Hey fellow explorers. You know exactly how I feel about travelling and exploring the world (spoiler: I love to travel). Now that border controls have no longer sealed off countries from reach and with the world coming out of lockdown, I am curious to know your opinion: Is travel simply a luxury or a necessity? While you ruminate on that and the nature of your existence, read on to discover 10 important benefits of travel, the advantages of travelling, and the reasons why traveling is important to a happy and fulfilled life.

We all know that traveling makes us happy, but why and what are the other positives of seeing the world. Continue reading to find out.

In November 2018 I had my heart broken for the very first time.

I was 25 years old and getting ready for an epic trip to Colombia when, out of nowhere, my first long-term relationship came to a crashing, confounding end.

Awkwardly, I was due to go to South America with my then girlfriend. So, when the relationship ended, so did my travel plans! It was a double-whammy of disappointment.

In the days and weeks that followed I was left dazed, confused and feeling a little bit lost. However, after I’d recovered from the initial shock, I realized I didn’t want to sit around twiddling my thumbs and feeling sorry for myself.

Still reeling from the break-up, I fumbled together some last minute flights, packed my backpack up again, said goodbye, and left the UK on a one-way ticket bound for South East Asia.

Now, almost 18 months later, I’m back, with a happier heart, a renewed love for traveling, and a brand new relationship to boot!

I couldn’t help but reflect on my experience of discovering the world and how restorative travel was for me. Doing so clarified why traveling is important in life and just why I love travel so much.

So I decided to write about it!

Are you wondering about the inherent traveling advantages, the benefits of traveling, and its connection to life and happiness?

Read this essay on travel to find out…

>> Read next:

Here are my:

✈️ Top Advantages + Benefits of Travel in 2023:

Discover the Importance of Travelling | Love Travel

Do you know. Which is correct: travelling or traveling?

Both forms of spellings are correct. Travelling is the preferred usage in the Commonwealth region, including the UK, and traveling is the preferred spelling in the USA.
This American-British spelling difference carries for other words: traveled or travelled and traveler or traveller. Neither is wrong and it comes down to regional and personal preference.

Why is it important to travel and explore the world? First up…

1 | TRAVEL EXPOSES YOU TO INCREDIBLE SIGHTS AND NOVEL EXPERIENCES

To travel is to explore new countries, new cultures, new lands, and new horizons.

You set foot in uncharted territory from the word go, seeing things that amaze you, surprise you, and take your breath away at almost every turn. 

I love to travel and experience new cultures. A major travel benefit is that it makes you feel alive, filling your spirit with a sense of adventure.

Everything is new! From the streets you walk and the food you eat, to the sounds you hear and the people you meet. You do things you’d never dream of doing, take risks you’d never expect to take, and end up in novel, stimulating, life-changing situations as your reward. This is why travelling is important to you.

I think people need this kind of stimulation and novelty to be happy in life. At a very basic level, we’re not designed to be still- to sit down and do mind-numbing tasks all day, like robots. We’re meant to move, to play, and to explore.

Traveling delivers on all that and more.

2 | TRAVEL INTRODUCES YOU TO AMAZING PEOPLE

In my opinion, it’s the people you meet on the road that make travelling so special and one of the most important benefits of travel.

It’s hard not to meet cool, like-minded, open-minded, happy-go-lucky, fun-filled fellow travellers. They’re almost everywhere. The hostels, the bars, the planes, the tours, the beaches. You find amazing people to hang out with at almost every turn.

As social creatures, we need to be around others; we need the interplay and connection that comes from interpersonal relationships. It’s how we learn about ourselves, feel good about ourselves, and attain a sense of acceptance.

I love travel. You end up surrounded by potential friends and travel buddies when you’re on the road. The easy company lends itself to awesome shared adventures, getting to know each other on a whole other level, and the memories that follow.

>> Speaking of newfound friendships, learn how to say
friend in different languages of the world

3 | TRAVEL IS REAL LIFE ADVENTURE

I feel like, deep down, everybody wants an adventure.

Ask a kid if they want to spend their life sat behind a desk or having crazy adventures around the world and you’ll only ever get one definite answer.

The only reason that desire disappears is because it’s beaten out of us by societal norms and expectations. We feel compelled to worry about our futures; convinced that the stability of a 9 to 5 job is the answer, and get funnelled down an ordinary path that leaves us unfulfilled, dissatisfied, and wanting more.

