have To Sign A Waiver To Stay There. It’s about Hotel Shanley in the quiet Shawangunk Mountains of Ulster County on the East Coast. “Here’s some of the fun you can expect during your stay: empty rocking chairs rocking on their own, mysterious clock chimes, hot spots, cold spots, disembodied footsteps and whistling (said to be from the deceased former owner James Shanley), and children laughing when there are none around.”

Speaking about hotels, when stories help make a positive difference in the world, we are happy they go viral: Snapping a picture of your hotel room could help stop human trafficking. “The TraffickCam app enables travelers to submit pictures of hotel rooms around the world. The images are matched against a national database used by police.”

Here’s another travel story worthy of the spotlight: The First Airline Founded By A Black Woman Is Going International This Month. The story relates the international debut of Fly Blue Crane.

Now this is a person who truly loves travel: 27-Year-Old Woman To Become First Female Ever To Visit Every Country On Earth. Wouldn’t you like to walk in Cassandra De Pecol’s shoes?

Last, but not list, a useful piece of clothing: Traveller T-Shirt With 40 Icons Lets You Communicate In Any Country Even If You Don’t Speak Its Language. “IconSpeak is a useful T-shirt printed with 40 universal icons, perfect for those occasions when you don’t speak the local language.”

Featured image Vladivostok at night, courtesy our friends at Letsphoto.ru