Why travel solo?
The truth is, if I had not travelled solo, I would have seen very little of the world.
In order to be able to leave your home for days/weeks/months/years at a time, you need to have spare time, spare money and good enough health. To have all of that at the same time is not the easiest thing to attain, but then to have it at the same time as someone else you know, who also wants to travel, that’s even harder. So if you have the time and money to go, GO!
I was fortunate to first start travelling with my sister, where we went interrailing in Europe. She joined me for two weeks, which gave me the confidence to get into travelling around. After she went home, I carried on for another month alone and realised, it was basically no different than going solo back at home. Since then, every trip I have done, I have gone solo.
The thing I found with being on my own, is it forced me to get out and meet other people. I met people at the accommodation I was staying at, on the tours I went on and sometimes just random conversations that started out in public. Not all conversation starters are reciprocated, but that’s ok. Most people are polite and are happy to at least have a quick chat and some people I met I am still in contact with today.
A positive to going solo is you can go at your own pace. If you want a rest day, you can. If there is something you really want to do, you can just go out and do it. No waiting for someone to get ready or deciding if they even really want to go with you.
It is understandable that the idea of solo travel may be scary. I would be lying if there wasn’t the occasional day of loneliness. However, I encourage anyone to give it a go at least once. It’s not for everyone, but you only know once you give it a try.