What are your travel regrets?

[Anonymous]

Not taking my DS to visit paternal grandparents (my ex’s parents) in Israel when he was still a child. His grandmother often asked us to visit. We would have gone alone, without his dad who was not really involved with him. So a little awkward since I had only met ex’s parents a couple of times. But it was more that there always seemed to be instability, threat of war, bombings, in Israel, that I was worried about travelling alone with a child. I am not Jewish and do not have any other family or friends in Israel. Thought I would wait until he was 12 or older to visit but life got busier, harder to take out of school, then pandemic, and now he’s 18 and could go on his own I guess.

[Anonymous]

I was backpacking w my husband in Nicaragua and I got laid off in a mass lay off. I wanted to stay and travel by myself but he pressured me to stick w him and come home. To move the flight and stay it would have been several hundred dollars which felt like a lot. We decided to go back home and try to a baby that spring…I shouldn’t have let him convince me to come home. To have had a week or two in Central America doing yoga and reconnecting w myself before job hunting and getting pregnant would have been so special.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That it took me so long to realize how gorgeous this country is. I spent my 20s going to Europe at every occasion. Im 40s now and my kids are now older elem and im trying to get as much as I can at our own national parks. I had no idea. It’s so embarrassing.

+1 to this. I hate America but spend time in Alaska and you’ll be forever grateful we live here

[Anonymous]

I studied abroad in college and really, really wished I hd taken 6-12 mos either before or after grade school to backpack through Europe. Now I am old and have two kids and blah blah blah. My next chance is as an empty nester lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not studying abroad in college, mainly. I think that might have been a great experience AND changed some of my early adult priorities. No regrets: I love my life now and path though.

Same but it really wasn’t in my budget, and I was partially caught up with a boyfriend at the time, it seems very fun and I hope to encourage DD to.

+1. No money and parents were immigrants who knew nothing about the educational system here much less study abroad. I really did not start traveling until late 20’s and have not looked back since then. Hence, why I married and had a child later in life.

I plan on encouraging DS to study abroad for sure in college if he is interested. I don’t have a lot regrets but this is one. He might even get a chance to do it in high school.

Fwiw I studied abroad in college but it wasn’t something my parents suggested. I heard about it (at college) and decided I wanted to do it on my own. My parents were not even particularly supportive- they tried to talk me out of going to Argentina and to go to Spain instead but I ultimately prevailed on Argentina.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not taking my DS to visit paternal grandparents (my ex’s parents) in Israel when he was still a child. His grandmother often asked us to visit. We would have gone alone, without his dad who was not really involved with him. So a little awkward since I had only met ex’s parents a couple of times. But it was more that there always seemed to be instability, threat of war, bombings, in Israel, that I was worried about travelling alone with a child. I am not Jewish and do not have any other family or friends in Israel. Thought I would wait until he was 12 or older to visit but life got busier, harder to take out of school, then pandemic, and now he’s 18 and could go on his own I guess.

He could probably do birth right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not studying abroad in college, mainly. I think that might have been a great experience AND changed some of my early adult priorities. No regrets: I love my life now and path though.

Same but it really wasn’t in my budget, and I was partially caught up with a boyfriend at the time, it seems very fun and I hope to encourage DD to.

+1. No money and parents were immigrants who knew nothing about the educational system here much less study abroad. I really did not start traveling until late 20’s and have not looked back since then. Hence, why I married and had a child later in life.

I plan on encouraging DS to study abroad for sure in college if he is interested. I don’t have a lot regrets but this is one. He might even get a chance to do it in high school.

Fwiw I studied abroad in college but it wasn’t something my parents suggested. I heard about it (at college) and decided I wanted to do it on my own. My parents were not even particularly supportive- they tried to talk me out of going to Argentina and to go to Spain instead but I ultimately prevailed on Argentina.

So we’re saying that you did it right. The rest of us let what was familiar/easy and let seemingly large money constraints stop us but that didn’t feel like the right choice ultimately.

[Anonymous]

Not many as I traveled a lot. But I had friends temporarily in Argentina, Guyana, and Croatia at various times that I never got round to visiting, and I really regret that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not studying abroad in college, mainly. I think that might have been a great experience AND changed some of my early adult priorities. No regrets: I love my life now and path though.

Same but it really wasn’t in my budget, and I was partially caught up with a boyfriend at the time, it seems very fun and I hope to encourage DD to.

