Midlife Travel as a Rite of Passage

Did you go backpacking at 18 or in your 20s? Or maybe you missed out? For many, that adventure is almost expected — a rite of passage before university or starting a career. That “gap year” is celebrated as a special time for independence and self-discovery.

I set off at 20, backpack on my shoulders, a pair of Dr Martens on my feet, and a big smile, excited for the adventure ahead. Those experiences shaped me into the woman I was to become.

But here’s the question: why should this rite of passage be only for when you are young? Why don’t we talk about the possibility of a midlife gap year — or a gap journey, or even just a gap month?

Why not reclaim travel in our 40s, 50s and beyond as a powerful midlife rite of passage, something to look forward to, share, and inspire each other with?

Why Midlife Demands a New Rite of Passage

At midlife, many of us feel restless. The roles we’ve carried (mother, carer, professional, partner) begin to change and shift. These roles fundamentally shape us, and they are important. But suddenly, in the midst of menopause, empty nests, or career transitions, we begin to sense something undeniable… change is knocking on our door. And to be honest, it’s not easy to ignore.

Well, it certainly wasn’t for me.

Your body tells you. Hormones become a new type of roller coaster — different to the hormonal changes you experienced as a teenager, maybe because you’re so much more aware now. Your face and body shift in ways no one warned you about. Wrinkles deepen. Skin changes. The neck?? Don’t even get me started. And the crepey arms and legs? Like, what?! Why didn’t anyone tell me this was going to happen....and so fast?!

It feels like taboo territory. For decades, menopause was dismissed with jokes about “the change,” spoken about in negative, even derogatory terms. Yet the truth is, yes, we are changing. And for the first time in years, that inner voice grows louder, saying:

“No. This no longer serves me. It’s time for something new.”

What Is a Rite of Passage?

A rite of passage is a ritual marking a shift from one stage of life to another. It’s understood as having three stages:

Separation, stepping away from the familiar roles and routines. (Think: booking the flight, closing the laptop, walking out of your front door with a suitcase wheeling along beside you.)

Liminality, the in-between. A space where you are no longer who you were, but not yet who you will become. It can be disorienting and uncertain, but this can be the perfect space for growth. (Think: ordering food in another language, catching a train in a foreign city, testing your courage on a mountain trail in Vietnam.)

Re-integration, returning to your home feeling renewed, with fresh insights, a growing clarity, and confidence for stepping into the next stage of life.

Rites of passage were once common across cultures, but in modern Western life, we’ve lost many of them. Which is why travel, especially in midlife, I believe can and SHOULD become our modern ritual.

The “Afternoon of Life”

Psychologist Carl Jung described midlife as the “afternoon of life.” In the morning, he said, we build outward — careers, families, reputations. By noon, we find ourselves at a turning point. What worked before no longer satisfies.

The second half of life calls us inward. Jung called this process individuation — the integration of all we are, light and shadow, conscious and unconscious. It’s about wholeness, not achievement. And it often begins with crisis, confusion, or a sense of restlessness. Sound familiar? For many of us, this is exactly where the unease — and the possibility — lies.

Travel can provide the perfect space for this shift. Removed from daily demands, immersed in unfamiliar landscapes, we are able to find the liminal — and it is here that we can find connection and deeper meaning for ourselves and for who we are now in midlife.

The Midlife Butterfly Effect

As women in midlife, I believe we go through what I call the Midlife Butterfly Effect. I understand this as four stages:

We begin to Awaken — we start to question what we really want from our lives.

We then Emerge — courage stirs, we know we want change, and we begin planning how to put it into action.

Next comes the Journey — and this can take many forms. For some, it’s travel: a midlife gap year, a backpacking adventure, or simply intentional time away. This creates the liminal space we need to pause, recalibrate, and grow.

Finally, we Evolve — shifting into who we are meant to be. We rewrite our next chapter with intention and awareness. We discover a new sense of purpose and what truly makes us happy.

Going on a journey — whether travelling solo or with a group — is a midlife rite of passage that we should all be talking about. It deserves to be promoted, encouraged, and celebrated in our society. It’s a time for renewal, for releasing the old and welcoming the new. We can rediscover ourselves, feel our confidence return, gain clarity on what serves us (and what doesn’t), and revel in our independence — whether we have a partner or not.

Why Travel Works in Midlife

Unlike youthful backpacking, which is about learning to find yourself in your new adulthood, travel in midlife is about wisdom and courage. We know who we are. We know what it takes to navigate change. But we crave newness, challenge, and the stripping away of what no longer serves us.

When we travel, we symbolically enact the three stages of a rite of passage:

• We separate from routine.
• We enter the liminal unknown.
• We return transformed.

It doesn’t have to be a year-long sabbatical. Even a short, intentional journey can begin the process of transformation.

Rituals, Symbols, and the Sacred

What makes travel in midlife so powerful is the way we notice things differently. We’re more attuned. We sense energy in a place. We notice symbols. I still remember buying a silver pendant in Varanasi, India, while standing by the Ganges. It wasn’t just jewellery — it became a marker of the transformation I was living through.

These keepsakes — a pendant, a journal, a photo from a mountain sunrise — become more than souvenirs. They become reminders of the shift we’ve lived through. They are our modern rituals, our sacred symbols of becoming.

Travel as Self-Honour

Travel in midlife isn’t escape. It isn’t shirking responsibility. In fact, it may be the highest honour: to serve yourself, to claim space, to listen to your soul’s call.

It’s about stepping away from what no longer fits, entering the unknown, and emerging transformed.

It’s about saying:
This is my rite of passage.
This is my time.

✨ Ready to honour your own rite of passage?
Start with the Midlife Dream Map — a soulful guide to help you listen to your inner compass, reconnect with yourself, and imagine what comes next.
👉 Click here for your Midlife Dream Map to start your journey

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🎙️ Want to dive deeper into this conversation?
Listen to my podcast Butterfly Journeys: Midlife Adventures — where I share stories, reflections, and conversations with women transforming their lives through travel.

You can watch the episodes on YouTube or listen on Spotify and other podcast platforms. You’ll also find them all in one place on the Podcast page of my website.