Why Getting Lost has Its Benefits
August 11, 2026
“Don’t rush the journey.”
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Travel has never been easier to organize. We can book a flight in minutes, check into a hotel without speaking to anyone, navigate an unfamiliar city without unfolding a map and translate a foreign language by pointing a phone at a sign. I appreciate all of it. We travel quite a bit, and I certainly have no desire to return to the days of calling airlines, carrying stacks of confirmations or getting hopelessly lost because I made one wrong turn. But I’ve also noticed something over the years: some of our best travel memories weren’t the result of efficiency. They came from wandering down the wrong street, stopping somewhere that wasn’t on the itinerary or changing plans simply because something interesting caught our attention. I think of the joy of getting lost in the narrow streets of Venice, Italy, where taking a wrong turn can lead across a small bridge, into a quiet square or to a neighborhood you never intended to find. Sometimes getting lost is part of the experience.
That may be worth remembering as technology continues making travel increasingly seamless. A 2024 Booking.com global survey found that 52% of travelers were interested in using artificial intelligence to help plan trips, illustrating just how quickly technology is becoming part of the travel experience. There is nothing wrong with letting technology find the flight, translate the menu or point us toward a great restaurant. The danger comes when we become so focused on optimizing a trip that we forget to actually experience it. Travel shouldn’t simply be about getting somewhere faster or checking another destination off a list. Leave an afternoon unplanned. Take the slower road occasionally. Sit at the café a little longer. Talk to someone you don’t know. In a world increasingly designed to eliminate wasted time, some of the best moments in travel still happen when we’re willing to waste a little of it.
