Three Great Reasons to Travel Alone
Are you happy with your own company? That’s one of the key questions to ask yourself if you’re planning on traveling alone. Many of us only take trips with friends and family and the idea of heading out on our own seems like something that went out with the pioneers. And let’s not even think about the possibility of being offline and out of touch. But traveling alone has certain advantages.
Do Your Own Thing
The first of these is the freedom to set your own schedule. When you travel with a group, there’s always a negotiation going on, because often each group member will have a different idea of the best way to spend the day. The larger the group, the more likely it is that you will spend some of the time doing something that doesn’t interest you that much, just for the sake of harmony. Even if you have a planned itinerary before you set out, you are free to explore the new opportunities that always come when you travel.
Meet New People
Of course, even when you travel alone, you don’t spend all your time alone, which brings us to the next major bonus of solo travel: the freedom to make new friends. I don’t know about you, but when I travel with a group, there’s a tendency to pal up with group members – there’s no real urgency to seek other social contacts. If you’re on your own, you have to talk to other people to get information and you’re more likely to be open to making new friends. When I lived in France a long time ago, I met someone also sitting on her own in the same cafe I was in. We started chatting and we’re still in touch 20 years later even though we live in different countries.
Discover Yourself
The third reason to travel alone is to discover what you are capable of. Believe me; you never know what you’re made of till you are facing a difficult situation in a strange country. (I’ve told you the one about the Venezuelan soldiers, right?) It’s a great chance to challenge your perceptions and beliefs and discover your inner strength. In fact, that’s reason enough to take the trip, isn’t it?
Thinking about a solo trip? Check out these tips from Gadling. (Image: AndyRobertsPhotos)
Tags: solo travel, travel
August 10th, 2012 at 6:01 am
[...] couple of days ago I wrote about three reasons to travel alone. Now it’s time for me to play devil’s advocate and look at the other side of the [...]