People travel for many reasons. Individuals may love or dislike travel for diverse reasons too. Some people don’t enjoy travel, but they still need to travel. Reasons for essential travel can involve work, family, health or medical treatment, and social or economic needs. We, the owners of World Travel Family travel blog, are people who travel a lot. Our family travelled for almost 7 full years, for fun, adventure, experience, togetherness, and learning. Learning for adults and kids! Obviously, we love travel, it’s incredibly valuable to us and is one of our top priorities in life. We make financial sacrifices in other areas of our lives rto allow us to travel to new countries.
We go into the reasons for travel, and go into the reasons that some people don’t travel, on this page.
Some people travel through curiosity, to expand knowledge, or to see the great wonders of the world. The photo shows the only one of the Seven Wonders of the World that you can go inside today, The Great Pyramid, at Giza. To see this, and experience what it’s like to be there, you have to travel to Egypt. It’s a fabulous place!
Watch our short video about travel and why we do it. Just hit play. You can keep scrolling, it will move down the page with you.
People who love to travel may enjoy relaxation, new cultures, foreign food or incredible landscapes different to their normal surroundings. A lot of people take a vacation or holiday just for a break from routine. But travel is a little different, travel isn’t usually about relaxation, fancy hotels, or relaxing by the pool. Travel is a much more active engagement with the world.
People travel to learn new skills, at source. Here, my son is learning to cook Cambodian food, from an expert, a Cambodian!
Some people enjoy the motion of travelling, being on a boat, plane, train, or bus. I do, I love to be on a train, passing through and observing. Some hate flying, some love it. I don’t mind flying at all, even long-haul in cattle-class.
People travel for the pleasure of the experience. Sometimes just being in motion is what they enjoy most about travel. This was a sunset sail, not really travel, but an activity you could enjoy during your travels. For lovers of the sea, being on a boat, even a cruise ship, can be fun in itself.
Why do people travel? What are the benefits of travel, why do we like to travel, what is the purpose or point of travelling and why should we all try to travel abroad or overseas? Top reasons nowadays, are in the list below.
To me, to not travel, would be unthinkable. It is one of my greatest pleasures in life.
We include some famous quotes about the reasons people travel along with lists of reasons, further down the page.
A religious festival in Asia. People travel to take part through faith, to be with family at significant times and we were there to be part of it and learn why people do this. It was very much worth the trip.
People travel to wonder,
at the height of the mountains,
at the huge waves of the seas,
at the long course of the rivers,
at the vast compass of the ocean,
at the circular motion of the stars,
and yet they pass by themselves
without wondering.
St Augustine
People often travel because they are inspired to do so by great travel books. To gain a greater understanding of why people travel and the enjoyment that is to be gained from travel, read some of the best, most inspirational travel literature available today. Classical travel books include Anthony Bourdain’s World Travel, an Irreverent Guide, (our links take you to Amazon) or any of Paul Theroux’s books, The Great Railway Bazaar being a good example, this book covers Europe and Asia. For travel in America try Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods. Buy these as gifts for the travellers you love!
We made a video about why people travel, or enjoy travelling. You must hit the play button, it will not auto-play unfortunately. Go ahead and watch!
Hover and save to Pinterest.
I like the Paul Theroux quote about travel, above. To vanish without a trace is very appealing at times. Escaping, being free and being in a place where nobody knows you is often appealing.
Why Do People Travel
We travel to spend more time together while learning from the world. This is a favourite city of ours, Kuching in Malaysia. We can tell you what Kuching is like, most can’t.
People ask this all the time. I have one very good friend who just doesn’t get it at all, that’s OK, travel is not for everyone, but I’ve been thinking about the whys.
You’ll find a list of genuine reasons to travel on this page, along with a list of reasons not to travel.
But there are many other reasons why people travel. What’s yours?
Let me tell you our story. I’m a lifelong traveller, I’ve always wanted to be on the road, exploring fascinating places and for me the most fascinating part of the world is Asia. Visiting certain places is the fulfilment of dreams and can be deeply spiritual. I have to see first-hand, always.
