In this miniseries, we have discussed the reasons why people may not travel in their early twenties/college. We’ve hit the topics of not having the time and not having the motivation to go. This last part of the miniseries hits on, by far, the most impactful reason why young people don’t travel: Money.
I Don’t Have the Money
When students take a look at their bank accounts, they may be slim. Here are a couple easy trips you can take that may provide you with a light at the end of the tunnel.
Travel Within Two Hours of Your Home for the Weekend
Look at locations within a two hour radius. Find two to three places to travel that may be interesting. Look up blogs on these places. They may have articles like, “The 10 Best Attractions in ____.” This can be extraordinarily helpful when planning your trip.
You can have something lined up for every hour of every day! By using the planning technique I spoke about in Part Two, you could seemingly travel to all two or three places that you choose! With some proper planning, more than one trip per year in your twenties certainly isn’t out of the question.
By only taking a two or less hour trip, you will have less to bring with you than, say, an international trip. This will free you to do and see more. You can choose to drive up Friday night, stay in a hotel, or at a friend or family member’s if they live nearby, and then stay for one more night on Saturday evening. This will give you all day Saturday and most of Sunday to travel and experience the area. By leaving the hotel Sunday morning, you can carry your limited amount of luggage with you wherever you go. I challenge you to bring it all in a small book bag. Re-wear some clothes. Trust me, no one will care nor notice except you. Besides, re-worn clothes are comfier aren’t they?
Book Cheaper Flights
Do some quick research on finding cheap flights and utilize websites like Hipmunk that allow you to compare prices quickly and easily. If you do decide to wade outside of the two-hour window and book a flight, booking them in advance will allow you to save money on the flight and utilize it elsewhere.
Crash at a Friend’s or Family Member’s Place
By visiting a family member or friend on your trip, like I mentioned earlier, you can save all the money that you would have spent on a hotel. While hotels can run you hundreds of dollars, staying at a friend or family member’s place–or even a hostel– can drastically reduce the overall cost of the trip. As an added bonus, people familiar with the places you’re traveling to can inform you of some things to do in the area. They may know of a hole in the wall or underappreciated attraction that no website will know about.
Why is it so important to travel that I wrote a three-part guide to doing it in your younger years? Traveling provides you with a larger view of the world. You get to see other cultures, new fun things to do, and new beautiful sights to see. You get to become a much more well-rounded person. Your judgments of people will start to slowly decrease; you’ll be much more understanding of different kinds of people. Don’t doubt traveling, doubt why you think you can’t do it.
