Travel lessons aren’t just about planes, passports, and pretty pictures. It’s about shaping character—ours and theirs.
As we get older, it’s easy to see travel for what it really is: not a luxury, but a life lesson on foot. We’ve taken detours, missed connections, met strangers who became friends, and learned truths that no classroom ever taught.
Now, the best thing we can do is pass those truths on.
Travel Is a Test of Curiosity
The biggest danger in life isn’t getting lost—it’s staying stuck. Curiosity is the fuel that makes travel meaningful.
Let them see you were once brave enough to wander into a village that didn’t speak your language, or to say yes to a dish you couldn’t pronounce. Show them that getting a little lost sometimes leads to finding something better.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” – Mark Twain
The Story That Stays With Me
On a trip to Korea, a friend and I decided to take a bicycle ride through the countryside—anything to escape the crowd of tourists. As we pedaled between rice paddies, we came across an old man struggling to haul bags of fertilizer with a cart and an ox. The ox had sunk deep into the mud and refused to move, no matter how much the man barked and gestured.
With a lot of hand signals, pointing, and pantomime, we convinced him to unload the fertilizer, free the ox and cart, and then reload it once they were back on dry ground. Grateful, he motioned for us to follow.
We ended up at his home, where his wife and two daughters—both around eighteen—served us dinner in their small, single-room house. During the meal, the girls would whisper to each other and giggle behind their hands. I got the impression they found Americans exotic—or at least funny-looking.
After the dishes were cleared, we sat outside with the old man, sharing horrendously strong Korean cigarettes and staring up at a sky so full of stars, it felt like the universe had gathered just to watch us sit there. That moment—quiet, surreal, completely unplanned—has stayed with me far longer than any tourist site ever could.
Later that night, Mama-san insisted we stay. We were given blankets and made ourselves comfortable on the floor. I was still awake when I noticed one of the daughters carefully climbing over her parents’ bed and heading in our direction.
Now, understanding the irresistible allure of American men, I braced myself—thinking one of us was about to become the subject of a very awkward memory. She climbed over my buddy… then over me… and went straight for the thunder pot by the wall.
Not everything in Korea is beautiful—but it’s all unforgettable.
Travel Light – Live Lighter
One day, you’ll realize the most important thing in your suitcase wasn’t the “just in case” jacket. It was the space you left for what you didn’t expect.
I once packed four pairs of shoes for a ten-day trip to Italy. I wore two—one on each foot.
That trip taught me something I’ve never forgotten: most of what we carry, we don’t need. These days, I pack a small bag, a camera, and a rosary. I’ve learned that traveling light isn’t just about your suitcase—it’s about what you carry in your mind. Grudges. Worries. Expectations. All of them drag like overstuffed luggage on cobblestone streets.
“He who would travel happily must travel light.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Respect Comes Before the Selfie
You can’t appreciate a place if you don’t respect the people who live there. Teach your kids and grandkids to be travelers—not tourists. Tourists come, look at the nice people or the stuff behind the window, take pictures and go home. But, they never taste the essence of the place, they never involve themselves with the people. Travelers take a little piece of each visit home with them – in their hearts, and in their memories.
Learn how to say thank you in the local language. Dress modestly where it matters. Don’t treat another country like a theme park.
“Take only memories, leave only footprints.” – Often attributed to Chief Seattle
Thing Will Go Wrong; That’s The Point
Travel is supposed to challenge you. Missed flights, sudden storms, closed museums—they’re not interruptions; they are the adventure.
In 2005, I was sitting in the bar at the Sao Paulo airport, in Brazil. My in-country flight to Recife had been cancelled because of weather. There was another flight scheduled in 6 hours, so I had no choice but to wait at the airport.
Seated at the bar next to me was a young Brazilian couple who had told me they were waiting for the same flight. After all the niceties. I told them I was going to get something to eat. They asked me if I had ever been to a “churrasco”. Not knowing what it was, I was understandably hesitant. They assured me I would love it, so we piled into a taxi and took off.
It seems churrasco is a Brazilian steakhouse that is focused on amazing grilled meat. That grilled meat, everything from chicken to beef to lamb, is unquestionably, indubitably, undoubtedly, the best meat I have ever eaten. Had it not been for a young couple from Palmas and a cancelled flight, I would never have known that.
Embrace the adventure
Tell the grandchildren how you handled it: the calm you learned, the creativity you found, the kindness of strangers you never would’ve met otherwise.
“Blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures.” – Anonymous
Connection Is the Real Souvenir
Years from now, you won’t remember the exact price of your hotel room—but you will remember the couple from Kansas you met on the train. Or the old man in Korea who served you dinner and stargazed with you on a night you never planned.
Teach this: Don’t just see the world. Speak to it. Absorb it. Live it.
“A journey is best measured in friends, not miles.” – Tim Cahill
Travel Teaches More Than School Ever Could
Walking the cobbled streets of Rome, hearing Mozart in Vienna, watching fishermen mend nets in Thailand—these are the textbooks that never close.
Travel shapes empathy, ignites imagination, and brings history to life.
“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” – Saint Augustine
Learn Patience and Humility, Not Anger and Arrogance
You learn a lot about yourself when you realize how little of the world is built for your convenience—and how much beauty exists anyway.
Pause often. Write things down. Say thank you more than once.
“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” – Gustave Flaubert
Leave Them With a Compass, Not a Map
We can’t plan their journeys. But we can hand them a compass made of stories, scars, and wisdom earned.
Tell them your mistakes. Show them your joy. And then remind them: the world isn’t theirs to conquer—it’s theirs to understand.
A Final Thought About Travel Lessons
We talk a lot about what to teach the next generation. But the truth is, most Americans don’t realize what they’ve been given—until they see what others go without.
I’ve been to 19 countries (and counting), and two things have consistently amazed me.
First, just how much I’ve been given—not earned, not deserved, just given. The freedom, safety, comfort, and opportunity I’ve taken for granted most of my life are luxuries in much of the world.
Second, the innate goodness of people. The “other people,” the ones we often imagine as different or distant—most of them have been wonderful, open-hearted human beings. They are honest, generous, and full of joy in lives far simpler than ours.
I’ve learned more about dignity and grace from a rice farmer in Korea or a shopkeeper in Morocco than from a hundred lectures back home.
Travel humbles you. And if you let it, it teaches you to see—not just the world, but your own life—differently.
