[aliston]

Sorry to be the wet blanket, but I actually don't think it is necessarily a no-brainer as others have said. If you do it, do it with purpose. Traveling will not fix your problems. It won't help you progress your career. It won't even necessarily expand your mind or help you learn new things.

It will, however, with near 100% certainty reduce your bank account balance, and will potentially put you in a jam down the line unless you have something to show for it at the end.

I spent a year traveling in South America in 2010. I was aimless. It was one of the best experiences of my life. However, if I'm really being honest with myself, it cost me a career trajectory that probably would have meant retirement type money by now.

I depleted my savings, my knowledge became obsolete surprisingly quickly, and it was a slog to get back into the groove when I got back. I can't say I regret it, but I definitely would have done it differently in retrospect.

[NotSammyHagar]

That's a really surprising experience, I would never have guessed that it would hurt. I learn new things constantly, but rely on a lot of deep ideas I have learned over time - how to craft code & design things (not just express it in c++ or something), how to work with people, how to express things tactfully, how to give negative comments without being personal. I use all this in my job. I wish I had taken time off years ago. Now I have a "career" and a family, its hard to take time off.