To ask if anyone else doesn't see the appeal of "Travelling"

[LornaDuh]

So many on MN talk about doing lots of travelling in their 20s. Or their DC "going travelling."

Anyone else not see the appeal of backpacking round Asia sharing hostels with randoms and eating authentic street food?

I've worked abroad but that was an office job not picking fruit or working on a cattle ranch in Australia.

I love going on holiday but like coming home after a fortnight ... months on the road don't appeal.

Anyone else?

Couldn't think of anything worse.

Me too; my secret opinion is that some places are not actually worth the travel/money/stress of travel. The idea of backpacking and staying in hostels does not appeal.

I genuinely couldn't think of anything worse.

I understand why some people wouldn’t enjoy it. Some people hate Christmas, parties, pets, children, hot weather … others love them. I do see the appeal of travelling and would love to experience it one day. Unlikely now, but oh well.

Having to sort your laundry out on the road. Being with the same people all day every day. I like my friends but have had enough of them after a dog walk/coffee/lunch!

Meeting new people is good but surely you meet a lot of bores and have to listen to them talk about their travels in between meeting the occasional fascinating person.

It's something to do when you are young.

In Europe it's shared hostels but in SE Asia it's cheap enough to have your own room.

I don't think it's as common now as 20 years ago.

I travelled all over South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand in my early 20s. I had some amazing experiences and really believe anyone who doesn’t travel really misses out.

I've never understood the appeal of travelling on a really low or really high budget. I don't want to camp or come back to bed-bug-ridden hostels to share dorms with unwashed snorers. Or stay in 5* hotels that are the same the world over – the same excessive breakfasts and bland icily air-conditioned rooms and vast atriums.

But I love spending time in cultures that are entirely different from our own. Where nothing tastes like it does at home, right down to the coffee and fruit or bread, and where buying something is a completely different experience from UK shopping. I especially enjoy countries where health and safety regs aren't so strict that it is impossible to do your own risk assessment for a little adventure.

There have been many threads like these- one very recently- and lots of people don't like travel. I do, as it happens. But there are many who share your preferences.

I am in my 50s and still love to travel.

I'm a total wimp so travelling has never appealed to me. Holidays are great though

Look, OP, Mn is full of people who never want to sleep anywhere other than their own bed, people who never have people over, people who will not poo anywhere other than their own bathroom and regard it as their human rights being infringed if someone does in theirs. People who won’t eat unfamiliar food, people who think going to a film alone takes considerable courage, people who think they’ll be mugged the second they arrive in London/Paris/Barcelona. People who find weekends away stressful, people who go on a week’s AI on the Costa del Sol because they think they’re supposed to, but pack their own teabags and staples, and only heave a sigh of relief after they’re home again and unpacked, with the laundry done.

It is hardly surprising that these people don’t see the appeal of backpacking. And that’s fine, obviously. It’s not compulsory.

I LOVE travelling, but loathe backpacking with the lack of privacy, shared dorms, noise etc. I do private hotel rooms, decent food etc. We've done 2 months trips before & DH & I are discussing going for long stints once we retire, if we can.

I am Australian & grew up on a remote station (not called ranches here) & don't understand the appeal either & wouldn't go back for a holiday, but some people love the experience!

I think your thread title is a bit misleading. You'll probably get lots of people posting, telling you why they love their holidays. But I think you mean that you don't relish the prospect of backpacking for a long period and sharing accommodation with others in hostels etc. In which case, I'm with you 100%.

Holidays on the other hand......

My retirement plan in a few years is to spend months on the road. Solo.

Well when my kids are grown I plan to travel the world. Did a bit when I was young, Thailand, South America. There’s a big wide world out there and I want to see it all before I die.

I spent years travelling during my 20’s. It was absolutely unbelievable and I saw the most incredible places. Hiked volcanoes and saw other nearby volcanoes erupting, iguazu falls - wow! And don’t even get me started on the scuba diving. I met the most amazing people. I’m so glad I did it. All settled down back in the UK now with a child and I’d love for him to do the same (if he’d like to) when he’s older. I travelled a lot with a friend and we often found it cheaper to get an air bnb together rather than two hostel beds, so it wasn’t all slumming it in dorms, although dorms were often fun when in the mood to socialise. And it wasn’t all party backpacker zones, you could find plenty of that but also plenty of very relaxing areas that weren’t like that at all.

Same for me, I would love the money and opportunity to travel. It was my youthful dream but I didn't have the confidence or maturity when I had the chance. I made stupid decisions instead. having children young

I can’t understand people who DON’T love travelling!

There’s a whole big beautiful world out there. I travelled a lot as a young woman and plan to do a lot more when I retire. Saving up too for a campervan too so DP and i can spend a good part of the year on the road. There’s no feeling in the world like waking up in the sunshine, padding about in your flip flops, sipping your coffee in the morning sun and hitting the road to explore a new place. Total freedom and joy!

I like holidays. I would never have enjoyed backpacking and staying in hostels. I also feel it can be quite unsafe for females. I have had 2 separate friends disclose to me that when travelling when they were young, they were raped. Both felt they couldn’t report it either due to several factors, not least feeling it wouldn’t be taken seriously in the country they were in at the time. Not that our country is much better! But there are places where it’s worse. One seemed ok (on the surface at least) but for the other it had caused quite significant MH issues.

Neither had told their parents either because they didn’t want to upset them so they just came home saying they’d had a great time. So I feel anyone who says my daughter did it and loved it, wouldn’t necessarily know if anything went wrong.

That aside I like my comfort too much, always have, so it wouldn’t be for me.

I learnt a lot of very valuable things about myself while travelling.

My kids love it too. I think those that want to stay at home tend to have a more parochial outlook on life.

Oh I desperately want more travelling in my life! I’ve only done a couple of stints of it ever, and would love to do it again.

Thinking of going with my kids next year but it might only suit one of their personalities…

I like travelling in Europe because it’s easier and I like all the medieval architecture.
I’d love to go to India but realistically that won’t happen as dh and I are rubbish at knowing the best places and how to sort an itinerary.

In 2008 we drove around Europe for 4 weeks with a small tent.
It was a fantastic holiday and we only pre booked one campsite in Italy.
We drove through France, Switzerland, Italy, back through Switzerland, Germany and finished in Belgium where we got on the ferry to the UK.
The only border we encountered any jobsworths was Hull on our return with our British passports.

That was pre Brexit though.

@DancingLions you are right about that. This is one of the benefits of getting older. Men ignore me.

I would have liked to have gone abroad more before having kids and seen more of the world rather than worrying about working for shitty managers.

But hostels have never been my thing, would have preferred hotels.

I think for the young people who ‘travel’ it is about more than just seeing other places.

Resilience, self reliance, problem solving, cultural views, resourcefulness, organisation, confidence and social.