20 Amazing Ways Solo Travel Changes You
Solo travel can be scary at first, especially when you’re visiting a place you’ve never been before. You can do a lot of planning, but you still never truly know what a place will be like until you visit. Taking the leap to travel on your own is big, and it’s for that reason that solo travel changes you.
I’ve traveled solo to 8 countries at this point, and I’m not stopping. Here are 20 ways I’ve found solo travel changes you.
1. You become more independent.
This is definitely one of the biggest ways solo travel changes you. If you can figure out how to navigate and enjoy a solo trip in a foreign country, then it feels like you can do anything.
Stepping into a new country all by yourself can feel disorienting at first. But you’re stronger than you think, and you can do it!
2. You gain confidence.
The increase in independence lends itself to more confidence. The things that scare us in our daily lives suddenly feel so minuscule after you’ve figured out how to navigate a city on the other side of the world all by yourself.
3. You stop caring about what others think.
When no one around you knows you, it can feel quite freeing. You have the freedom to be yourself and do whatever you want because there’s no one around you who you really care about.
Plus, many other countries have more relaxed cultures compared to the U.S. I’ve found Americans, myself included, worry so much about how they’re perceived and what others think. Everyone’s striving for perfection in the U.S., and it’s absolutely impossible.
Visiting another country on your own opens you up to seeing other cultures and taking in their more relaxed attitudes. It can be so refreshing realizing you don’t have to worry so much about the small things you thought mattered before.
4. You learn more about yourself.
Who are you when no one else is around and you can truly do what you want? So much time to yourself helps you think through this and reflect on who you really are when you don’t have to worry about what others think and managing your regular day-to-day life.
5. You find it easier to take on responsibilities.
When it’s up to you to figure everything out, you have to take charge. The more you do this, the more natural it feels, and the easier it becomes to take on more responsibility at home.
6. You get better at problem solving.
When you travel alone, there’s no one to lean on when a problem arises. It’s all up to you to figure things out. This conditions you to become a better problem solver.
7. You strengthen your decision-making skills.
Without anyone to help you make a decision, you’ll learn to make decisions quickly and on your own. Should you eat at that restaurant or the one over there? What do you need to bring to the boat tour?
8. You become more comfortable spending time alone.
It can feel scary and uncomfortable to travel alone at first. Who do you talk to? What do you do when you go out to eat—stare at the wall…? For me in particular, eating out alone felt the strangest at first.
The more you do it though, the more comfortable you get being with yourself, and eventually you may come to enjoy it.
I’ve had some of the dreamiest meals by myself–getting tipsy at a Mexican beach resort while reading Emily Henry, having the best lentil soup of my life in Tanzania while reading a book and rain poured down outside all around me, etc.
To that end, I recommend bringing a book along as it can make for great company and an enjoyable experience when you don’t have anyone to talk to.
Related: Read about one of my all-time favorite solo travel experiences.
9. You learn more about the people and the culture of the place you’re visiting.
When you solo travel, you’re naturally more observant. Without the distraction of another person keeping you company, you’re more likely to notice things you wouldn’t have otherwise.
10. You broaden your perspectives.
To the point above, being alone will allow you to take in more from your surroundings. Taking notice of the differing lifestyles and viewpoints around you will also help to broaden your perspectives.
11. You might have more new friends when you’re done.
Solo travel changes you in that it makes you more open to meeting others as well.
I’ve made the most unexpected friends on my solo travels—a woman around my mother’s age from Australia who was the only other solo traveler on my Sound of Music tour in Austria, a college professor who invited me to dine with her in Edinburgh, a gal my age from Kazakhstan who was on my Kilimanjaro hiking trip.
The list goes on and on, but the point is when you travel solo, you are much more likely to form these interesting connections with others.
12. You become more street smart.
Unfortunately, especially as a woman, staying aware of our surroundings is critical. As a solo traveler, you learn how to stay safe and take care of yourself on your own.
This isn’t to scare you—you can stay safe as a solo traveler anywhere as long as you do your research ahead of time to understand any key safety tips.
13. You become more resilient.
Travel inevitably throws challenges at us, whether it’s cancelled flights or food poisoning. Having to deal with these challenges all on your own makes you even stronger.
14. You build courage.
Facing your fears to travel solo to a new country takes courage and pushes you to grow as a person. Many people will never step that far outside of their comfort zones.
15. You learn to adapt to change.
Without anyone else to lean on, you have to learn to embrace your new environment and any challenges it brings. You become more adaptable in navigating this change all by yourself.
16. You can better improve your language skills.
You will absorb so much more of the local language if you’re by yourself. You’ll be doing all of the communicating and observing more of the language all around you than you would if someone were with you.
17. You become a better planner.
Traveling often takes quite a bit of planning and preparation. When you travel solo, you learn how to become a better planner since you’re planning everything yourself.
18. You learn to embrace to freedom that comes with traveling solo.
While solo travel can be scary at first, it brings its own joy in the freedom that comes with it. When you travel solo, you can do whatever you want, whenever you want. You don’t have to worry about planning your trip around others.
For me, there are certain trips I think would be more fun with others, but then there are other trips where I’d prefer to go solo because I know my people wouldn’t want to do the things I want to do.
19. You might have a more memorable experience that stays with you forever.
Solo travel opens you up to many more experiences than you would otherwise have if you’re traveling with someone else. You might make unexpected friends, have random encounters with strangers, or go on an unplanned spontaneous adventure.
20. You want to travel EVEN MORE.
Solo travel helps you realize that you don’t have to hold off on going on a trip if you have no one to go with. It opens the door to more solo travel, and you suddenly realize that you can see so much more than you ever thought you could before.
Once you’ve done it once, what’s to stop you from doing it again? You don’t have to wait on someone to go with. You don’t have to worry about anyone not wanting to do the things you do. You can go and see whatever you want.
