How to have fun while traveling solo
Let's add something to Google search results about how fun and fulfilling solo travel is instead of about how it's dangerous.
Dear reader,
If you’ve Googled anything related to solo travel recently, you’ve probably been presented with a list of articles about how to stay safe while traveling alone. I’m annoyed by this. I assume that most of women, non-binary, agender, and other LGBTQIA+/not straight-cis-white-male individuals are already aware from their daily lives that there are dangers that they will face throughout the world. In fact, I’d assume that we know this better than the men who want to remind us of this before every trip. The blog post linked in the previous sentence came to me via another travel enewsletter recently, and triggered something inside of me. I’m so tired of safety being the first and only thing people want to discuss when they hear about someone taking a solo trip.
Instead, let’s talk about how solo travel is empowering: like when, on my first international solo trip, I navigated long-haul bus routes in Israel without speaking any Hebrew, on a bus where the driver and most passengers didn’t speak English, in the era before Google Translate and even smartphones were widespread.
And how solo travel is mindful: it’s given me plentiful opportunities to reconnect with my own needs, like when I hibernated in my hotel room at a remote resort in Arizona for two days and just read, journaled, and slept in order to recover from an extremely stressful few months of grad school.
Solo travel is peaceful: it’s one of the few opportunities I ever get to wake up in a room that I didn’t have to clean, stroll downstairs for a breakfast I didn’t have to cook, and climb back into a bed that I didn’t have to make at the end of the day - and these perks extend from budget hotels to fancy resorts!
And solo travel is fun: when else in our adult lives do we really have the freedom to do whatever we want, whenever we want? Whether you consider it fun to try new restaurants, go shopping, explore city architecture or city parks, go to a theme park, or whatever else brings you delight, solo travel is a great way to refill your cup.
Most importantly, solo travel is bold: most adults haven’t taken a solo trip (or even taken themselves out to dinner alone!). Besides the internet telling us how dangerous solo travel is, there are societal stigmas at play, too. But traveling alone can create a ripple effect around you and inspire others to try it for themselves. I can’t tell you how many times friends have said this to me over the years! I’m proud of them for boldly following in my footsteps.
Solo Life is Rebellion
When is the last time you went out to eat at a restaurant? Now, when is the last time you ate out by yourself? For most people, the answer to the first question is an easy one - maybe you went out on a recent Friday night with friends, or took your family to lunch last weekend. But the second question often begets a look of confusion. Out to eat? Alone?
What adjective would you use to describe solo travel? Join the discussion in the comments!
Read another perspective on this topic
We Need to Stop Telling Women They’ll Get Assaulted if They Travel Solo (find Kristin on her own blog, Be My Travel Muse, for more awesome solo female travel inspo!)
P.S.: Did you know I am available to plan your next trip? I specialize in travel planning for busy young professionals. Learn more!