Why do people leave their homes and voyage all over the globe?

The
reasons why people love to travel are varied, and very personal. Take a
look at these motivations, and see which ones ring true for you.

Challenging yourself
You might feel like you’re stuck in a rut in your daily life. Or you’re yearning
for something exciting and different. You’re craving new experiences and
new challenges. Travel is the ideal place to test yourself. It pushes people
to their limits and gets them outside their comfort zone.

You’ll discover how resourceful you are when you’re exposed to new
places, people and experiences. Maybe it’s finding your way around a busy
city. Or ordering a meal when you don’t speak the language. Or zip-lining.
You’ll feel pride when you finish your trip successfully. Overcoming
challenges will bring you joy and energy for future tests. You’ll realize how
capable you are and build your confidence.

Learning
Learning is a strong reason why people love to travel. They want to
experience something unfamiliar and leave with new skills or knowledge.

Seeing the world is more educational than a high school or college class.
This condensed crash course in discovering how the rest of the world lives
actually will cover subjects like history, geography and sociology. Every
destination has something unique to teach visitors, and immersing
themselves in a completely different world is the best learning experience.

People may travel to learn something specific: a new language, a new

cuisine, aspects of a different culture, or a deeper appreciation of faith or
spirituality. As a bonus, they’ll take away more than their specific goal.
They’ll discover totally different ways of doing things. They’ll also gain
awareness of new customs, cultures, people and places. And because
you’re actually experiencing this learning in real life, not reading it in a
textbook, it will stay with you for a long time. You’ll gain a deep sense of
satisfaction with the new skills you’ve learned – and new insights you’ve
gained.

Expanding your perspective

Another reason why people love to travel: it helps open your mind. You
realize that there’s no one way to live life. Meeting people from other
places will show you that your world view isn’t the same as everyone else’s.
You can’t imagine how different life is in another place until you see for
yourself. Everything from work to family to beliefs to interests is not what
you might expect from your own experience. The different setting will also
help you discover and consider fresh ideas you hadn’t thought of before.
You’ll come home with different notions and possibilities.

By being exposed to new places, people and cultures, you’ll develop a

wider world view. And that will make you a better-rounded global citizen.
It’s a great reward and big reason why people love to travel.

Getting in touch with yourself

Getting away from home gives you the opportunity to reflect on your life.
You have the needed time and space to let your mind wander and take
stock. Traveling is one of the best ways to learn more about yourself. Every
day traveling brings a new set of issues and opportunities. The way you
handle those also gives you insight into who you are. You’ll come home
knowing yourself better, and with a fresh perspective on what you want out
of life. The experience will change your life.

Appreciating your life

When you’re mired in your daily life, it’s easy to lose sight of what you
have. Your eyes aren’t open to what’s really special about your home.
Exploring another place will give you a fresh appreciation for your
hometown, country and “real life.” Once you’re back, you’ll feel lucky to live
where you do. You’ll see that there really is no place like home.

Building and strengthening relationships

The shared experience of travel brings people together. A family getaway,
a romantic trip, or long weekend with the girls or guys can strengthen
important bonds.

The latest Virtuoso Luxe Report names multigenerational travel as the top
trend of the year. Travel with immediate family also made the top 10 trend
list. With the demands of today’s lifestyle, and relatives spread across the
country and world, families don’t have much time together.

That travel could be grandparents, parents and children together on a

Caribbean cruise. Or it could be parents and children going across the
country to visit Grandma and Grandpa at their home. Or just the immediate
family renting a Mediterranean villa. Whatever it looks like, travel is an
opportunity to connect with each other. It may even smooth over any
family grudges and build happier relationships.
Couples, too, need to bond with each other away from home and work
demands. Sharing travel experiences can ignite fresh sparks that last long
after the couple returns home.

Travel is a special way to deepen friendships as well. Whether it’s a quick

ski break with co-workers or a week-long sun-and-sand getaway with your
high school gang, travel will remind you why you became friends with them
in the first place, and how good it is to spend focused time together.

Travel is also a great opportunity to make new friends – either fellow

travelers or locals. Meeting and befriending new people is a valuable travel
benefit. And once you’ve bonded, new possibilities for future travel unfold –
either to visit them or journey with them.

