223 Sharp-Witted PROVERBS About TRAVEL (Collected From Around the World)

Proverbs have been passed from generation to generation for centuries and are widely used today. They are messages full of wisdom and guidance and give us insightful looks into history, culture, and traditions.

• “A proverb is the wisdom of many and the wit of one.” — Lord John Russell
• “A proverb is a short sentence based on long experience.” — Miguel de Cervantes
• “A proverb is much matter distilled into few words.” — R. Buckminster Fuller

Here is a collection of insightful proverbs about travel from around the world. Hopefully, they will ignite your wanderlust and make you want to explore the world!

1. “The world is the traveler’s inn.”

2. “What you see in yourself is what you see in the world.”

3. “Where your heart goes there your feet will go.”

4. “The wise traveler leaves his heart at home.”

5. “Travel and you will see them, sit and they will come to you.

6. “Travel makes one a stranger.”

7. “To travel is to see, to return is to talk.”

8. “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes.”

9. “A talkative person is a traveler when he is tired, he keeps quiet.”

10. “He who talks to you while traveling at night is thanked in the morning.”

11. “If you travel with lies you will reach your destination but you might be unable to retrace your steps.”

12. “It is the traveler who carries the news.”

13. “Never travel with a friend who disserts you at the notice of danger.”

14. “He who has not traveled widely thinks that his mother is the best cook.”

15. “To get lost is to learn the way.”

16. “People get to know one another when traveling.” — Bantu Proverb

17. “The road doesn’t tell the traveler what lies ahead.” — Bantu Proverb

18. “The hare and the elephant don’t travel well together.” — Bambara Proverb

19. “It is better to travel alone than with a bad companion.” — Senegalese Proverb

20. “A traveler does not make a mess where he had made a camp as he might one day come back.” — Swahili Proverb

21. “A traveler is poor, even though he being a ruler.” — Swahili Proverb

22. “Don’t travel under another’s lucky star.” — Swahili Proverb

23. “Travelling teaches men their way.” — Swahili Proverb

24. “Bad news travels fast.”

25. “The road to ruin is kept in good repair, and the travelers pay the expense.”

26. “He travels fastest who travels alone.”

27. “The fool wanders; the wise man travels.”

28. “Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children.” — Native American

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming / Proverbs About Travel 

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29. “To be sure that your friend is a friend, you must go with him on a journey, travel with him day and night, and go with him near and far.”

30. “The real journey of discovery begins in old age.”

31. “Chance all; see what destiny yields.”

32. “It is the voyage, not the ship that matters.”

33. “The mysterious road beckons the young man.”

34. “Any visitor to the country who drinks from the River Bengo will never want to leave.”

35. “A wise man associating with the vicious becomes an idiot; a dog traveling with good men becomes a rational being.”

36. “Beauty never travels in a group.”

37. “He who would visit a vice never has far to travel.”

38. “In the desert of life, the wise person travels by caravan, while the fool prefers to travel alone.”

39. “We are all visitors to this time, this place we are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love, and then we return home.” — Australian Aboriginal Proverb

Great Barrier Reef, Australia / Proverbs About Travel 

“Let the man who has suffered ask it — not the man who has traveled.”

40. “From the promise to the deed is a day’s journey.”

41. “From walking, something, from sitting, nothing.”

42. “New day — new destiny.”

43. “The earth is man’s only friend.”

44. “You are permitted in times of great danger to walk with the devil until you have crossed the bridge.”

45. “Do not reject the crooked road and don’t take the straight one, instead take the one traveled by the ancestors.”

46. “The boat sails by, and the shore remains.”

47. “Cultivate a heart of love that knows no danger.”

48. “Negotiate a river by following its bends, and enter a country by following its customs.”

49. “He who travels to Portugal loses his seat.”

50. “He who travels over land has to drink enough water.”

51. “He who returns from a journey is not the same as he who left.”

52. “He who travels a lot becomes wise; he who is wise stays home.”

53. “The journey is the reward.”

54. “Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still.”

55. “Pearls don’t lie on the seashore. If you want one, you must dive for it.”

56. “Some roads are not meant to be traveled alone.”

56. “Near to rivers, we recognize fish, near to mountains, we recognize the songs of birds. It is very important to make on-the-spot investigations.”

57. “Flowers may bloom again, but a person never has the chance to be young again. So don’t waste your time.”

58. “The miracle is not to fly in the air, or to walk on the water, but to walk on the earth.”

59. “Heaven has a road, but no one travels it; Hell has no gate but men will dig to get there.”

60. “The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it.”

61. “It is impossible to add much weight with a single morsel; it is hard to travel afar with a single step.”

62. “Notoriety travels farther away.”

63. “The wise man and the tortoise travel but never leave their home.”

64. “When traveling do not calculate the distance, at dinner don’t think of how much.”

