My adventure of living abroad and traveling the world so far has been exciting, fun and incredible. It’s been full of countless ups and downs and enough memories to last a lifetime. But along the way I’ve gotten the opportunity to learn more about myself and so much more about the world that I live in, I feel that I have learned countless life lessons that I will hold with me forever. But the biggest one that I have learnt is that sometimes you have to take a step far outside of your comfort zone. Taking that leap really helps you to learn so much about yourself as well as the world around you.
But what is the greatest lesson you can learn from traveling…? I believe that there are so many answers to this question. In this collaborative post, different travelers and travel bloggers from all over the world will share the biggest lessons that they have learned from traveling.
“When cycling around the world I travel slow. Slowing down is the most valuable lesson I’ve learned from pedaling my way through new countries. To never be in a hurry. To never stick to my original plan because when a local wave at you to stop you know that what they have to offer is much more valuable than your plan to get to your next destination.”- Lena Velovelo“From our travels around the world, we are continuously learning that there’s nothing money can buy that is richer and more rewarding than worldly experiences.” – Steph & Zack Destination Dorworth
“All travelers have experienced having a meltdown at the airport. Whether it’s long lines, a missing bag or a delayed flight when you just want to go home, we’ve all been there. Yet, we still travel. For me, I choose to chance these frustrations because I know the reward is far greater than whatever an airline can throw at me. I never feel more connected to the world then when I am traveling. Whatever silly slight is still dwelling in the back of mind, it melts away when I’m experiencing a new place. Traveling enables me to have a deeper appreciation of the limited amount of time I have on this planet and gives me a sense of gratitude that I can be in this place, at this time. The little things that I thought matter, don’t. Traveling has a way of getting you to focus on the wonder of it all.” – Danielle G World Travelers Union
“I’ve learnt that I am tougher than I think. Every time I set myself a new country to challenge myself with, I make it through even when I think there’s no way I’m going to.”-Cristal The Tofu Traveler
“I started to travel the world at a relatively early age, with my first solo trip abroad when I was 14. Although I used to travel regularly with my parents, I was for the first time on my own, in a completely new country – Switzerland – coping with a language I used to talk at home, but never used for public interactions – French. At the beginning, I resented my parents for the challenge, but a couple of days after I was more than happy to be there and started to enjoy every single moment of my trip. I learned to use the language by asking for basic directions or for making new friends, to ride the train alone all over the country. Every day into my journey, it was not only a new landscape with a rich cultural heritage that I was little by little becoming familiar with, but it was a new me in the making: I was testing my limits, was learning to behave in different circumstances and to understand the cultural differences. It was one of my first big lessons in travel that I continue to follow until today. My biggest lessons learned from travel are to never give up taking risks and to keep following my aims, with discipline, an open mind and an open heart. The future is never certain, but at least make the present moment the best ever.” – Ilana Ilana Travels
“Even if your reason for traveling is not to learn something, you will along the way. I was really bad with maps—after traveling solo for some time, I can say I mastered them. I learned how to enjoy my own company. I learned how to navigate airports easily, how to best use my time and where to eat and shop. But maybe the best thing I learned was also the hardest one. You cannot escape. Problems you have at home, bad relationships, your own struggles and worries—they follow you like a faithful puppy. It may seem that being overwhelmed with new experiences is helping, but it’s not really. Everything you have in your head is coming with you. So, if you want to travel to escape, don’t do that. Save money and deal with it at home. Then enjoy the road with a clearer head. Speaking from experience, that way is much better.” – Tihana Wandering Polkadot
“This summer, I posed myself a challenge – to sleep in a hammock in the forest near my city all by myself and then to go to work as fresh as a daisy (as I thought I would feel). So I did. I took my hammock, a sleeping bag, and a shot of vodka, which I gulped down for extra courage before going to sleep, and shortly after I fell asleep in a beautiful pine forest close to the city I live in. Then, 15 minutes later, I woke up because my sick mind was dreaming that a psychopath was leaning over me (after all, I was a girl sleeping alone in the woods). I took a look around and as I saw nobody, I peacefully fell asleep again. Then, 15 minutes later I woke up again for the same reason. And this continued during the whole night. The freshness of the crisp pine air and the calmness of the night outdoors couldn’t compensate for my terrible dreams, so my plan turned out an epic fail. The travel lesson: it’s not the world that is dangerous but your mind making a wrong image of it.” – Maria 203 Challenges