Having an adventure

Conquering fresh territory is exhilarating – and one more reason why

people love to travel. Humans crave new experiences and travel lets us tap
into that craving. A trip is the perfect time to do something different and
exciting, especially something you can’t do at home. The thrill starts the
minute you land in a new place. Conquering that territory could be trying
spicy Thai street food or conversing in Madrid with your rusty college
Spanish. Or it could be a physical experience, like scuba diving the Great
Barrier Reef or hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. You’ll have lots of fun.
You’ll revel in the rush you get from your exploits. You’ll feel a sense of
accomplishment. And you’ll return home with the best souvenir of all: a
memory of your incredible adventure.

Escaping
A demanding job. A bad breakup. The loss of a loved one. Just like the
heroine in Eat, Pray, Love, travel can be a great relief from the stress and
unhappiness that come along with those.

People seek from their travels what they don’t have back home: better
weather, nicer scenery, the freedom to do what they want, experiences
they can’t normally have, a slower relaxing pace. Admiring masterpieces in
the Louvre or lying on a Hawaiian beach are wonderful breaks from the
regular grind.

Travel is particularly helpful for workaholics who have trouble leaving their
job behind. Stepping away from the workplace is good for you both
mentally and physically. When you return to the job, you’ll have had the
space to look at issues with fresh eyes. Travel has the power to let you not
only escape but also heal. A new place with lots of fun distractions can
work wonders. You’ll return home more at peace with yourself and your
challenging situations.

Relaxing and rejuvenating

Maybe you’re not looking to escape your problems. But everyone can
benefit from a break from our usual diets of all work and no play. You may
not realize how much you need to disconnect from the ever-present
pressure of being available by phone, email or social media.

A restful vacation is just what you need to renew yourself. In this year’s
Virtuoso Luxe Report, 44 percent of respondents named this as a reason
why people love to travel. A relaxing natural setting and good weather are
common ingredients for the R&R-focused trip. But everyone’s idea of the
perfect rejuvenating vacation is different. One person might want to trek
through a rainforest. Another may want to lie poolside at a Mexican resort.
Yet another might opt for a wellness retreat in the mountains.

What should you do when you’re there? Nothing, really. Relax and be
present in the moment. Let sensations like the lapping water and the
warmth of the sun, along with the sound of waves, recharge your batteries.
Live day to day: focus on where you want to go sightseeing (if you decide
to leave the beach), what activities you want to pursue (if any), what
you’re going to eat, what souvenirs you want to buy. Travel helps your
mind and body reboot in a way you can’t achieve at home. In fact, 86
percent of people believe it improves their mood and outlook on life.

Celebrating

There’s always a happy reason to take a trip. It could be a landmark

birthday or anniversary. A graduation. A wedding – or pre-wedding
festivities. Even a babymoon before a little one arrives. A special occasion is
made even more special by celebrating away from the hectic pace of life at
home. It’s also a good way to gather family and friends from distant
corners to mark the milestone. Celebration vacations provide a lasting
benefit as well: shared memories for a lifetime.

Want more reasons why people love to travel?

If you’re searching for reasons to travel, now’s the time to partner with an
expert. Take this fun interactive quiz to find a Virtuoso travel advisor. Any
advisor you select will be happy to talk about the benefits of travel with
you, help you discover your personal why, and design a trip that achieves
everything you want. Which of these reasons why people love to travel
resonates most with you? Or do you have another motivator? Please share
your thoughts!

Yes! Break the rules and throw away your preconceptions. This page is all about travelling
without money. Sprawled across the internet are heaps of pages about free travel and
ways to travel the world for free. Normally they relate to bonus schemes or getting
someone else to pay for your travel. Getting paid to travel is difficult to do and it defeats
the idea of travelling without money. One could ‘easily’ get a job, and then travel with
money instead (teaching English abroad, for example, is a great way to travel and make
money), but this page avoids that idea and instead offers you a true way in which you can
enjoy travelling the world for free.

What I will say about this page, is that it isn’t complete. It never will be. The idea of travelling
without money is more about an idea for life in which material possessions are not really
necessary. This is a constantly evolving thought that relates to how you can enjoy yourself
and be happy in the world. I am constantly combining a lot of my knowledge into compact
articles which can be picked up or put down at will and that I hope will help to convey the
idea of immaterialism to those who wish to read it. For now, I simply offer you pieces of
advice from a long and winding journey.

