Travel Tales: How Exploring the World Can Transform You
Travel has the power to transform lives in unexpected ways. This article explores real-life stories of personal growth and revelation through journeys across the globe. Drawing from insights shared by experienced travelers and experts, these tales showcase how exploration can challenge perceptions, foster resilience, and inspire profound change.
- Overcoming Trauma Through Island Getaway
- Cuban Trip Challenges Preconceptions
- Wheelchair User Witnesses Unexpected Kindness
- War-Time Tourism Reveals Human Solidarity
- Portuguese Camino Walk Transforms Lifestyle
- Village Visit Shifts Perspective on Success
- Chance Encounter Highlights Global Connections
- Italian Trattoria Inspires Family-Focused Business
- Coastal Town Immersion Reshapes Design Approach
- Hurricane Relief Work Builds Lasting Resilience
- Semester Abroad Launches Tourism Career
Overcoming Trauma Through Island Getaway
I unfortunately experienced a dangerous and scary assault while living and working abroad that ended with the perpetrator in prison. The incident caused me to have PTSD, be afraid of things I previously could do independently such as walking home and enjoying nature, among others. I felt lost, scared, and like my entire world had come crashing down.
The idea of facing my family back home and having countless questions on why I was home a year early led me to decide to take some time off work and travel to a neighboring country. I stayed on a small island away from tourists in a safe place that allowed me to start feeling secure in new places again.
Over 6 months of pushing tiny boundaries with myself and meeting wholesome, good people who genuinely wanted the best for me in a beautiful, quiet destination, I was able to regain the confidence to start enjoying things again – even more so than before. I learned how resilient I am. I learned how to love and see the positive in the world rather than only focus on the few bad people out there.
It may sound cliché, but I feel I was able to learn about myself in a way where I can trust my feelings and decisions without having to put my life on hold because of one unsavory human.
Michelle O’Donnell
Travel Writer, BritAdventures.com
Cuban Trip Challenges Preconceptions
When my partner and I visited Cuba, it completely shifted the way I think about travel. For two weeks, we were essentially disconnected from the outside world — no constant news cycle, no endless scrolling. At first, it was jarring, but it quickly became refreshing to just be present.
What struck me most was how regimented life felt. Breakfast happened at the same time for everyone, lunch at the same time, with no deviations. While I’d never glorify communism, there was a beauty in that rhythm. It made me rethink how we equate freedom with chaos in the U.S.
I also realized how easily we prejudge safety. Walking through large groups of people, I braced for danger — but it may have been the safest place I’ve ever been. For example, there was no incentive to steal; an iPhone had no real use there.
And then there was the art: raw, layered, often born from pain, but breathtaking in its honesty. Coupled with the way history was told through their perspective — so different from how I learned it — the experience reminded me that travel isn’t just about seeing a place, it’s about unlearning, listening, and leaving changed.
Jim Werner
Owner, Fagabond
Wheelchair User Witnesses Unexpected Kindness
I travel in a powered wheelchair, and during a recent trip to Ireland, I had a moment that truly showed me the transformative power of travel. I found myself needing to cross a road with a cutout on one side but only a curb on the other. There was no ramp in sight, and we were on what looked like a hairpin curve—a pretty dangerous situation with my family alongside me.
What happened next surprised me completely. One of the drivers noticed our predicament, stopped his car right in the middle of the road (blocking other traffic), got out, and helped lift my wheelchair to the other side so my family and I could get to safety.
I’ve often wondered if this would have happened back home in the United States. I’d like to think it would, but this experience—encountering such spontaneous kindness from a complete stranger halfway across the world—fundamentally changed how I view humanity. It showed me that good people exist everywhere, in all forms and all places. We just need to be kind to each other. That’s what truly transformed me: witnessing that simple act of kindness.
Chet McDoniel
Owner, Off to Neverland Travel
War-Time Tourism Reveals Human Solidarity
Thank you for the opportunity to share. I would like to share my own story here because, even though I travel quite a lot, it is actually other people’s travels that have been a transformative experience for me in terms of tourism and travel.