After having kids we realised that travel would be the single most important part of their education. We travelled with them, full-time to almost 60 countries.
People will travel abroad for beaches and hot weather. We don’t, we don’t really enjoy spending much time on the beach. I can appreciate their beauty, maybe take a walk and some photos. But for us, beaches are not a reason to travel, neither is warmer weather. We live near this beach and it’s hot year round. We travel for snow and mountains and to get a break from the heat, this usually involves travelling to other countries. The more different from our own country, the better!
In the process, I created this website, one of the biggest travel blogs in the world. It has almost 1000 posts, all genuine, all first-hand experiences. You can read more on our “About” page.
Or you can finish reading this post on why people travel, if you like.
People travel for pleasure and need. People have to travel for work, to move location, to study or attend family. People like to travel for many kinds of pleasure.
They like to see beautiful places, explore cultures and cuisines. Some like to try activities in different locations or visit family and friends. There is no short answer as to why people travel.
List of 50 Reasons Why People Travel
You can use these if you find yourself having to write an essay about travelling. But I hope I can inspire you to travel more along the way.
50 reasons why people travel below.
People travel to visit friends or family in other countries
For conventional work or employment opportunities abroad
To be where nobody knows you, you have no history or reputation, good or bad
People travel to learn about other cultures.
You can pin this reason to travel!
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime
Mark Twain
People travel to learn languages.
To escape wars, persecution, starvation and death.
For a better life.
People travel, or take their kids travelling, to better appreciate the lives and privileges they already have.
People travel to help others less fortunate than themselves.
People travel to experience new cuisines, produce and cooking techniques.
People travel to have freedom to be yourself.
To have no obligations.
To have no timetable or routine.
People travel for adventure.
One of the great things about travel is you find out how many good, kind people there are.”
EDITH WHARTON
People travel for luxury.
People travel for sports.
People travel for physical challenges.
People travel NOW because they might drop dead the day they retire or be too old and infirm to no longer travel or take on physical challenges.
People travel to be pampered or to receive physical or emotional therapy treatments.
People travel for medical reasons.
People travel because hotels, restaurannts and coffee shops are far more comfort inducing than being at home.
Because handing over their lives 9-5, 5 of 7, in exchange for a paycheck is soul-destroying.
People travel to expand their minds and challenge perspectives.
Because they enjoy sport and fitness.
Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living
MIRIAM BEARD
Because their kids’ education is really important and travel provides better educational oportunities than a classroom.
To relax, slob out or climb that mountain, when you feel like it.
Some people travel to escape their problems. Grass is greener syndrome. This is not something we here at World Travel Family suffer from, but we’ve been accused of it. (Read about that by clicking the link.) We feel incredibly blessed by life, we have nothing to escape.
People take up a long-term travel lifestyle because it’s cheaper than staying home. (We did.)
People travel for many reasons. Save this to Pinterest! Thanks
That’s all I can think of for now, but let’s have a look at the flip side. And yes, I’m a little biased. I think travel is the best thing since chips.
Reasons Some People Don’t Like to Travel
We travel to experience and learn from and about other cultures and ways of being. This photo was taken at the Thaipusan festival in Kuala Lumpur.
To save money for retirement.
Maybe to save money for bigger homes or some other thing.
To be near friends and family.
Because they don’t enjoy it. This is a perfectly legitimate reason, it’s cool.
Because they want their kids in school or see paper qualifications as necessary.
They’d rather be home with home comforts.
Travel is stressful ( it’s number 41 on this list, but look how many “at home” activities are above it. Some people find it stressful, for sure, I don’t)
You have to spend extended periods with your partner or kids. (Weird!)
If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine. It is lethal.
Paulo coelho
They don’t like foreigners.
