The Benefts of Travelling in Your 20s

In a world brimming with experiences, cultures, and landscapes, there’s no better time to explore its vastness than in your 20s. This transformative decade, marked by selfdiscovery and personal growth, offers an unparalleled opportunity to be enriched by travel. While any age is good to travel, your 20’s might just be one of the best to do so for a number of reasons.

Travelling pushes you out of your comfort zone, challenging your beliefs, perceptions, and boundaries of what you know as a normal life.

As a twenty-something year old, you’re in a phase of life where identities are fuid, and the experiences from travel can play a pivotal role in sculpting who you become.

Facing unfamiliar situations, adapting to different cultures, and navigating the complexities of foreign lands can empower you with resilience, confdence, and a deeper understanding of yourself.

The adaptability of your 20s often comes with fewer responsibilities. With no family constraints or mortgages, many in their 20s can travel on a much lower budget, opting for hostels over hotels or street food over fancy restaurants. This often leads to more authentic experiences, and also to your money lasting a lot longer. Plus, with the rise of sharing economies and platforms like Airbnb and Couchsurfng, travelling has never been more accessible for people who are in a position to rough it out a bit.

In a globalised world, building global connections is an essential part of our lives. The connections you forge while travelling can last a lifetime. Whether it’s a friendship with a fellow backpacker or a potential business contact in a foreign country, the network you build in your 20s can open doors throughout your life. In an increasingly globalised world, having friends and acquaintances from diverse cultures and backgrounds can be both a personal and professional asset for later on down the track of life.

The unpredictability’s of travel - missed fights, language barriers, or unfamiliar customs - can be both daunting and exhilarating. Facing and overcoming these challenges head-on instils a knack for adaptability and problem-solving. These skills, sharpened on the roads of the world, can be invaluable assets in all facets of life, from personal relationships to the professional world. Interacting with people from different walks of life broadens your horizon and challenges preconceived notions that we may have from our normal day to day life. This exposure can cultivate empathy, tolerance, and understanding of different cultures and people to make us more aware of the world we live in and people’s lived experiences and daily struggles. In your 20s, as your beliefs and values are still forming, these experiences can infuence a more inclusive and openminded worldview, changing for the betterment of your life ahead.

Travelling often involves physical activities, whether it’s trekking in the mountains, exploring ancient ruins, or simply walking through the meandering streets of a new city. This not only boosts physical health but also mental well-being. As well as this, your body at a younger age is a lot more agile and allows you to do more with smaller consequences. Moreover, breaking the monotony and routine can be a refreshing mental reset.

Every journey is a learning experience with a whole lot to gain both skills and knowledge wise. Whether you’re picking up a new language, learning to cook a local delicacy, or understanding the history of a place, travel offers endless opportunities for acquiring new skills and knowledge which can be added to your daily life once you return. Such experiences can not only be personally enriching but can also enhance your professional portfolio.

In your 20s, you most likely don’t own a whole lot of possessions. This makes it easier to leave the things behind that keep you from living new experiences. Travelling, especially backpacking, teaches the value of minimalism. Living out of a backpack makes you realise the difference between wants and needs. This understanding can permeate other areas of life, leading to more conscious consumption and an appreciation for the simpler things in life.

The adventures, mishaps, and unexpected moments of travel become stories that you carry with you. These memories not only serve as a personal treasure trove but also as tales that inspire others. Moreover, the nostalgia associated with these experiences can offer solace and joy in the later stages of life. These can help you relate to others and make more memories with people around them on their travels, and later on in your life too. Lastly, in the words of Mark Twain, “Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” Travelling in your 20s ensures that you don’t look back with regret about the adventures not taken. This is realistically one of the most important and most benefcial parts of travelling at a young age.

While any age is a good age to travel, your 20s offer a unique blend of freedom, curiosity, and adaptability. The experiences gained from travelling during this time are not just momentary; they shape identities, worldviews, and lives in profound ways. So, pack those bags and set forth; the world awaits with its boundless lessons and adventures.