“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” Lines like this have pushed generations of travellers out of the door, and a short 2015 video of travel quotes from Globe Trotting Guide set them against scenes of the road. Here are the quotes it made famous, where they really come from, and how to turn the urge to travel into an actual plan.

Feature image for the Globe Trotting Guide travel quotes video

The travel quotes video

True Activist shared the video in April 2015 under the headline “Thinking About Traveling? This Inspiring Video Will Give You The Push You Need!”. The quotes come from Globe Trotting Guide and mix anonymous sayings with lines from Jack Kerouac, J. R. R. Tolkien, Mark Twain and even Mary Poppins. Three of the best known:

  • “Travel. It’s the only thing you can spend your money on that will make you richer.” (anonymous)
  • “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” (credited to St Augustine)
  • “If we were meant to stay in one place, we’d have roots instead of feet.” (credited to Rachel Wolchin)

Where famous travel quotes really come from

“The world is a book…” is almost always credited to St Augustine, but Quote Investigator traced the full saying to the English travel writer and tutor Richard Lassels. In the preface to The Voyage of Italy (1670) he wrote that if the world is “a great book, as S. Augustine calls it”, travellers study it most, while those who never leave home “read only one page of this Book”. Augustine did call the world “our greater book” in a letter, but the line about one page is Lassels’s. The misattribution first appeared in print in 1757 and has been repeated ever since.

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness” is genuine Mark Twain. It comes from the conclusion of The Innocents Abroad (1869), his best-selling account of a voyage to Europe and the Holy Land, and continues: “and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.”

“Not all those who wander are lost” is Tolkien’s, from the poem about Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings, and it now appears on travel mugs, jewellery and prints everywhere.

Turn travel inspiration into a plan

A good quote is a starting point. To make it count, name the experience behind it. Finish the sentence “I would like a day with more…”: walking, conversation, art, sea air, a new language. That answer is a better guide than a photograph of somewhere far away.

  • Set a container. Choose a time window, an afternoon, a weekend or a week, and a total budget that includes transport, food and a small margin.
  • Make three versions. Plan a close-to-home version, a modest trip and a long-term dream of the same idea. A love of art could become a local gallery visit, a city weekend or a museum tour of Europe.
  • Solve the first practical question. Check the return train, an opening day or a companion’s dates, then make the next decision it unlocks.
  • Leave room. Plan one main activity and let the rest of the day happen.

Short of money? Our list of free ways to explore a destination helps. For a first trip alone, use our first solo travel guide, and if you have not decided where to go, try the choosing-somewhere-new guide.

Why planning a trip feels so good

Much of the pleasure of travel starts before departure: the research, the maps, the anticipation. Read more on enjoying the preparation of a trip, and for ways to learn more on the road, see our simple learning exercises for travellers.

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