I know, I know. Anyone who has ever been travelling always raves when they get back home about how amazing it all was. Sometimes driving their friends or family to roll their eyes at One. More. Mention. Of the most amazing food in Italy. (Yum, by the way! 😉 )

But travel being awesome is not just a cliché – It actually has super positive effects on your physical, mental and spiritual well-being*

(*I’m no doctor or scientist, but I’m sure there must be proper research proving this statement correct 😉 ).

So whether you book a short weekend away to Aussie, or a full-blown month away in Europe, here’s a list of reasons why you should immediately pack yo’ bags and go travel!

Leap outside the comfort zone

My biggest reason for travelling is the way it makes me leap outside my comfort zone. I traveled to Europe for the first time (solo) back in August/September 2017 and boy did it make me step up in big ways. What’s the saying? “If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you” there’s nothing quite like arriving alone in a new country for the first time, or doing outrageous activities in said country… like white water rafting in Austria. Eek.

Independence & Confidence

And you know what? There’s a huge sense of pride that comes with doing it all on your own. The feeling that you can do anything – and being able to say “Yeah, I did that”.

Give yourself a pat on the back, gurl.

Meet rad’ new people

Contiki was a great way to meet new people and have guaranteed companions during your travels… and of course make cool new friends.

What’s more, when you travel you bump into locals from all different kinds of cultures, making a local friend or two, too!

Which brings me to…

Culture immersion

It’s fascinating being among a foreign culture. Period. The more you learn about other people, the more you learn about yourself is what they say. We’re all human, but everyone is unique and the same goes for each and every culture. And switching it up from “Churr bro” to “Ciao bella” is pretty fun!

New sights and sounds

I don’t know about you, but driving for 45 minutes in peak hour Auckland traffic everyday to work gets kinda boring, ya know? Sometimes you have to change the scenery to get revitalised in your everyday life. Getting immersed in a new culture and seeing incredible, iconic landmarks that you’ve only seen in movies is one sure way to shake yourself awake again. One of my most striking memories from Europe was seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time – and watching it light up in sparkly flashing lights to boot. Pinch me moments, guaranteed!

Head-first into new languages

Although highly useful, it’s not necessary to be fluent in say, French in order to visit France (another bucket list goal of mine – become fluent in a second language!).  When I was wandering the cobblestone alleyways by myself in Florence, I walked into a handbag store (my weakness – handbags). The only person inside was the shopkeeper, an elderly Italian woman who didn’t speak any English. Probably my most memorable experience talking with a local, I conversed with her in a humble-jumble of English/Italian/nodding/grunts/pointing in order to buy a new bag. What language barrier, you may ask? 😉

Gratitude

Even though you may be flying thousands of feet in the air at times, travel makes you plant your feet firmly on the ground.

Travel makes me grateful to live in New Zealand. Travel makes me grateful to be a global citizen on this beautiful planet. Travel makes me grateful to have air in my lungs and money in my bank account to be able to travel in the first place. Travel makes you appreciate the small things.

When you’re travelling you honestly forget how much money you spend on booking your tour / flights / new suitcase because the experience was all worth it. And you’d do it again in a heartbeat.

Endless source of inspiration

Um, it inspired me to create this travel blog. What more can I say??

Got any more reasons as to why travel is the bomb? (I know there’s heaps more ya’ll) Comment below!