65. “Concealing the truth is like wearing embroidered clothes and traveling by night.”

66. “Only he that has traveled the road knows where the holes are deep.”

67. “No matter how much the wise man travels, he always lives in the same place.”

68. “Learn a new language and get a new soul.”

69. “What’s at home, counts.”

70. “He who looks finds.”

71. “Falsehood travels and grows.”

72. “Wisdom is the least burdensome traveling pack.”

73. “Sail while the breeze blows, wind and tide wait for no man.”

74. “Don’t sail out farther than you can row back.”

75. “Age is a sorry traveling companion.”

76. “Wisdom is the least burdensome traveling pack.”

77. “He who is outside his door has the hardest part of his journey behind him.”

78. “With your hat in your hand, you can travel the entire country.”

79. “Travel east or travel west, a man’s own house is still the best.”

80. “Who travels for love finds a thousand miles not longer than one.”

81. “He who would travel through the land must go with an open purse in hand.”

82. “Much travel is needed to ripen a man’s rawness.”

83. “A gentleman ought to travel abroad, but dwell at home.”

84. “With Latin, a horse, and money, you may travel the world.”

85. “With great learning, a horse, and money, you may travel the world.”

86. “The crow went traveling abroad and came back just as black.”

87. “The heaviest baggage for a traveler is an empty wallet.”

88. “Bad news travels fast.”

89. “The fool wanders, the wise man travels.”

90. “If you are planning to travel where corn grows, you should take a sickle with you.”

91. “You travel on until you return home; you live on until you return to earth.”

92. “He who wants to travel far spares his mount.”

93. “A lie travels round the world while the truth is putting her boots on.”

94. “Who wishes to travel far spares his steed.”

95. “Travelers from afar can lie with impunity.”

96. “A man travels as far in a day as a snail in a hundred years.”

97. “What! No star and you are going out to sea? Marching and you have no music? Traveling, and you have no book? What! No love and you are going out to live?”

98. “He who wants to travel far takes care of his beast.”

99. “While traveling, the load settles in place.” — Corsican Proverb

100. “Politeness travels on short fares.”

101. “The heaviest baggage for a traveler is an empty purse.”

102. “He who travels with hope has poverty for his coachman.”

103. “Tell me with whom you travel, and I will tell you who you are.”

104. “Abroad to see wonders the traveler goes and neglects the fine things which lie under his nose.”

105. “If you travel for a day, take bread for a week.”

106. “You will reach your destination even though you travel slowly.”

107. “Every story has two sides and every song has twelve versions.”

108. “Every man is the smith of his own fortune.”

109. “Each country has its own custom.”

110. “Better wise language than well-combed hair.”

111. “All sails do not suit every ship.”

112. “A story is only half told if only one side has been presented.”

113. “A sitting crow starves.”

114. “A man’s will can be his paradise, but it can also be his hell.”

115. “Beautiful day, a gift for the traveler.”

116. “Calm water does not mean there are no crocodiles.”

117. “Different fields have different insects, different ponds have different fish.”

118. “Diligence is the beginning of brilliance.”

119. “Expecting something bigger and we let go of what we already have.”

120. “If you go into a goat stable, bleat; if you go into a water buffalo stable, bellow.”

121. “One stroke at the paddle, two and three islands have passed.”

122. “The sea becomes the shore, the shore becomes the sea.”

123. “Your feet will bring you to where your heart is.”

124. “A lie travels farther than the truth.”

125. “However long the day, the evening will come”

126. “May your joys be as deep as the valley. Your troubles are as light as its foam. And may you find sweet peace of mind. Wherever you may roam.”

127. “Go abroad and you’ll hear news of home.”

128. “A Traveler May Lie With Authority.”

129. “If you can’t live longer, live deeper.”

130. “News travels fast.”

131. “Evening red and morning grey help the traveler on his way; evening grey and morning red bring down rain upon his head.”

132. “Travel broadens the mind.”

133. “We must never forget the explorer’s spirit.”

134. “Who travels for love finds a thousand miles not longer than one.”

135. “The hard road turns the traveler into the same dust that he has to swallow.”

136. “If you love your son, let him travel.”

137. “If you carry treasure, don’t travel at night.”

138. “Who travels for love finds a thousand miles not longer than one.”

139. “If you are traveling towards the East, you will inevitably move away from the West.”

140. “Even light takes a decade to travel ten light-years.” — Traditional Proverb

141. “He travels fastest who travels alone.” — Latin Proverb

142. “The hand often travels to the part where the pain is.” — Latin Proverb

143. “Bad news travels fast.” — Traditional Proverb

144. “If an ass goes traveling it will not come home a horse.” — Traditional Proverb

145. “Travel broadens the mind.” — Traditional Proverb

146. “No man can swim ashore and carry his baggage with him.” — Latin Proverb

147. “Fear doesn’t travel by donkey.“

148. “An ant on the move does more than a dozing ox.”

