Why Do You Travel?

Published September 24, 2012 | By Tracey

Looking out from Fort Frederick in Grenada.

“Why do you travel?”

This question was casually asked of me recently.

What a silly question, I thought. How could you possibly need to ask? Why would you not travel?

But it was still with me the next day. Although it seemed such an obvious question, no one had ever asked me, so I had never paused to consider it.

So while it was on my mind, I posed the question to the members of the Solo Travel Society on Facebook. As I had anticipated, a wide variety of thoughtful responses came back to me from across the world. As I sorted through them, a few themes began to emerge, many echoing my own feelings.

We travel to see and experience: to see the landscapes, the art, the architecture. We travel to experience new things, to meet new people and to consider new ideas. We travel to taste the food, the wine, the exotic and the everyday of local cuisine.

At the Boqueria Market in Barcelona.

We travel to learn and understand: to learn about history, culture, and different perspectives. We travel to learn about others and, just as importantly, about ourselves. We travel to discover our differences and our similarities, and to develop an understanding of our place in the world.

At the Picasso Museum in Paris, it’s not only the art that is beautiful.

We travel to be free: to explore, to escape our daily lives, to relax, to step outside ourselves and shake things up. We travel because we are curious. We travel to feel alive.

I feel so connected to the planet when I am near water. The Mediterranean will do just fine.

For me, all of these reasons fit. I tend to plan my travels around food and wine, which provide my entry point to a culture. I learn about the land from which the food grew, the people who nurture it, and the traditions associated with sharing and enjoying it. I challenge myself and find my boundaries. I discover new flavors, learn new techniques, and incorporate them into my life at home.

Traveling solo, I feel that I experience travel more intensely. My senses are heightened, I have fewer distractions or reminders of home, and I am entirely open to new experiences.

Do any of these themes resonate with you? Why do you travel?

Travel with the Wit of an Adult and the Wonder of a Child.

Give Your Passport Purpose

Amanda's Skyscanner Trip to New York City

Posted in A Solo Point of View

Pingback: Why Do You Travel? | Solo Traveler « Strucknwords
fred

I travel now, at a young 50 because I never had the financial opportunity to do so at a younger age. I travel to explore the world of cultures out there and my self in turn. With each trip, with all the ups and downs I always feel a perspective about where I live(NL, Canada) that was not there before I left; I feel fortunate, more open minded and freer.
Guest

Just like how and where you travel is a personal decision, so is the
reason behind it. Some people take off to find themselves, and some are
trying to get lost. I travel to see for myself what the rest of the
world looks like. I don’t want to rely on photographs other people have
taken; I want to see the world through my own eyes.
shannonwhite

Just like how and where you travel is a personal decision, so is the
reason behind it. Some people take off to find themselves, and some are
trying to get lost. I travel to see for myself what the rest of the
world looks like. I don’t want to rely on photographs other people have
taken; I want to see the world through my own eyes.
ep

Having worked within four walls of a classroom, where I felt secure but protected from the real world, I retired early to live in France so as to travel, meet people, see and learn about myself in this world. Now renovating my very own house I yearn to do what my former partner and I said we would do… but now I would be alone. I love all the reasons on this post and wholeheartedly agree. I have been on a group experience in Sri Lanka and in a small group teacher only exchange in European countries plus alone in Lisbon, which was the hardest not being able to communicate in English 15 years ago! I am not afraid when I travel by car or when walking for two hours locally and see no one, but have fears of backpacking with very little and not being warm or dry. I wish to travel and reinforce that LIVING has provided me with fortunes (not necessary financial) and to meet other cultures so as to understand how LIVING affects each person. Out and about, I’m open to new treasures, around the corner, just waiting for me! On Sunday I discovered an ancient Moulin that once produced flour being the first to generate electricity PLUS a huge disused Cistercian monastery, protected by the government and being renovated. WOW! I am really trying hard to think about how I could travel. Do I sell my house which is my security for the camper van?
Lizzie Davey

I have recently conducted a series of interviews on my blog dealing with this often tricky question and, whilst the answers vary according to the writers’ backstories and motivations, there are similar themes that thread their way through the responses. A lot of people travel to learn, and to understand more about the world we live in. Knowledge is a basic human desire – we constantly want to find out more because, well, we then find out more about ourselves. I often think travel is a form of escape.. Not so much that we are running away from things.. But just to offer us a different perspective on our lives.
Maria

I travel for knowledge and experience. I love the art of Europe, the people of Africa, different cultures and the beauty of our fast changing natural wonders like Denali National Park in Alaska, Galapagos Islands or the sunsets of the Serengeti Plains. I have started to volunteer away as well. Canada, where I live, is a country of many cultures. Travel is my way of understanding their cultures and becoming aware of what it feels like to be a minority. It instills tolerance, insight, an expanded global awareness. It is an example I set for my children and others. As a single woman traveller, particularly my recent volunteering in Africa, I was struck at how many people thought I was courageous taking this journey. I have helped other women make that first step to travel alone – as a young adult, recent widow, recent divorcee. Though these aren’t reasons to travel, it indicates the benefits of travel and the impact travellers have on those around us.
http://www.facebook.com/elaine.scanlan Elaine Scanlan

Tracy, I couldn’t agree more. I retired early from my teaching job a year ago, for exactly that reason: when I was travelling, in the holidays, I felt alive, then I went back to work and everything seemed to shrink down into a tiny, claustrophobic space. What I was doing day to day seemed trivial and of no real value.

It was far more than just the general tedium of working life – I know people have to work. But everything I was doing seemed to conflict with my own values. Since the college I worked for was reducing staff and offering severance deals, I took the money and ran. It was slightly terrifying, and I haven’t regretted it once.

That final sentence you wrote sums it up perfectly. I hope you find a way to escape back to the world.
http://www.facebook.com/tracy.antonioli Tracy Antonioli

I travel to be in the world. I feel so disconnected from, well, everything when I am working. I was just telling one of my coworkers about this today. I took last (school) year off to travel, and after being back in the classroom for a month I really, really miss BEING IN THE WORLD. Out among the millions of people living their lives. Interacting with them. It makes me feel like I’m living, not dying. I don’t care if the sun is shining or the rain is…raining. I just want to be out in it, in all of its beautiful, inconvenient glory.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=712343635 Jacob Lee Bane

I think humans are designed to travel; we seemed to be nomadic before the days of ‘jobs for life’ and mass media which effectively brought the world to our eyes and saved us the ‘hassle’ (as someone once called it). I travel because I need to experience as much as possible before I leave this rock, I want to enjoy the world and hopefully inspire others to get up and do the same. I have written about my own experiences here: http://www.spain-in-a-campervan.com
Thanks for the post and the thoughtful responses.

Jacob

Why Do You Travel?

Related posts:

Search Solo Traveler

About Janice Waugh and Tracey Nesbitt

Get the Solo Traveler Newsletter…

Subscribe Now!

As Seen In…

2nd edition of The Solo Traveler’s Handbook

Follow Solo Traveler

Popular Posts

Archives

RESULTS MAY VARY (The disclaimer.)