Background
I fell in love with traveling when I left Hawaii for the first time at 20 years old! That’s right, I spent my whole life on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and while my mom begs to differ (she claims a trip to Disneyland at the ripe age of 1 made me a world traveler), I had never seen the “outside world.” Once I took my first trip to the mainland, it was over for me AND my wallet. I knew I had to do it again and again.
Thus began a series of trips to visit family as well as one big trip to South Korea to satisfy my Korean drama obsession – amazing as it was, it didn’t! And it didn’t do anything but fuel my new obsession with travel.
Unfortunately, my wallet gave in before I could do much more than that and school was also a thing, so the beast that was my travel bug was put to rest for a time. Still, it never seemed to sleep. In fact, it continued to grow and grow not just in waiting but even after traveling again!
I’ve taken a summer trip with my sisters for the last three years since I started teaching, yet the bug is insatiable. Still, I’m usually able to hold it off until summer, but I think the reality of my turning 28 years old pushed it over the edge into a craze. I was planning trips left and right trying to get my sisters (my travel partners in crime) to take the bait to no avail.
Finally, I had to face the idea that frightened and excited me more than anything – solo travel.
Solo Travel – to be or not to be? That is the question…
I’d thought about it hundreds of times before, but this time felt different. You see, there were a few times in the last few years where I thought I was experiencing a quarter-life crisis. But I can say with confidence that 28 was it for me. So the idea of solo travel became more enticing than ever.
Still, I had my fears. Like, what if I get lost? Or, what if I lose my phone or my wallet gets stolen? What if someone tries to kidnap me (highly unlikely, but still)? What if this, what if that, I could go on and on.
Everything in my life was so chaotic at the time that it silenced these worries long enough for me to google solo destinations, pick one, make all my bookings, and enjoy the thrill of having a trip scheduled. For a day.
Then it was back to the worrying. BUT, having it booked made me do all the research and planning to try to ensure that none of my worries would come to pass, and, spoiler alert, my trip was AMAZING!
So without further ado, here are 5 reasons why you should travel solo (words of encouragement from the biggest scaredy cat):
1. Only your opinion matters.
All of my travels have been with my family, and everyone has their own opinions on, well, everything! Where you’re going, what you’re going to do, what you’re going to eat, etc. It isn’t easy making decisions when you have to take all of that into account, and tensions arise VERY quickly because of it.
On the flip side, you get to make all the decisions when you solo travel! No one is there to sway you. You don’t have to be considerate of anyone’s feelings. You’re not on anyone’s schedule but your own.
I am super indecisive, as is the rest of my family. So put us all together and nothing ever gets done! We’d take up too much time telling each other how we’re wasting time trying to decide what we should do.
I filled my time with everything I wanted to do because I could do anything. If I felt like going back to a place that I really liked, I went! I didn’t feel rushed, I took all the time I wanted; being by myself was a gamechanger.
2. No travelzilla!
I don’t know about you, but traveling with family brings out the worst in me. When things go wrong, it’s hard not to get irritated and find blame with each other. And it happens A LOT!
But when things go wrong on a solo trip, the only person you can blame is yourself. And I’ve learned that I don’t really like to do that. Instead, I can laugh about it and move on. This was the first thing I learned on my solo travel that blew my mind.
I’ve never been more unbothered on a trip before. No matter what went wrong, I didn’t get angry at myself or at my situation. Even when I lost my Metro card that I had just loaded with $20. Or when I missed my bus by a hair of a second and had to wait twenty minutes for the next one (twice!). Or when a restaurant I really wanted to try was unexpectedly closed for renovation.
Nope, I laughed at myself every time something like that happened and went along with it. Travelzilla was nowhere to be seen.
3. You will learn a lot about yourself.
For some reason, I had this idea that being on my own in a place where no one knew me would bring out the extrovert that I thought must be deep inside me. It didn’t. I was still the same person, shy and reserved, but that was something that I had to realize.
So yes, I learned that I really am an introvert, too shy to ask a stranger to take a photo of me. Hence why all of my pictures are selfies! And that’s okay. It was my first solo trip and that was adventurous enough for me.
I also learned that I can do things on my own. Growing up in a big family, I’ve always been so dependent on my siblings for support and they became my comfort zone. Without them, I’m very reserved and unwilling to go basically anywhere.
But on this trip, I ate alone at restaurants, I walked the city alone, I did tours alone, I watched a play on my own. I did Facetime my sisters every night, but the point is, I don’t have to be afraid to do things by myself without my family! I learned that I can do scary things, and sometimes those things aren’t actually very scary at all.
If you’ve gone on a solo trip before, share what you’ve learned about yourself in the comments!
4. You will gain confidence outside of your comfort zone.
Remember a minute ago when I said I learned that I’m too shy to ask someone to take my picture? Well, I REALLY wanted my moment with Abe here, so I did the sly look around to seek out potential photographers and found someone doing the same thing. We took each other’s pictures, shared thanks, and that was that.
If I was willing to put myself more out there, I would’ve tried to start up a conversation, but baby steps! What’s really important is that I found the courage to do something a little outside of my comfort zone.
Why is this a good thing? Your comfort zone is your safe place, I completely get it. But it’s safe for a reason, that reason being that you know everything you need to know to live comfortably within it. Getting too comfortable can often lead to complacency.
How can you learn and grow and progress if you aren’t willing to reach beyond what you already know? When you solo travel, these opportunities to stretch yourself come abundantly and naturally. As you seize those moments, your confidence outside of your comfort zone AND your comfort zone itself will grow beyond what you thought possible.
5. You only live once.
YOLO. I had to do it. Life is too short to let fear control you. If you have the means but are still debating, I’m telling you now, just do it! Go and see what you want to see, do what you want to do, eat what you want to eat, whatever it is, just go!
If you’re waiting to solo travel because of your finances, by all means, please get that figured out. If you’re not waiting but hesitating, you’re giving yourself more time to just make excuses.
Concerned about safety or getting around by yourself? Do your research! There are so many videos and blogs that share useful tips for solo travel specific to the destination.
Want to go but can’t decide where? Start where you’re most comfortable. I’ll be honest with you – my recent solo trip was my only solo trip and I loved it enough to write this whole post to convince you to do it too. I chose D.C. as my first solo trip, and I’d recommend it to anyone, first time solo-travelers specifically.
There will always be a reason not to do it. But wanting to solo travel should be reason enough to go. For once in your life, allow yourself to do something just because you want to do it! Because, YOLO.
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