One of our core values over at BootsnAll is to love learning.  It’s something we like to focus on when it comes to work and our daily lives.  The learning experiences when it comes to traveling are immense as well, and whenever we have a chance to promote the idea of learning while on the road, we jump at it.

There are tons of options for learning something new when on the road, as experiential vacations allow travelers to immerse themselves in a culture while learning about that culture.  Whether it’s a cooking class, a language course, photography classes, learning to surf or how to do yoga, the opportunities for bringing a new skill back home with you are endless.  While souvenirs are nice, bringing back something that you can continue to implement into your daily life will have you remembering your trip forever.

For those of us who are out of school or perhaps traveling on a gap year, taking classes to learn about the culture we’re visiting is a great way to really connect with that country and its people.  But learning and travel can come even earlier.  Many families are now yanking their kids out of school for a few weeks, months, and even year(s) to teach them a new kind of curriculum that you simply can’t get within the walls of a school building.

In Educational Travel:  How to Get Permission and Justify the Experience to Your Local School, the author offers tips for “selling” it to your child’s school and also gives tips for how to make the most out of combining travel with education.  It’s possible to make it a learning experience for classmates back home as well.

For us, travel is more than just getting away from home and the daily grind.  While relaxing and lounging on the beach is always nice, there’s so much more to indie travel, and adding some type of learning experience, if only for one day, will add so much more value to that trip.

Have you ever taken a trip where learning was the focus?  Have you brought a new skill home from a trip?  Comment below and share your story.