Travel has changed me most profoundly through my work with VisitKyiv.com, a non-profit guide created by locals to help foreigners navigate Kyiv safely and respectfully during the war.
While working on the project, I met incredible foreigners from different countries who visited Ukraine, fully aware of the risks and warnings from the government.
For example, a senior political advisor from Germany told us that he now spends his vacations in Kyiv collecting drones to save lives. An American photographer whose work is published in The New York Times and Bloomberg compared his visits to visiting a friend in the hospital – not for adventure or relaxation, but simply to be there and offer support. A traveler from Poland described Kyiv in the fall as “the most honest city in Europe – golden trees, air raid sirens, and people who still live with courage.”
Meeting these people changed me. They showed me that traveling is not only about discovering new places but also about being there for others during the most important moments. Traveling can be an act of solidarity and support.
At VisitKyiv.com, we provide practical advice for travelers heading to Kyiv, offering insights on what to see, where to eat, and how to navigate the city safely.
Olena Polotniana
Head of Communications at Visitkyiv.Com, VisitKyiv.com
Portuguese Camino Walk Transforms Lifestyle
The most transformative trip of my life was a solo week on the Portuguese Camino — from Porto up the coast to Viana do Castelo — right after a long season of caregiving.
On day one, my pack was stuffed with “just-in-case” items. A shopkeeper looked at it, then at me, and said, “You’re carrying your fear.” I mailed half of it home and kept walking. The days became simple: feet on wooden boardwalks, ocean on my left, slow breathing with a longer exhale, café con leite when I needed a pause. When a tide-flooded section forced a detour, I didn’t spiral; I asked for help, re-charted, and arrived by daylight anyway.
That walk changed how I live and how I lead. I came home with a “pack light” rule for my calendar—one big promise a day, two small ones, everything else waits. I protect buffers like I protected daylight arrivals. I swapped heroics for repair: if something rubs (like a blister), I adjust early instead of pushing through and resenting it later.
I travel (and coach) with the same principles now: carry less, ask sooner, breathe longer, and choose a pace you can keep. The Camino didn’t make me braver so much as kinder — to my body, my time, and the people walking beside me.
Jeanette Brown
Personal and Career Coach; Founder, Jeanettebrown.net
Village Visit Shifts Perspective on Success
One of the most transformative travel experiences I had was visiting a rural village abroad where daily life was built around community rather than individual schedules. Coming from a fast-paced business environment, I was struck by how people prioritized shared meals, conversations, and mutual support over constant productivity. At first, I felt restless without my usual structure, but over time I began to appreciate the slower rhythm and the value of human connection. That experience changed me by shifting my perspective on balance. I realized that success is not just about efficiency and output but also about the quality of relationships and the ability to be present. Since then, I have tried to bring more of that mindset into my personal and professional life, making space for connection and reflection. Travel reminded me that growth often comes not from doing more, but from learning how to be more intentional.
Matt Lasker
Owner, Crown Billboard Advertising
Chance Encounter Highlights Global Connections
I had an experience while traveling in another country where, upon striking up a conversation with a fellow traveler, I discovered that they were born in the same city as I was. It was one of those moments where you are completely flabbergasted, because out of all the people you could possibly meet, how is it that you’re encountering someone with that kind of connection to you — while in a foreign country?
I think that interaction really impacted me because it helped me see just how connected we all are at the end of the day. It encouraged me to be more outgoing when I travel, being intentional about talking to people and making connections, and that has become perhaps my favorite part of traveling.
Steve Schwab
CEO, Casago
Italian Trattoria Inspires Family-Focused Business
Italy wasn’t my first international trip, but it was the first one where I slowed down long enough to really notice myself changing. It was an afternoon when I slipped away and ended up in a tiny trattoria run by a family.
The grandmother, who spoke almost no English, insisted I sit and try her food. For two hours, I just sat there, eating handmade pasta and watching three generations work side by side. They laughed, argued, and moved around each other as if it were a dance.
