9 reasons to travel solo | traveling wedding & adventurous elopement photographer | adventurous travel
Alright folks - why you should travel solo? Well let’s just chat about this. I strongly believe that traveling solo is something everyone should try at least once in their lives. There are ups and downs just like any journey but boy are there some good things that happen when you're traveling alone. Why should you take the leap? Well, here are nine reasons why:
1. YOUR SCHEDULE
Travel time and once there: When you solo travel, you can be greedy with your time. Want to spend all day sitting in a cafe? Go for it. Want to spend all day walking down the same street looking at the same stores? Go for it. Want to rock climb, hike a volcano and take a cooking class all in the same day because you’re okay with waking up at 6am and going to bed at 2am? Awesome, do it! That is one of the greatest things about traveling alone, you can spend every minute doing exactly what you want to do, and most of the time you’ll find a few people who want to tag along for some of it (so you’re not really alone 100% of the time). Relish in being selfish.
2. BECOME COMFORTABLE OUTSIDE OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE
Nothing puts you outside your comfort zone than being in a foreign place, all alone, and forcing yourself to deal with it - let alone enjoy it. The first time I solo travelled was to Spain, and it was the first day of that trip that I had the revelation. I am in a country where the only person I know is me. I don’t even have some distant far off old neighbor or 5th generation uncle that lives here. I am truly out here. And on my own. And I’m gonna rock it. Well, the last sentence didn’t occur. In fact, I was terrified. My phone doesn’t work here, how do I figure out where to go? How the heck do you read this bus schedule in Spanish. Why is that man yelling at me for no reason. Am I at my hostel yet? What even is a hostel? Am I going to be sleeping in a room of serial killers? And then, as I got where I needed to be, began to explore this new place, it soon became comfortable. My comfort zone grew, as did my self confidence. If I could do that I could do anything, I believed. And so began the process of learning about myself, much more than I realized even needed to be learned. When you solo travel, the same thing will happen for you. Pinky promise!
3. NEW FRIENDS
Its called traveling solo, and for some of the time it is. Which is good. You can allow yourself to reap some of these benefits I am talking about. Although, a lot of the time, you in fact do spend with people. Like with all the new friends you meet because now you're super popular ;). From your roommates in your hostel, to the person you ate breakfast with, to people on your tours, even people in the airport. It’s incredible what kind of conversations, friendships, and memories can start the words, so where are you from. Then you’re not alone the whole time. Because who am I kidding, to be in complete solitude from human interaction for multiple days on end probably only applies to a small population. While I like my alone time, to create my own schedule, to self reflect, to clear my head, I also like to spend some days exploring with others and having people to share some incredible experiences with.
4. TIME TO SELF REFLECT, GET TO KNOW YOURSELF
Traveling solo has turned me from an extrovert to what I call an introverted extrovert. It was through traveling on my own that I realized how important time to myself is for my personal health and up keep. Before my first trip, I had never really spent days on end with out familiar people around me, and when I got a dose of it, I discovered how clear my brain became. It was so refreshing hanging out with myself as my best friend. Now don't get me wrong, I said extroverted introvert. I still love my people, but it's amazing what a little time with just yourself can do for the soul. I guarantee it.
5. WHY LET OTHER PEOPLE HOLD YOU BACK
I've had countless conversations with people, young and old, who say "Ah, I'd love to go here but I have no one to go with". SO WHAT! Embrace the opportunity! Thankfully I was thrown into the world of solo travel unexpectedly so I didn't have much of a choice but to embrace it. I know it can seem scary as anything, which are feelings I still experience on each trip, but that's called being out of your comfort zone, and well, you know how I feel about that one! But seriously, there's a whole world filled with incredible things out there. Don't make excuses, make priorities.
6. NO ONE TO IMPRESS, LIKE REALLY
I can be very girly, or very bare basic and there's not much in between. When with a friend, they're usually a decently hygienic person which encourages me to try to look like somewhat of a human. When I'm by myself, I literally have no one to impress or even look like a human for. They're some of my ugliest and grungiest of times, but hey if you're traveling around with the bare basics, I say embrace it my friend! You can go back to being appealing on Monday.
7. SAVE ALL THE MONIES
Not to say traveling with people is expensive, or that solo traveling can't be expensive, but my solo trips are usually cheaper than when having a buddy. You spend less on meals out, drinks, and the little incidentals. If I'm on my own, I'm totally okay to grab a pack of sandwich meat from the local store rather than go pay for a meal. I am much less likely to go out at night and spend money on drinks (although going to a bar alone can be an experience and a half). And the more money saved means more money to travel, YAY!
8. HUMBLE FLY ON THE WALL
When traveling in general you begin to grow faith in humanity. Through news and social media, we are bombarded with the negative sides of humanity much more than the good. It makes the world out to be this dangerous scary place full of mean people with bad intentions. While there are most definitely people and places like that, you realize how GOOD the world is too. My interactions with people who are nothing but good hearted, hospitable and curious people far outnumber those few rascals I've run into. And while you can gain the same enlightenment traveling with others, I think you get a little more of it traveling on your own. When you're not distracted by a friend, you become a fly on the wall. No one knows who you are, there is some fabulous people watching, and your surrounding people's actions mean much more. It's incredible what a smile, hug or good laugh does for the solo-er. Human connection is a necessity, and to receive it from a stranger when there's less than usual really restores your faith in humanity.
9. SELF EMPOWERMENT AND INSPIRATION
I have saved the best for last because this is probably my favorite thing about traveling alone - and why I usually crave it. As I mentioned before, when you’re outside of your comfort zone, and you watch yourself kick ass at things you didn’t realize you had the confidence and strength to do, you begin to feel really empowered. When coming home from a solo trip, you feel so enabled, so confident in your abilities, so self reliant and positive that you might make it this whirlwind of a world. Your attitude becomes one from fear of failure to one of invincibility. And incredible things can be created when you’re facing life with an attitude of invincibility.
Traveling with people is great. Traveling by yourself is great. Traveling in general is great because it changes your whole reality. But there are more than enough perks of traveling alone, and I hope I can deter some of the fear associated with it. Not to mention, there's a greater chance of having more room on the plane and bus! I encourage you to challenge yourself and give it a chance to watch just how much your perspective changes.
9 reasons to travel solo | traveling wedding & adventurous elopement photographer | adventurous travel