“As much as it is interesting to see big cats and other (large) wildlife on safaris, just enjoying the jungle – its fresh smell, its silence except for the bird sounds, the myriad trees and the plants growing underneath – is an experience by itself. I remember when my daughter was about 2, we had taken her to the first forest safari to a national park in Central India. She was delighted to see every deer, every langoor and made us stop the jeep so many times, we went a bit bonkers. In the end, we slowed down, stopped looking out just to spot a leopard and delighted in every squeal of hers. Just when the naturalist had given up on spotting any big cat, we saw a leopard lounging on the side of the road. It got up, gave us a dirty look, completely disgusted with us having broken into its siesta and regally walked away into the thick bushes. Traveling with my daughter has taught me to appreciate small things in life. ” – Shweta Zest in a Tote
“The power of laughter! We’re both jokesters by nature, but being crammed into a flying sardine can or a tiny car for hours with someone on very little sleep can really test that. We actually had an argument while we were walking around the city on our most recent trip to Vancouver. It was starting to get heated, we had walked ourselves lost, and I planted myself on a sidewalk to have my say. Then, one of us happened to look away – just in time to catch sight of the fact that we were standing directly in front of the doors of a very popular adult store – right under the neon sign for their peep show. At that point, so matter how fiery you feel, you just have to laugh. And then life goes on, a little lighter.” – Luke & Meagan Two Restless Homebodies
“One of the most important things I’ve learned through traveling extensively is that you need to be flexible. Things will go wrong – flights get delayed, buses are late, thunderstorms happen, and you’re bound to get lost! But don’t let that get you down. Part of the joy of traveling is how you deal with the mishaps because they become part of your adventure story.” – Dani Wanderlust on a Budget
“I finally feel free, there are no borders, no judgement, there is me and a world out there free for me to explore. My limitations are by choice out of greed for materialistic desires. Once I break free of those chains travel becomes reality.” – Petro World Mission 196
“Travel is the ultimate confidence booster and antidepressant. This is especially true with solo travel. Every time I take a trip I learn something about myself, whether it’s a couple hour drive away from home or a journey across the globe. There is a common thread throughout the lessons I learn when I travel and that thread is strength. Strength of character, strength of will, the strength to listen to my intuition and stay true to my values. And the strength to trust strangers. With depression, all of these get lost in the fog. Without travel, I don’t know who I would be.” – Brittany Transformed Thru Travel
“Let the road be your guide. I usually don’t plan much before my trip because I love letting the road take me to new adventures. To me, traveling is not only about visiting new places, but also about discovering and and learning new things. I follow my heart and my gut, let my travel take me to meet awesome people, to discover exotic culture, to randomly visit a place that I never think about. I love getting lost, and eventually found myself through adventures. .” – Ha Expatolife
“Travel allows me to meet amazing people around the world. But the most important thing is through travel I learned to know myself even better. I just tried solo traveling recently and it was a memorable experience. I saw how I adjust myself to situations I never done before. Travel made me feel empowered and humble at the same time.” – Roneth The Fickle Feet
Sam: I enjoyed looking through your travel pictures and reading your thoughts. The one picture that immediately jumped out at me is the one of the front of the Forbidden City. Blue sky above? How on Earth is that even possible? I had the chance to visit Beijing in 1998 and there certainly was never even a hint of sky, much less blue, the entire time that I was there. The smog was so bad that I could barely see Tiennamen Square across the street when I was waiting to enter the Forbidden City. One memory I have is of walking through the Forbidden City while listening on my headphones to the voice of Roger Moore describing what I was seeing. A bit surreal to say the least.
Keep up the good blogging.
Yes there was blue sky when I took that photo of the Forbidden city in Tiananmen Square! The city I visited before travelling to Beijing, Shijiazhuang, the smog was much worse, making the air quality in Beijing seem like a pleasant change in contrast! If you are interested you can read more about my travels in China at my blog! https://chloeluye.wordpress.com/2017/10/06/china-part-1/
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post. Thank you for sharing your wonderous adventures with the world! I always find it fascinating how each country has a particular quirky practise or a uniqueness only known to a specific region. Happy Traveks!
