We've all had them. Trips that, for one reason or another, for better or for worse, have altered our lives. Sometimes we realize it during our travels. Sometimes we only come to terms with it as time gives us perspective and understanding.

Let's share our life-changing trips here. What made them life-changing? Did you know it during your travels?

Years ago, when I was still single, my father asked me to join him on a European vacation. I took the vacation days from work, and went with him. It turned out to be glorious. We spent some time with family friends on a boat on the French Riviera, then went on to spend a few more days in Nice and Monaco.

I was at a time in my life when I needed to make some changes, and I hadn't had the courage to do so. The trip allowed me to discuss these thoughts with my father -- my fears, my deep desire to make these (professional) changes, my belief that it was time to let go of some things and embrace the future, my fear of failure, all of it. My father listened, and told me he would support me no matter what I did. Knowing I had his support gave me the courage to move forward at that point, and from then on. It was a big deal -- something I will not forget as long as I live.

For me, that trip was a life-changing experience.

A large number of years ago I was happily single and enjoying my life of driving a Vette and having one night stands and zero responsibilities. I took a trip to England and took my bicycle with me. I spent nearly a month roaming through the Cotswolds and central England. I went from one spectacular scenic area to another and loved every minute of it. Until one time I was standing on top of a ridge in Derbyshire overlooking an absolutely spectacular view of the English countryside. Don't know why, but it hit me at that point that I while I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the scenery, I had no one to share it with. Made me rethink the direction of my life.

I used to think these stories were made up until one night my neighbor…, oh. Wait. Sorry, wrong website.

In 2007 spent 6 weeks in Liberia. Beautiful country whose people had been through Hell because of a years long civil war.

I saw how low people could go in seeing street people who had nothing. Literally. They were naked. I saw people working to rebuild. Smiles. Joy. A real mixed bag.

It just helped realign my world view.

My first trip outside the United States was when I was 13. It wasn't just a trip, but a family relocation: Washington, DC to Houston (2-3 days after Hurricane Alicia roared through town...our hotel room carpet was wet from the windows to the beds) to Amsterdam (layover) to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Talk about culture shock.

How was it life changing? I'd never left the US before this, and I was a teenage. Within 2 years, I'd been to a dozen countries, lived on three continents and experienced things that the average American would never understand. To call it life-changing is an understatement. I wouldn't be the person I am today had my parents decided to relocate us.

I prefer not to get in to specifics. Our first trip to Mayo Clinic in Rochester,MN was truly a life-changing trip for our family.

One would hope that a trip to Mayo Clinic was life-changing. One normally doesn't go there unless one needs something life-changing.

Lanserhof.

The original near Innsbruck, or the new one near Tegernsee.

The one experience that changed my outlook on life was a trip that I and some buddies took after Hurricane Katrina hit to volunteer to help clean out the wreckage. To be honest, my intentions weren't the best; I was mostly just going along for the ride and to take a break from school. While driving down we passed houseboats in trees, gas stations that had been twisted around, and I remember seeing the spraypainted X's on each door indicating among other things, how many dead or missing were from that home. Something about that and seeing how even something as permanent as somebody's home could be destroyed so quickly made me realize how incredibly fleeting life can be and got me really thinking about what I wanted out of life. That experience was what started the transition for me from wanting to accumulate things to wanting to enjoy experiences and build relationships with people. Something about considering our own mortality makes us focus a little more on what things are really most important in life.

When I left to begin my undergrad degree in Scotland. First time abroad, 18, no parents, and 2 suitcases. Little did I know how much I'd change in terms of mind/body/values/socially.

mine was when i travel to "amanpulo" island. its so private and secluded, it give me a chance to reflect on my life and re-assess my goals in life. when i went back to the city, i went to fulfilling my dreams... 1 year after... i got $1M in my bank account. that was really life-changing.

Any wisdom to share?

First medical mission trip to Tajikistan. Hospital near the Afghan border with electricity and running water only a few hours a day. Our donated pharmaceuticals stored in a wood shack with a padlock - that was the hospital "pharmacy". I had way more available in my office sample closet than that entire hospital had in stock. Really changed my perspective.

My honeymoon trip to Tokyo. After several long days of sightseeing, we ended up in a tiny Indian restaurant where several other foreigners were eating. The combination of hearing several languages spoken while enjoying my first trip off out of North America was amazing.

At this moment, in this small restaurant on the other side of the world, I knew that my life's goal was international travel. Since then, I have gone back to school, learned another language, and worked my way up in international business and have been traveling the world for several years. This magical place in Tokyo started it all.

I'd have to say my first Asia trip at 28 because of what a leap it was at the time. Took 7 months of determined savings, and there was nothing in my background to really point to doing something like that. I had been to Europe with 2 friends earlier (London-Paris-Amsterdam) and had started to travel around the U.S., but was working in an office where no one else took vacations 2 weeks at a time, and no one I knew had done something like that. I was hearing all kinds of scary stuff mostly from people who had never been. If I had taken cues from people I knew, travel would mean Myrtle Beach, Gulf Shores, Orlando and maybe (the big one) Cancun.

It was chaotic, fun, I got sick from the food, etc. Not totally transformative but de-mystifying, and as luck would have it trips #2 and #3 were on DL 40K mileage sales, and #4 and #5 were as an air courier. I figured out that land costs were actually less than the U.S. if you get over the fare hump.

The life lessons came in gradually. People were happy even with a lot less stuff in Thailand, and even more amazingly in the Philippines. Going to places like Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok for extended times showed how possible it was to live decently well on much less than in the U.S., thanks in large part to efficiencies in housing and not needing a car.

Eventually the work got too much in the way of the travel and I took a buyout to travel for a year, which became 3 thanks to dipping into retirement (that's later crash anyway) and the once-in-a-lifetime currency alignment.

Then the trick was to find a way to not have to work for the Man (i.e. be self-employed) which, like for most people, means about 70% of former salary and no benefits. But some is my own "fault" for wanting to take so much unpaid vacation. A revelatory thought was a few years ago when I thought "Well, I don't really have to retire from this," which is something I NEVER would have thought back at the company.

I was 4 years old in 1978 when my parents took me from Ohio to the Mayo Clinic. The Mayo Clinic saved my life.

Of less importance at the time, it was also my first airplane trip - in first class.