One of the major advantages of traveling and why I love it is that it offers the total opposite.

The importance of travelling the world is that it provides you with the ultimate adventure in life.

There’s nothing ordinary about it (other than how commonplace it is these days). Sure, travel doesn’t guarantee an Indiana-Jones-style adventure, but it’s a damn sight closer to it than a desk job you despise and a life spent living for the weekend.

>> No travel playlist is complete without these:
75 top travel songs about exploring the world

4 | TRAVEL MOMENTS CREATES EPIC MEMORIES

You can’t have adventures and not come away with a story to tell!

Again, this speaks to me about really living. Life shouldn’t be dull and boring and uninspiring. It should be challenging, vibrant, intense, filled with experience, and ultimately, memorable.

It’s all too easy to take our time for granted. It’s as if we’re all convinced it’ll never run out. Then you wake up at 40, or something traumatic happens (if turning 40 wasn’t traumatic enough) and wonder what the hell happened.

A benefit of travelling is the plethora of incredible experiences and associated memories you accumulate along the way.

They fill a mental locker with the adventures you have, to look back on with fondness forever more. You make the most of your time, feeling happier and truly alive in the process.

>> Related reading: Stop using wanderlust.
Use one of these 50 words to describe your love for travel instead

5 | TRAVEL MAKES YOU REALISE WHAT A TINY PLACE YOU OCCUPY IN THE WORLD

Another big reason why travel is important to a happy life has to do with humility.

Tucked safely away at home, you can feel as if the entire world revolves around you. Life consists of your local neighbourhood, your work/school, and your friends and family.

It’s hard to go halfway around the world and not have that particular bubble popped.

The process removes the illusions and confronts you with reality.

I love travelling abroad. Out there, separated from home by entire continents, you realize just how small you are. You step outside and see how much there is to see. You’re one tiny cog in an almightily complex system. You’re a speck of dust in the grand scheme of things — a blip on the cosmic radar.

Traveling benefits by humbling and educating you in equal measure — if you can distinguish between the two. Don’t you just love travelling!

>> Read next: Speaking of the world, test your knowledge with this
world geography trivia questions and answers quiz

How does travelling affect your life?

6 | TRAVEL INSPIRES SELF-GROWTH AND IMPROVEMENT

Travelling removes self-importance and replaces it with wide-eyed wonder.

You see poverty, strife, and suffering among all the beauty. You realize how fortunate you are to have a house, friends, and family to go back to. You see the madness and disparity between the haves and have-nots.

This is a big reason why travel is important for youth. If you allow it to seep into your soul, then you’ll never walk away from travel the same as you entered it.

You’ll be wiser, more compassionate, and less concerned with trivial matters.

That’s a massive gift and a huge traveling advantage in life that comes courtesy of stepping into the unknown and exploring new places, both in the world and within yourself.

7 | TRAVEL FORCES YOU OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE

Travelling isn’t all hunky-dory.

It’s daaaamn hard sometimes.

There’s the practical struggle for one thing. You’re tired all the time, lugging a backpack around, on your feet exploring new places, all the while inundated with a constant assault on your senses. There are new things to see, hear, smell, and taste. It’s exhausting!

Then there’s the mental challenge that goes with it.

Everything I just wrote about stepping into the unknown and realizing your place in the world isn’t easy. A seismic shift can take place inside you, rocking the foundations of what you thought you knew of both the world and yourself.

Throw in the difficult experiences of seeing extreme poverty, ending up in sticky situations, getting lost in new places, and so on, and you see how tough it can be.

But you come through it. And you’re stronger and better off for it on the other side. And you know where the magic lies? Outside your comfort zone. This right here is why I love to travel and one of my favourite benefits of traveling the world.

>> Speaking of being totally out one’s comfort zone:
World travelers reveal the strangest thing they’ve ever eaten

What do you gain from traveling the world?

8 | TRAVELLING CAN BOOST YOUR CONFIDENCE

Newfound self-confidence is another reason why you walk away better off from travelling abroad.

I mean, it’s hard to come through adversity without a greater sense of confidence in your own abilities. You’ve prevailed against something challenging. You realize you’re capable of so much more than your limiting thoughts would have you believe.

By the end of your travels you’ll have navigated unknown lands, come through a host of uncertainty, and accomplished a whole lot of things that made you truly uncomfortable.

And there’s nobody to hold your hand through it all.

