Six Things I’ve Learned from Travel
Travel has been one of my greatest teachers. Not just about geography or food or culture—but about myself. Every missed train, unexpected friendship, wrong turn, and quiet solo dinner shaped me in ways I never expected.
Here are six of the most meaningful lessons I’ve learned from traveling.
1. How to Manage Expectations and Deal with Disappointment
No trip ever goes exactly as planned.
Flights get delayed. Hotels look nothing like their photos. The “hidden gem” restaurant is closed on Tuesdays. Weather ruins the postcard-perfect view you imagined.
At first, disappointment feels heavy. But travel taught me something powerful: expectations are often the real problem—not reality.
When I started leaving space for unpredictability, everything changed. I learned to:
Replace rigid plans with flexible outlines
Focus on experiences instead of perfection
Ask, “What’s possible now?” instead of “Why isn’t this working?”
Ironically, some of my favorite memories came from “ruined” plans. The canceled tour that led to wandering local streets. The missed bus that introduced me to someone fascinating.
Disappointment isn’t the end of the story. It’s often the start of a better one.
2. How to Be Resourceful and Stick to a Budget
Travel quickly teaches you the value of money.
When you’re watching every dollar (or euro, or peso), you become creative:
Cooking simple meals instead of dining out every night
Walking instead of taking taxis
Finding free museums and community events
Choosing experiences over souvenirs
Budget travel isn’t about deprivation—it’s about intention.
I learned to ask:
Is this worth it?
What matters most today?
Where can I adjust without sacrificing joy?
Being resourceful builds confidence. When you can stretch a budget in an unfamiliar place, you start believing you can handle more than you thought.
Repairing our tent on a backpacking trip in Iceland
3. How to Take Public Transportation
Public transportation used to intimidate me. I grew up in a small town with no public transit. My first time riding a metro was the summer after I graduated from high school.
Different languages. Different ticket systems. Different rules. One wrong platform and you’re headed the opposite direction.
But navigating buses, metros, and trains in unfamiliar cities forced me to:
Read maps carefully
Ask strangers for help
Stay calm under pressure
Pay attention to details
There’s something deeply empowering about figuring it out.
The first time I successfully navigated a complicated metro system alone, I felt unstoppable. Public transit isn’t just transportation—it’s a crash course in independence and adaptability.
4. How to Make New Friends
When you travel, you’re constantly outside your comfort zone. And that vulnerability opens doors.
You learn how to:
Start conversations with strangers
Share stories quickly
Find common ground across cultures
Listen more than you speak
Some friendships last an evening. Others last years.
Travel strips away small talk. When you meet someone on the road, you’re often meeting them in a raw, open, curious state. That creates connection faster than you’d expect.
I’ve shared meals with people whose language I barely spoke—and somehow we understood each other perfectly.
Jarda and I met when we were both in New Zealand on a working holiday in 2012. We got to catch up again in 2015 in London.
5. The Courage to Go It Alone
Solo travel is one of the most confronting—and rewarding—experiences I’ve ever had.
There’s no one to lean on.
No one to decide for you.
No one to fill the silence.
At first, it feels uncomfortable. Then it feels freeing.
Traveling alone taught me:
I can eat at a restaurant by myself
I can explore a city without a companion
I can solve problems independently
I enjoy my own company
Being alone in a foreign place forces you to trust yourself. And once you’ve done that, everyday challenges feel smaller.
Courage isn’t loud. Sometimes it’s just boarding the plane.
On a 3 month solo backpacking trip throughout SE Asia I met countless new friends and got offered a job leading gap year programs.
6. How to Manage Risk
Travel involves risk. Missed connections. Lost luggage. Unfamiliar neighborhoods. Health concerns. Uncertainty.
You can’t eliminate risk—but you can manage it.
I’ve learned to:
Research before arriving
Keep digital copies of important documents
Trust my instincts
Stay aware without becoming paranoid
Have backup plans
The goal isn’t fearlessness. It’s informed confidence.
Travel sharpened my judgment. It taught me to distinguish between healthy caution and unnecessary anxiety.
Final Thoughts
Travel didn’t just show me new places—it revealed new parts of myself.
It taught me flexibility when plans fall apart. Creativity when money runs tight. Confidence when I’m lost. Openness when meeting strangers. Bravery when I’m alone. Awareness when facing uncertainty.
And the most surprising lesson of all?
You don’t come back the same person who left.
Every trip leaves something behind—and brings something new home with you.
Gap Year Travel in Europe on a Budget
By Josie Herring
During the spring portion of my gap year I spent 2 months traveling solo-ish in Europe. Although this was never in my original gap year plan, I had to rearrange my plans quite a few times and it is where I ended up and I am so grateful that I did. This past year was a weird time to take a gap year with ever-changing COVID restrictions, war, and multiple other factors. Not only did I get to learn about the world and myself, but I also learned the importance of going with the flow. I’ve always considered myself to be a flexible person, able to move wherever life takes me but in all honesty, this was a totally different ballgame. I had never traveled alone for so long and I had never left home with no idea when I would come back. In March, I booked a one way plane ticket to Copenhagen and packed up my backpack and took off with minimal plans, a tight budget, and no return flight home. I had plans to meet a friend in Copenhagen and then head to Cadiz, Spain to spend 3 weeks at a Spanish school. From there, I had pretty vague ideas about where I would end up. I found this a little bit stressful at first but as I got into it I realized there was no need to be as worried as I was. As soon as my plane landed in Copenhagen, I was ready to go wherever my feet (and FlixBus) would take me.
