Before I even begin listing my reasons for travelling alone, I’d like to get one thing straight: Whether you travel solo or with people, travelling is one of the most rewarding and exciting things you can do in life. I’ve travelled extensively, both alone, and occasionally with family or friends. There are both pros and cons with both.
It’s always nice to share memories and experiences with close friends or loved ones. Moreover, it’s comforting to have someone to talk with during your travels. I’ve been comfortable in my own company for a long time. To me it has always felt natural to travel alone. Another reason I prefer to travel alone is that it allows me to be fully immersed in the travel experience i.e. more time to explore, visit attractions, meet new people, and learn more about the places, and challenge myself. In contrast, if you are travelling with a group, it is often the group’s collective needs and desires that come first.
In this post, I’d simply like to share why I love travelling alone. If you are considering to travel solo, or just curious to know more, then this might be for you.
Freedom — do what you want, whenever you want
Travelling alone gives you complete freedom and autonomy. Let’s say you want to try fine dining at a Michelin-star restaurant, you’re free to do that (if you have the budget for it of course). Next day you just want something cheap from McDonald’s, you’re also free to choose that. Tired from walking yesterday because you wanted to explore all the landmarks and attractions in Barcelona by foot? Then, next day can be spent on relaxing on the beach.
Let’s be real here, there will always be frustration and irritation when travelling as a group. Everyone has different interests and ideas when on vacation. Depending on your company, your experiences travelling as part of a group may differ from mine. I’m just going to mention some of my personal experiences from my group travels. I have travelled with friends who want to go out partying in clubs, sometimes for several days in a row. Even though I’m a non-drinker and I really dislike going to loud places, I still had to accompany them, mostly out of safety concerns. I no longer do that because I don’t want to be a babysitter when travelling. Even something as simple as deciding on which place to go for food can prove to be more difficult than expected. I like to try out the local cuisine, wheras my travel companions stick to already familiar food, often from fast food chains.
Attempting to balance everyone’s needs and desires is impossible, and you’re more than likely have to compromize. Travelling alone allows you to avoid all that. Simply put, when travelling alone, you do what you want, whenever you want.
Meeting new people
One question or variations of it that people keep asking me when they discover that I prefer to travel alone is “Isn’t it lonely to travel alone?”. My answer is always “I’m alone, I am not lonely”. The quote is from the 1995 crime drama movie Heat spoken by one of the main charecters, Neil McCauley, played by Robert De Niro. Heat is one of my favourite movies of all time, and I think the quote perfectly sums up my thoughts about travelling alone.
I’d say meeting other people is one of the best perks when travelling by yourself. More often I meet fellow solo-travellers who share the same interests and passion for travel as I do. Furthermore, I find them to be more open-minded and fun to hang around with. For some reason, I feel it’s easier to get in touch and connect with fellow solo-travellers than with locals when I’m back in my home country. Even if I spend just a few days somewhere else, I never struggle to find a genuine and nice person to talk with. Judging by my own observations, I think people who naturally are curious and adventurous simply are more inclined to different experiences and meeting new people.
So, how and where do I meet other people on my travels? I’m likely to meet fellow-travellers in places such as hiking trails, beaches, restaurants, cafes, landmarks, parks, hostels, and other tourist hot spots. My best advice is to join different groups organized by tour agencies. I like to combine walking and sightseeing, so I often include a walking tour on my first day abroad. Another great tip is to sign up for either half-day or full-day excursions. Since your group is going to spend several hours together, it’s pretty easy to start a conversation with someone. Asking someone in the group where they’re from is an excellent conversation-starter. Often, people will approach you and ask where you’re from, how long you are staying, other plans during the trip, and other attractions or places worth visiting etc. Going on tour groups is actually where I meet most people on my solo-travels. Sometimes we hang out after the tour has ended for some food and drinks. I’ve even stayed in touch with some of them over the years.
Always challenging myself
Travelling alone is one of many ways to challenge yourself in life. You’ll be challenged in your expectations, beliefs, insecurities, and confidence. But honestly, most people avoid challenges like the plague. They would rather be confined in the comfort zone, where things are stable, patterns predictable, and faces familiar. They’re afraid to be alone, they’re afraid of the unknown, and they’re afraid to do something new. Every time I venture beyond the comfort zone, is when I grow and learn.
Once I visited a remote village in the Philippines. The locals did not know much English, and there was no WiFi to help me find my accomodation. I was able to communicate with the locals to some degree by using hand gestures and using some basic words like the name and location of my accomodation until I succeeded. When I was visiting Dubai for the first time, the taxi driver from the airport mistakenly dropped me off far away from my hotel somewhere in the Deira district in the old part of the city. Tired after a 12 hour flight and dragging all my luggage with me, I learned quickly that my hotel was not here. I found a pharmacy and asked the clerk if I could use the WiFi to order an Uber. Eventually, I arrived at my hotel. Challenges like these teach you to be adaptable as well as improving your ability to solve problems, whether they unexpectedly arise or not. Many of the lessons from my travels are applicable in daily life when I’m at home. For example, going to a bar alone to meet people.
It might sound easy when I talk about my love for travelling solo, but in reality it’s often not the case. One will encounter challenges whether that be cultural differences, languages barriers, visa policies, different views etc. That is why I embrace challenges because overcoming them will shape me to a better person.
Closing thoughts
To me travelling alone is one of the definitive traits of independency, as it combines values that I hold dear such as freedom, human connections, and my continuous strive to challenge myself.
I’d also like to point out that I am truly fortunate to have such opportunities, being both healthy and having the financial means to afford travels. It’s when I travel that I appreciate it the little things.
I understand that travelling alone is not meant for everybody. But I think you should strongly consider at least doing it once during your lifetime. If you wait for others, you might end up waiting for a lifetime e. All it ever takes is to book that flight. Perhaps that is the challenge?