Your usual safety blankets are taken away; the training wheels are off and you’re rolling by yourself. And it’s fine! Sure, you fall over a few times and have the occasional tantrum. But that’s to be expected.

Overall, you become happier, healthier, confident, and self-assured. You cannot underestimate the advantages and benefits of travel.

>> Use this new found confidence to start conversations with fellow travelers.
Here is a collection of my favorite travel questions to ask

9 | TRAVEL ACCELERATES THE JOURNEY OF SELF-DISCOVERY

Benefit: Travel helps you learn more about yourself. It is essentially one long process of self-discovery and a major reason for my big addiction with travel!

You tread new territory in more ways than one. It’s another virtue of stepping outside your comfort zone. You’re forced into awareness of your weaknesses, foibles and follies, alongside your many strengths and talents.

It comes from being around new people from all walks of life too. You hear their views and opinions, feel your responses to them, and recognise more about your own personal standpoints.

From there, you can decide if you want to keep, update, or discard them!

Self-awareness is an essential precursor to self-improvement. You have to know the lay of the land before you can build on it. The newfound sense of progress, development and personal growth that arises is another reason why travel is so important to life (and being happy within it).

>> Always remember to travel consciously:
What is responsible tourism + 10 ways to be a more responsible traveller

10 | TRAVEL IS SOMETHING DIFFERENT FROM EVERYDAY ROUTINE

Ever get bored of living the same day over and over again?

Spend too long in the same routine and you can feel stuck in your very own version of Ground Hog Day. It’s an endless cycle. Same s*** different day.

It can sap the joy out of life. Even worse, time (and life) seems to disappear faster than ever! That’s the gift and the curse of a routine, depending on the situation.

Travelling is the total opposite! Everything about it is novel.

Each day is different when you travel.

You’re in total control, exploring new places, seeing new sites, meeting different people, hearing different languages, exploring different cultures, and moving between places whenever it takes your fancy.

Bonus!… Just because I’m feeling generous.

Did you know that:

11 | TRAVEL HAS BEEN SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN TO BENEFIT YOUR HEALTH

Yes, really!

Studies have shown that the positive effects on our health from travelling are huge. From relieving stress, supporting mental health, and reducing the risk of heart disease, to alleviating the symptoms of depression, strengthening the body and boosting our immune system, the physical and mental health benefits of travel are endless.

The most impactful health benefit of taking a holiday is the reduction in stress. You get taken out of your daily grind to encounter new surroundings and novel experiences. This can reset your body and mind, improve your mood, and make you feel like a brand new person.

Not only does having new experiences eliminate the stresses of everyday life, but also improves brain function, promotes thought coherence, boosts mental health, and increases cognitive flexibility.

This has the effect of combating mental illness by alleviating the symptoms of anxiety and depression and is essential for your general health and wellbeing.

Traveling has been associated with a reduced risk of heart disease. Again, this comes down to the reduction in stress and anxiety.

Travel promotes physical activity. It is a fun way of getting fit and strong, while taking a breather from daily life.

Having adventures in different parts of the world means that you’re exposed to different environments and its pathogens, which result in your body creating stronger antibodies and a significant boost to your immune system.

Not only are you stronger mentally and physically, but travelling abroad can help you to live longer. Not just longer, but happier too. All of these travel benefits on our health have been researched and scientifically verified.

Ok, that’t it… I’m booking my next flight right now!

This list of benefits prove why traveling is important for education and learning and why I love to travel.

Still wondering about the benefits of travelling? About travel being a luxury, an escape or a necessity and an important aspect of living?

Well, hopefully these 10 advantages of travelling have provided exactly what you’ve been looking for.

There aren’t many experiences or activities in life that can offer the same degree of reward as traveling and exploring the world does.

And I know what you must be thinking — this is all well and good, but travel is just too darn expensive!

Well, I’m here to tell you, it does NOT have to be.

Especially if you take the time to search for the best airfare which tends to be the biggest expense of any trip, while remaining flexible with your travel dates and plans.

For anyone out there who wants to feel happier, healthier, more alive and fulfilled, then I fully recommend travel for the task.

As I discovered over the last 18 months, there’s nothing else like it to help you rediscover a sense of joy and contentment in life. 

With all of the reasons above, I can’t help but ask myself, “is there anything that travel can’t do?”

So go out there and explore the world! What are you waiting for?

Happy travels,

Rai

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