Semana Santa in Cadiz, Spain
Before continuing, I would like to restate that I did this on a pretty strict and pretty much self-funded budget. I spent a lot of my senior year of high school and the summer after graduation working 40+ hours a week between two jobs, as well as picking up odd jobs like dog sitting and babysitting on the side to make my gap year possible. Before departing for this trip, I had moments of weariness. Did I have enough money to actually do this? Would I be able to make it work on my budget? The answers were yes. In total I had around $6000 in savings when I left and ended up using a little over $5000 for the total 2 months of my trip. There were small sacrifices I had to make along the way such as choosing to take a $15 ten hour bus ride over a $40-$50 six hour train ride or spending less on food (by cooking at my hostel rather than eating out every meal) in order to purchase tickets to see things like The Alhambra in Granada or Belem Tower in Lisbon. In the end, it was always worth it. Maybe I was on a bus for ten hours, but hey I got to see the beauty of the Spanish countryside. Maybe I spent a little less on food some days by cooking rather than eating out, but I got to walk around sites filled with history and culture.
Alhambra in Granada, Spain
Moving on from budgets and finances and to the actual traveling part, it’s safe to say I was pretty nervous going into this trip. I had very minimal experience traveling alone, especially outside of the United States so the idea was pretty daunting at first. I wasn’t solo for my entire trip and met up with friends in a couple different places, but for the majority of the time I was on my own. My main concerns were having to navigate new cities and countries alone and being extremely lonely during the solo portions of my trip. Madrid was the first city I visited by myself and also where I realized there was no need to be as nervous as I was. I immediately made a new friend my first day there and was able to keep doing this for the rest of my trip. Not only did staying primarily in hostels help me to save money but it also allowed me to meet people in every city that I visited. I never felt truly alone because I was constantly meeting new people and spending time exploring new places and experiences with my newfound friends. I even met people that I’m still in contact with and plan to see again even after leaving them behind and returning home.
During my travels across Europe, I saw places I had previously only ever dreamed of visiting. I visited stellar museums in Copenhagen, bustling food markets in Spain, colorful tiled buildings in Portugal, castles in Budapest, and the clearest water I have ever seen in my life in Croatia. I spent a big portion of my trip (3 weeks) at a Spanish school in Cadiz, Spain. I spent each week going to classes in the morning and then exploring the smaller city during my afternoons. Not only was I able to learn and improve at Spanish, but the school also offered cultural activities where we were able to learn about the history and culture of the city and country we were in. I was able to learn and improve my Spanish skills while also getting to form a connection with the city I was in and the people around me. My time at the school prepared me to continue traveling around Spain afterwards as well. I left Cadiz with better (but still not perfect) Spanish and more knowledge about culture and customs in Spain. I found it easier to visit different cities like Granada and Barcelona because I felt as though I was more prepared to communicate and navigate the cities. The rest of my time in Spain was spent visiting centuries old landmarks, art museums such as the Picasso museum in Barcelona, and also eating amazing food. From Spain I headed to Portugal, a country somewhat similar but also totally different from Spain. I spent most of my time in Portugal exploring the most picturesque places such as the Algarve, Jardins do Palácio de Cristal in Porto, and the ancient architecture of Portugal's past.
Lisbon, Portugal
Originally I planned to only visit Copenhagen, Spain, and Portugal but as time went on I was ready to see something new. I found a cheap round trip flight to Budapest with a return flight from Dubrovnik and less then 48 hours after booking it, I was off to a completely different part of the continent. That spontaneous decision is probably one of the best I made during my entire trip. I got to see historical pieces of Budapest and learn more about Hungarian culture. From Budapest I headed to Zagreb, Croatia where everyone was welcoming and kind. During my first day I did a walking tour (one of my favorite activities in any city I visited) and got to learn about the history of Croatia, Yugoslavia, and some of the awesome things we have today that came out of Croatia (electric light bulbs for example!).
Split, Croatia
By the end of my trip, I felt as though I had left a small piece of my heart in every place I visited. After coming home, everyone asked me my favorite place I went to, my favorite things that I did, my favorite foods that I ate, etc. Those questions were extremely difficult to answer because everywhere I went had something different that I loved. Semana Santa celebrations in Cadiz, the Alhambra in Granada, Park Guell in Barcelona, Rua Augusta Arch in Lisbon, the Jewish quarter of Budapest, the old towns of Croatia, and so much more. It’s impossible to pick a favorite place or favorite thing out of all of these amazing experiences.
Fisherman’s Bastion Budapest. Hungary
In the end, I am extremely grateful I decided to take a gap year and for all the places it took me. I am grateful that all of my plans changed and I ended up in places I never planned to visit this year. I am grateful for all the people I met and the connections I created with people from all across the globe. And finally, I am so grateful that I was able to have the experience of traveling alone for the first time. It gave me a chance to spend more time with myself and really evaluate myself. Every person in life builds their personality from the people they spend the most time around and in a way, our personalities are all just little pieces of each other. Traveling by myself gave me the chance to discover more about who I am and what I want from life without the presence of close friends and family from home. While it’s fun to travel with friends and it’s fun to have people to share our experiences with, it’s also liberating to travel alone and amazing to see how you can develop from doing so.
Josie was the 2021 Recipient of the Free to Roam Adventures Gap Year Counseling Scholarship. For details, or to apply click here.