Wondering about the benefits of travelling alone? I hope this post helps!
Deciding to travel the world by yourself isn’t easy.
It’s like learning to ride a bike. Or asking for a promotion.
…Or leaning in for a first kiss!
You know lots of people do it.
And you know a lot of good could come from it if you can muster enough courage to pull the trigger.
So, on one hand, it’s an exciting prospect.
But it’s daunting too.
It’s a risk! The outcome’s uncertain. It requires a leap of faith.
Your ancient brain serves its protective purpose, honing in on the many negative events that may lurk around the corner; the “what ifs?”
It’s easy to lose sight of the many benefits of travelling alone in the process!
Does this sound at all familiar?
Are you umming and ahhing over the decision to take a solo trip?
Well, I thought I’d try to help out by highlighting the endless benefits of solo travel.
Read on if you’re looking for a final “push”, or a fresh dose of inspiration, to book those tickets and have an adventure!
Why travel alone? Keep reading to find out!
You might like these posts too…
- How to Plan a Trip on Google Maps
- Best Travel SIM Cards with Unlimited Data
- A Comprehensive Guide to Local Travel
- 10 Reasons Why Travelling Is Fun
- 110 Quotes About Travelling Alone
- 100 Funny Jokes about Travelling
- The Pros and Cons of Travel
- The Experience of Travel
- 50 Fascinating Facts About Travelling
- 25 Best Travel Hashtags
20 Benefits of Travelling Alone
Here we go, then: a big long list of solo travel advantages!
With any luck, they’ll help you decide once and for all whether (or not) to embark on that long-awaited solo adventure.
1. You’re In Total Control
Travelling in a group can quickly get complicated. Why?
Because different people means different ideas, opinions, values, interests, lifestyles, and budgets!
It demands compromise and a willingness to make sacrifices, which is a hard thing when you’re on the trip of a lifetime.
Solo travel is a thousand times simpler.
It’s just you, right?
That means you decide what to do, where to go, when to eat, and when to rest. With no-one else to think about, you’re free to choose how you spend the day.
2. You Get Lonely, But Not Too Lonely
A degree of loneliness and homesickness go with the territory of solo travel.
It’s natural, right?
You’re alone on the other side of the world, surrounded by strangers, and far from the comfort of home!
It’d be weird if you didn’t feel lonely, nor find yourself pining for home sometimes.
Likewise, there are sure to be plenty moments when you feel out of your comfort zone, tired, and/or a little overwhelmed.
As they say, though, “this too shall pass”.
However bad it may get on the road, 99.9% of the time your mood soon improves, or the problem resolves itself, or you find a way to overcome it.
Self-sufficiency is a core component of travelling solo. It’s also one of its biggest benefits!
3. You Become Self-Sufficient
One of the biggest perks of travelling alone is that it teaches you to be fend for yourself
After all, there’s nobody to hold your hand!
There’s no shoulder to lean on; no friends or partners to use as a crutch.
It’s hard at times. But it’s empowering always.
In other words, if you’re looking to become a more independent person, then you won’t find many better ways to do it than travelling solo.
4. You Become More Self-Confident
Why travel alone?
Because you can’t help but grow in confidence as well.
I mean, going on a trip alone involves problem-solving, doing things by and for yourself, speaking to strangers, navigating trials and tribulations, and so on.
You realize what you’re capable of.
You realize you may have been holding yourself back.
And you realize you don’t need anyone’s help overcoming adversity.
Newfound self-confidence is a natural by-product of all of the above!
Travelling by yourself gives you space, time, and an opportunity to unwind.
5. You Have Time and Silence
We live in a hectic world that celebrates hard work and long hours.
It’s so busy and intense that it can be rare, in everyday life, to have much time or space to yourself! We’re always rushing around doing one thing or another.
This predicament flips on its head when you go travelling by yourself though.
Suddenly, you can be alone 24/7, with no time constraints other than self-imposed ones! It’s an opportunity to step back; to have space to breathe and reflect.
Stress levels wash away.
And self-reflection and fresh perspective on life kick in.
6. You Learn About Yourself
Discovering new things about yourself is another guaranteed outcome of travelling alone.
Think about it.
Not only do you have space to reflect, but you’re also doing things and meeting people that effectively hold a mirror up to yourself.
At a basic level, you might realize that you like a certain type of foreign food, or enjoy a warmer/colder climate.
At a more significant level, you may learn that you don’t cope well in stressful situations.
…Or that you’ve been in the habit of relying on others to make your decisions.
…Or that you’re not as worldly as you once thought.
…Or that seeing impoverished people makes you hurt so much inside that you want to commit your life to making a difference somehow.
Ultimately, you become a more integrated, well-rounded, and self-aware person.
One of the greatest solo travel benefits I can think of is that it sheds light on who you want to be and how to want to live.
