Why you should travel solo… at least once!

I’m a well-experienced traveler so of course I will feel prepared to travel alone, right?  Honestly, I don’t think people ever feel ready to take that first trip alone with absolute confidence. Unless perhaps they’re used to doing everything in life alone.  But that first solo trip is definitely scary, but I promise you, it is the most liberating!  You fear the unknown.  You don’t know who you will meet, what will happen, and if something bad happens, that you will be alone through the process.  These are all somewhat true, but that’s part of the experience and excitement!  Stop thinking everything will go wrong. The unexpected things that you experience are so memorable and help you grow. One solo trip can change your life and change who you are. Let me give you a few reasons why you should do a solo trip and I’ll share my first time story with you.

1. You are on your own schedule.

Let me tell you, traveling with others has its pros and cons.  You have to consider what others want to do, their preference in food (if they have dietary restrictions or are just picky), their preferences in what type of place you stay in (hotels vs hostels), how much sleep they need, their budget, etc.  When you travel alone, you do what you want when you want. You don’t have to wait for everyone to shower and get ready.  You are on your own time. Traveling can be stressful. But it really is much less stressful when you have no one else to worry about but yourself. You can sleep in, stay in, go out, meet people, go on a tour, relax, and do whatever you want.

When you travel alone, you do what you want. You are on your own time.

2. You are not the only one traveling alone. 

There are more solo travelers out there than you think.  Many of these solo travelers, you will find hanging out with a group of people they just met on that trip.  Like I had already mentioned, you have the freedom to do whatever you want so if you meet someone or a group who you connect with, often times you may end up just joining them for whatever activities that you all wanted to do (dinner, tours, etc).  You can stay connected until you part ways and possibly meet again in the future.  Depending on your agenda, you might want to stick it out with them the rest of your trip because many travelers, especially the ones at hostels are on the same mission you are.  They want to explore the country, the culture, and meet new people.

3. It’s easier to meet new people when you travel solo.  

Why? First of all, when you are in a group, you tend to hang out with your group.  You aren’t forced to meet new people if you want human interaction.  Traveling alone, people are more likely to talk to you because you don’t have a group of people around you to intimidate them.  Personally, I tend to approach people when I see them alone because I don’t feel like I’m on the spot as much as if I were to approach a group of strangers.  If you’re solo and you want company, you have to put yourself out of your comfort zone and meet new people.  In hostels and touristy areas, this is much easier than you think.  People on vacation are usually in a pleasant mood, friendly, and sociable.  They are usually very open to meeting anyone.  The people you meet and connect with when you travel solo just make such an impression on your heart, it makes the trip unforgettable!  I have friends all over the world that I talk to until this day because of that!  

The people you meet and connect with when you travel solo make such an impression on your heart, it makes the trip unforgettable!  

4. You discover yourself and build confidence

You definitely learn more about who you are and what you like.  You learn about what part of traveling interests you most and how to rely on yourself.  You’ll discover how you react to things not working out, how to adjust to change, type of activities and people you prefer to hang out with. When you come back from this trip, you are confident that you can go anywhere alone. You are self-reliant which is just priceless. It takes a lot of courage to book that solo trip but its absolutely rewarding.

5. It is the most liberating experience! 

Guarantee once you accomplish a solo trip, you will feel so much more independent! You will not feel the need to wait on your friends to do things that you want to do. If you want to travel, you will book it regardless of who comes.  I do this monthly and if friends can join, great, if not, I’ll make new ones when I get there.  If there’s an event that you’re interested in but no friends are available, you will feel free to go on your own.  “Not having people to go with” doesn’t really hold you back anymore and it shouldn’t!  

My first trip traveling as a solo female traveler

     So the first trip I took alone wasn’t planned to be alone I admit.  I was supposed to meet some friends from Brazil there and they flaked last minute but I had already booked the flight to Amsterdam.  Now, I had already been to a few countries with close friends or family in the past so I had some experience but I definitely wasn’t expecting to go alone. At first, I panicked and attempted to find another friend to join but this was 2 weeks before my trip.  I was probably nervous the entire time until I reached my hostel.  The day before my flight, I booked a 10-bed mixed-dorm room at a hostel because I thought there would be a better chance to meet people.  Also, people who work at hostels are usually very informative about what to do in the city.  The other thing I looked into was a festival.  I have been to festivals in the past and people are generally friendly. So I booked a ticket for my second day there hoping to meet people.

     As soon as I landed in Amsterdam, I followed the directions that the hostel gave me to get there. The airport has a nice direct train to the city but I had never had to take a train on my own.  My friends always figured out what platform or which direction to go.  So when I got on, I went on the wrong train.  Great… the very first thing I do when I arrive is get lost.  The people in Holland speak English also so I asked someone for help and a nice lady guided me to the correct train at the next stop.  From there I used google maps and the written directions to get me to the hostel. The staff at the hostel gave me a city map and circled all the main tourist attractions in the city for me.  Getting a city map is common at hostels. I’ve never had this at a hotel though.

Great… the very first thing I do when I arrive is get lost.

It was 8 PM, I got to my room and I was alone. I decided I was going to go out in the city and find a bar or club. I had googled a few popular nightclubs so I had an idea of where to go already.  One of the roommates arrived and we introduced ourselves. He was also a solo traveler from Mexico and arrived in the morning. I asked if he would like to join me and go out that night and he did.  And just like that, I made my first friend.  We explored the city a bit and headed to a nightclub later.  

The following day, I took a taxi to the festival and walked around a bit.  A girl with her boyfriend randomly complimented my outfit and I told her I was there alone and attempted a conversation, then we ended up hanging out.  We sat in a courtyard where there was a lot of people talking and meeting and ended up making friends with other people.  They were all locals and I keep in touch with them still.  I have hung out with some of them when I revisited Amsterdam or traveled to another county with them.

The next day in the dorm, I ran into a couple of people. Two guys were from Australia traveling together, there were 3 guys from London, a couple, and another solo female traveler.  The couple and the girl basically did their own thing.  The English group, Austrailian guys, and I all ended up hanging out. We explored the city, did some touristy things, etc. To this day, I keep in touch with most of these people that I’ve met on this trip.

     I share this story with you as an example of my first experience.  If you want to meet people, you can.  So your trip isn’t really alone.  Hostels and festivals are definitely great for that because most of the time you are roomed with other travelers and they are on the same journey you are.  They want to meet new people and explore the city too.  Also, tourist attractions are populated with travelers to meet.  If you want to be alone and do your own thing like the other solo female traveler I met, you can. You can change your plans when you want and do whatever you want with who you want.  That experience is just liberating!

     I learned that there are a lot of nice people in the world that will help you if you ask.  There’s no sense in panicking if you get lost or something goes wrong, you just have to figure it out.  When you travel alone, you aren’t truly alone unless you want to be. People are easy to meet, you just have to take the first step sometimes.