Greetings adventurers! My name is Andi, and I am a certified solo traveler. I’ve been living the solo travel lifestyle for nearly a decade, and there’s truly no style of travel that I love more. Sure I still travel with family and friends, but I always look forward most to the times when I get to venture out on my own.
To a lot of people, even to people who know me well, this sounds absolutely crazy. They picture themselves on a solo trip, and the resulting image is boredom, or loneliness, or confusion, or danger.
None of these things need to be worrisome. There are a million things you can do on a solo trip. There are easy ways to prepare for your travels and stay connected to people. Safety is simple with a little preparation.
But my favorite things about solo travel? Here they are:
#5 - Complete Control of your Itinerary
The first and most obvious thing I love about traveling solo is the corresponding complete control I have over my itinerary. When traveling with a group, the itinerary is a group project. I’ve been on plenty of group adventures and had a great time, but there’s a special kind of joy that comes from being able to make all the plans based on your own preferences.
Want to skip that famous museum because it doesn't sound interesting to you? You absolutely can, and no one will fight you on it. Decide you want to spend an extra hour in that quirky neighborhood? No one will disagree with you. Walk past an amazing restaurant that wasn’t part of the plan but which smells amazing and has an empty table on the front patio? You don’t have to check in with your team before changing the plan, you can act on your discovery immediately, before that table gets swiped by someone else.
The complete freedom to build your own itinerary and act on your own whims is something you simply can’t get from group travel, and I can’t recommend it enough.
#4 - Socializing with the Locals
This might sound counterintuitive to some, but another thing I adore about solo travel is all the people I meet. Traveling solo doesn’t mean I turn into a hermit. On almost every solo trip I’ve ever taken, I end up deep in conversation with the people at the table next to mine, or on the next bar stool over, or the person behind me in line at the museum. Maybe it’s the freedom of knowing I’ll never see these people again, but it’s fascinating to me to open up to these delightful strangers.
I’ve had amazing discussions about theatre over Italian desserts in my favorite theatre festival town. I once swapped life stories with a bar owner in Amsterdam, because it turns out she grew up less than 10 miles from my apartment in Chicago. One time, I gushed about Tolkien with a gentleman who saw me reading the Return of the King at a winery in Ohio. I never got his name, but we talked about Lord of the Rings for a solid half hour.
Traveling by yourself gives you a one-of-a-kind opportunity to open up to the locals, and the results can be magical.
#3 - Getting to Know Yourself
This one calls back to Favorite Thing Number 5, but you know how you get to set that entire itinerary by yourself? This is a special opportunity to find out what you really, truly, honestly enjoy.
Do you actually want to visit that landmark, or do you just feel like you should? What are the weird places that catch your eye and make you stay for a while? Is it the classy wine bar, or is it the coffee shop where the seats are hammock swings? What kind of shops are you drawn to?
Pay attention to what is exciting to you when you aren’t filtering your desires through a group. Solo travel is the best way to try this out. And if you actually notice what you like, it’s inevitable that you’ll learn some amazing things about yourself.
#2 - None Responsibilities, Left Beef
Are you too young for this joke? Please don’t be too young for this joke. It'll make me feel REAL old.
ANYWAY one of my absolute favorite things about solo travel is the fact that the only person I have to be responsible for is myself. I’m a femme human in my 30s. I’ve worked in a series of admin roles from the moment I entered the workforce. I’ve been a key administrative player in two separate small theatre companies. I have a lot -like a lot- of external responsibilities in my day-to-day life. I’m responsible for a lot of people’s needs, and while this is definitely a life I have chosen intentionally, it gets overwhelming at times.
When on a solo trip, the only person I’m responsible for is myself. No one else is depending on me for anything. Nothing is more liberating than that.
#1 - Self-Confidence
But my favorite thing about traveling on my own? The resulting self-confidence. Adventuring out into the world on your own is a big step. It takes a lot of preparation, and no small amount of bravery. If you’re traveling on your own, and something goes wrong, guess who gets to fix it. You do! Guess who has to figure out how to get from the airport to the hotel? You! Who has to navigate the new city? You again!
This is probably the #1 thing that keeps people from trying solo travel. They aren’t sure that they can handle all of these tasks on their own.
I’m here to tell you that you can. If I can do it, so can you. If I can traipse across the US/Canada border all by myself at the tender age of 23, you can figure out how to get from the airport to your hotel. If I can survive in Vienna while only speaking, like, ten phrases of German, you can figure out how to navigate your destination!
And the more you do this, the better at it you will get. The more travel logistics you handle, the more you will realize that you are, in fact, beyond capable. Your self-confidence will rise. And the next thing you know, you’ll be hopping a plane to Paris with just enough French to be dangerous. Solo travel is a muscle you can strengthen. The more you try it, the more confident you will feel. And this confidence is something you can take with you into every area of your life.
Things will come up. Things always do. You will solve them. And when you do, your self-confidence will skyrocket. And you can take this same confidence into every area of your life. Your world will never be the same.
Ready to Try Solo Travel?
You can do this! I promise! Give yourself this gift. You deserve it.
If you want to take the leap, you can read all my solo travel guides here.
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Love and Shenanigans,
Andi
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