Apart from astronomy, one of my interests is travelling and combining the two is a good way of getting away from rubbish UK weather, light pollution and also getting to those parts of the sky inaccessible from up here at 50° North. The advent of cheap and/or frequent flights to long-haul destinations, or even short-haul destinations, means that dark skies, good weather and southern goodies are accessible to everyone who wants them.
I have done several trips purely for astronomy, including Australia, in 1997 and the Texas Star Party, in 2006, 2008 and 2010.