We all know that travelling is a fun and worthwhile experience but, in a lot of ways, this just barely scratches the surface of what travelling can offer you. In addition to providing you with an exciting change of pace, travelling can also afford you a myriad of benefits which you may have never considered! So if you’re second-guessing whether or not you should book that next holiday, here are 20 reasons why travelling the world benefits you.
1. Provides a Break from Routine
There’s truly nothing more soul-crushing than being lost in a monotonous daily routine. Sure, routines are helpful and necessary, but it's also important to break free and experience something new every once in a while. Not only is travel a great way to get yourself out of a rut, but it will also allow you to return to your normal life with renewed enthusiasm.
2. Enhances Your Communication Skills
Communication skills go a long way when you’re in a completely new and unfamiliar place that requires you to venture out, ask questions, and learn. Not only are you interacting with people of different backgrounds, but you’re more than likely interacting with people who don’t even speak the same language as you, requiring you to think outside of the box and make an exerted effort to learn new words and phrases.
3. Boosts Creativity
Venturing into a new locale will expose you to a slew of fresh new sights, sounds, and ideas that are distinct to the place you are visiting, meaning you won’t find them anywhere else. This new set of stimuli will ultimately boost your creativity by providing you with a wealth of inspiration to glean from when working on your next creative endeavour.
4. Improves Mental Health
Although travelling certainly does bring with it a whole new set of stressors and anxieties, these can easily be offset by the relaxation and excitement that await after you get over some of the initial hurdles. Getting away from your daily routine can provide your life with a sense of rejuvenation and wonderment that you can bring back with you and hopefully carry over into your day-to-day life.
5. Fosters Personal Growth
By challenging you to finally venture out of your comfort zone, travelling provides you with ample opportunity to see what you’re really made of. Problem-solving, resilience, and keeping a level head are all invaluable characteristics that you will need to refine on your travels, and in doing so you will unlock a part of yourself that you may have never even known about it.
6. Build a Stronger Social Network
Travelling (especially if done so alone) will encourage you to meet and foster relationships with a wide variety of new and interesting people. Whether it's locals, fellow travellers, or expatriates, travelling places you in a unique position to put yourself out there and greatly enrich your social network beyond the scope of what you have at home.
7. Teaches You New Skills
Another indispensable benefit that will accompany your travels is the opportunity to learn new skills. During your trip, you will no doubt encounter a wide variety of opportunities to learn new skills, such as navigating a new place, interacting with locals (particularly in a foreign language), and even taking up crafts or activities that are unique to that respective region.
8. Increases Cultural Respect and Understanding
Respect and appreciation for other cultures is something that can only be cultivated by having firsthand experiences that immerse you in the essence of what a given culture is truly all about. In doing so, you will enhance your ability to interact with people from diverse backgrounds, ultimately helping to foster greater harmony and mutual respect among different cultures. 
Photo by Sonika Agarwal
9. Encourages Independence
Whether you're travelling solo or with a couple of friends, you will more than likely be faced with situations that require you to take action and be decisive. These sorts of situations are great for fostering autonomy and greater self-esteem, as you’ll then be able to reflect on your ability to problem solve and fend for yourself and carry that over into your life back at home.
10. Creates Lasting Memories
Living in the moment is great, but after all is said and done the best souvenirs you can take back home are the lasting memories that you’ll carry with you for the rest of your life. Living is all about padding your life story with as many meaningful and fulfilling memories as possible, and travelling gives you unparalleled access to countless unique and impactful experiences.
11. Promotes Physical Health
Traveling to a new place often involves walking, hiking, and exploring — all of which contribute to a healthy and well-balanced lifestyle. You can easily find yourself walking thousands of steps per day while exploring a new environment and doing so is not only a great workout but also the perfect opportunity to burn off some of the calories from all the delicious cuisine you’ll no doubt experience along the way.
12. Enhances Problem-Solving Skills
Learning to think on your feet and solve problems on the fly is something that will come to you naturally as you go through your travels. Being confronted with unfamiliar territory gives you ample opportunity to put your problem-solving skills to the test and glean that sense of accomplishment that comes with overcoming obstacles that you’ve never faced before.
13. Provides Educational Experiences
Textbooks and documentaries are one thing, but nothing will ever beat seeing something firsthand! Luckily, travel will afford you the ultimate opportunity to experience a given place or culture by way of historical sites, museums, and cultural landmarks that all lend themselves to enriching your overall understanding of the world and everything in it.
15. Encourages Mindfulness
While exploring a new destination, you’ll often be encouraged to be more mindful sheerly by the fact that you’ll be exposed to so many new stimuli that you can’t help but live in the present moment. Not only will you want to live in the moment, but you’ll have to — as it’s the only way to properly navigate your way through unfamiliar territory.
16. Strengthens Relationships
By travelling alone, you will strengthen your bond with yourself, but by travelling with others (friends and family) you will more than likely strengthen your bond with those around you. Travel gives you and your companions plenty of time to work together in overcoming hurdles, exploring and ultimately creating lasting memories that will go on to enrich and strengthen the relationship you have with one another.
17. Boosts Self-Confidence
Travelling is the ultimate test when it comes to keeping your wits about you and persevering. It provides you with ample opportunity to see just how resourceful you are while successfully navigating new places, cultures, and ways of life — all of which will culminate in giving you a greater sense of composure and self-assurance which will then go on to positively impact other aspects of your life.
18. Broadens Your Perspective
The whole point of travelling is to broaden your perspective — it's merely just a natural byproduct of getting out of your comfort zone and experiencing something new. Travelling changes how you see the world by exposing you to distinct cultures, customs, and ways of life that you might otherwise be completely unfamiliar with.
19. Encourages Financial Management
Another great test of resourcefulness that comes with travelling is the ability to adequately manage your money. Financial planning is an indispensable life skill and the ability to put away money towards the holiday of your dreams is a testament to your ability to plan ahead and execute properly.
20. Enhances Appreciation for Home
Ultimately, travel should help put things in perspective — including your own life back at home. If you’re like most people, you’ll come away from your trip grateful, fulfilled, and happy to be back at home. This newfound sense of gratitude and contentment will allow you to return to your normal life happy and invigorated.
