6 Reasons Why I Love Traveling Solo

By Olivia Young, INSIDER


It's like adopting a pet or playing an instrument: Taking a solo trip is something everyone must do at least once. 

I, for one, have spent the past three years doing nothing but traveling (in New Zealand, Australia, Southeast Asia, the United Kingdom, and so forth) and much of that time has been spent all by myself. Sure it's been scary, overwhelming, and a little bit lonely at times, but the many joys I get from wandering around foreign places on my own makes it all more than worthwhile. 

Solo travel has done wonders for my confidence, my budget, my creativity, even my life at home. Here are six reasons why I love traveling alone.

It saves me money.

Call me a cheap date, but I'll take a picnic in the park over Michelin-rated restaurants and trendy cocktail bars any day.

Fortunately for me, my travel style is inherently cheap, but I often feel pressured to compromise on my budget to please other people. I, for instance, don't feel compelled to visit every museum while visiting a city, but when Jack is especially interested in one and Sally is more excited about another, I end up following along passively, leaving a trail of admission fees in my wake.

Traveling solo gives me more control over my spending so that I can ultimately travel for longer - months instead of weeks, if I so fancy - and more often. 

 

It's a challenge.

There are two ways to cross the border into Vietnam from Laos: by a perfectly comfortable one-hour flight or a 24-hour bus ride.

I opted for the latter, of course, because it just so happened to be $100 cheaper. Along the way, I lost all my money to an unscrupulous border agent who massively inflated the stamping fee, leaving me penniless and desperately hungry when I finally arrived in Hanoi. I had to barter for a tuk-tuk ride to my hostel.

I could have easily felt scared and lonely during this experience, but instead I felt especially independent and empowered. I had communicated with a bus driver who didn't speak a lick of English (for 24 hours!) and ended up exactly where I was supposed to end up, even without money. If you had merely told me I could be this resourceful, I wouldn't have believed it.

So, yes, I've been challenged by faulty offline maps, language barriers (try telling anyone in Asia that you're vegan), and car batteries in foreign countries, but standing on the side of the road jingling a pair of jump leads gets a little bit easier each time. In fact, I've come to believe that asking for help - even through broken English and hand gestures - can be sort of fun.

 

It gives me a break from socializing.

Before I started exploring places on my own, I thought travel was downright exhausting. As it turns out, it's constantly being around people that demands so much from me, thanks to my social anxiety.

I find that being able to choose when to interact with people is the key.

Sure, talking to strangers is part of the deal, but traveling solo allows me to switch my people skills on and off on my own time. I've learned to sit alone in a cafe full of people and be content with just the company of myself.

And it also forces me to socialize.

In the same vein, not knowing anyone at my destination coaxes me out of my introvert shell. I'm no longer able to stand in the background while my boyfriend talks with the hotel receptionist, for instance, or convince my friend to ask a local for directions.

When I do feel like socializing, I'm forced to branch out and make new friends rather than limit my interactions to the people I'm already comfortable with. As a result, I now have connections and Facebook friends in just about every part of the world. 

I get to know my destination better.

If I'm not focused on the people I'm with, then I'm left to concentrate entirely on the place. I connect more with my destination on a personal level when I'm wandering around on my own, and I learn more about it, too.

My solo travels are like a Googling frenzy: histories of old buildings, names of street artists, types of flowers I see while strolling through a park. This, in fact, is exactly why I currently have a book about wildflowers of the Canadian Rockies in my Amazon shopping cart.

And I get to know myself better, too.

I've acquired enough world trivia to fill a textbook thanks to solo travel, but I've also learned a whole lot about myself. Cliche as it may be, having control over my own itinerary has taught me what it is that makes me happy - journaling, gallery hopping, Vietnamese coffee, eating every savory pie in England - which I am then able to adapt to my everyday life at home.

Needless to say, I have a lot more interests and hobbies these days (like exploring my own region, for one) and never am I hesitant to pursue them on my own. Traveling solo has taught me not to wait for other people to have fun. Being in the company of my partner, my friends, and my family is wonderful, don't get me wrong, but there's certainly nothing wrong with being a party of one, whether it be halfway around the world or in my own backyard.