I have been traveling solo for a year and a half now. If you want to learn why I started to travel solo check my solo travel story. As with everything in life, solo travel has both advantages and disadvantages, so I want to share with you the honest truth about solo travel. This post contains affiliate links. When you make a purchase I may get a small commission at no extra cost to you. Find out more here.
The honest truth about solo travel: Pros
Seeing the world
For those of us who don’t have someone to travel the world with, solo travel is a game changer. It allows you to see so many beautiful place, to explore new countries, to meet new people.
I traveled to 10 places solo so far. If I didn’t step outside of my comfort zone I wouldn’t have seen Paris, London, Toronto, Niagara Falls, Cancun, Madrid, Dublin, Milan, Venice, Florence. If I didn’t take that first solo flight this travel dream would still be a “what if”, an “it would be nice to”, an “I wish”. Now it’s a dream come true.
No compromises
One of the best parts about solo travel is that you make your own schedule and itinerary. Do I want to sleep in? Great, I’ll do it. Do I want to wake up at 6am to see an attraction without tourists? On my way.
There’s no compromises, there’s no arguments, there’s no endless discussions of where we should have dinner. There’s just peace. You can do whatever you want whenever you want it.
Personal development
You might have heard people saying that solo travel teaches you so much. And you probably thought what on Earth are they talking about? At least that’s what I thought until I started solo traveling myself.
The honest truth about solo travel is that it is indeed an amazing teacher. It teaches you how to problem solve, a skill that you’ll need in anything in life (jobs, relationships etc.). You learn to be independent, which in turn boost your self confidence. It teaches you when to be on high alert and when it’s ok to let your guard down. Honestly, it’s a great self development tool.
Meeting new people
You will meet new people when you travel. And it doesn’t matter if you’re an introvert or an extrovert (hi! I’m an introvert). Day trips, food tours, walking tours, or any other activity you do will force you to meet new people. That’s a fact.
It’s up to you how much time and effort you want to put into these new relationships. The people you meet can be just friends for a day, they can become forever friends, or one of them can be the love of your life, who knows? It’s up to you and, I guess, fate.
How I met one of my close friends
I met Ioanna, a fellow solo traveler from Athens, in Madrid during a day trip to Segovia and Toledo. We are both introverts and while we were waiting outside the tour office we were looking at each other thinking “oh, she travels solo too, maybe I should chat with her”, but we didn’t do it.
We only started chatting on our way to the bus. After saying “hi”, we found out we have the same name but we are from different countries (I’m the Romanian Ioana, she’s the Greek Ioanna), we decided to sit next to each other on the bus, and the rest is history. We clicked from our first conversation and we spent the entire day together, talking about life and travel, and our stories.
When we got back to Madrid we gave each other the biggest hug and we both said that meeting each other was the biggest highlight of our trip to Madrid. It so happened that I had a planned trip to Athens in a few months and we were reunited in Athens soon after we first met. Even though we don’t see each other that often, we have a connection that transcends borders. As I was saying, fate, right? Two people in the right place at the right time.
The honest truth about solo travel: Cons
Loneliness
I’m here to talk about the honest truth about solo travel, so I’m not going to lie, solo travel does get lonely at times. Do I have days when I would like to share all travel experiences with someone? Yes. Do I get tired of making all the choices (itinerary, food, activities) myself and would like for someone else to help me? You bet. Do I have days when I would love to walk with my head in the clouds and take in the sights of a new city instead of being on high alert to make sure I’m safe? Absolutely.
But it’s all temporary. I might text a friend or family member, I might meet a new friend on a food tour, I might see a magnificent sunset in a new city, and then it all goes away and I return to the feeling of being grateful that I have the opportunity to travel.
Safety
Safety is always a priority when traveling solo, so you constantly need to be aware of your surroundings. I like to do a lot of research about the location I’m traveling to in advance of my trip. This way I know what are the neighborhoods I need to avoid, and what are the strategies pickpockets employ in that city.
Cost
I’m in my 30s and I like comfort, so hostels are not an option for me. I know I will always pay more for a hotel room as a solo traveler because I don’t share the cost of the hotel room with anybody. This is definitely a big disadvantage.
And if I want to try multiple dishes I have to pay for all of them since it’s a party of one. This is much easier to do if you’re traveling with someone since you can order multiple different dishes, try a lot of different foods, and share the cost.
Final thoughts about solo travel
The honest truth about solo travel is that solo travel is complex. It brings you a lot of joy, you learn a lot about the world and about you, you meet some amazing people along the way.
But it’s also hard. It can be lonely, it can be expensive, and it has moments when you feel unsafe and scared.
The good and the bad coexist. But for me the good outranks the bad, and until I find my person you’ll find me solo traveling all over the world.