For every one person in this world believing in the idea of traveling alone, there’re probably ten others who think it is a weird choice.
While it’s great to have people from both schools of thought, what I’ve observed in my conversations is that the ones who remain skeptical about traveling alone usually have a list of some preconceived notions, not all of which are true.
In today’s post, I’m going to talk about the top four misconceptions that non-solo-travelers have regarding solo trips.
#1 You'll be lonely all the way
If you can barely pass the weekend without anyone, how could 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 up 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. When loneliness kicks in, you are propelled to interact with the people around you.
This, in turn, opens the door to a whole new dimension in traveling and networking which you may have not experienced yet.
What you think of loneliness could be a voice inside your head asking you to open up and talk to a stranger. Interact with new people. Hear their stories. You’d be surprised how time flies on a solo trip and how many friends you make along the way.
#2 Traveling alone is not safe, especially for women
What if I told you that the number of female solo travelers I know is more than the number of male solo travelers? Check out the blogs of Shivya, Priyanka, and Mariellen.
Some of them have inspired me to pursue my dream of writing and traveling when I first started out in 2019.
Safety is probably the second-biggest apprehension holding people back from solo trips. I’m not going to tell you that it is totally safe and you should just go berserk and throw caution to the wind, but I’m not going to create a hill out of a mole either.
Except the psychological paranoia of being all alone, I feel that traveling solo is as safe or dangerous as traveling any other way. Though it is true that when you have no one else to depend upon, it is wise to tread responsibly.
But learning to be careful and responsible when traveling solo is an art and teaches some crucial lessons 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 that we feel is worthwhile, or dopamine-releasing. There is no correlation of boredom to whether you’re traveling or at home, in a group or alone. You could be bored anywhere. Believe it or not, I get bored traveling in groups while feeling energized when doing it alone. It’s all a function of what your brain feels good with.
So like any other emotion, boredom is bound to arrive once in a while, especially when you’ve put yourself on a solo trip outside your comfort zone. When it does, the key is to get out of that comfort zone and trick your brain into thinking, “Hey, let’s try this out!”
Over time, dealing with boredom becomes easier when you’re traveling alone. You start realizing that there is always something happening around, and the options are endless as well as varied in each location. There are usually so many events going around the world across all cities every single day.
I usually like to take a walk alone – and it works wonders for me. Even if you absolutely don’t want to go out, there is always an option to sit in the common room of your hostel and read a new book. This is also the reason why I recommend staying in hostels if you’re traveling alone and under the age of 35.
There have been instances where I went from being bored sitting in my room to spending hours laughing aloud with strangers and 22-year old hostel managers. All I had to do is step out of the room and join the conversation.
On a side note, things do actually get much more complicated when you’re getting bored with another person that you’re traveling with, while they seem to be 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.
Give this another thought
In my opinion, traveling alone has its own pros and cons, like any other mode of travel. But it is certainly an interesting way of exploring the world.
At the end of the day, it all depends on your perspective. To me, being a tourist in a very large group feels weird. Yet, that has not stopped me from going on such trips when it made sense. If you’re still looking for more information on solo trips, check out my detailed post on why you should intentionally take solo trips.
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.
Traveling alone is such a transformative experience and your insights on the freedom and self discovery that come with solo journeys are truly inspiring. It takes courage to step out of your comfort zone, but the rewards of navigating the world on your own terms are life changing. Thank you for sharing such a motivating post for aspiring solo travelers.