They’re scared of earthquakes, tsunamis, malaria, thieves, terrorists, mass shootings and/or sharks. (These things happen everywhere and having anxiety isn’t nice. Been there done that, glad it’s gone)
They like their job more than weekends and holidays.
Their kids like school more than weekends and holidays.
Because they enjoy sport and fitness and their sport isn’t portable. My husband is an Ironman triathlete, he has trained and competed all over the world and yes, you can travel with a triathlon bike. My suggestion to you would be to not join a sports team and enjoy an exercise or sport that is just for you instead. Unless you love team sports, if you do, fair enough.
Because their kids’ education is really important and they think not being in school will affect that.
They want to be saving, paying into pension plans, and working towards retirement.
Save this to Pinterest for us? The red button will appear as you hover over the image. Or, if you’d like to pin these travel quotes, they are hiding behind the Pinterest button at the bottom of the page. Thanks.
You’ll notice that I haven’t included “because they can’t afford it.” I believe that if the desire to do something is strong enough, most people can manifest the funds or find some way to travel for free, or almost free. There are opportunities to travel through work or exchange work for bed and board. “Free travel” is somewhat possible.
Should We Travel?
I believe that yes, absolutely, people should travel, above all else to smash misconceptions about what the rest of the world is like.
For that reason alone, I think everyone should travel and see first-hand how wonderful every civilisation, religion, cuisine, and culture can be.
We have problems now with climate, disease, and fear, but I think we, as a global community, can overcome them in time.
A lot of tourism industries have suffered because of global events in recent years. They need tourist dollars flowing again.
As soon as we can, we’ll be back out there spreading the love and giving our tourist dollar to those who need it most. We will do it as sustainably as possible.
So which camp do you sit in? Are you a traveller or a non-traveller? You know, both are OK. People are different and my jam isn’t yours. It’s cool. I’ll travel, you can stay home. There’s room for all sorts of people in the world. Sign up to follow.
We also suggest you take a look at this company to get a quote for all kinds of the more tricky adventure or extended travel insurance.
Try Stayz / VRBO for an alternative way to find rentals on homes/apartments/condos in any country!
About the author
Alyson Long
Alyson Long is a British medical scientist who jumped ship to chase dreams. A former Chief Biomedical Scientist at London's West Middlesex Hospital she started in website creation and travel writing in 2011.
Alyson is a full-time blogger and travel writer, a published author, and owns several websites. World Travel Family is the biggest.
A lifetime of wanderlust and over 6 years of full-time travel, plus a separate 12 month gap year, has given Alyson and the family some travel expert smarts to share with you on this world travel site.
Today Alyson still travels extensively to update this site and continue her mission to visit every country, but she's often at home on her farm in Australia.
My girlfriend and I are thinking about going on our first vacation trip together, so I’m looking for exciting places to visit. It’s great that you described how traveling shows us new places and opportunities, and I think my girlfriend would love to read this too, so I’ll share it now. Thanks for the information on how people who travel are more relaxed and happy.
Staying at home sucks because all you need is a good vacation now. I also travel a lot and I love being organizing my trips as well from tour packages organized by Trippy Holidays, India.
Traveling is such a great way to share experiences and adventures as a family. Seeing places in a photo or video will never compete with experiencing it in person.
Thank you for making me realize that traveling to someplace far from home can be a way to escape my problems. I have mild anxiety, and my parents who are arguing all the time don’t really help with my situation. It might be a good idea to check nearby attractions and spend a short time without something to think about. I hope I can find good accommodation in the area since I’m planning to stay there for a while.
You are very right in this article. Staying at home sucks (especially when you are in a lockdown haha). Hopefully, soon we can all travel again. Great to get some positive thoughts from this article.
I like when you said that some people travel to help find themselves. Lately I’ve been feeling pretty bored with my life and want to change things up somehow. Reading your article made me excited to start looking for luxury travel opportunities so I can have some new experiences!
Trinhkalish
After every trip I feel like a new person I am .I will feel boring staying in 1 place for 4 , 5 months
I can’t stand doing the same thing . Meeting the same people, eating the same food over and over the years .