Wow, your first solo trip was at 14?! How awesome!! You truly can learn so much from traveling, especially on solo adventures. Thanks for sharing!
So great to hear all the things people learn from travel. Thanks for including me!
That’s such a lovely compilation – thanks for that. And of course it’s true what they say – traveling enriches you in so many ways….
It has been a pleasure to contribute to this blog post and I have loved reading about everybody else’s experiences and finding new travel blogs to follow!
As Mark Twain said “Travel is fatal to prejudice”. I wish more of my fellow US citizens would travel more.
Travel is the great equalizer – if you get out of the comfort zones. Love seeing what other veteran travelers share.
I love how you have merged together so much travel wisdom from around the globe. It is a lovely idea! In my case I think that travel has tought me how to be more confident in my skin and to trust my instincts, it allowed me to grow as a person so much! Thank you for compiling and sharing these =)
I too am a full time traveler and I really enjoyed your perspective!
Loved this post! Lovely photos too.
https://meerasxblog.blogspot.co.uk/
great post!
Over at Catch Our Travel Bug we always say “A bad day travelling is still better than a good day at work!” Great post. I especially agree with Lena, as we have also taken up bicycle touring.
These are all great lessons! But my favorite is: “It’s not the world that is dangerous but your mind making a wrong image of it.” People are always asking me if I’m afraid for my safety, but I actually find that the more I travel, the less afraid I am.
I always find it interesting as we all approach travel and what we get from it differently. Great post!
Nice thoughts and excellent conclusions, good selection of quotes. Love it, really!
All of these lessons mentioned are great! Traveling can open so many neat doors and can show us things about ourselves we did not even know 🙂
Such a great collection of stories! Travel influences us in so many different ways making us discover sides of our character we didn’t even suspect exist and helping us to find out who we really are. Best wishes!
Great post! I love reading the lessons and perspectives from other travelers. Your photos are lovely, too!
What a great post! Such lovely and honest opinions about travelling! I especially liked the one from Wandering Polkadot about dealing with your problems/issues from home for then to be able to enjoy the road with a clearer head! So true. Thanks for putting this post together – great work!
This is so inspiring!! Thank you <3
Great post! It was so inspirational to read all your stories… Here’s to many more 🙂
This is a great post and I’m so glad I came across it. All their answers are so insightful and I agree, even when you do not plan to learn anything, you still end up learning when you travel.
Great post! Traveling will change you, if you let it. I’ve learned a great deal about the world, people in it and myself through my travels.
Everyone’s stories are so varied. It goes to show how all-encompassing travel is as a learning tool. Thanks for including me!
The great thing here is that everyone learns something different from travelling 🙂 Thanks for putting together this post!
Every new trip is a new lesson, regardless whether you realize it or not.
I completely agree! You don’t always realize the lesson you learn, but it does always stay with you!
Great post! Thanks for sharing!
These stories and lessons from travelling are so inspiring. Thanks for putting this together. Always a good idea to learn from others.
http://www.zinnyfactor.com
Very inspiring read. Glad your parents gave you the travel bug.
Ive been running away from my problems this year. You’re right. They follow you.
A neighbor gave me good advice last week. She said to run towards your issues instead of running away from them. I’m giving this some thought and I agree with it.
Thanks for your lovely post. Happy travels
Superb post and a lot of interesting views on how travel enriches us. To me personally, travel has made me more confident. It just tells me that I can do absolutely fine half way across the world, even miles away from home.
Loved reading your post. I had not thought of lessons learnt from Travel up until recently. Happy travelling.
Lessons learned from travelling are the best lessons!
It has been a pleasure reading what so many bloggers have to say about lessons from travel. Thank you for putting together something so inspirational.
I’m glad you enjoyed it… stay tuned because i hope to do a part 2 in the near future!
A lot of interesting information and I love the post.
I love this post! It’s alsways great to hear from fellow travellers about their experiences. I’ve been living and studying abroad (in Russia, China and Austria) as part of my university degree, and completely sympathise with the need to slow down and appreciate the things around you! My top travel tip is to simply explore the area you’re in – wander around the little pokey streets (whilst remaining safe!), and find all the little cafes, markets and sights that most people miss.