Think about the vast majority of the trips you’ve been on. In all likelihood, you’ve probably gone on these trips with your family, a significant other, a group of friends, or as a chaperone. You’ve probably never travelled alone. Nowadays, there’s a movement of more and more people who choose to travel solo, not because they’re lonely, but because it’s a brand new way to take in new surroundings and learn more about yourself. In fact, some travel agencies reported that the number of solo travellers they booked has doubled in the past few years.
Travelling alone has some fantastic benefits, but to take advantage of them, you have to travel smart and safe. Your penchant for adventure has to be tempered with a healthy dose of caution and common sense. Below are some ways you can make the most of a solo trip.
Take your time. When you travel with other people, you have to negotiate schedules and make compromises to make sure everyone is happy with the itinerary, but such is not the case when you travel by yourself. If you want to spend all day at an art gallery and then do nothing at all the following day, by all means do so! By travelling alone, you get to do whatever you want and truly make the experience your own.
Meet people. Travelling alone gives you a unique opportunity to be who you are to brand new people. You don’t have to also be a member of the party with whom you travelled — it’s just you. When you meet new people, be they locals or other tourists, you have the chance to brand yourself however you’d like and present yourself without any sidekicks or pigeon-holes.
Explore on your own time. Maybe you’re a morning bird, or maybe a night owl, or perhaps even a mid-day person. When you travel on your own, you get to see what you love and avoid what makes you uncomfortable on your own schedule without the compromising and mediating.
Spin your own narrative. Have you ever tried telling slightly-exaggerated vacation stories with someone who went with you constantly interrupting you to correct the facts? As the sole owner of an experience, you get to decide how much of what to tell and how exactly to tell it. Parts of the trip you can keep to yourself and cherish alone. Other parts you can embellish or re-write so that the people listening