No , Iam happy to choose Doug diferent thing , going diferent places , seeing diferent cuture. Learn diferent thing
I took my girl travel with me since she is 7 month. Now she is 6 year and already traveled to 10 country with me. I have been traveled to 4 continent ,25 countries
Oh, God. I can’t imagine life without travel. I love it. It gives you a sense of freedom, of a challenge, of adventure. Life would just be too boring without travel. I will be keen to see whether or not after this trip with my teenagers they will go onto travel or whether I have put them off it for life and they stay in New Zealand for the rest of their lives? Time will tell. Wherever they go, I’m gonna be behind them…
Same, I wonder if the kids will have the bug. Mostly they just want to play Ark or Fortnight so…maybe not for a while. But I’ll be dragging them around the world for a few years yet.
I have friends who don’t get it, too. Like you said, you either get it or you don’t. I travel because it makes me feel alive! I travel to open the world to my kids. I travel because the alternative is doing the same thing everyday until I die and that scares me more than malaria, earthquakes, or civil unrest.
My girlfriend and I are thinking about going on our first vacation trip together, so I’m looking for exciting places to visit. It’s great that you described how traveling shows us new places and opportunities, and I think my girlfriend would love to read this too, so I’ll share it now. Thanks for the information on how people who travel are more relaxed and happy.
Staying at home sucks because all you need is a good vacation now. I also travel a lot and I love being organizing my trips as well from tour packages organized by Trippy Holidays, India.
Traveling is such a great way to share experiences and adventures as a family. Seeing places in a photo or video will never compete with experiencing it in person.
No it absolutely won’t. The photo is often the spark though. A glimpse of a mystical, mysterious place always makes me HAVE to go there.
Thank you for making me realize that traveling to someplace far from home can be a way to escape my problems. I have mild anxiety, and my parents who are arguing all the time don’t really help with my situation. It might be a good idea to check nearby attractions and spend a short time without something to think about. I hope I can find good accommodation in the area since I’m planning to stay there for a while.
You are very right in this article. Staying at home sucks (especially when you are in a lockdown haha). Hopefully, soon we can all travel again. Great to get some positive thoughts from this article.
I like when you said that some people travel to help find themselves. Lately I’ve been feeling pretty bored with my life and want to change things up somehow. Reading your article made me excited to start looking for luxury travel opportunities so I can have some new experiences!
Trinhkalish
After every trip I feel like a new person I am .I will feel boring staying in 1 place for 4 , 5 months
I can’t stand doing the same thing . Meeting the same people, eating the same food over and over the years .
No , Iam happy to choose Doug diferent thing , going diferent places , seeing diferent cuture. Learn diferent thing
I took my girl travel with me since she is 7 month. Now she is 6 year and already traveled to 10 country with me. I have been traveled to 4 continent ,25 countries
Keep up the good work Trinh. I hate being bored too, so we keep on mixing things up, discovering new things and going back to favourite places.
Oh, God. I can’t imagine life without travel. I love it. It gives you a sense of freedom, of a challenge, of adventure. Life would just be too boring without travel. I will be keen to see whether or not after this trip with my teenagers they will go onto travel or whether I have put them off it for life and they stay in New Zealand for the rest of their lives? Time will tell. Wherever they go, I’m gonna be behind them…
Same, I wonder if the kids will have the bug. Mostly they just want to play Ark or Fortnight so…maybe not for a while. But I’ll be dragging them around the world for a few years yet.
I have friends who don’t get it, too. Like you said, you either get it or you don’t. I travel because it makes me feel alive! I travel to open the world to my kids. I travel because the alternative is doing the same thing everyday until I die and that scares me more than malaria, earthquakes, or civil unrest.
There are lots of reasons for people to travel.
But for me, it makes me stress-free and changes the atmosphere also helps to get over from daily life and encourage to do something different in life.
So, for me, this is the reason to travel