For every person in this world who believes in the idea of traveling alone, there’re probably ten others who believe that traveling alone is a weird choice.
While it is great to have both schools of thought, being a solo traveler I’ve experienced that the people who are skeptical about it usually have a few preconceived notions about solo travel.
In today’s post, I’m going to talk about the top four misconceptions that non-solo-travelers have regarding traveling alone.
#1 You'll be lonely all the way
If you can barely pass the weekend without anyone, how would you spend time alone on an entire trip? This sounds like a legit reason to feel weird to travel alone.
The feeling of loneliness comes from our innate desire to interact with people. Man is a social animal and what not. When surrounded by people that make us feel inclusive, we experience the warmth of ‘community. The realization of being alone can stir an uncomfortable feeling in the stomach.
But are you really alone? Look around.
Most solo travelers realize that when you’re not accompanied by anyone, the whole world is your community. In case loneliness kicks in, you are propelled to interact with people around you.
This, in turn, opens the door to a whole new dimension in traveling and networking which you may have not walked into yet.
What you feel as loneliness would be a voice inside your head asking you to open up. Interact with new people. If you listen to it and give in, you’d be surprised how many friends you make along the way.
#2 Traveling alone is not safe, especially for Females
What if I told you that the number of female solo travelers that I know, is more than the number of male solo travelers? Check out the blogs of Shivya, Priyanka, and Mariellen.
Some of them have even inspired me to pursue my dream of writing and traveling.
Safety is probably the second-largest apprehension holding people back from traveling alone. I’m not telling you to go berserk and become carefree, but I’m not going to create a hill out of a mole either.
In simplest terms, traveling solo is as safe or dangerous as any other way.
It’s true that when you’ve no one else to depend upon, it is wise to tread responsibly.
But learning to be careful and responsible when traveling solo teaches you some crucial skills in life. In a world full of people ready to exploit you, these skills come in handy quite often.
So from a safety point of view, if you’re responsible and prepared, it is not at all weird to travel alone. You can totally do it.
#3 Solo trips are a one-way ticket to boredom
I love this one.
If you’re not afraid of loneliness (which by the way is a sign that you’re not on the extreme edge of extrovert-ism), you may be putting off your solo trip plans in anticipation of being completely bored.
Ironically, some of my most engaging, exciting, and memorable experiences have occurred when I was traveling alone.
Boredom is one of the negative emotions designed to trigger us into doing something better. It is caused when your brain wants you to do some activity, but you’re not sure what.
There is no relation to whether you’re traveling or at home, in a group or alone. You could be bored anywhere.
Just like any other emotion, boredom too arrives once in a while. But when it does, instead of cribbing about it, it is better to act and find something new to do. The key is to trick your brain into thinking, “Let’s try this out.”
Dealing with boredom becomes even easier when traveling alone. The options are endless as well as different in each location. There are plenty of events going around the world across all cities.
You could get a list of such events and participate in them. I usually like to take a walk alone – it works wonders for me. And even if you absolutely don’t want to go out, there is always the option to sit in the common room of your hostel and read a new book.
I’ve gone from being bored in my room to spending hours laughing aloud with strangers and 22-year old hostel managers. There is no limit to what you could do, just do anything.
On a side note, things actually get more complicated when you’re getting bored with a co-traveler while they’re having fun—if you know what I mean.
#4 Traveling alone is a costlier affair
Now, this could be a contentious point. As I mentioned above, it depends on your choices. Let us examine two major components of our cost of travel:
A. Cost of accommodation: If you book a single bedroom at a 3-star hotel, then yes, your cost would be much higher (and then it might truly start becoming weird to travel alone).
But the purpose of a solo trip is seldom to stay in luxury hotels. Our most favorite habitat is clean hostels with shared dorms. It is not only cheaper but also a great way to meet other travelers.
B. Cost of Transport: In terms of the cost of flights, trains or buses, there is no change as you’ll be charged on a per-person basis. The difference arises while traveling within a city.
As a solo traveler, you have the option to choose your mode of conveyance. If the destination is not too far, I always prefer to hike. It is good for health, helps me explore the locality, as well as save money because there’s zero travel cost involved!
And I love keeping a count of the daily number of steps on my Apple watch (which was ironically purchased to make life easier at my job).
When walking is not feasible, use public transport (buses, rickshaws, and shared mini-vans) for a commute. They are not only cheap but sometimes even quicker than cabs.
Over To You Now
In my opinion, traveling alone has its own pros and cons. But it is definitely an interesting way of exploring the world.
At the end of the day, it all depends on your perspective. To me, for instance, being a tourist in a very large group feels weird. But still, that has not stopped me from going on such trips. Read my detailed post on why you should take solo trips.
Now I’d like to hear from you.
What do you like/dislike about traveling alone?
What other reasons (which I missed) do you think people could have for not taking solo trips?
Let me know by dropping a comment right away.
