- You won’t keep putting off your plans for someone else. This is the number one reason for solo traveling. If I kept waiting for all of the people who said they were going to join me on my adventures….I would have not done a single one of them. I did this for a little while. I put off trips, changed dates, while waiting for friends to tell me they were ready. But they weren’t. And I was. If you are ready…go for it. And by ready I don’t mean that have a day to day play, know everything about the places you will be traveling to, etc. I mean if you are ready to hop on that plane, train, bus..whatever it is and get out there…do it.
- You’re almost forced to meet new people. Meeting new people is one of my favorite parts of traveling. And when you’re doing it solo, you are more likely to meet people. You’ll meet people from all around the world, have new travel buddies (to meet along the way during your solo travels) and maybe some new places to stay around the world as well! Some of my closest friends and some of the people who have helped me through the hardest times are people I met while traveling. Right now, I’m writing this from my friend Ben’s house in London. We meant in Australia and he is now one of my best friends!
- You will learn and grow. You will find yourself. Traveling is education. I will never, ever forget the first time I was leaving the country my Uncle gave me this little piece of paper he ripped out of the newspaper with a decoded message on it. It said…
“Education is an admirable thing, but it does well to remember from time to time that nothing worth knowing can be taught.”
– Oscar Wilde
Not only did I learn so much about the world from my solo travels, but I learned SO much about myself. You have the opportunity to be who you want to be, who you really are. There is no one expecting you to act a certain way or judging you based on what they know about you. You are free to be you and you will grow into who you are meant to be.
4. You are free. You have no one to tell you what to do. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want. You don’t have to wait around for anyone or make your plans fit with theres. You are free to choose what YOU want to do each and every day.
Solo travel is enlightening. Waking up your first down in a new country, walking out of the front door of where you are staying, onto an unfamiliar street…it brings this rush. Its a feeling I can’t explain, but one that every solo traveler I have met, can relate to. To me, there really is no other way to travel and experience this world and all it has to offer.