If you like you hotels and your home comforts, this page is not for you. You must go back
to your job, work hard, and then pay for your time away from home. This page is tailored
to those who do not mind roughing it and having a bit of an adventure.

HOW DID I LEARN TO TRAVEL

WITHOUT MONEY?
In my mid 20s I was teaching English in South Korea. I had more money than I knew what
to do with and I would spend it for the sake of spending it, but I wasn’t particularly happy
with the money. One night I was in Japan and I missed my bus, but when I went to get a
train instead I was told it would be £130. I decided to hitchhike instead and had great fun
on the road. This gave me an idea: ‘What if I just started hitchhiking with no plans and no
end date?’ I finished my teaching contract and then did exactly that, hitchhiking through
Europe. This journey ended up lasting six months and I spent much of my time free
camping, staying with strangers, volunteering, and learning other ways that one could
travel without money which are shared on this website. Despite having very little money
during this journey, I was extremely happy and I ended up writing a book about the
experience called The Boy Who Was Afraid of the World. If you want the long version of
how I learnt to deal with personal fear and financial restrictions to travel the world, reading
that book is a good place to start.
WHY I CHOOSE NOT TO TRAVEL
COMPLETELY WITHOUT MONEY
It is possible to travel for free and I have met people who have done so for many years
(see below). This post is about how you can travel the world with the smallest possible
amount of money – or completely for free if you want to travel for free – and it teaches
techniques and tips for how you can do this. It doesn’t claim that you can travel the whole
world for free, because unless you are breaking the law, you cannot. But you can travel
completely for free in countries where you are permitted to enter for free (which is based
upon your passport). If you choose to break the law and enter without paying for visas, I
won’t be angry, but I won’t be held responsible for it. Every country has visa restrictions
and although many of them may be free, some of them charge you. I advocate the idea
that when travelling the world, there are only two necessary large expenses. Visas
and travel insurance. All other expenses need only be minimal or non-existent. I often
travel the world on a tiny budget (a few euros a day, such as in the video), but these are
the three reasons I choose not to travel completely for free:

TRAVELLING EUROPE ON €2.36 A DAY

This video shows my journey from Turkey to the UK, during which we ate pizza, drank
beer, and saw some beautiful places. It’s a small budget that afforded us luxuries and you
can find out more about this journey here.

 Travel Insurance. If you get sick or injured and you are travelling without money,
either you get no treatment or you get hit with a big bill which will be a serious
problem as you don’t have any money. I broke my back a few years ago and
having travel insurance ensured that I was treated and that my medical bills (of over
5,000 euro) were covered. I would have been pretty screwed without the travel
insurance. Read more about travel insurance here.
 Visas. Depending on your passport, you will be able to visit certain parts of the
world for free, but others will require you to pay for a visa. As a British passport
holder I am very lucky that I can enter hundreds of territories in the world for free,
however, if there is a visa fee to pay I would always pay it and have never entered
a country illegally. I would advise others to do the same.
 Choice. Whilst the advice on this page shows how you can travel for free and get
everything that you need without money, I like to not be completely dependent upon
others. This doesn’t require a big budget and I have travelled across Europe
on €2.36 a day, buying beer and pizza, but having the option to buy something
when I want / need it is something I value. One time I was rafting down the
Danube and my sleeping bag fell into the river and disappeared. I had two freezing
nights sleeping on the river bank with nothing for warmth before I found a shop to
buy a new sleeping bag and it would have been really hard for me to continue that
journey if I couldn’t afford to buy a new sleeping bag. I also highly value the ability
to see my family and having some money allows me to book flights so that I can do
this. I would never want to not have that option.

That’s my little explanation of why I do what I do, but it is up to you to choose how you
want to travel. This page will teach you how to get everything you need for free (except
visas and travel insurance), and you can then choose if you want to take any extra
money or not. There will always be purists who think that there way is better than your, or
people who ‘travel cheaper, longer, harder’ (whatever that means), but I don’t care much
for what they have to say. Find what works for you and do what is right for you.

WHAT YOU NEED TO SURVIVE

TRAVELLING WITHOUT MONEY
AIR
Air is free. No matter where you go or who you’re with, don’t let people charge you for it.
The only exceptions to this would be underwater or in space. If you find yourself in either
of these locations, pay anything for air. Air is life and life is great. Without it, you’d be dead.

