Welcome to our third blog post out of four Solo travel series. In the first two parts, we mentioned the importance of traveling on your own. Let us talk you into it, you can thank us later.
For a lot of people the sole idea of traveling alone is a challenge, mainly because we are not used to our own company. It can easily make us anxious and uncomfortable thus bringing us a lot of time for overthinking things, or at least more than we ‘’normally’’ do. But woah, once you step beyond that, there are plenty of reasons why you should give it a try at least once in your lifetime.
See if you like it. If you don’t, that’s ok. But if you do, oh boy; the whole new world opens.
FOCUS MORE ON THE DESTINATION
Wandering around on your own gives you plenty of time to explore. Think about all your travels with your partner, friends, or family. Sometimes it feels like a never-ending chase for the next coffee bar or a restaurant. It is impossible to satisfy everyone’s needs, but everybody usually agrees on when to stop and have a drink or a hearty meal. And nothing wrong with that! It’s just that sometimes all you want to do is immerse into the destination you came to discover. To walk further for the hidden areas, to experience the real local life, to step into that unknown chapel, and to just go beyond the ‘’usual’’ travel points. That’s what it is about.
FINANCIAL CONTROL
Want to spend a fortune on art museums? Go for it. Don’t wanna bother spending money on food in fancy restaurants? That’s fine. Want to chase free events and activities? Well, who’s to stop you? You have absolute control over your finances and you are the one who has the last word on every penny you spend. Your wallet, your call. Now that’s liberating.
CHANGE PLANS IF YOU FEEL LIKE IT
When traveling with a group or even just a few people it is hard to change the plans when you all agreed on them in advance. Maybe you felt like going for a quad ride through the forest yesterday but when you woke up today you just felt like reading a book in a small Parisian cafe. How to explain that to your friends? You can’t. Unless you want to end up looking like a whiny brat. You know what’s great when you’re all alone? You don’t have to explain anything. You don’t have to think of lame excuses. You can just do it. What. Ever. The. Hell. You. Want.
FINDING YOUR RHYTHM
Your schedule is entirely yours to decide. This doesn’t happen very often in our daily lives as we go by our routine and busy working schedule. It’s okay to walk out of the event you don’t enjoy, take a three-day long hike just to reach the hidden castle ruins, stay for a whole day by the hotel pool, or just about anything you feel like doing that might seem like a total waste of time to about anyone else.
BUILDING CONFIDENCE
It takes courage my friend to step out of your comfort zone. But once you do, traveling alone feels like thriving out of your safe little bulb. It takes courage to approach a group of people to ask for directions, especially in a foreign language-speaking country. Doing everything on your own and planning every detail helps you learn to be decisive and straightforward. Even more important it truly does boost up your confidence. When you realize that all the doubts you had never really happened and that everything you planned went smoothly you will feel an immense sense of achievement. And let us tell you, it is a great feeling to have.
RECHARGING
While traveling with friends is a constant circle of ‘’go, go, go’’ solo travel is a great time to relax and recharge. Feeling all the feels and letting yourself experience just about anything you want is an absolute stress relief. It is your time and your time only to spend every single second doing things your soul craves. Recharging your batteries sets off a good start for whatever comes up next once you finally get back to your ‘’normal’’ life.
Please be sure that nothing will ever be normal or the same once you discover a whole new life within yourself. Spending time in solitude while roaming around unknown places allows you to embark on a journey of self-discovery. Getting to know yourself and traveling the world is a wonderful gift to ourselves.
“To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world.” – unknown
