Solo travel essentials

Solo travel – we hear so much about it these days. The media promotes it so much as a liberating, fun and adventurous way to travel. But the truth is it’s a completely terrifying and daunting thing to do. So much pressure is put on one persons shoulders to make sure you have the right flights, the right times, the right luggage etc. So here's some advice from and advocate of solo travelling. I’m the type of person who guiltily likes solo travel more than I do with going with friends or family. Now don’t judge me for this – I'm not as miserable as it might make me sound. I'll explain all the reasons and top tips how to fully enjoy the experience and make sure it all stays on track in the safest and easiest way.

Why solo travel is trending?

Since the pandemic the popularity of solo travel has escalated beyond belief. People of all ages and genders are taking the plunge in exploring the world by themselves. And rightly so, the pandemic taught us to learn to spend time with ourselves but also gave us time to realize how much of the world we’ve been missing out on. Solo travel has so many benefits and rewarding aspects so why wait around to meet someone that has the same travel ideas as you when you can do it yourself.

Benefits of solo travel

Independence – I know it’s the obvious answer but even if you’ve lived by yourself for years and are fully self sufficient, solo travel brings out a completely new side of independence. You can't rely on the community you have built up at home like friends and family, you have to to start completely from scratch and build and new temporary foundation.

Your own schedule

The months or days before you arrive at your destination you create a long list of all the things you want to do and see when you're there. By going on a solo adventure you haven’t got to take in the consideration of anyone else. This is completely liberating, you really get your own freedom to explore and enjoy and country.

Leading from this is the new spontaneity that you are able to have, you no longer have to organise and deliberate at breakfast. You can just get up at any point in the day and decide to go where you want for as long as you want. It relieves all the typical social pressure that most of us will of experienced for all of our lives.

You're free to meet new people. The universe works in mysterious ways and it seems to occur that when your travelling solo you end up bumping into so many other solo travellers. This is a brilliant experience because I always find they motivate me to keep travelling and trying new things. Their long list of exciting and interesting stories is a brilliant motivation and almost feels like a reward.

Negatives of solo travel

Now I'm sure I've sold the idea of solo travel to you. However, there are some down sides that have to be considered prior to solo travelling.

Safety this is a number one concern. But generally it is for all situations whether you're with someone or not. But travelling alone you sometimes have to be slightly more precarious about your own safety as there isn’t someone looking out for you. Different countries and new cultures have different laws and cultural norms which can leave you a little out of the loop and unsure as what to expect. Its really important that when you're travelling you have someone from home that can have access to your location. Its just a precaution and something that wont inconvenience you whilst you're having the best time.

Loneliness can have a huge effect on how you experience a location, but remembering this is completely normal is the first step. For more information on how to deal with this we have an entire article dedicated to dealing with loneliness

Although there can be some pretty scary downsides of solo travel. The benefits completely out way them. It’s a liberating experience that teaches you so much more about your routines, your likes and dislikes and the type of places that really speak to you. I truly think everyone should try solo travel at least once in their lives. Spending just three days by yourself and in the unknown is a completely valuable experience and one that can teach you so much.