WATER
Water is essential to life. Drinking dirty water can make you very sick. Personally, I drink
tap water from most countries that I have ever been to without any problems and in
particularly untouched areas (such as when hiking rural Iceland and Norway), I have drank
from streams. My body has adapted to this existence and you will notice that locals can
drink tap water much easier than tourists can, so I am not suggesting you do this unless
you know that it is safe to do so. As a safer alternative it is normally possible to find safe-
to-drink water at public fountains from which you can fill water bottles. Simply ask around
and people will help you out. For this reason, it is important to carry empty water
containers. These containers might simply be empty plastic bottles, but you should try to
obtain a metal flask as it lasts longer and is better for the environment. If you are not able
to obtain safe drinking water, the best option is to boil water in order to kill all of the nasties
inside. If you have the resources (a friend’s stove for example), let the water boil for at
least a full minute before you bottle it for consumption (although some sources recommend
boiling it for longer to be safe). Failing this, take water treatment chemicals / tablets. The
cost of these is minimal (compared with buying bottled water) and they can treat large
volumes of water. With a little bit of forethought, safe drinking water is free / very low cost
to obtain.

Note: If you drink dirty water, it is possible that it is contaminated with E. coli, cholera,
salmonella, protozoa (such as giardia and cryptosporidium), viruses (such as hepatitis A,
polio and rotavirus), or chemical pollutants. These make you feel somewhat unwell and
you do not want this. Clean water is vitally important, so be aware of where you will next
be able to obtain water.

For more on this topic, read the full article on How To Find Free Drinking Water When
Travelling.

FOOD
We found this food in a bin in Norway

Our bodies may be able to survive for a week without food, but that isn’t a very pleasant
experience (not that I have ever tried). When I travel, I like to eat. One of the ways I have
received great food is by hitchhiking. It is important to never expect food, but when people
offer you a lift, it is not uncommon for them to offer you food in addition to a lift (particularly
truckers). Expecting something is one thing; graciously accepting is another. If this
opportunity arises in any situation, say thank-you and enjoy the food. Never rely on other
people’s kindness as a source of nutrition however. As I am a vegetarian I have often
turned down food because I have been offered meat. I am always sure to thank them and
apologise that I cannot take them up on their kind offer.

It was only after years of travel that I realised one could eat for free when a friend of mine
introduced me to the idea of skipping (otherwise known as dumpster diving or freeganism).
This involves going to the waste bins at the back of supermarkets and collecting the food
that has been disposed of due to it approaching it’s sell by date. This may sound terrible
at first. When this idea was first suggested to me, I was shocked and appalled, causing
me to reject the idea. Then I found out that most food in the bins has gone out of date that
day and is sealed. Look at what you are collecting and you should be able to find some
fantastic food for free. Trash wiki details some of the best locations and techniques to find
free food in major cities around the globe. Skipping is a major growing trend and I have
found that the people who normally do it, do it not for economic reasons, but for prevention
of food wastage. We produce and dispose of far more food than is necessary. When I was
volunteering in Norway everybody on the farm ate skipped food and we would regularly
find alcohol, cheese, chocolate, and many other expensive delights on our weekly
searches.

When walking in rural areas, it is easy to find fruit or vegetables. Try not to steal from fields
or gardens, but in many countries, wild apple and plum trees (amongst others) provide you
with delicious and healthy snacks throughout the day. If you want good, free food, try
volunteering in exchange for food and accommodation. This is another safe way to travel
for free and I have enjoyed almost all of my volunteering experiences. If you don’t like it,
you can always leave.
If you really cannot bare the thought of skipping or foraging, or the effort of volunteering,
you can always buy the ultimate budget travellers food which consists of plain bread or
carbohydrates such as pasta (when you have access to cooking facilities). Nutritionally it
isn’t very sound, but it will provide you with a form of sustenance. My brother and I survived
on uncooked instant noodles and chocolate bars when we hiked across Iceland. It was a
pretty terrible diet, but it served a purpose when we needed it.

