5 Reasons Why You Should Travel Solo

Although most of us are bound to travel with a friend or friends, there are a few reasons why you should consider traveling alone at least once in your life!

No Compromising Necessary

You can do whatever you want, when you want and where you want! You don’t have to compromise with your friend’s wishes. If you get fed up of being in a city, you can simply head towards the next city. You can pick and choose where you want to travel to and what you want to do at each place. You will definetely meet people along the way in hostels and your flexibility will bring you wherever they are going. It’s a great feeling!

Learning About Yourself

You’re probably telling yourself, “I already know myself”. But truth of the matter is that most people think they know themselves but don’t. How many of you do activities alone? Ever been to the movies alone? Ever been skiing alone? Ever been to a restaurant alone? The answer is no for the majority of you. That would be because most people are afraid of being alone. This being said, the best way to know yourself is to actually spend time with YOU! What better way to spend time with yourself on vacation?

Overcoming Your Fears

Traveling alone involves overcoming personal fears you may have. When you’re traveling with a friend, you will naturally feel more comfortable than if you were traveling alone. Take the opportunity to surpass those fears of yours!

Meeting More People

You will without a doubt meet way more people than if you were traveling with a friend. When traveling solo, you don’t have a choice but to make that extra effort to meet people whereas when you travel with friends, you’re not really looking to meet a bunch of new friends because you already have company. When alone, you will talk to people you normally don’t talk to. You will go out with people who are probably not your type of crowd. But you know what? You learn to appreciate diversity and it obviously expands your horizons, your knowledge about different people and cultures. The best part of it all is having friends all over the world to visit.

Mingling with Locals

Let’s face it. You are way more flexible when traveling alone. Locals notice solo travelers and it’s not unusual to have more opportunities to spend time with locals. Getting away from tourists is never a bad thing! And spending time with locals allows you to really experience the culture and learn about the people of that region. On a personal note, I’ve had such an opportunity in the Amazon. Most solo backpackers I met also had similar experiences.

So what’s stopping you from traveling alone? Be aware of your fears and just take the jump… book your next trip alone! And don’t worry, it will be a FUN trip. You shouldn’t worry about being alone because you most probably won’t be spending much time alone. Hostels are the best place to stay to meet other backpackers (or semi-backpackers).