We love travelling every time we get the chance, but some people might need more convincing to hit the road! If you’ve got friends or family members rolling their eyes at your adventurous lifestyle, it’s time to put them straight. Travelling isn’t just about ticking things off a bucket list or filling up your Instagram feed with glamorous photos — it’s actually good for you. Here’s why. Discover the benefits of travel.
Travel lets you get out from your comfort zone
Life is easy when you don’t travel: you just do the same thing every day. For some people, that’s enough, but not for us. Travelling breaks that routine. It takes courage to travel, particularly if you’re heading off alone. The good news? Being out of your comfort zone is actually really good for you.
When you take the plunge and go travelling, you’ll increase your confidence. Suddenly, you find yourself in a very strange new situation, and that means learning to adapt. Plus, travelling also provides a break from the monotony that everyday routines can bring. Travelling may take guts, and it can be scary at times, but it’ll make you a stronger person.
That’s particularly true if you travel alone. After all, setting out on a solo journey is the very definition of getting out of your comfort zone. If you’re a solo traveller, you’ve probably heard dozens of people saying things like, “Oh, I could never do that.” Well, congratulations. You’ve got the courage and determination to do something that thousands of people are too scared to do. Of course, that doesn’t mean you need to rub it in their faces, but give yourself a little pat on the back and enjoy a moment of smugness. Quietly, mind you.
Travel teaches you about the world
One advantage of travelling abroad is the chance to learn more about the world around you. Our planet is remarkably large, and every corner is packed with interesting things to see and do. How can you see and do them if you just stay home?
The educational benefits of travel don’t stop there. You’ll also explore new cultures, which can help you overcome prejudices and have a greater appreciation for diversity. That’s especially true if you travel very far away. You’ll see how people can live happy, fulfilling lives in a way that’s completely different from what you’re used to — and that’s something very special.
After a trip abroad, you’ll return home with greater knowledge. That might be a few words of a language, a new recipe to impress your friends with, or some fun facts about culture, nature or something else. Even if you only use your new knowledge to pick up some points at the pub quiz, it’s always worth learning new things — and when it comes to that, nothing can compare with travel.
Travel lets you meet new people
Let’s be honest: there aren’t many good ways to make friends as an adult. Once your uni days are behind you, striking up a friendship is seriously tricky. That’s especially true if you’re child-free. While your old mates are busy making new pals at the school gates, you might find yourself sitting around twiddling your thumbs.
Luckily, travel is one of the best ways to meet new people. No, we don’t mean staying in a youth hostel like a gap year backpacker. Try group travel if you want to make like-minded friends. If that thought scares you, don’t panic. Joining a group trip doesn’t mean you’re signing up for some kind of speed-dating holiday. Look for group holidays aimed at people your age.
Of course, there are plenty of other opportunities to meet new people when you’re travelling. This is one of the only times in life when it’s easy to strike up a conversation with a stranger. You see someone sitting alone in a café with a big backpack, and it’s natural to start chatting. When you’re away from home, you might find that you have lower inhibitions than normal, so your usual qualms about speaking to strangers disappear.
You may even find it easy to chat with locals when you’re travelling. After all, when you feel that you’re never going to see someone again, conversations often flow more easily. Again, this is a great way of building your confidence — a skill that you’ll take right back into your normal life when you get home.
Travel teaches you to be patient
Now for an advantage of travel that you probably haven’t considered. Here’s the thing: when you travel, things don’t always go smoothly. Whether you’re dealing with flight delays or cold showers, you have to expect the unexpected.
The thing is — what can you do when something goes wrong? Often, you just have to grin and bear it. As you become a more experienced traveller, you might even find that you can laugh off problems that would have made you burst into tears just a few years ago.
When you travel a lot, you’ll also find that punctuality can mean different things in different countries. Something that might only take a few minutes back home could last hours when you’re abroad. The more you travel, the more patient you’ll be in these situations. Soon, you’ll have no problem whipping out a book and letting time pass.
Travel makes you more flexible
This is another one of those benefits of travel that you may not have ever thought of before. When you’re abroad, you often need to change plans on the fly. Maybe you arrive at your hotel and find that it looks a lot better on the website than in real life. Maybe you meet some new travel pals and they invite you to join them in their next destination. Maybe things just aren’t quite going to plan, and you need to cut and run.
