Travel lessons aren’t always about packing smarter or planning better. Sometimes they’re about changing how you move through a destination. Take a breath, grab a warm, cozy drink, and happy reading, friends 🙂This post contains affiliate links. If you choose to use my links to purchase certain items, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you. I appreciate your support.
Travel lessons are everywhere. Packing hacks. Airport tips. “Don’t forget this” lists. But the travel lessons that have changed me the most weren’t about what to bring in my carry-on. They were mindset shifts, small decisions that completely changed how I experience a place.
I originally shared these as two travel tips on TikTok. I do not have kids, but if I could give my nephew and my nieces travel advice, you’d better believe these are the two most important things I could pass on. The truth is, I learned them the hard way. Through overplanning, through rushing, through chasing things I thought I had to see, eat, or photograph.
Now, no matter where I’m going: a new country, a weekend Airbnb, or even a familiar city, these two travel lessons shape how I move through it. And they’ve made every trip better.
In this post, I’m sharing two travel lessons that have changed how I travel.
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Travel Lesson 1: Stop and Turn Around
We miss so much because we rarely look behind us. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been walking toward a “main attraction,” focused on my phone’s map, determined to get somewhere… and almost missed something better, such as:
A view framed perfectly by a side street.
A café tucked into a corner.
Light hitting a building in a way that made it feel like I was in a literal Rom-Com.
Some of the best travel moments I’ve had happened because I randomly stopped and turned around. Not because it was marked on Google Maps. Not because it was trending. But just because I paused.
Travel can quickly become about forward motion: the next stop, the next reservation, the next photo. But some of the most beautiful things are behind you. Things that no one else is even noticing. And guess what that means???
You aren’t fighting to get the shot. the view and the shot are all yours. you.are.welcome:) Here’s an example of a shot we got by turning to look to the left every so often on a walk along the river in paris:
Now, whenever I’m walking somewhere new, I intentionally pause. I look left. I look right. And I literally turn around. It sounds ridiculously simple, because it is. But I promise, it changes everything.
Travel Lesson 2: Don’t Go Out of Your Way
This one came from a wine Airbnb experience I had in Paris last year. The host said something that stuck with me:
“There are good baguettes everywhere. Good croissants everywhere. Good cheeses everywhere. Don’t go out of your way.”
At the time, I nodded… and then proceeded to spend the next few days chasing specific restaurants, specific bakeries, specific “must-try” places across town. I wasted time, stressed over reservations, and built my days around food I could have found just as good closer to where I already was.
When we travel, we often feel pressure to optimize everything. To find the “best” version of every experience. The highest-rated coffee. The most famous sandwich. The exact viral viewpoint.
I especially like to see all I can, the type A that I am. I hate feeling like I missed something. That said, after trucking from one side of Paris to the other, chasing food spots and experiences, I still felt disappointed, almost like I hadn’t fully experienced the city.
Then, as we were driving out of Paris, completely exhausted, “The Wine Guy’s” words popped into my head,
“Don’t go out of your way.”
I finally understood it. And to top it off, even with running all over, we still couldn’t do everything or eat everything I had saved on my Google Maps. Paris is so huge, you will never do it all, and that’s okay. We can still return in the future and see the city little by little, and do what we can. Spend a few days in one area and then return another time to keep doing more each time. I think we’ll enjoy Paris better this way, and we’ll actually “experience” it, not just “see” it, which is the whole point of traveling in the first place.
The photo collage above was the first time I truly listened to that man’s words. and it PAID off, let me tell you.
We were exploring the small countryside town of Gordes in Provence, and I hadn’t looked up any restaurants in the area because I had no clue where we would be and when for that leg of the trip. The words of “The Wine Guy” echoed in my head again: “Don’t go out of your way.” Just then, I stumbled upon some stairs that led to a tiny restaurant. I figured, how bad can it be?
Well... Let’s just say I had the best cheesecake I have ever had in my life. I’m still dreaming about it. I literally walked into the tiny place after we ate on the street and asked to meet whoever had made that cheesecake. I don’t think the woman half understood me, but she knew what I was saying was good. The crust, the texture, the light citrus (but not keylime) flavor, purely chef’s kiss! I have a HUGE feeling I will moisey my way back to this dinky place one day, practically emailing ahead to beg for this cheesecake, because, yes, I am that extra when flawless dessert is involved.
Thanks to some random Frenchmen who knew his wine, I now try to build my travel days (at least some of them, after all, I am a type A:) around proximity, around ease, around what’s naturally in front of me. And honestly? I enjoy my trips way more. I may not have benefited from his advice until I got out of Paris, but that still allowed me to spend another two and a half weeks slowly learning to adopt his approach as we road tripped to Colmar, Lyon, Provence, and the Riviera. And I think that’s when I fell in love with France and realized it really was worth all of the hype it gets.
The Bigger Picture
Both of these travel lessons are really about the same thing:
Presence. Not rushing forward. Not chasing perfection. Look around. Experience where you are. Let the trip unfold a little.
The older I get, the less I want travel to feel like a checklist, and the more I want it to feel like a memory I actually lived inside of. Travel is really a collection of moments that can shape us, little by little. But it can only do this if we allow it to, only if we’re present enough to experience it.
If I could tell my niece (or honestly, my younger self) anything before a big trip, it would be this:
You don’t have to see everything. You don’t have to find the “best” version of everything. Just be where you are. Just look around. Remember it. Share it.
Thanks for reading! I hope that my posts give you a second to take a breath in a busy world. Happy travels, my friend!
This post was about two travel lessons that have changed how I travel.
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