It reminded me why I started my company in the first place: not for growth charts or investor calls, but to build something that could last. I came back home and rewrote a good chunk of our internal policies to make family time non-negotiable. Investors thought I was being soft. I thought I was being sane.
Nir Appelton
CEO, Adorb Custom Tees
Coastal Town Immersion Reshapes Design Approach
One trip that truly changed how we work was a weeklong client immersion in a small coastal town where we were helping a local business digitize its customer experience.
We went there to do research, but what made it transformative was how much time we spent simply listening — not just to the business owners, but to delivery drivers, seasonal staff, and customers who came in for a coffee. Seeing firsthand how people used (and sometimes struggled with) the tools we typically recommend shifted our perspective from “feature-first” to “friction-first.” Small inconveniences the team had assumed were trivial (a cluttered checkout flow, unclear return instructions, inconsistent product photography) were actually the real blockers to loyalty and revenue for that community.
That trip changed us in three concrete ways. First, it made empathy operational: we built lightweight user-research checkpoints into every project so decisions are always grounded in real behavior, not assumptions. Second, it pushed us toward simpler, more resilient solutions — we began favoring lean, testable changes that reduce friction quickly rather than big, risky launches. Third, it strengthened our belief in collaborative design: involving local staff and end users in prototype reviews became a standard part of our process.
Personally and professionally, the experience taught us humility — that smart tech isn’t a substitute for listening — and reinforced that impact comes from solving small, meaningful problems for real people. Today, that trip still informs how we approach discovery, prioritize backlogs, and measure success: through reduced friction, happier customers, and repeatable, human-centered outcomes.
Garrett Lehman
Co-Founder, Gapp Group
Hurricane Relief Work Builds Lasting Resilience
Traveling to a region hit by hurricanes for relief work reshaped my perspective on resilience. The devastation was severe—homes gutted, businesses shuttered, families displaced—yet the local community showed remarkable determination to rebuild. Working alongside them revealed how quickly people adapt when survival and recovery demand it. That experience stripped away assumptions about comfort and control, teaching me that stability can never be taken for granted. It also deepened my respect for human connection, since progress depended less on resources and more on trust and cooperation. The change was lasting: I returned home more conscious of gratitude, more disciplined in preparation, and more committed to showing up for others in times of need.
Ysabel Florendo
Marketing Coordinator, Ready Nation Contractors
Semester Abroad Launches Tourism Career
During my junior year of university, I spent a semester in Costa Rica to become fluent in Spanish. Living with a host family, I immediately fell in love with the culture, the friendly locals, and the abundance of natural beauty and wildlife the small country offered. My life’s course was forever altered after those four months, and I knew that Costa Rica was where I wanted to be. After graduating and working in the US corporate world for a year, I followed my passion for travel and moved back to Costa Rica in 2005. Costa Rica was already recognized as a tourism hotspot back then, so I got a job as a travel planner at a local travel agency and never looked back. I had literally zero sales experience at the time, but it didn’t take long to figure it out, and soon I became the top sales rep and ultimately the all-time sales leader for the company.
More importantly, one day the owners said they’d like to showcase new sport fishing packages on the website, but I took that idea and expanded it to create an entirely new sport fishing division of the company. That grew to generate 15% of company revenue, and soon I was managing my own team of four sales reps. After eight years of planning vacations for happy customers, the opportunity for me to expand internationally never came, so I decided to leave and start my own company that offered customized sport fishing vacations throughout the entire Central America region.
Now, nearly 20 years later, I’m the owner of a seven-figure travel business, and we operate in six countries. My passion for tourism led me to my wife, who also works in tourism here in Costa Rica. She made her way to Costa Rica via a semester abroad like me, then was in the Peace Corps in Honduras, and finally returned to Costa Rica in 2009.
I hope that you find my local perspective unique and useful for your article. If you have any follow-up questions, or even need pictures, don’t hesitate to ask. If you end up using my contributions, I’d love to see the final version of your article once it’s online, and of course, including a link to my website above is always appreciated as it helps us stand out in a very competitive space.
Chris Atkins
Owner & Founder, Central America Fishing
