Why We Travel: 12 reasons we travel and what they reveal about Happiness, Curiosity, Healing, and the Human Spirit

by Ash Bhardwaj

'Travel at its best - life enhancing' Bear Grylls

'Ash is a great storyteller, whose book weaves together adventure, big ideas and inspirational tales from around the world.' Levison Wood

'A beautiful, insightful and thought-provoking book with the power to change how you see travel - and life'. Pip Stewart

Why We Travel is a smart-thinking travel book, which uses travel as a window into human motivations. It explores what we can gain from venturing out into the world.

It threads together reflective memoir, evocative travelogue, research, conversation, advice and big ideas. Some of the travels are epic adventures; others are closer to home; and some are journeys of internal exploration.

Each journey is a window into one of 12 motivations for Curiosity, Inspiration, Happiness, Creativity, Serendipity, Hardship, Service, Healing, Wonder, Empathy, Eroticism, and Hope. By unpacking these motivations, and digging into the science of where they come from, this book asks how travel intersects with the rest of our lives, answering key questions such

Why do we travel? How do we do it better? Can it help us to live more fulfilling lives?

Why We Travel will give you a fascinating insight into where your motivations come from and inspire you to think about travel from a new and exciting perspective.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Psychology

264 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 11, 2024

Reviews

[Izzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Unexpectedly moving memoir of a travel journalist’s life, with lots of interesting concepts and bits of history. I especially enjoyed when he derided idiots who climb Mount Everest for clout, and all the parts about his family were really beautiful. Only docking half a star for the mild pro-army propaganda.

[Istók Róbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book! It has amazing storytelling, and lots of life lessons. So glad I found it in a bookstore in central London.

[Anthony Frobisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Travel, our motivations for our explorations

I have travelled extensively. From solo backpacking trips to an overland 4 month backpacking adventure with my best friend. I have travelled to remote islands on the equator, to the summit of Kilimanjaro, stood opposite Everest, cycled the length of the United Kingdom. But why? What was the motivation and inspiration.
There is so much more to travel beyond a hedonistic holiday experience. And this wonderful book by Ash Bhardwaj goes into detail by examining 12 separate but interconnected motivations.
An insightful, informative book that mixes personal anecdote from the vast amount of travel experience of the author with the reasons, the psychology behind our decisions to seek out places less familiar.
The final chapter which explores travel motivated by grief was particularly pertinent. Having lost 2 daughters at 17 days and 10 years old, I can now see many of my travel experiences and fundraising challenges were a way of processing grief, coming to terms with loss and honouring the memory of my daughters. An emotional end to a very inspiring book.
Travel, explore, find out more about what and who is on your doorstep and beyond. But as Ash Bhardwaj says, don't just travel, ask yourself why.
Highly recommended.

[Julie Capell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different type of travel book, and I mean that in the best possible way. Instead of focusing on one destination and telling the reader what to see/do while there, Bhardwaj examines WHY we travel.

I very much enjoyed the way he fuses research into fields as diverse as psychology, behavioral science and even death to reflect on the varied motivations that drive us to seek out new lands. To bring the science to life, he uses his own widely varied travel experiences and reflects on his own reasons for traveling.

Interestingly, I found that much of what Bhardwaj discusses related to travel can just as easily apply to our everyday lives, making this sort of a hybrid travel/self-help book. And again, I mean that in the best possible way!

[Monika · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adored this book and cannot recommend it enough! In Why We Travel Bhardwaj takes us on a biographical journey of all the reasons why he went travelling in his life, which are varied and interesting. But this isn't a straight up biography and Bhardwaj digs deeper to why we travel in general including bits of philosophy and psychology throughout.

I read this book on my way to a week long surf camp in Morocco and it really made me think deeply on why I wanted to go on this trip and made me look back on the reasons why I have travelled in the past. It also made me contemplate on my future travels (and reasons for them) as well as coming up with my own reasons for why I travel generally (novelty). Why We Travel is a joy to read for a curious mind.

[Maddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

With travel having been one of the main parts of my life for the last three years, I’m definitely the target audience for this book! Reading it on a trip (and with fluctuating travel mojo) was obviously fitting… Reading about the lessons of a mountain expedition while atop a mountain is so apt that it’s almost on the nose (/ makes me feel a bit of FOMO for getting the cable car up instead of doing the three-hour ascending hike). This felt like it scooped up some concepts that have been floating around in the back of my brain and brought them to conscious awareness. Just reading the book felt like it brought me a few of its 12 Motivations: inspiration, empathy, wonder, and hope… I think this is one I actually have to keep and reread!

[Bella · Rating 5 out of 5]

I honestly never gave much thought to why I travel. Travel just IS and WAS. Like most people who pick up this book, I have a deep love of exploration and a desire to go places far away from where I was born and raised. The book is packed full of “aha!” moments I honestly wasn’t expecting. I skimmed the contents before reading and smugly identified the reasons why I think I travel. By god, this book actually changed my mind. Above all, the actionable and applicable ways to make travel - whatever you’re travelling for - more meaningful is something I intend to apply next time I go!

[Genco Genç · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book! It takes you through a rollercoaster of emotions, and a fair warning about the last chapter— I resist the urge to ugly cry but I couldn’t. This book is deeply inspiring and has genuinely changed my perspective on travel for good. Ash writes from the heart, combining kindness with a refreshing sense of naivety in his style. I cannot recommend this book enough. If you’re looking to see the world through new eyes, "Why We Travel" is a must-read. I loved it!

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw a travel book review in The Observer and this was the first on the list and as I have done a fair bit of travelling over the years I decided to read it.

I thoroughly enjoyed it, lots of variety and twists and turns throughout and lots of interesting chapters covering a wide variety of topics. It’s informative and interesting, the author has lived quite a life and a great book to read.

[Jane Hodson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book - Ash has such a brilliantly relatable way with words and with thought, confirming all the reasons humans like to travel. Woven through are his own inspirational travel stories, told from a place of charming authenticity. Lovely. It makes me want to get on the road again…

[Adrian Fanaca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about motivations to travel combined with a personal autobiography of the author. The book is well written and I remember one thing from the book, how he quotes Dan Kieran about the meaning of slow travel. I cannot give it a 5 stars as it did not change my life.

[Will Greenland · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clear-eyed view of the reasons humans are drawn to travel. I personally felt as though this book articulated the reasons why I seek new experiences better than I could have done myself.

[Imogen Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is about more than just travel

[Cameron McNally · Rating 3 out of 5]

First few chapters were the best. Liked learning about the history of travel and the grand tour etc.

[Rosie Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant book - so gripping (twice I missed my stop on the tube). Best non-fiction book I've read. N.B Also a tear jerker!

[Sofia Perez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read, pleasantly surprised.

[John Rowland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook. Much preferred the earlier chapters

[Gay Harding · Rating 3 out of 5]

Answered a lot of questions for me as a traveller.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book based on a Christmas recommendation in The Guardian, and read it whilst travelling…..(as a tourist…..but that’s ok …..as hedonistic rest and recuperation was what was needed at the time).

Lots of this book resonated especially the different reasons why we travel and how each is valid. I am curious about who is sat next to me on buses, trains, planes and where they recommend as places to visit.

Holding travel lightly and being willing to explore and be curious is something I am mindful of the older I get. Thanks Ash for reminding me.