- Elida Tato
- 21 jun 2020
- 5 Min. de lectura
There are many reasons that might lead us to travel by ourselves: incompatibility of schedules, the different responsibilities, and budgets you and your friends or family might have, etc As human beings, we are social animals. Facing situations by ourselves can make us feel insecure and afraid of failure. We consider situations as going out for dinner, to the movies, or to a theme park to be social. Nevertheless, we do the groceries by ourselves, go cycling or running by ourselves, etc. Sometimes we might feel like eating out in a specific restaurant or watching this or that movie in the cinema or going to a theme park when none of our friends wants to. At that moment we have two options: either we do it alone or we do not do it at all.
At that moment we have two options: either we do it alone or we do not do it at all.
In this post, I will explain why there is no need to feel anxious about traveling alone or about doing things by yourself as a whole on a daily basis. Some situations that are usually considered social do not necessarily need to be. In fact, my first advice would be to start small before you take a trip by yourself. When it comes to long-term solo trips we might wonder if we will be bored, if we will meet people, if the place is safe due to my sexual orientation or race and so on
Not all of these questions have an easy answer. First of all, look for information about the place you are visiting, do not be afraid to be alone as every traveler who has traveled solo many times can assure you that you are never alone when you travel alone, there will always be someone in the same situation as you.
If you are a woman let me tell you that the countries that you assume are going to be difficult to travel around by yourself are not precisely the ones you might think of. Sometimes all we know about some countries are either stereotypes or very specific parts of their history.
Take the same precautions you would take in your country on a daily basis and in order avoid conflict dress modestly covering your knees and shoulders if you visit religious places or countries which culture requires to do so.
Sometimes all we know about some countries are either stereotypes or very specific parts of their history.
The most difficult decision is to decide to do it. If you have read this far you might be just in need of a sign to finally make up your mind and take the leap. This is it. "You are ready, do not think about it anymore, do it"
Not everyone likes traveling by themselves but generally, most of us have completely fallen in love with it. In my case, I like alternating between traveling by myself and traveling with
friends and family depending on the destiny, type of vacation, our budget, and so on. I have traveled by myself to countries as diverse as Thailand, Finland, Poland, Laos, Sweden, Australia (and the island of Tasmania), Switzerland, New Zealand, Macedonia, Estonia, Russia Cambodia, or Malaysia to name a few. I have traveled alone by train, plane, by bus for more than 20 hours; I have even taken a cruise by myself. I have stayed with aboriginals in the dessert, I have moved more times than I can think of and I have been through every type of situation. Once again, I recommend you to start small and do not jump into a long-term trip if you have never been to a restaurant or taken the subway by yourself. As a famous Chinese proverb says 千里之行，始於足下 (a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step) or quoting Whitney Houston's song "step by step, day by day, mile by mile ooh ooh".
¿What are the benefits to travel alone vs traveling with people?
1. The feeling of empowerment and self-esteem boost
The feeling of empowerment is the main benefit. You are in absolute control of everything that involves the trip: what places to visit, what to eat, where to sleep, which itinerary and activities, if there is an incident you decide how to handle it, etc. Both good and bad parts of the trip are under your control. Nobody can influence your decisions unless you want them too. Do you feel like staying in a city for three days instead of four because you want to go somewhere else instead? Go on. Do you feel like eating sushi for the third day on a row? go on too.
2. It is easier to meet people
It is way easier to make friends or to meet people when you are traveling on your own traveling with your friends, family, or partner. As I have previously mentioned, we are social animals so even though you might be shy you will end up meeting people, and since they are only acquaintances it would be easier for you to ditch of those activities you are not interest to attend.
It is also easier to meet locals when you are on your own so you can learn a lot about the new city or country and get to do activities most tourists do not get to experience.
3. You control the budget
Only you are in control of the budget. When we travel with other people we must make clear that we all have more or less the same type of budgets for that trip. As each person has a different job and hence different salaries this is an issue that might be discussed upfront. If your daily budget is on average 50 euros but your trip buddy wants to spend on average 10 or 100 this might lead to a problem. Obviously, when you travel on your own you are allowed to spend as much or less as you please.
4. You get to do whatever you want
You decide what to do. This benefit is deeply linked to the first benefit beforehand mentioned, the empowerment or self-esteem boost. You have control over what you want to do without having to commit to doing something you are not interested in. However, this lead us to the ironic benefit number five.
5. Ironically you become better at traveling with other people.
One of the best things about traveling solo is that when you get to travel with people who have also traveled a lot by themselves group traveling becomes much easier. Let's say you feel like doing something but the two friends of yours who are traveling with you want to do something else. Well, the three of you get to do what you feel like doing and meet later on for dinner somewhere and that's it. No issue about it.
In the worst-case scenario you do not like traveling by yourself but you lose nothing for trying and as I have explained, you can gain a lot. If other people like me could do it, why not you?
*Every pic from this post is from a trip I did by myself*
Comments