Travelling close to home: when adventure becomes a learning experience

We often imagine that life-changing voyages start with packing up for a distant destination. The most impactful experiences are not measured in kilometres though. They’re defined instead by meaningful discoveries and personal encounters, by moments when you get another glimpse of your world — and yourself — from a different perspective. For many travellers, the adventure can start a lot closer to home than they think!

Rediscovering a neighbouring destination, taking a little road trip or exploring a part of Quebec or Ontario that you don’t know well can become a meaningful learning experience. Because in the end, traveling’s not just about seeing new places: it’s about learning new things!

Travel as the school of life

Travelling has long been considered a kind of education. Fun fact: it was once a rite of passage for young Europeans to do a “Grand Tour” to polish off their cultural and personal education. Times have changed but travel remains one of the most powerful ways to develop your independence, satisfy your curiosity and build your self-confidence.

In a world where everything seems a couple clicks away, adventure is not always found in the exotic. You can find adventure in the way you choose to experience a place. When you leave your usual environment behind, you challenge yourself to adapt. You learn to fend for yourself, talk to strangers and manage the unpredictable. When you travel, simple daily situations become opportunities for personal growth.

Adventure is never far away

Traveling has long meant heading off into the unknown, often over the horizon. But lately another approach is trending: traveling close to home. Slowing down the pace of life and seeing your own neck of the woods with fresh eyes offers a different kind of adventure that’s nonetheless rich in experience.

For one thing, Quebec is overflowing with accessible experiences: from quaint riverside towns to immense forests, mountains, lakes and national parks, each region has its history and its traditions. Traveling locally also lets you to take a new look at your surroundings. Like a tourist, you see the people, places and regional cultures though different eyes.

The Saintlo Foundation: when travel becomes an opportunity

Unfortunately, not all young people have easy access to travelling. Financial constraints or family situations can make life-changing travel experiences unattainable.

For many young people, it’s their first opportunity to get out of their immediate environment, meet other students and enjoy experiences that expand their horizons. These trips are not just vacations. They offer moments of open-minded discovery that they will carry with them all their lives. The Saintlo Foundation believes that travel encourages young people not only to choose their own directions in life, but also to develop the essential life skills of adaptability, cooperation, communication, empathy, organization and self-confidence.

Meaningful encounters that transform

It’s rarely the awesome architecture and breathtaking landscapes you see with your backpack on that change your life, though they’re certainly important. Youth travel is really about the people you meet. Youth hostels, for example, are designed to encourage spontaneous encounters. A chat in a communal kitchen with a backpacker from the other side of the globe. A local’s recommendation for a must-see. An excursion shared with people you met that very morning. These improvised moments open the door to other ways of thinking, and other dreams.

Constructing an identity while discovering the world

Whatever the distance covered, travel often acts as a personal catalyst. By getting out of your comfort zone and shaking up your habits, you often uncover sides of yourself that you had never truly explored: such as feeling secure in an unfamiliar place or your innate ability to improvise when plans change.

You get to know yourself better, understand what truly inspires you and imagine new directions in your life. This may also be a source of motivation to change certain aspects of your life when you get back home.

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