149. “It’s not enough to know how to ride — you must also know how to fall.”

150. “Foreign bread is good for your son.”

151. “A person born to be a flower pot will not go beyond the porch.”

152. “It is better to see one time than to hear one hundred times.”

153. “Man’s happiness lies in vacant steppes.”

154. “There are men who walk through the woods and see no trees.”

155. “Each country’s customs are different, just as each meadow’s grass is different.”

156. “Don’t undo your bootlaces until you have seen the river.”

157. “As the sands of the desert are to the weary traveler, so are words to he who loveth silence.”

158. “The moon and the stars are not above us, the Earth is on the other side of our feet.”

159. “One who does not travel will not know the value of men.”

160. “If you do not travel, you will marry your own sister.”

161. “He who led me in the night will be thanked by me at daybreak.”

162. “If you fail to be a lizard in your own land, you will fail to be a crocodile in another land.”

163. “Fire devours the grass, but not the roots.”

164. “Earth is the queen of beds.”

165. “The earth is not ours, it is a treasure we hold in trust for future generations.”

166. “The trees never meet but people do.”

167. “Only the mountains never meet.”

168. “It is always a pleasure to greet a friend from afar.”

169. “A traveler to distant places should make no enemies.”

170. “If the owner of the goat is not afraid to travel by night, the owner of a hyena certainly will not be.”

171. “When the elderly ones in a house travel, the younger ones quickly grow in experience.

172. “Choose your fellow traveler before you start on your journey.”

173. “Someone else’s legs are no good to you when you’re traveling.”

174. “A traveled child knows better than the old man who sits at home.” — Igbo Proverb

175. “Only one who wanders finds new paths.”

176. “Straight ahead is shortest, but not always easiest.”

177. “Behind the clouds the sky is always blue.”

178. “The fair wind blows even if the sailor does not see it.”

179. “There is no wind that blows right for the sailor who doesn’t know where the harbor is.”

180. “Too shy gets nowhere ahead.”

181. “Beyond the mountain, there are people too.”

182. “To be away is well and good, but home is best.”

183. “It is the great north wind that made the Vikings.”

184. “On the road between the homes of friends, grass does not grow.”

185. “The straightest road is the shortest, but not always the easiest.”

186. “Rather free in a foreign place than a slave back home.”

187. “The east wind travels where it is supposed to.”

188. “Either conform to the customs or flee the country.”

189. “A fair wind at our back is best.”

190. “Away is not to be at home.”

191. “The day that is gone, you will not get one more time.”

Aurora Borealis at the Lofoten Islands / Proverbs About Travel 

192. “When you are among crows, you must caw like them.”

193. “Every country has its customs.”

194. “All roads lead to Rome.”

195. “Pole and Hungarian—two brothers, when it comes to the sword and the glass.”

196. “Even in Paris, they can’t make rice out of oats.”

197. “The liar will travel the world over, but chooses not to go back home.”

198. “The news of a good deed travels far, but the news of a bad one travels even farther.”

199. “You become who you befriend.”

200. “Early risers travel farther.”

201. “If you are traveling in the blind man’s country close one eye.”

202. “Bad news travels fast.”

203. “He that travels far knows much.”

204. “Old men and travelers may lie by authority.”

205. “If an ass goes a-traveling, he’ll not come home a horse.”

206. “Life is a waste if you didn’t live as you would have wanted to.”

207. “Help from abroad always comes when the rain has stopped.”

208. “There isn’t a place where peace reigns at night.”

209. “He who has traveled alone can tell what he likes.”

210. “What reaches the top of the hill cannot be called back.”

211. “When in someone else’s home leave your defects at the door.”

212. “Savoring the world only takes place when you get along.”

213. “Little wit makes meikle travel.”

214. “A traveled man hath leave to lye.”

215. “In fair weather, in calm waters, and peaceful travel, even a coachman knows how to sail.”

216. “It’s a great advantage to love someone in your neighborhood: you see each other often and you don’t have to travel.”

217. “When you’re traveling, don’t speak poorly of your neighbor.”

218. “Little by little, one travels far.”

219. “He who has a trade may travel through the world.”

220. “It is better to travel hopefully than to arrive.”

221. “Two great talkers will not travel far together.

222. “We desire to bequeath two things to our children. The first one is roots; the other one is wings.” 

223. “A day of traveling will bring a basketful of learning.”

224. “If you want to travel fast use the old roads.”

225. “He who has not traveled thinks that his mother is the best cook in the world.”

226. “Go round the long way and arrive in safety.”

227. “One who takes things slowly goes far.”

228. “One who travels to a familiar place does not worry about arriving in the dark.”