When things go wrong, you’ve only got two options: resign yourself to a disappointing holiday or make a change. This is one of the major benefits of solo travel. If you’re taking a trip with friends, then you may spend hours discussing the best things to do. When you’re alone, it’s all on your shoulders. That means you’ll have to learn to be adaptable and flexible — and that’s a lesson learned in real time as you make the adjustments you need to save your holiday.
Travel makes you more assertive
How can travel make you more assertive? Well, if you’ve ever spent any time in a Moroccan bazaar, you’ll know already! Again, this is one of those solo trip benefits that really comes out when you’re travelling alone. That’s because when you travel, you need to be able to say no. And when you travel solo, there’s nobody to hide behind — it’s all on you.
Assertiveness is one of those hidden benefits of travel that you’ll only start to appreciate with experience. You’ll find that moments come when you simply have to put your foot down. Sometimes, that’s because of an over-eager vendor desperate to sell you something. Sometimes, it’s a tour guide trying to take you somewhere you don’t want to go. Sometimes, you may need to complain about a hotel room or a disappointing meal. Without assertiveness, you risk ruining your holiday —and the more you travel, the more of a backbone you’ll grow.
Travel makes you comfortable in your own company
How do you feel about being alone? For many people, that’s pretty much the scariest thing they can imagine. Nobody there to entertain you, nobody around for a casual chat — just you and you alone.
Yes, we’ve already said that travel can help you meet new people, but on any trip, you’ll spend some time alone. And the more you travel, the more you’ll start to enjoy it — a skill that’s incredibly valuable for the rest of your life.
What’s more, you’ll often have no Wi-Fi to rely on when you travel. That means you’ll need to be extra comfortable in your own company. You might even find yourself going back to your favourite ways of killing time from your childhood or youth. Maybe you’ve got a trusty paperback to read, or perhaps you’re travelling with a notebook to sketch or scribble down ideas. Travelling is a great way to reconnect with yourself and learn to appreciate being alone.
Travel helps you become more organised
Maybe you’re not one of life’s great planners — and there’s nothing wrong with that. We all like a bit of spontaneity in our holidays, after all. However, one of the major benefits of travel is how it helps you to become a more organised person.
There are a few different aspects to this. Firstly, you’ll need to put some effort into planning your trip. That doesn’t mean working out a step-by-step itinerary to account for every minute, but it does mean doing your research in preparation for your upcoming adventure.
Another part of being organised is learning to travel light. No, you don’t need 20 different outfits for a week-long holiday. Oh, and you can probably leave at least three of those pairs of shoes at home, too. Nobody wants to rummage through an entire suitcase of clothes to dig out that all-important tube of sunscreen lost at the bottom!
Travel teaches you that there’s more to life than material possessions
This benefit also connects to the idea of travelling light. One of the most common mistakes that people make when they take their first big trip is packing too much. You might think that you need to be prepared for every eventuality, but as you travel more, you’ll realise that it’s not always necessary.
When you travel, you’ll probably spend less time caring about how you look and more time living in the moment. Yes, you might look a bit of a mess in some of your favourite holiday pics, but you’ll soon realise how little that matters. In fact, you might find that on future trips, you’ll take less and less with you.
Travel makes you a more interesting person
OK, we may be biased on this one — because travel is always our favourite topic of conversation! However, we think you’ll also soon recognise this benefit of travel. Once you get back home, you’ll never struggle to make conversation. Suddenly, you’ve always got something fascinating to talk about — your adventures abroad. That’s got to be more interesting than soap opera drama and office gossip, right?
Travellers love talking about travel, and you’ll soon become one of them. Get ready to make easy conversation wherever you go in the world. You’ll have so many anecdotes and stories of your adventures that you’ll never be lost for words again. Even if you naturally hate small talk, travel gives you a chance to shine!
At WeRoad, we’ve got a great team made up of people who are passionate about travel. We’re living proof of the benefits of travel — and you will be, too, if you join us! Check out our guide to how our group trips work, and choose your favourite destination from our impressive list. Then sign up and get ready to discover the advantages of travel for yourself.
