What’s holding you back from traveling more? If it’s a "can’t," "shouldn’t," or "don’t," it might be worth considering the source of your information. Travel is filled with so many half-truths and flat-out misconceptions that if you listened to all the excuses, you’d never get to see any place other than where you are.

As a rule, I try not to live in fear. The reality is that bad things can happen anytime, anywhere, and without warning. Ditto for good things. That’s life, whether you’re sitting at home or you're off exploring the world. The worst incident I’ve experienced in my two decades as a frequent solo traveler is a stolen laptop. (And that’s only because I didn’t put it in the hostel locker when I came home late one night and didn’t want to wake fellow travelers.) The takeaway: Sometimes, safety trumps courtesy, and you've gotta watch out for No. 1. Think smart, trust your gut, and take precautions, and more often than not, things work out okay.

In the spirit of enabling more informed and empowered adventuring, I turned to some experts in the field to dispel five common travel myths. Read on for what they had to say — it just might help you take the first step on a life-changing journey.