In London, I said “no.” In Dubai, I said “no” again. Both times, bungee jumping had presented itself neatly packaged, properly regulated and entirely safe, and I declined with little-to-no hesitation. Zambia, on the other hand, met me differently. On a warm, windless day over the Zambezi River, standing in front of a rickety platform with little to suggest international safety compliance, I found myself ready to jump. Not metaphorically—genuinely, wholeheartedly ready. I would have done it too, if not for the people with me urging otherwise—and that says something.
What shifts in us when we travel? Why do we suddenly say yes to things we’d instinctively reject in the cities we call home? It’s not just the setting that changes—it’s us. We speak to strangers, try foods we can’t pronounce, hike through jungles, dance at rooftop parties, and, sometimes, prepare to throw ourselves off bridges with a flimsy rope tied to our ankles.
There’s real psychology behind this behavioral pivot, why we’re seemingly braver on vacation. From the loosening of social roles to the neurological effects of novelty, several theories explain why travel emboldens us in ways that everyday life often does not. What might seem like a sudden burst of recklessness is, more often, a moment of deep and temporary liberation—one in which our brain, environment, and sense of self conspire to make us braver.
Travel shifts our sense of self
Bravery abroad begins with a subtle loosening of identity. The “working self-concept”—the idea that who we are is fluid and shaped by context—is supported by research: a 2019 study by Verplanken, published in Frontiers in Psychology, links habit disruption to a shift in identity, suggesting that travel can destabilize the behavioral loops that reinforce our usual sense of self. In short, context matters and unfamiliar settings give rise to unfamiliar versions of us.
At home, our sense of self is subtly reinforced by the roles we inhabit: employee, sibling, partner, introvert. These labels stabilize our behavior. They quietly script what we do, and more importantly, what we don’t. But travel unsettles that structure. When we’re untethered from the people and places that mirror who we usually are, the question shifts from “Is this something I would normally do?” to “Is this something I want to do in this moment?” And often, the answer surprises us.
We have less fear of judgement
Risk is rarely just about danger. Often, it’s about how we think we’ll be perceived. At home, decisions are filtered through the lens of familiarity: what will they think if I fail, if I back out, if I step out of line? That fear, known in psychology as “evaluation apprehension”, is a major inhibitor of spontaneous behavior. It’s why people hesitate to speak up in meetings, try a new sport, or show up to an event alone.
Travel changes that dynamic. Anonymity, in psychological research, has long been associated with reduced social inhibition. A landmark 1999 study by Joinson found that people disclose more and act more freely in anonymous environments—a dynamic often observed online, but echoed in real life when we move through unfamiliar places. If no one around you knows your usual patterns, there’s less pressure to conform to them.