+1. No money and parents were immigrants who knew nothing about the educational system here much less study abroad. I really did not start traveling until late 20’s and have not looked back since then. Hence, why I married and had a child later in life.

I plan on encouraging DS to study abroad for sure in college if he is interested. I don’t have a lot regrets but this is one. He might even get a chance to do it in high school.

Fwiw I studied abroad in college but it wasn’t something my parents suggested. I heard about it (at college) and decided I wanted to do it on my own. My parents were not even particularly supportive- they tried to talk me out of going to Argentina and to go to Spain instead but I ultimately prevailed on Argentina.

So we’re saying that you did it right. The rest of us let what was familiar/easy and let seemingly large money constraints stop us but that didn’t feel like the right choice ultimately.

I know - just saying that I didn’t think the other PP should blame their parents

[Anonymous]

^^ lack of familiarity with the American college education system

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That it took me so long to realize how gorgeous this country is. I spent my 20s going to Europe at every occasion. Im 40s now and my kids are now older elem and im trying to get as much as I can at our own national parks. I had no idea. It’s so embarrassing.

Don't be embarrassed. I admire your emotional and intellectual growth. I'm not a huge traveller, meaning I have no real desire to visit so many places people here deem essential. And when I do, I want to hit flea markets, shop, and soak in local cafes, etc. Don't care much about the 'high spots'. Spent three weeks in England and Wales and was in London maybe 1/2 day? Loved the countryside. To me, a good vacation is to get in a car and drive, stopping at a roadside stand, a little shop, etc.

The only thing I really want to do is see the northern lights. Priest Lake in Idaho provides that opportunity, as does Newfoundland and, of course, Alaska. Iceland is the new 'hot spot', I guess, but I'm not pulled there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There were a few times that I was planning travel with friends when I was single and then something would happen that made it all fizzle out. Someone couldn't go, someone lost interest and then I didn't go. I should have said see-ya and gone solo.

This!
I had such flaky friends in my early 20s.

Same here. Looking back now I can’t believe I ever listened to any of the people I hung out with then (many of whom are perfectly solid adults now).

[Anonymous]

I studied abroad in Israel, a hundred years ago - and got an opportunity to do a summer internship at an animal sanctuary/kibbutz, where I'd have probably become fluent in Hebrew. I was feeling nervous because I would have been living in my own cottage at the place, and worried I was going to feel lonely - and I let my mom talk me out of doing the internship, but come live at home for the summer instead.

Ended up waitressing, taking some stupidly easy classes at a local university, sleeping with boys I could have slept with any time.

I've lived a weird life with plenty of mistakes, but this is really one of my actual regrets. I should have overcome my nervousness and done the hard, interesting thing. I guess on the other hand, those were some cute boys that summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That it took me so long to realize how gorgeous this country is. I spent my 20s going to Europe at every occasion. Im 40s now and my kids are now older elem and im trying to get as much as I can at our own national parks. I had no idea. It’s so embarrassing.

Somewhat similar in that I'm well travelled globally but not so much within the US. I've seen the Grand Canyon and would love to go back to the SW. And every now and then I read about or hear about some amazing places, especially in the Western US. The problem, however, and it is a real problem, is that the logistics of such a trip are more challenging than going to Europe. You will spend a lot more time driving around, there are far fewer things to do at the destination, dining/hotel options are more limited. I find it intriguing that it's easier to fly to Switzerland and hike glorious mountains without too much preplanning because the infrastructure is specifically set up for that.

It's a cop out answer, and I do need to just sit down and focus on planning good trips through the Western parks and accept the reality it's going to involve a lot of long driving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I studied abroad in college and really, really wished I hd taken 6-12 mos either before or after grade school to backpack through Europe. Now I am old and have two kids and blah blah blah. My next chance is as an empty nester lol

This is something I DON'T regret. When I was 24 a friend had a free flight voucher so her idea of going to Italy for a week turned into a month spent backpacking around Europe. I booked the flights without first asking for time off from work because I didn't care if they fired me. I also had little money at the time and went to into some debt for the trip, but I still never regretted it. One of the best experiences and sometime I think everyone should do while they are young.

My regret- not traveling more before having kids. We've traveled quite a bit with them, but it's not the same as carefree kid-free trips. Plus when you are younger and have lower standards so travel is much less expensive.