Why You Should Travel Solo
The first time I ever traveled solo was when I was 20 and moved to Paris alone. Before that, I had only ever traveled with family and friends and it never occurred to me to go on a vacation by myself.
Since then, I have traveled solo for weeks at a time and I always enjoy it! Here are the top 10 benefits and reasons why you should travel solo:
1. Go where you want
The most obvious reason to travel solo is because you can go wherever you want! If a place has always been at the top of your bucket list, you can go!
You don’t have to worry about coordinating with friends or family to find a destination to meets everybody’s criteria. Instead, you can go wherever your heart desires.
2. Make your own schedule
Maybe you like to wake up in time to catch the sunrise, but your family/friends/significant other would rather sleep in while on vacation. Or maybe you would rather go with the flow and explore without a plan, while your family/friends/significant other prefer to plan every moment.
Whatever the case, when you travel alone, you can make your own schedule. If you want to stay up late and sleep in until noon every day, you can. If you want to spend the day doing nothing but getting lost in the streets of a new city while taking photos, you can do that too!
3. Do whatever you want
Are you sensing a pattern here yet?
Another benefit to traveling solo is being able to do whatever you want while on vacation. You don’t have to pick activities that will please everyone in your travel party.
So if you want to visit museums and historic sites all day you can, without worrying about other people getting bored. Or maybe you want to try out a bunch of cool restaurants that your family/friends wouldn’t like. No problem, you can do that!
4. Stay where you want
Sometimes traveling with others can place restraints on where you can stay. Maybe you’re traveling with a friend who’s on a tight budget and can only afford hostels, but you’d prefer to stay in luxury boutique hotels. Or maybe when you travel with family, they only want to stay at all-inclusive resorts but you’d rather spend your vacation at an adventurous eco-lodge.
When you travel alone, you can choose any kind of accommodation you want, whether that’s a chic Airbnb in the middle of the city or a laidback hut on the beach somewhere.
5. It will take you out of your comfort zone
If you haven’t traveled alone before, you might be a little apprehensive about hitting the road alone. However, this is a great way to get out of your comfort zone and learn to rely on yourself! When traveling alone, you have to make a lot of decisions and do all the planning. While it can be tough for first-time solo travelers, it’s always rewarding.
6. You’ll notice more
When traveling with others, I never realized how much time I spent talking to and looking at my travel companions. When you travel alone, you start to notice more of your surroundings.
You will be able to appreciate more little moments taking place around you rather than being caught up in a conversation with the people you’re traveling with and missing all the little things. Take some time to sit on a bench and people-watch for a while by yourself – you can see some incredible moments that way.
7. New friendships
Traveling alone doesn’t have to be lonely. I moved to Paris by myself in college not knowing a soul but ended up making an amazing group of friends!
If you’re traveling solo and want to meet new people, consider staying at a hostel with a social atmosphere. There’s nothing quite like traveling and exploring a new place with new friends and making memories that will last a lifetime!
8. Go at your own pace
Sometimes when traveling with others, you might end up traveling too fast or too slow for your liking. Maybe when you travel with your family/friends/significant other they would prefer to spend every day running around hitting as many tourist sites as possible, while you would rather travel slowly and spend a longer amount of time somewhere living like a local. (Or vice versa.)
Whatever the case, when you travel alone, you set the pace. You can see as much or as little as you want and travel as quickly or as slowly as you’d like.
9. It opens up more possibilities
A lot of people miss out on travel experiences they want to have because they don’t have anyone to travel with. For example, you and your friends might talk about taking an awesome road trip through Iceland, except no one’s schedules seem to be working out and no one is making the trip a priority.
Do you really want to miss out on that trip just because your friends can’t get organized and plan it? It might seem scary, but consider taking the leap and doing your dream trip alone!
10. Build confidence
Traveling solo makes you more confident. Whether it’s from putting yourself out there to make new friends, or taking on the difficult task of navigating a foreign country alone, you will gain a sense of achievement and self-confidence when you travel solo!
More Travel Tips
- 25 Ways to Save Money on Travel
- The Best Travel Credit Cards I Use to Travel for Free
- 15 Tips for Long Haul Flights
- Solocation Meaning (And Why You Need One)
About Denise Cruz
Denise is a marketing executive who escaped corporate to travel the world… twice. A Brazilian native living in the U.S., she’s lived in 4 countries and visited 35+ others. After side-hustling her way to financial independence, she curates solo destination guides, slow travel tips, and travel blogging advice on Wander Her Way. When she’s not on the road, you can find her in Miami with her dog Finnegan.