7. You Realize Who You Want to Be
One of the greatest benefits of travelling alone in my own life was that I learned who I wanted to be.
Until I took that initial big trip, I’d always struggled with the notion of who I was.
I’d felt conflicted, anchorless, and adrift between different personalities- like a chameleon, simply adapting who I was to align with whatever social environment I found myself in (or whoever I was talking to in it).
Travelling taught me new ways of life.
I realized I loved being on the road. I realized I enjoyed the vagabond, dirt-bag, budget-backpacker lifestyle.
I wasn’t necessarily that person back then.
But I felt an affinity with it, which has guided me ever since.
8. You Get to Say “No”
It’s harder to say “no” when you’re travelling with other people.
You like them and want them to like you back.
There’s also a sense of peer pressure. You want to be accepted by the group.
So, if someone has an idea you don’t really want to do, you may say “yes” to it nonetheless.
Maybe you’re tired and just want to chill.
Or maybe you want to explore and they want to stay at the hostel watching Netflix.
Whatever the case, you end up doing something you don’t really wanna! A sense of resentment may eventually begin to rise as a result.
This issue fades into non-existence when you’re travelling solo.
Sure, there will be people you meet along the way who ask you to do something with them. Yet there’s less pressure to say “yes” because you don’t really know them.
As I said before, you’re in control, which means you decide your schedule.
By the same token, learning to say “no” is basically the same as learning to respect yourself and your own personal wants/needs.
So, as you start saying “no” to opportunities on the road, you may gain the crucial realization that your opinion matters too! That what you want to do is fair and reasonable and that you’re well within your rights to go ahead and bloody do it!
Top tip, though:
Don’t take this too far!
Sometimes, saying “yes” to things you may not normally do is a sure-fire way to have an adventure, learn things about yourself, and experience the true beauty (and life-changing potential) of travel.
Should I travel alone? Absolutely! Especially if some of these solo travel benefits speak to you.
9. You Become Comfortable In Your Own Company
Humans are social animals.
But it’s important to have time alone and feel comfortable by yourself as well.
After all, time alone is time to reflect, re-energize, look inward, think your thoughts, and check yourself (…before you wreck yourself).
So, assuming you take the opportunity to be alone, another benefit of solo travel is that you come away feeling happier in your own skin; content in your own company.
You no longer need other people to entertain or distract you.
10. You Gain Perspective
Travelling by yourself means you’re less likely to see the world through other peoples’ eyes.
Once again, it’s often just you and the new lands and cultures you’re exploring.
It’s like taking the filter off an Instagram photo and seeing the raw file for once.
The cloak lifts and you’re no longer swayed by someone else’s ideals or opinions.
You’re left to make your own mind up.
Or maybe you meet and start travelling with someone from a completely different background. They’re so distinct from your friends at home that they reshape your attitudes and give you a fresh lens through which to see and think about the world.
Whatever happens, solo travel can change everything.
Having escaped the bubble of home, you may start thinking, feeling, and acting like a totally different person.
Or, as the classic travel cliché goes, you may “find yourself”.
Another of the main perks of travelling alone is that you can begin to realize what you want from life.
11. You Realize What You Want From Life
Realizing who you are (and/or who you want to be) is one step away from recognizing what you want from life.
Solo travel could help you settle on a career path or change.
It might reveal which course to take at university.
Or it may give you a brilliant business idea.
Ultimately, you can end up with newfound clarity on your next steps in life.
12. You Become More Resourceful
A couple of years ago I took a campervan around Australia.
The van (AKA “Max”) was 20 years old, falling apart at the seams…and I loved it.
But it (he) was a pain in the butt as well.
Among other things, the A/C would stop working when it was 40 degrees Celsius outside. It’d overheat. The various fluid levels in the engine were always running low.
The fuses would blow.
And there was no insulation, so I had to sleep with the door open to cool things down, which let copious amounts of bugs in throughout the night.
All told, that van was stressful and frustrating!
But it taught me heaps about vehicles (including the benefit of spending a little extra to get a higher-quality one!).
I learned how to change the fuses, figured out how to suspend a mosquito net from the door to keep out the insects, and how to tell (without actually checking them) when the engine levels needed topping up before it was too late.
Ultimately, travelling alone in that van forced me to be resourceful.
Going on a trip alone is a recipe for improving your language skills!
13. You Improve Your Language Skills
What do you do when you’re travelling solo and get lost somewhere they don’t speak English?
Or when you can’t read the menu at a restaurant?
Or need directions to a pharmacy?
Or have to ask if a hotel has a room for the night? And, if so, how much it’ll cost?
You speak to the locals!
Which, in turn, forces you to try and learn some of their language.
14. You Make New Friends
Solo travel’s actually a misleading idea.
I remember going to Thailand on a “solo trip” a few years ago.
