Wanderlust Travel Magazine (UK)
Solo travel
In this exclusive extract from Wanderlust’s new How to Travel Solo book, we highlight some of the many benefits of heading off on your own
Thinking about a solo adventure? Here’s what you need to know, in an exclusive extract from our new book.
Let’s start by busting some myths. Mention solo travel and many people imagine a young, single backpacker exploring the world. Yes, there are plenty who fit that profile. You may well be one of them. But in reality solo travel doesn’t have an age limit. It’s not about a particular budget or style. And you certainly don’t have to be single to travel solo – indeed, a growing number of people head off without their partners for a whole range of reasons.
So, whether you’re 17 or 70, love camping or luxury, are in a relationship or not, here are just a few of the reasons to go it alone.
1 You get to do what you want to do
We’re not always aware of how much we compromise in our daily lives. We’re so eager to fit in with what our friends, family and colleagues want and expect that a degree of compromise becomes the norm. Doing what we want to do is considered selfish. But travelling solo gives you the rare opportunity to do exactly as you please, every day.
Maybe you’ve been on holidays with friends and found that, while they wanted to lie on the beach, you were yearning to explore the mountains behind. Or maybe you have a partner who wants to read a book by a pool while you dream of shopping in the souks of
Marrakech, taking a tuk-tuk through Chiang Mai or riding with gauchos in Argentina. Or maybe you’re the one who wants to read the book and you’re not getting the chance.
Going alone can give you the freedom to please yourself without the guilt. You can make the call on where to go and when. You can decide whether to get up predawn to watch sunrise or snuggle down under the duvet until lunchtime. You can visit as many temples as you want or decide you’d rather chill out in a beach bar instead. It’s finally up to you.
2 You will build your self-confidence
Does the thought of travelling solo terrify you? Don’t worry if it does – it’s completely normal to feel that way. But making the decision to go alone anyway, despite your fears, is a huge step; once you set the wheels in motion you’ll probably feel a weight start to lift. You can always ease yourself in, starting with short, local adventures or joining a group tour for at least part of your trip.
Now, fast forward. Imagine how you’ll feel after your time away. Not only did you actually go through with it, you survived – with only yourself to rely on. You negotiated strange transport systems, menus you didn’t understand, unforeseen situations, annoyances and niggles. You met new people – locals and fellow travellers. And when things went wrong (they always do, at least a little), you dealt with it. All of this will have given your self-confidence a huge boost. And you’ll bring that increased confidence back home with you – the best souvenir.
3 You’ll meet more (and different) people
We all love our circles of friends, but they’re often people who came into our lives through circumstance: we met them at school or on the first day of college; they’re our neighbours or work colleagues. Over time, we may have grown and developed in a way that they haven’t. Or we may have interests or a world view that they don’t completely share.
We may even feel that we know people but have no close friends. Or we may be going through a life change of some sort: a bereavement, a redundancy, leaving a relationship, finishing
education, switching career. Some people even start their travelling – their real travelling – when they retire.
Travelling solo opens you up to meeting more people. If you’re on your own, you’re more approachable than if you’re with a friend or in a couple. As a solo stranger you’re interesting to others; you’re also more interested in meeting others yourself, and will be more proactive in making that happen.
What’s more, if you’re travelling solo, you’re more likely to be more open. You’ll find strangers confiding things in you that they would never tell a friend – and you may find yourself doing the same. It can be very cathartic.
You won’t just be confined to your usual ‘sort’ of people either. You’ll almost certainly find yourself mixing with a much broader demographic. And if you do have particular interests then, with a bit of planning, you can find yourself among like-minded souls.
4 You’ll discover more about yourself
Life has a way of hurtling along. Very often we don’t think too much about who we really are and how we feel; about what our values are and what is important to us. Travelling solo is a chance to really get to know and understand ourselves.
5 You can try on different personas
We all become a reflection of other people and how they see us. Someone’s child, sibling, partner, parent. Someone’s work colleague, boss, employee. How would your friends or family describe you? You might be the quiet one, the studious one, the over-the-top one, the funny one, the caring one, the sarcastic one. Without realising it, we fit into a certain role. As time goes by, these personas of ours are reinforced and we rarely break out of them.
You might already feel comfy as you are. But travel can give us a chance to shrug off our personas, experiment and break that mould. The people you meet will have no preconceptions about you; you are starting with a blank page.
You might find that you have always been the responsible one, and this is the opportunity to let your hair down. People at home may see you as a planner, but now you can be as spontaneous as you like. Or have you always been the easygoing one who fits in with everyone else? Now, this is your time.
Trying on a different skin can be disorientating. But it’s liberating too, and you’ll learn a lot about yourself.
6 You’ll have space to think
Our lives can be hectic, a juggling of career, family, friends, relationships, hobbies. As a result, we rarely have time for ourselves or to question the life we’re living. We may have emotional baggage to deal with, we may be in a job we don’t love, we may be uncertain whether we’re on the right path.
Stepping outside of the everyday can give you room to think at last. With no pressure or demands, you have the time to consider anything and everything. Of course, you may decide that nothing needs to change when you get back from your travels. But just giving yourself the mental time and space is an opportunity to recharge and reboot.
7 You can live in the moment
When we’re with others, we can get caught inside a bubble. Go to any great tourist site and you will overhear visitors gossiping about someone back home or where they went for last night’s dinner. They’re insulated from where they are. They’re thinking about yesterday, last month, tomorrow, instead of thinking about the present. They’re looking in rather than out.
Travelling solo forces you to do the opposite. Without the distractions of others, you can give your full attention to what is in front of you. You can focus on the sounds, the smells, the tastes, the atmosphere. You can truly live in the moment. It’s your moment, after all. Savour it.