Is Travelling good for Aspies?

Post Reply New Topic

I find that if I travel, Im meeting new people, but Know that I will never see them again, So I have no fear of being socially awkard/innapropriate.
This means I can experiment with new ways of socializing, learn how to socialize better in a way that suits me and try new tactics and stick with the ones i like.

So when I return home, Ive gained confidence and social skills.

"If you have two cents, travel."

It was long considered the only form of education.

A hundred years ago and all before, the County Fair was th biggest event in most peoples lives.

Through time most never went ten miles from the place they were born.

I have been to the city, and seen the elephant!

The traveler does become a different person very quickly.

Traveling stresses me out. I don't have as much energy for socializing when I'm traveling, because I need more energy to adjust to the strange environment.

Don't mind travelling as long as everything goes to plan. Used to be good at adapting when things go wrong but find that I'm not so good now, if travelling on own.

As to meeting new folk that I'll never meet again, that does nothing for me.
If flying, on a train, bus etc I never start or even enter into a conversation with the person sitting next to me.

I'm very good at travelling. I'm much better at it than at being settled. All the little things that my mind is constantly trying to work out make sense and are helpful while I'm on the road. But after a while I get tired and then I need to rest, or else.

the question should not be whether travelling is good for aspies,as some aspies are able to cope with travelling,others are not-there is no one rule to it.
These sorts of rules suggest to not even bother trying even if the person has AS and is well able to cope with travelling.
Other examples are those ones that say what jobs are best for aspies and HF auties.
It's rubbish because it with the rest of the guides/rules suggests every aspie and autie has the same interests,needs,difficulties,overall level of AS or kanners etc.it's impossible to group it all as one choice.

Am not aspie [autie] but am hate travel even if it's just for out of town due to not knowing the area,am only feel good in place am know well.

travel really doesn't do much for me as I really prefer to be home for my vacation times etc, everytime i've went on a vacation even when i was kid i would throw massive tantrums, on the airplane, at the hotel, some of the biggest explosions of crap ever in my life happened traveling to places, especially in cars/planes an stuff.

i also have had current obsessions follow me onto the trips that i just would have to bring along with me well more like a mission ot beat a game or whatever, I brought a playstation along with me with ff7 in my bag on the airplane into the hotel in st. thomas an hookin it up to the hotel TV an played the rest game for good chunk of the trip the maids an my parents though i was nuts of course I told them that It was my vacatation and i woudl like to enjoy it most if I get to do my own thing.

Probably the single most important thing to me in life is to travel. What's more amazing then seeing things you've never seen before? I focus on low key areas with a lot of natural beauty, like Yellowstone for instance. If you're into solitude then camping/hiking types of vacations can't be beat. I avoid cities, seen one you've seen them all.

Inventor, when you say travel educates, do you mean travel within one's country too?

I would love to travel and see the world!

I wanna travel around the world rather than go to school... dont' we all!


Traveling is good for Aspies who are obsessed with traveling! Or the destinations they travel to!

I have had very limited travel experience, but last year I took a week and traveled. I don't know if I could go for much longer than a week as it started to wear on me not having the standby familiar things around me.

I took a vacation by myself and decided to visit Florida and the Mammoth Caves in Kentucky. I found the experience wonderful, I had complete control over where I went, what I did, how long I stayed. If I describe my trip to most people, they would ask is that all you did? But I immensely enjoyed it.

I drove down to Kentucky and took a normal walk through tour of the Mammoth caves. I was fascinated and loved the sense of calm and peace in the dark with the solid rock all around.
After that I drove down to Florida and saw the ocean with my own eyes. Went to an aquarium, where I got to feed some of the fish including a moray eel, and a fat old puffer fish. I also went out on a boat around the bay on a dolphin watching tour.
After that I went back to Kentucky and got in on a real caving experience. They have a tour where you get the head lamps and really get down to crawling around on your stomach going through narrow channels, crossing chasms, etc. Real caving. It was a 2 miles trek that took 6 hours to do. I was in seventh heaven. It was probably the most awesome experience I ever did.
After that I headed home.

Everything else I did was driving and staying in a motel room for the night with a couple of stops to eat at a restaurant and buy ripe florida oranges and alabama peaches. I pretty much lived off of peaches, oranges, some veggies my grandma had given me when I left and water. Lots of water.

I think that if I was to take this trip with other people I would not enjoyed it nearly as much as I would have had to confine myself to mesh with what they wanted to do. I almost got sucked into having caving as a interest, but the logistics of actually finding caves and people to go with squashed that.

I never have more "negative" autistic behavior traits then when I am "on vacation" traveling. I can't speak very well, I need to stim more, I feel like crap, and I can't stop having emotional outbursts.

I hate it. It hurts.

Successful travelling for me includes; a goal-a reason for the trip, a minimum of activities and confidence I can get there on my own.
I do highway travel without my husband because he doesn't like podunk roads, interstate road trips make me nutso.

A goal or reason for the trip means that my destination is tied into an interest. One year I went to see Laura Ingalls Wilder's adult home, Rocky Ridge in Missouri. I took the little highways to get there and stayed the night in Branson, MO. In Branson, I made it a goal to eat in an old restaurant and take a train trip the next morning.

Without goals, I tend to stick in the hotel room, or lollygag while driving. Or I might not ever go on the darn trip at all! Keeping goals down to a minimum keeps the schedule open for mistakes, problems or delays. To me, whole itineraries are too binding and frustrating.
I'm more confident on highways and love to look at scenery. I don't have to drive so fast and worry about traffic.

My autistic son likes to travel too, he likes hotel rooms and indoor pools. So, we stick to a goal of getting particular hotel stays during the trip. That's his "goal" and thing he looks forward to while sitting in the car, rather than wondering when we'll get to grandma's house (it's a 3 day drive). We also take familiar food with us and eat in familiar chain-restaurants when possible.

One time I drove 12 hours straight and stopped in the first hotel I saw, it was a drive to the nearest restaurant. Neither one of us wanted to get back in the car so I fixed oatmeal for dinner. No meltdowns, no trouble, easy to make in the hotel room. (I had leftovers from the last night in my cooler)

It depends on the aspie. It might be stressful for some because its all changes. Sleeping in a different bed, being in a different place, their routine is disrupted because they aren't at home, etc. I have read traveling is real stressful for autistic kids.


But I have always loved traveling. I like exploring new places and going to places. I was very lucky my parents took us kids to places. Everyday we be gone out doing something.