I think I was alone for about 2 days in the entire three weeks I was there!
Within an hour of arriving, I’d met someone and spent the rest of the day with them.
I then met a group of other “solo travellers”, with whom I quickly formed a bond, and we ended up travelling around the rest of the country together!
Sure, you don’t have to do it that way; I’ve encountered plenty of solo travellers who do stick to themselves throughout the majority of their trip.
But you’re always meeting cool people. And, oftentimes, you get on so well that you don’t want to go your separate ways. You become travel buddies, make memories together, and forge strong friendships that last far longer than the trip itself.
For me, one of the primary benefits of travelling solo is the unparalleled feeling of freedom it gives you.
15. You Feel Liberated
Another of the main benefits of travelling alone is how liberating it is.
Remember the complete control you have over your time?
Well, it isn’t just helpful from a practical perspective.
It affects how you feel as well.
You have a sense of what it means to be free. You feel light and hopeful, as if the road ahead is saturated with possibility.
Likewise, you’re unburdened of responsibility. It’s just you and the road and however you choose to spend your time.
16. You Can Blend In More Easily
It’s hard to blend into a crowd when you’re travelling in a group.
In fact, you usually stand out like a sore thumb- especially if you’re all from a different ethnic background to the locals, wearing different clothes, staring at tourist maps, and squealing in excitement!
And that’s bad news if:
a) You don’t want to draw attention to yourself, or
b) There are some bad eggs in the vicinity who are up to no good.
Avoiding unwanted attention is much easier when you’re alone though.
You can remain on the periphery, get lost in the crowd, and observe the local way of life without anybody noticing you.
Improved decision-making might be one of the less expected benefits of solo travel you’d have to look forward to!
17. You Become Better at Decision-Making
Travelling alone is basically one long exercise in decision-making.
When to wake up.
What to eat.
Where to eat.
What to visit.
How to get there.
What to do when you get there.
When to travel to your next destination.
…The list goes on.
I can’t lie, it definitely gets old! After all, making plans is tiring.
Sometimes, all you want is for someone else to take charge and tell you where to be, what to do, and at what time.
But it gets easier. And you end up being a far more decisive person overall.
18. You do New and Unexpected Things
Group travel is (or should be) democratic.
Solo travel is a total dictatorship.
In other words, there’s nobody to hold you back from doing whatever you want!
And, if you’re up for a dose of adventure, this can lead you into all sorts of crazy activities and down unexpected avenues.
You might decide to eat local “delicacies” that are more than a little nauseating.
You may choose to drive down that random ass dirt road you come across.
Maybe you want to jump off a giant cliff into the water below.
Or stay in a homestead with a local family and see how they live for a while.
Whatever the case, a core benefit of solo travel is that you can experience new and unanticipated things…simply because you don’t have to consult anyone else on them first!
Another advantage of solo travel is that you have nobody else’s budget to worry about!
19. You Don’t Quarrel Over Cash
I actually really enjoy group travel too.
However, it’s never ideal when different people have different budgets.
When one person has much more money than the other, it can create unhelpful tension around what you do and how you do it.
Tod wants to go on the sunset cruise.
But, as much as he wants to do it, Tom can’t afford it.
Tod wants to go out for dinner every night.
But, as much as he’d like to do it, Tom has to cook for himself.
Tod wants a break from hostels and would like to rent an Airbnb for a few nights.
But Tom’s bank balance is already being stretched by the hostel stays.
Unless Tod’s happy to pay for them both (and Tom’s happy for him to do so), these conflicting wishes could, over time, cause arguments.
Travel alone, though, and you only have yourself to worry about.
20. You’re More Likely to Engage with the Locals (and Their Culture)
One of the joys of travel is experiencing and immersing yourself in new cultures; meeting the locals and learning about their way of life.
Yet I, for one, always find this harder to do in a group.
Like I hinted at in the point about learning the language, there’s just less incentive to engage with local people you meet along the way.
I mean, you’re in a group already, which makes it easier to problem solve, make decisions, and find answers without looking outward. You spend your days with each other too, meaning there’s less reason to reach out and befriend fellow travellers in hostels, bars, and so on.
In a group, you’re like a closed book.
Go solo, and through force of circumstance, you’re totally open.
Remember these Benefits of Travelling Solo
The thought of hitting the road alone and travelling the world without your friends or family can definitely be intimidating.
But it shouldn’t put you off!
As we’ve seen, there are so many benefits of travelling alone that they far outweigh the cons. From the freedom to the self-discovery, embarking on a solo adventure will always be worth whatever struggles you encounter along the way.
If you’ve been undecided about taking the plunge, then I hope the benefits of solo travel in this post have helped you make up your mind!
Do you have any questions, thoughts, or concerns about the process?
Drop a comment below and I can do my best to help!