Hi there! I hope everyone is getting through the stressful post-Spring Break weeks and not missing the vacation mode too much. Just think about the bright side; we are less than two months away from summer break! I traveled by myself for the first time during the Spring Break and surprisingly I enjoyed my time as a solo traveler for a week. So, I want to share with you all my thoughts about being a solo traveler and reasons why you should try traveling alone, at least once in life.
You can feel free to do things you like and be more spontaneous with your schedule and plans.
Henry David Thoreau writes in Walden, “the man who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready, and it may be a long time before they get going.” Yes, I just started this paragraph cheesily with a quote, but I think it says a lot about the experience of a solo traveler. When traveling with others, you need to consult your partners while making plans and sometimes you’ll have to compromise because you can’t agree on things like when to get up, how much to spend on hotels and what to eat for lunch. But traveling alone means that you can do whatever you like and change your mind at any time. If you want to get up extra early on one morning and sleep in for a while on another, then go for it. If you suddenly crave Thai food, then get on Yelp and find a place. If you decide to just sit in the coffee shop reading the new book you bought an hour ago from a second hand shop instead of going to the museum, then do it. The time is yours and yours only, so take it and make some impulsive decisions! I am a big movie geek but I missed a lot of screenings because of school and homework, so I ended up going to three movies during the break, which would be quite impossible if I were traveling with someone else.
You will learn to handle everything by yourself.
As a solo traveler, you take care of everything on your own. We all know planning a trip can be tedious, and that’s especially true if you have nobody to help you. Before the trip, you have to choose the destinations, book transportation and find a place to stay. And when you are on your way, you need to plan the day to day activities and make sure you don’t get lost in a foreign land. As a college student, you are probably following a monotonous routine and going to the same places from day to day. Traveling alone is truly pushing you out of the comfort zone and forcing you to be responsible for yourself. You may very likely encounter problems or moments of uncertainty (for example, I forgot to charge my phone and it died when I was trying to find my Airbnb), but only then will you try to fix them and discover how capable you actually are. Traveling alone helps you learn more because you need to do a lot of research before going and are able to fully immerse yourself in the surroundings. No matter where you go, the rule of thumb is always to stay alert and be SAFE!
You can take time to enjoy the solitude.
You don’t need to be antisocial to enjoy being alone. In fact, if you haven’t spent a period of time alone yet, then go ahead and try it. If you are normally surrounded by people in your daily life, it is possible that you’ll find taking some time off for yourself once in a while enjoyable and precious. I once read somewhere (probably a travel magazine) that waking up alone in a strange town is perhaps one of the most pleasant sensations in the world. I think I kind of understand it right now, that fresh feeling of being totally rested and ready for another day of new adventures.
Now it’s probably the best time to do it.
Since it requires a lot of energy and the willingness to try new things, traveling alone may be one of those things that you are less likely to do when you get older. Most of us are in our early twenties and passionate about exploring the world around us. If there is a place on earth you’ve been longed for but are always waiting for somebody else to travel with, then I’d say, stop waiting and go. Traveling alone is also a chance to be introspective, to get away from the crowd and spend some time thinking about yourself and your future.
So, start from somewhere close!
If you find the idea of traveling alone scary, then start with a destination that is not too far away, has good transportation system and less language and cultural barrier. It’s also a good idea to know someone, either a friend who live and work there or your Airbnb host, whom you trust and can reach to in case of emergency. I went to DC for my first solo trip. The size of the city and the public transportation there make navigating and going around easy. The hardest thing of traveling alone is to make the first step but once you’ve accomplished your first time, you can’t stop thinking about doing it again. And then you can feel free to travel abroad to somewhere you’ve never been to and try some crazy stuff.
Picture sources:
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