Stirring Travel TED Talks to Kick-Start Your Wanderlust

For More Tolerance, We Need More … Tourism?

In a short talk (under five minutes), a cultural educator for National Geographic Explorer, Aziz Abu Sarah, talks about how tourism can be a sustainable way to break down walls of intolerance between countries and cultures. Sarah uses his experiences as a Palestinian and as a co-founder of MEJDI Tours to talk about the importance of uniting travelers with locals, and the rewarding experiences tourists gain when they're connected to authentic experiences beyond tours and hotels.

"This is not a photo profile for your Facebook, this is not disaster tourism. This is the future of travel," Sarah says. "And I invite you to join me … to change your travel."

Where to Watch: TED.com

This Is What LGBT Life Is Like Around the World

"Living an 'out' life" beyond the western world is the topic of Jenni Chang and Lisa Dazol's documentary, Out & Around. The couple has visited 15 vibrant, developing areas in Asia, Africa, and Central and South America that have varying views of the LGBT community. They talked to gay and transgender citizens and activists along the way, and recorded everything.

Kenya's first openly gay political candidate, a transgender Nepalese woman, and the first prince to come out as gay in India are just a sampling of the many locals with varying views Chang and Dazol talk to along the way. From Taipei to India to Argentina, interviews and amateur footage tell varying stories of equality and prejudice from various corners of the world.

Where to Watch: TED.com

The Joy of Surfing in Ice-Cold Water

Surf photographer Chris Burkard will make you want to run through a wall and try something new and challenging with his accounts and videos of surfers taking on the freezing, violently churning waters of the Arctic Circle. Burkard explores the importance of pain and reward in life's adventures.

"Anything that is worth pursuing is going to require us to suffer, just a little bit," Burkard says of his search to escape the mundane. "I gave a piece of myself in these places, and what I walked away with was a sense of fulfillment that I had always been looking for."

Where to Watch: TED.com

Where Is Home?

British novelist Pico Iyer—who is of Indian descent and has spent most of his time in Japan—breaks down how complicated it has become to communicate one's origin as travel and globalization become more popular. The meaning of "home," the thrill of travel, and the joy of standing still are deeply explored in this 14-minute talk.

Where to Watch: TED.com

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Why Bother Leaving The House?

Polar explorer Ben Saunders—who in 2014 became the first person to complete Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic route on foot—is likely one of the best endorsers for setting out on a new adventure. He gets his message across by echoing a feeling anyone with the travel bug has likely had—it's all out there. His 10-minute talk covers the importance of simply being outdoors and finding "the juice that we can suck out of our hours and days."

Where to Watch: YouTube.com

The Value Of Travel

Rick Steves spends four months out of every year traveling, and in this 20-minute talk explains why thoughtful travel can connect people, opening them up to all the world has to offer. Connecting people, he says, straightens out misunderstandings between them, and "wallops ethnocentricity."

"It's people that really make your experience vital," Steves says. "That's the mark of a good trip."

Where to Watch: TED.com

Travels In Bad And Dark Lands

Engineer turned traveler Tony Wheeler co-created Lonely Planet with his wife in the 1970s, and recently challenged himself to visit all of the world's "bad lands"—areas plagued by terrorist groups, drug trade, dictators, natural disasters, and poverty. From Libya and Afghanistan to Colombia and Cuba, Wheeler explored UNESCO World Heritage sites like mosques, temples, and natural wonders that see almost no visitors, while spending most of his time with friendly, fun locals. Most of his experiences are ones that many people will never see for themselves.

Where to Watch: TED.com

Deep Travel: Connecting on the Road and in Life

Award-winning travel journalist Judith Fein shares stories from her many trips—Tunisia, Myanmar, Vanuatu—to explain that traveling to far-off places is not a one-way experience. Instead, she says, it's an interactive experience that should require us to be anthropologists and storytellers, providing points of view that people may not get to see.

"Travel is not just go and see and experience and leave, but it's a two way street. It's an interactive experience," Fein says. "People want to talk … we can ask them meaningful questions and then we can invite them to ask us, too."

Where to Watch: TED.com

Is there a TED talk you love that we missed? Share it in the comments below.

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Associate Editor Shannon McMahon is always looking for travel inspiration to kick off a new adventure. Follow her on Twitter @shanmcmahon_.