Ladies, if you’ve never experienced solo travel, let me tell you – you 👏🏽 are 👏🏽 missing 👏🏽 out 👏🏽
I know that for a lot of women, traveling alone – doing anything alone – can be scary. Or, even if you’re not afraid, you might be nervous, anxious, or worried you’ll be lonely or get bored.
I’m not going to tell you what to think or how to feel. We all have our own experiences and comfort level with risk.
But I do want you to know that solo travel can be an incredibly liberating and beautiful experience – even more so if you are pushing past fears to do it. At least, it has been for me.
Take care of YOU – not anyone else
As women, we spend so much of our lives taking care of others. Worrying about how our partners, parents, siblings, or kids are doing and how we can make things better on them. Guess what? When you travel by yourself, there’s only ONE person you need to worry about – YOU!
Solo travel is all about putting your needs and desires front and center and putting yourself first. Some women almost never experience this – and you should!
Taking a trip by yourself is a great way to prioritize yourself and whatever you want or need at any given moment.
Get to know yourself better
Solo travel is the ultimate journey in self discovery. When you get to call all the shots and you don’t have to worry about anyone else, you might realize some things about yourself you never knew before.
Maybe you’ll find out that you love getting to know another culture through learning to cook some of their food. Maybe you’ll find out you love sleeping in instead of jam-packing your day with as many touristy activities as possible. Maybe you’ll find out that being near the water brings you immense relaxation. You’re going to have an amazing time discovering what brings you the most pleasure.
Traveling alone doesn’t mean you’ll be lonely
I know I was worried about being lonely before my first solo trip. I’m a people person, and I was nervous I’d be spending the whole trip in isolation. This couldn’t be further from my actual solo female travel experience.
I find it’s actually super easy to meet people when traveling, and I’m still in touch with people all over the world that I’ve met on my trips – many years later. There’s something about the magic of being on the road and away from the familiar that helps us be open to new people and experiences.
If you’re worried about feeling lonely…
- Consider staying at a coliving or a hostel type environment. In these places, it’s extra easy to make friends – most people are looking to meet others, and the place will often host fun events to help travelers get to know each other.
- Look for online communities where you’re going (search for the location + “digital nomad”) and post asking for recommendations or if anyone wants to meet up for coffee.
- You can use apps and online groups like Meetup or Couchsurfing to meet people.
- Sign up for a group class or experience – a cooking class, a workshop, a language class, an outdoor activity. You’ll meet other people with similar interests – and maybe even some locals 🙂
Plus, don’t forget that being alone can be TOTALLY AWESOME. Traveling alone means that you get to call all the shots. You’ll discover that you can be your own best friend. And you’re going to make friends! You have the flexibility to ‘join’ a group for a few days, for one activity, or for an evening. You might even have a whirlwind romance ;p And then when you want to do something different, you can!
Step out of your comfort zone
Traveling is a great time to try new things. When we’re outside of our daily grind, it feels easier to shed our routines and be open to new things. We have more mental space to think about what delights us and more energy to try things.
On a trip is a great way to experiment with new activities or try something you’ve always been curious about. Be open to the local food, culture, and the local ways of doing things. Give it a try! You just might like it.