SLEEP
It is possible to survive on small amounts of sleep. I once tried a polyphasic sleep schedule
during which I slept four times a day for only thirty minutes at a time. This totals only two
hours of sleep a day and I felt fantastic. My friends that I lived with at the time said that I
constantly appeared in a state of euphoria, as if under the influence of high amounts of
drugs. Thus, this may not be the best idea. However, it is very possible to find free beds
around the world. This is quite a big topic, so I have put it onto a separate page. To
summarise, if you only need one to three nights accommodation in a specific location, you
should consider CouchSurfing or free-camping. Free camping is a wonderful experience
in which you sleep outside for free and really start to appreciate life. It sounds less than
ideal until you try it. If you are staying in a location for slightly longer, you should
consider volunteering or house sitting. These ideas, and others, are discussed in greater
detail on the following pages and I suggest you read them for more in this topic.

FREE ACCOMMODATION FOR FOUR YEARS

This is a video showing how I found free accommodation around the world for four years.
This was achieved by using a combination of the techniques on this page and if you wish
to do the same, you can learn more on the page, How To Find Free Accommodation
Around the World.

For more on this topic, please read How To Find Free Accommodation Around the
World and watch my video, How I Found Free Accommodation Around The World For Four
Years. The first page mentioned was originally a post titled free accommodation around
the world which can be read here, but I updated it and made it easier to read. You can also
check out the Resources For Ultra Budget, Low Cost Travel if you want to book cheap
accommodation.

HEALTH

The time I broke my back in a skiing accident in France and got hit with over €6,000 of
medical bills. They were all covered by my travel insurance.

If you lose your health, you have nothing. This, above all things, is the most important part
of life. I previously stated that we need air, air is life, and without it, we’d be dead. Without
health, food, or water, we’d be dead. Medical treatment is incredibly expensive wherever
you go in the world. For this reason I cannot support travelling without health (travel)
insurance. If you spend money on only one thing, this should be it – even if you only get
the most basic policy that covers nothing more than medical fees, get travel insurance. I
wrote an article about travel insurance in which it explains why you need it and offers
suggestions of which travel insurance policy you should purchase. Do I sound a bit
repetitive? I hope so. If you go anywhere, get travel insurance. It isn’t a problem until you
get sick and your parents have to sell their house to pay for your private jet home. And
then you find out that you only had food poisoning. Is all that trouble worth it for the cost of
a bungee jump or two? No. I broke my back in France a few years ago and my several
thousand pounds of medical bills cost me a total of £65 (in addition to the policy cost)
because I was covered for accidents.

Also in the health category is prevention of diseases. Visit your local doctor to see what
medication or vaccinations you need for the places that you are visiting. You should get all
that they recommend although there are decisions to be made when it comes to rabies
injections and malarial medicine because these are optional. If your country has a national
health service, many of these immunisations are available free of charge.

Read more about Travel Insurance, why you should get it, and what you should look for in
your policy.

WHAT YOU NEED TO ENJOY

TRAVELLING WITHOUT MONEY
TO SEE REMARKABLE THINGS

This is Trolltunga in Norway. To get there, we hitchhiked for two days, hiked for 5 hours,
then slept by this rock.

A starry skied mountain top, a waterfall in a forest, or sunset on a beach. These things are
beautiful to most people and you can do them for free. With a little bit of effort, you can find
some wonderful places. No doubt that wherever you find yourself in the world, many of
these things require nothing more than simply taking a little bit of commitment to go and
see them. It is far too easy to sit inside and do nothing. However, beauty is in the eye of
the perceiver. You do not need to spend every day in the mountains or on beaches to find
beauty. You can find it everywhere. Testament to that, look at some of the photo
albums that I have uploaded. You may not find them to be to your taste, but I liked the
subjects that I was photographing at the time. Keep your eyes open and find beauty in the
world. In people, places, or things.

I must now call upon a quote from If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things by John
McGregor. “You must always look with both of your eyes and listen with both of your ears.
He says this is a very big world and there are many many things you could miss if you are
not careful. There are remarkable things all the time, right in front of us, but our eyes have
like the clouds over the sun and our lives are paler and poorer if we do not see them for
what they are. If nobody speaks of remarkable things, how can they be called remarkable?”

Wherever you are now, I challenge you to go somewhere and see something remarkable.
I would stake everything upon the idea that no matter where you are in the world, city or
countryside, you cannot be in a place where you cannot find something remarkable within
walking distance. Put one foot in front of the other and then do it again. You will find
something remarkable. Or it will find you.

