8 reasons why you should solo travel at least once in your life

In this articles I would like to share with you how to find the courage to trust yourself, step out of your comfort zone and find the courage to take that solo trip that you have been doubting about.

Are you ready? Let’s go!

People around me often tell me that I am too hasty, that I always want to live things at the fullest right away and that there is time to do anything I want, because I am young.
Well, even if on one side this could be true, sometimes I tend to see things in another perspective. Nowadays, we are bombed by terrible news and this world goes so fast that we are afraid to stop to just breath, not because we don’t want to, but because we are afraid to lose time, because anything could happen to us from tomorrow.

What I learned from in this last year and from my solo trip is that no time is ever wasted and we shouldn’t be afraid to stop, breath and enjoy the view of life, ever. At the same time I embrace the philosophy of living every day as if it’s the last one, but without being too hard on yourself.

I wasn’t born courageous and self-confident and I am still not on the stage to be able to pack my bag and just go, without thinking about anything, but if I wouldn’t have taken that solo trip I wouldn’t have realized a lot of things about myself. Let’s get to the 8 reasons why you should solo travel once in your life.

1. Your fear will become your strength: fear is an emotion that we all have and face in our lives, from the most little fears to the biggest and most scary ones. Why are we so obsessed with eliminating our fears? Could it be easier to just welcome them and learn how to control them?
Take a moment to think about it, because fears don’t go away from one day to another, it won’t go away once you get on a plane or book that trip. They will follow you and maybe you will meet new ones. So don’t wait for fears to leave in order to take the action, because you will probably never take that trip.
If I would have waited for my fears to disappear, I wouldn’t have never booked that one way ticket to Southeast Asia.

2. Confidence: How did you find the courage? Aren’t you scared? Something terrible could happen to you, and you will be alone and far away…
These are just some of the sentences that you will hear the most once you’ll share the news of that solo trip you decided to take and the majority of them will come from really close people that, obviously love you and are just worried about you. But these words can be sharp, make your self-confidence go down to your feet and make you doubt about something that you already decided.
Don’t make anyone change what you have already decided, because taking that solo trip will only boost your self-confidence, and trust me.

3. You will learn how to trust your gut: we are used to always compare ourselves with others or looking for answers from someone else, because we don’t trust ourselves enough. While solo traveling, you will automatically understand that the only person you can trust is yourself only. By that, I don’t mean to say that people are not to trust ever, but you will be the one who decides if that person or situation transmits you trust or not. Your gut will tell. Remember, if something gives you a feeling, follow that feeling with your eyes open and trust you and your gut only.
Travel also means facing different situations and inconveniences, that can be tricky and uncomfortable sometimes, but it's all part of the journey, but a trip wouldn't be a real trip without surprises!

4. You will be free to decide your travel itinerary: it will surely happen to you to meet other solo travelers, especially if you are staying in hostels, but you will be totally free to decide what you want to visit and when, where to go or where you don’t feel the necessity or interest to go. This has been my favorite part of solo traveling that we usually take for granted and instead, is one of the best manifestations of freedom.

5. You will never be alone, unless you want to: during my last solo trip I can count on one hand the days that I have been completely alone in two months. If you are a sociable person, or even if you struggle making friends, you will make friends even when you didn’t see that coming. All solo travelers have a special connection, we are all on the same boat, we all left our country alone and we are all there for the same purpose. My advice is to embrace new friendships or conversations, every person has amazing stories and something that can truly inspire you. Open yourself up and be available to hear the other, a stranger could become your biggest inspirer and give you answers or share points of views that no one ever showed you before.

6. You will come back as a different person: you will live something that is completely different from your everyday life and it’s unavoidable that you will notice little things about yourself that you have never noticed before. We are used to an ordinary life, where we always see the same people, same places, talk about the same topics and eat the same food.
While traveling everyday will be different, every day you will meet different people and eat a different dish and you will probably not even know what’s inside.
You will notice that a lot of things that you were convinced to like, maybe won’t interest you again once you are back. You will come back with a different perspective of life, especially if you are coming back from undeveloped countries or places where they don’t give a lot of importance to material things.

7. You will face the beauty of other cultures: if I have to say what is my favorite thing about traveling, I will say that is having the possibility to learn about other cultures. In the western culture we tend to consider ourselves as the best and most developed culture, while forgetting that the world is full of beauty and the beauty is in the deepest of the roots.
While traveling, especially solo since you won’t have the influence of anyone, my suggestion is to imagine yourself as an empty basket, ready to fulfill it with every aspect of the culture that is hosting you, with no judgment, but only curiosity, because there is nothing more fascinating and respectful than having the chance of learn and live a piece of what other culture live. Sharing a piece of another culture is the biggest gift you could give or receive.

8. While traveling we don’t have a label: we are used to walk around our city or town and see people that know us probably from a long time and have an idea of us that won’t change, even if you try in any way. Before proceeding, I want to highlight to don’t ever care about what others think about you, even if it’s harder that it is to say it.

Traveling solo will give you a feeling of freedom that goes above the freedom of doing anything you want to do, but it gives you the freedom to be your fullest self, without any judgment, comparison or association and I have to admit that it will be hard once you will be back, because you will get used to that feeling, but you’ll come back stronger and even more confident about not caring about others opinion.

Have I convinced you to take that solo trip that you have been postponing or doubting about?

You can either decide to work on yourself, to give yourself time or to just go with the flow, in any way you will know when it's the right time, but remember that overthinking could be your worst enemy.

I hope that I gave you the motivation to do it or at least gave you the good vibes of solo traveling or simply travel, because at the end of the day what is really important is to just enjoy the ride in any way you feel most comfortable to do it!

It takes a few steps to get out of your comfort zone, but once you do it, it will be the best moment of your life!