Solo Travelling: why travel alone?

Travel

03.10.2021

159

Have you ever considered the option of travelling alone?

Many people are afraid to leave on their own. They don’t like going somewhere completely new without any company. After all, you are alone 24/7 in a foreign country or a totally unknown place, where you have to manage everything constantly.

People who have this fear are probably not cut out for this way of travelling. They’d rather be with someone so that they can feel safe and have somebody to rely on at any time. This is quite understandable. However, the sensation solo travellers long for and experience on their trips is often magical. Despite this, sometimes it is extremely difficult to articulate this feeling.

Solo travelling is not always about extreme travel adventures, like climbing a mountain on your own without the right equipment or being in danger in dodgy places. It is mostly about being comfortable and confident in a different environment from the one you are used to. It is trusting what you can do on your own and believing the beauty of travel itself is intensified by the solitude.

As a solo traveller, you feel the need to go out and explore in silence. Nobody around, just your thoughts. Surprise, astonishment, and excitement are even deeper when there is no talking and that view or specific moment is for only you. Call it a challenge if you like, but it is one you feel like winning because it’s you competing against yourself.

“Traveling tends to magnify all human emotions.” – Peter Hoeg

Let me take you back to November 2019 for a few seconds.

I was walking back down from a hilltop in Sinaia, Romania, after my visit at the Peleș Castle. It was almost 7pm; it was cloudy, rainy, and getting darker. My backpack was wet and my phone was on 13% charge. I didn’t know where I was going to spend the night yet – in fact, I only knew I was potentially heading to Bucharest later on, but that was all. I stopped halfway back from the hilltop to look at the landscape and felt so happy and fulfilled when I realised I was moved by that unique moment which was, and still is, only mine.

Would you believe me if I told you that was one of the best sensations I have ever experienced in my entire life? It probably wouldn’t have been the same if I had company because I would have been distracted by the talking or something else, and the magic of it all would have quickly disappeared.

They say solo travelling pushes us out of our comfort zone and that is so true. The hardest part sometimes is to actually make the decision, and to leave. Yet when we are outside our door, the most difficult action is already behind us.

Sinaia, Romania. (2019).

Three good reasons why someone should go for a solo trip at least once in their life:

1. Personal growth. Be ready to learn so much about yourself and welcome new aspects of your personality you never knew were there. You will end up liking yourself a little bit more once you get to know your inner self better. Realising you can accomplish things you never thought you could achieve or do is without a doubt one of the greatest feelings ever!

2. Knowledge. New cultures are definitely food for thought. Dive into every peculiarity and distinctive trait of each place you visit. Open up your mind, set aside what you learned in school, (or at least try not to rely on it too much), because experiencing a day’s life in a country you knew little about, will teach you so much more.

3. Freedom. Everything is completely up to you. You are the boss. No arguments on where to go and what to see first, no need to please peoples’ tastes when it comes to food. You want to go for a hike instead of sitting somewhere boring for hours? You do it! Fancy some traditional food instead of limiting your choice to the same old breakfast you are used to? Get it! And just like that, you will create your ideal day and will find yourself wanting to do that again, and again, and again!