Why travelling solo is awesome

The clarity on what is essential for the individual when you take the risk of travelling alone is unbelievable.

Ava Irani, a friend I made while travelling solo in Thailand

If you are an avid traveller but have never travelled alone, you don’t know what you have been missing. Here’s why travelling alone is awesome.

You can travel selfishly: Cycle 100km in a day if you so desire. Don’t leave your hostel bunk for the next two days because you have a sore ass with all that cycling. Don’t worry, no one is calling you silly. Indulge in a relaxing siesta on the soft green grass of a random park. Live on sandwiches for ten days. Head out for Rome and decide midway to go to Vienna. You’ll get to Rome sooner or later because all roads lead there anyway! Do anything. Go anywhere. Or nowhere. You don’t have to worry what your travel companion(s) may or may not approve of when you are alone. You don’t have to compromise and you can travel selfishly and this is amazingly liberating.

No one to blame: Had a mind-blowing experience? Thank yourself for it! Or, was the experience exceedingly yucky? Well, you know who’s to blame for it. You’ll probably laugh over it rather than brood and decide it was a learning experience!

Easier to travel on a budget: It’s so much easier to stick to your budget when you are travelling solo. Solo hitchhikers are more likely to be picked up than a group. It’s also easier to get a Couchsurfing host while travelling alone for the simple reason that one couch is easier to find than two! Likewise, when searching for a bunk to sleep on in hostels during peak season, the chances of a single bed being available is more.

Easy to make friends: When I say travelling alone, I don’t mean that you have to be alone for the entire length of your trip. Other travellers will find it easier to approach you when you are travelling solo or sitting alone at a pub. And you’ll find it easier to mingle with a group. At some point in your trip, you are very likely to meet another cool traveller and the two of you may decide to travel for some days together. Just go with the flow and you will find the world friendlier than you had imagined.

You learn to be more responsible: There’s no one watching your back when you are travelling solo. You’ve got to be on guard at all times and trust your instincts about how to deal with various situations. While making the most of your trip, you also have to take care of your health because no one wants to fall sick in a foreign country when you don’t have a friend around to help you. All this teaches you responsibility.

Travelling solo is all about celebrating yourself.

HAPPY PINNING!