International Day of Happiness! 9 Photos to Make You Smile

Feature photo credit: Flight Centre’s Ashley Hamer-Jackson.

We’re international. We’re happy. And we’re celebrating International Day of Happiness today!  Check out these smile-inducing photos by our fun-loving Flighties and influential Instagram-mers. Be warned: happiness and wanderlust are contagious!

Jaimie Rogers says of her photo, “On my travels through Nepal every child I met was genuinely happy and loving life…not rich with “things” but instead rich with family and love.”

March 20th is recognized by the United Nations as the International Day of Happiness. Very timely, as it’s also the first day of spring here in the Northern Hemisphere, definitely happy news for the winter-weary!

But as you can see from beaming Becky Bee, winter isn’t always so bad.  Enjoying ice fishing in Lake Simcoe, Ontario.

And in New England, Alaina Pinto seemed pretty happy about her snow adventure.

Since its inception in 2013, the International Day of Happiness is marked each year, with the UN’s World Happiness Report, a ranking of the world’s happiest countries.

Which contented country tops this year’s list? Norway! After sitting at fourth place the past two years, 2017 is the year this Nordic nation shines. In fact, five out of the ten top countries worldwide happiness index are Scandinavian: 1) Norway, 2) Denmark, 3) Iceland, 5) Finland and 9) Sweden (tied with Australia.)

Here is Fjaðrárgljúfur, what Jaimie calls  “an absolutely magical” canyon, in the southeast of Iceland. Seems it’s not only Icelanders, but visitors there, that know what happiness is!

Many of us from Canada, which by the way ranks number 7 on the report, simply head south of the border for a dose of mood-boosting Vitamin D.

Or in this case, a boost of adrenaline too, at the edge of Horseshoe Bend, Arizona.

Here’s another angle (and another happy Flightie, Patrycja Podgorski!) from this spectacular sight.

For those whose spirits are lifted less by Mother Nature and more like an artistic muse, one can’t go wrong with a visit to the Louvre in Paris, France:

Jen got all dressed up for her visit!

Ok, so maybe Kirstyn Thomas also knows “the point” of having fun while visiting Paris:

On that playful note, sometimes happiness comes in the form of good ol’ fashioned monkeying around:

Like Sarah Dayman, reaching her happiness “summit”climbing Mt. Batur, in Bali, Indonesia.

Even at lower altitudes, and with human company this time, Sara is all smiles in Bali.

As was her accidental tour guide, who lead her out of the rice fields she and her crew got lost in!

But it’s a fun reminder that sometimes the best times can be had unplanned and unexpectedly.

Happy International Day of Happiness, everyone!

Contact a Flight Centre travel agent for the best prices and travel inspiration and you’ll be on the road to happiness! Call us at 1 888 916 0890, in-store, or online.