TO MEET BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE

Some lovely people I met on the road. Life on the road is the least lonely experience I
have ever had.

People are everywhere and when you give them time, they can be wonderful. The term
beautiful people does not refer to physical beauty. It simply refers to the whole of people
in general. I’m referring to that little moment where you make a connection with a
stranger because you are open to the world. This connection might be nothing more than
a word or a smile; it might be less. If you want to spend more time with strangers, start with
hello and a smile. If you are friendly, most people will be friendly back. Many of the people
I meet when travelling are through hitchhiking or CouchSurfing because they provide
instant connections that allow me to spend an extended period of time with a person to
see if I like them. Quite often you know that you will never see the people again and that
can be quite a liberating experience because you are free to be who you want to be.

TO EXPERIENCE THE WORLD

Wherever you go, say yes and try everything. You cannot know if you like something until
you have tried it. You do not have to do what every single tourist does when you visit a
famous place. On my one trip to Paris, I visited a special bookshop, climbed atop a
museum, and camped under the Eiffel Tower. My brother was led into the catacombs via
a manhole at night. None of these experiences cost a penny and they are different from
what most people do. Throw away your guide books and let both your instincts and the
people around you guide you. There are many free and alternative ways to enjoy specific
locations for a couple of days.

TO GET FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER

For the quickest method of transport, get over your fears and try hitchhiking. I wrote a
whole guide to hitchhiking in which I included safety information and how to find a
hitchhiking partner online. Rather than repeating myself here, read that guide and
remember that hitchhiking is not limited to land. It is more than possible to hitchhike a
boat and I have done so several times in the past. Using hitchhiking (the art of obtaining a
free lift), you really can go anywhere in the world. I realised this during my 24 country
hitchhike in 2012. Read more about How to Hitchhike and Is Hitchhiking Dangerous. If you
aren’t comfortable with hitchhiking, read my Travel Resources Page for advice on how to
book cheap travel.

I would also highly recommend long distance walking (hiking), long distance cycling, long
distance rafting, and any other means of free transport that you can think up. The
experiences you go through will stay with you forever and the journey becomes the
adventure, rather than simply a means of how to get from A to B. These methods of
transport (and more) are all covered on my How To Travel From A To B For Free Page.

TO NOT END UP IN PRISON

This is where your other expense comes in. To legally enter a country, you must acquire
a visa. With a little bit of forethought, you can visit countries with cheap or free visa entry.
However, if you do not want your route limited by the cost of visas, you simply have to pay.
The only way to get a visa without paying is to find a job in advance and have your
employer secure a visa for you. However, this involves a lot of work and thus, it is not
actually free and I do not recommend it as a way to travel for free. Also be careful about
local laws: I got arrested in Holland for camping in a park and arrested in Hungary for living
on a raft.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO PACK?

There is a lot of concern about what you need to pack when travelling on a zero budget,
or very low budget. I don’t want to generalise for every single trip as it depends upon
whether you are hitchhiking, hiking, cycling, backpacking, or doing something else
completely, so please go to my What To Pack page where I address different packing
needs for different trips. I will briefly mention that a sleeping bag and a beer can stove have
been my major priorities on many past trips, but in general, I try to pack as light as possible.
Less stuff = more enjoyment!

THIS IS NOT FOR EVERYONE

Travelling without money, or with very small amounts of money, is not for everyone.
Sometimes things go wrong and you find yourself hiding under a bridge during pouring
rain at four in the morning. For me, it is worth it because the positives I gain from the
experiences outweigh the potential negatives. I am able to stay on the road for months at
a time without needing vast sums of money and I love that. If you try it, be prepared to
rough it, but embrace the adventure and learn to love the ride.

As a closing remark, I would like to say that it is possible to travel the world completely for
free by not getting travel insurance or skipping country borders and entering without visas.
For the safety net that travel insurance provides, I would not recommend travelling without
it. As for entering countries without proper documentation, I feel it might be unwise for me
to publicly advocate illegal behaviour. If you choose to do so, I didn’t tell you that you
should. Please remember, this page is only a seed for your imagination. Go out into the
world, overcome financial barriers and live your life.

Travel free, be free, live free, live life, love life.