The Golden Rule of Travel

I remember very specifically one time when I was walking around on the streets of Croatia with a British friend that I had met. He had done a fair amount more of traveling than I had at the time. Although our opinions differed in some ways, I remember us talking a lot about why everyone should travel. I think in the West, where many of us have the opportunity to travel, we often forget how fortunate we are. There are so many people who have the same dreams of travel and far away lands, but travel just simply isn’t the same degree of easiness for everyone whether for financial, cultural, or political reasons. Through this though process, our conversation reflected on what might be the ‘golden rule of travel‘, if there was one. What we eventually concluded with was something that we’d both heard many times from others, but only recently been able to adapt to travel.

Respect other cultures as you would have them respect yours.

I am not sure if that’s the best one, but it is something that I think really justifies some of the trials and tribulations of being on the road. I think that if everyone practiced mutual respect there could be less conflict. Through the exhaustion you have to remember why you travel.

What do you think? Do you have a ‘golden rule’ of traveling? Or do you think that there is one at all?