What Inspires You To Travel? Reasons Behind Our Motivation For Travel

“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”
– Anthony Bourdain

Recently, I wrote a Twitter post that got high engagement. It was a fundamental question to the Twitter world on what inspires you to travel, with a range of options to go with the issue at hand.

What followed was a lengthy and friendly debate with many varying responses. Those responses certainly didn’t surprise me. However, a clear winner throughout the conversation happened to be a country’s culture, closely followed by food.

However, other responses came to the fore, and the variety of reactions I got through the conversation had me thinking about all the ideas that inspire people to travel. Hence, turning the twitter debate into a blog post for several reasons, including why travel is encouraging to so many people worldwide.

Therefore, what is the leading reasons which inspire you to travel the world? Let’s find out the enormous appeal of galivanting and the motivation behind an adventure to a faraway place.

Even the young are inspired to travel.

What Inspires you to travel and Hit the Road More Often

Let’s begin with a quote, a longwinded quote by a guy named Terry Pratchett, who I think nails it when it comes to inspiration for travel.

“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colours. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”
― Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky

The Cultures of the World

Culture is an incredible thing, and it’s well worth a trip abroad to see how different cultures can be from country to country.

Of course, this only works if you leave your fancy resort and get out to where the real world is of your visited destination and witness the indigenous in the natural setting of their everyday life.

It’s an eye-opening experience to see how others live compared to your backyard back home. No two countries are alike, and it’s a little reality check to get out to the local villages, towns or districts to learn about the culture and their way of life.

In doing so, you can have an idea of the country’s customs, religious values, marriage rituals, work ethics, the food that’s traditionally eaten and a general idea of their regular day.

The older man and his bull look on in a Laos Village.

Tasting and Experimenting with different foods

Delicious foods of the world, where would we be without the delicious food when travelling and experimenting with our taste buds from restaurant to restaurant?

Tell me, who doesn’t love travelling to another country to try various foods, with the different flavours and to eat as the locals would eat, it’s why you go travel, to begin with to saviour different cultures.

In the Twitter conversation, trying different foods had been a popular choice, and honestly, it’s hard to argue with that fact, for quite often, we are thinking with our stomachs when in travel mode or at home, for that matter.

Check out my experience of tasting Durian in Malaysia for the first time!

Being somewhere different other than home

A holiday is leaving the comforts of your home and travelling abroad to an unknown and utterly foreign country.

The very idea inspires many travellers to go on their next adventure.

The thought of being away from familiar surroundings excites most people because a change is a good thing, and to get that much-needed change, for even a short while, lifts the mood of yourself and those around you.

Visit the world and live differently.

The fact you can be yourself again

I always feel that when you’re at home, you’re generally living in a robotic world where our lives are full of routine and order, whether you’re at the office or in your home.

Many days in the real world is like Groundhog Day. You wake up simultaneously, leave for the office at the same hour, get home when the sun is fading away and fall asleep at the same hour as the night before. Every day the routine is typically the same.

A change needs to happen to get out of the 9-5 system, and travel offers a chance for a routine change.

When you’re in that different environment, you can genuinely be yourself again because the Groundhog Day routine’s broken, and the refreshing change of scenery gives you a fresh and happy vibe once again.

The friendly locals

The friendly locals always smile on your face when travelling abroad, and personally, there is nothing better gained in an adventure than meeting the locals and enjoying a conversation.

A general conversation may be tricky if the language barrier is in the way, but it has never stopped me from laughing a minute with someone I couldn’t communicate with when two languages are not the same.

When you do get up close and personal with the locals, it’s when you learn the finer details about the person you’re talking with and learn of their background, heritage and values.

Mingling with the locals in Vietnam.

Visiting Unique Attractions

Attractions of the world are unbelievable, whether it’s an old heritage building, a famous temple, or a modern skyrise building taller than the eye can see.

Each city you visit always has an incredible appeal to the destination, and the epic photo-taking moment is still bound to happen no matter where you travel.

During our research, before heading off to our holidays, we’re often Googling information on specific places to visit, major attractions in the area and other random searches deemed worthwhile for the upcoming vacation.

Enjoying The Outdoors

Another great reason to travel would be to make sure that you have great opportunities to explore the outdoors. Regardless of where you are going, you can guarantee there will be opportunities to explore the forests and lakes of the world.

For instance, you might decide to take a trip to Lake Eildon in Australia. Lake Eildon caravan parks will place you a stone’s throw away from a natural paradise with countless adventures worth uncovering while you’re there.

Let me know – what inspires you to travel.

I have given several reasons on what motivates you to travel, but I am sure there are many other reasons not on the list which inspire many people to begin planning their next trip.

In the comments below, I would love to hear what inspires you to travel; whether it’s mentioned or not, I’m interested in knowing what excites you the most and understanding the biggest travel inspiration.