If you grew up in the 60s or 70s, these 9 life-changing travel experiences shaped your youth

The 60s and 70s weren’t just decades of music, politics, and cultural revolution.

They were also decades of movement. Literally. Families piled into cars, kids caught buses across states, and young people strapped on backpacks before it was even trendy.

Travel wasn’t always glamorous, but it was formative. It opened your eyes, shaped your independence, and in some cases, changed the way you saw the world forever.

Here are nine travel experiences that, if you grew up in that era, probably left their mark.

1) Long summer road trips

Nothing says 60s or 70s childhood like the endless family road trip. Parents loading up the station wagon with coolers, sleeping bags, and enough sandwiches to last for days.

Kids wedged between siblings, fighting over the window seat, playing “I spy,” or lying across the backseat without a seatbelt (something unthinkable now).

It wasn’t just about the destination. It was about the miles of highways, the random roadside attractions, and the strange little motels with flashing neon signs.

Ask anyone who grew up in that era, and they’ll tell you: those road trips gave you a sense of freedom and possibility.

You learned patience, resilience, and that sometimes the best part of a trip isn’t where you end up—it’s what happens along the way.

2) The thrill of flying for the first time

Air travel in the 60s and 70s was still something special. Tickets were expensive, meals were served on real plates, and people dressed up to board. For a kid or teen, stepping onto a plane back then felt like entering another world.

There was the smell of jet fuel, the thrill of takeoff, and the tiny thrill of walking down the jet bridge knowing you were about to be airborne.

It was a sign that you were part of a bigger world, not just your neighborhood or town.

Psychologists say that novelty is one of the biggest drivers of memory, and that first flight likely stuck with you as one of the most vivid travel memories of your youth.

3) Camping under the stars

While today’s vacations often revolve around Airbnb bookings or hotel points, the 60s and 70s were packed with good old-fashioned camping trips.

State parks were full of families setting up canvas tents (the kind that leaked if it rained too hard), lighting fires with matches, and roasting marshmallows until they caught on fire.

For many kids, it was the first time they realized how big the night sky was. Seeing the Milky Way stretch across the heavens could shift something inside you. It gave you perspective—and maybe sparked a lifelong love for nature.

I still remember the first time I slept in a tent on a family trip to Yosemite. I didn’t sleep much, partly because of the cold, partly because of the sound of animals outside.

But I also remember lying there thinking, “This is the real world. Everything else is just noise.”

4) Visiting grandparents far away

Travel in the 60s and 70s wasn’t always about exotic adventures. Sometimes it was about piling into a car or taking a Greyhound bus just to visit family.

For kids, these trips were eye-opening. Grandparents often lived in towns that felt worlds away from your daily life.

They might have spoken with an accent, cooked foods you didn’t normally eat, or told stories about “the old country” or the Great Depression.

Traveling to see them taught you that your roots extended beyond your immediate family. You weren’t just a kid in your hometown—you were part of a larger story.

5) Crossing the border for the first time

For many Americans, Canada or Mexico was the first taste of international travel.

Before passports were strictly enforced, families often just drove across the border with little more than a smile and a driver’s license.

Crossing into another country for the first time—seeing different currency, signs in another language, and maybe even hearing music on the radio that wasn’t in English—was mind-bending.

It’s easy to forget how formative those early international moments were. They planted the seed that the world was much bigger, and much more diverse, than what you saw at home.

6) Hitchhiking adventures

Now, let’s be honest: hitchhiking today sounds reckless. But back in the 60s and 70s, it was practically a rite of passage for teenagers and young adults.

With a backpack, a thumb out, and maybe a cardboard sign, young people crossed states and sometimes entire countries this way.

It wasn’t just a way to get around—it was about connection. Every ride was a chance encounter, a story, a new perspective.

Looking back, you can see the psychology of it: hitchhiking required trust, courage, and the ability to read people quickly. Those are skills you carry into adulthood, even if you never stuck your thumb out again.

7) Train journeys

Not everyone could afford a plane ticket, but trains were a common way to travel. Amtrak, Greyhound, and regional rail lines offered affordable ways to see the country.

There’s something about watching the world go by through a train window that leaves an impression. You weren’t rushing like on a plane, and you weren’t stuck behind the wheel like on a road trip.

You had time to watch towns, rivers, and mountains glide by, to read, to think.

For many, those journeys created space for reflection. Even as a kid, you might have stared out the window and wondered where your life would take you.

8) Theme parks and cultural attractions

If you grew up in the U.S., visiting Disneyland, Disney World, or regional amusement parks in the 60s and 70s was a big deal. The technology of animatronics, the rides, the parades—it was unlike anything you’d experienced before.

But it wasn’t just the rides. Visiting cultural attractions like the Smithsonian, local museums, or even roadside curiosities shaped your curiosity.

They showed you that there’s always more to learn, more to explore.

I once read that curiosity is the antidote to boredom. Those theme park and museum trips planted seeds of curiosity that may still be growing in you today.

9) The classic school field trip

Not every formative travel experience involved family. Sometimes it was the school bus pulling out of the parking lot, full of kids screaming with excitement about a trip to the state capitol, a battlefield, or the science center.

These trips gave you independence—stepping away from parents for the day, learning with friends, and discovering history or science outside the classroom.

That first taste of freedom, even just for a day, gave you a preview of adulthood. It taught you how much the world had to offer if you just stepped outside your normal routine.

The bottom line

If you grew up in the 60s or 70s, chances are some of these travel moments shaped the way you see the world.

They weren’t just vacations—they were lessons in independence, curiosity, resilience, and connection.

Travel back then wasn’t always easy. It wasn’t always comfortable. But it was real, and it left impressions that still shape who you are today.

The question is: which of these do you remember most clearly? And how have they shaped the way you see travel—and life—now?