Going traveling on my own was one of the best decisions I could have made.
Why should I wait for my friends to be free to come traveling with me?
I can meet new people while traveling and it is true!
If you want to travel and none of your friends can come, just do it on your own!
There have been hard moments too that I had when solo traveling and I think you should know about them.
But first, I want to let you know about the good sides of traveling on your own.
- You will make new friends along the way
In the beginning, it may be hard to find friends, and you may find yourself being alone for some time, but trust me you will find your people.
There are so many people out there that are also looking for friends, and you will find them.
I got so many new friends here that I love spending time with.
We all have different nationalities, are a different age, and have different backgrounds and I get to learn so much about different cultures, about life lessons they have already learned that I can profit of.
It is hard to know we all have to leave again and might not see each other for a long time or even ever again, but I value those friendships so much.
- You will be speaking the language of that country more often
This is only the case if you are traveling to a country you are not a native speaker at. If you travel with friends, you will speak your mother tongue.
If you are traveling on your own, you will only speak their language and improve way better.
You will not switch back and forth between your native language and the language that is spoken in that country, and will give yourself challenges speaking it more.
- You have to learn to rely on yourself
For me, it was my first time moving out of home.
You might be used to navigating your life on your own if you moved out before traveling, but I wasn’t, and I learn so much every day about what life is really like. What daily things I will have to do, how to book my own flights and adventures, how to deal with money.
I have to do all of that on my own, and I am growing a lot through those experiences that are already normal for some.
- You will get more confident
I would say I was pretty shy back home. I was barely able to speak to strangers. Now that I have to do that nearly every day as everyone was a stranger to me in the beginning, I got a lot more confident.
I am not nervous anymore talking to people or before job interviews.
I can’t ask my friend to talk to someone first.
I have to do it, and I love that I changed in that way.
- You will learn to be on your own with yourself
Even though I am sure you will find friends along the way, you will have to be fine with spending time on your own first.
There are a lot of moments when you will be alone, but I use these to work on myself and my mindset, to fulfil my goals, and to plan my further travels.
I think my mindset on life evolved a lot.
I learned how to deal with difficult situations on my own and was able to fulfil my goal of starting this blog.
Sometimes I also realize that I need a day for me and I can enjoy that time on my own and use it for good.
- You will be more flexible
Everybody will have their own plans and wishes of places to see.
It is not always easy to do everything, but if you are on your own you are more free to see and discover the places you want to see.
Your friends might have to be home again at a certain time, and you are still free to travel.
Do that!
Travel on your own and don’t go home just because others have to.
I have also had some hard moments where I just felt alone and sad, and I think you should also know about the challenges of traveling alone.
- You get homesick
Homesickness comes in waves sometimes.
It comes when you see what great things are happening at home that you are missing out on, or when you are lonely.
In those moments I am still grateful I am on this journey and never thought about going home now because I know I will go back home eventually.
It is great doing something with others to distract yourself or calling someone from home or try to calm yourself down with some music and look at the things you have right now, that you don’t have at home.
There are going to be better times.
- You are missing basic human love
If you are solo traveling you might not have as close relationships with people as at home.
Every now and then I am missing a loving hug from my parents and having them or my friends comfort me.
I don’t feel that kind of love from anyone solo traveling even though I have many good friends here.
Sometimes that just makes me feel empty.
- You feel disconnected from the people back home
Life at home continues without you and people will experience things without you and so will you on your travels.
Even though you can tell your friends and family about your experiences, it always feels like they can’t comprehend the full experience because they are not with you.
It feels better sharing your experiences with people that are in the same place as you.
You might not tell people back home everything from your travels, and of course that is not possible, but it makes me feel disconnected to some people who don’t know what exactly is going on in my life.
- You will have to say goodbye a lot
This might be one of the hardest parts about solo traveling.
Even though you get to know some of the best people, you will have to say goodbye to them eventually.
It is hard knowing you might never see that person ever again that you spent an amazing time with.
The uncertainty if you will meet new awesome people on your travels that you feel as connected to as to people you had to say goodbye to.
It is hard thinking about the time you had with them, knowing it wouldn’t be like that anymore.
If you travel with a friend, you might not get as attached to new friends as when you are traveling alone, as that is what you depend on.
- People back home don’t understand your experiences
When traveling your perspectives shift because you hear all different views on life from people, and you change as a person.
People at home who have never been solo traveling for a long time might not understand your experiences or why you change.
It is hard to explain to people you know why you do things now that you wouldn’t have done before.
Experiences also have a lot to do with the people around you, and your friends and family at home don’t know most of the people you meet when traveling and can’t understand why you feel so great with that person, and they make normal experiences special.
- You can be alone for several days
I always realize that when I have a day of only traveling, going on a plane, on a train, and it’s taking the whole day.
I barely talk to anyone in those kinds of days.
Other times it might be hard to find people you can connect with, and you will spend a lot of the time on your own, not being able to talk to people, tell them about your life, share your experiences.
Another thing I know will be even harder is the wanderlust afterwards when you get home.
Knowing that journey is over and everything is back to normal, back to daily life. The urge to go traveling again, but with the same people you met, to relive all those beautiful moments.
I still think solo traveling is the best thing everybody can do.
You will grow so much in yourself, and it is totally worth it for the experiences, the people you will meet and the countries you will discover.