I'm travelling solo and loving it! And this is why you might too.

If you’re a creative individual, or an intellectual of sorts, who relishes silence and the time taken to observe the world around you, then you know by now that there’s nothing better to refresh your senses than solo travelling. From Jack Kerouac who wrote the American travel classic ‘On the Road’ to J.K Rowling who was inspired during train rides in Manchester in the United Kingdom to write Harry Potter, people who are looking for creative inspiration are often solo travellers. But if you’re normally more of a social butterfly or tied by commitments to job and family and the thought of travelling solo has entered your head and you don’t quite know what will help you make up your mind, then you need to read this.

Go with the flow

A missed flight or hotel bookings closed? No problem. From hitching a ride to even using run down backpacking hostels, solo travelling is made for the term – there’s been a slight change of plans. Solo travellers become so good with flexibly adapting their own plans as things change that they are sought after for their extraordinary crisis management skills when they return to their day jobs. Being on your own makes it easy to revise everything at the drop of a hat, whether that’s accommodation, what to eat or where to go. Nothing is beyond a simple solution, and learning to take whatever comes becomes second nature.

Feel the rush

Travelling with family and friends can be great but most of us will think twice before walking through the door to risky adventures, even if something is exciting to us but not to others. It’s a documented fact that our risk exposure increases when we are not bound by our liability to declare what we’re doing at all times, to those we know. So while you compromise in a group, you won’t have to if you’re on your own. There is no need to plan a schedule according to everyone else’s time and budget, and do things according to their interests whether that includes yours or not. You can explore what interests you as much as you like. The whole itinerary is open to experimental minds! Take the road less travelled. Midnight walks through 10,000 year old caves? Scuba diving with sharks? Everything about the great unknown. Here I come!

Image By Diego Delso / CC BY 3.0

Discover how awesome you really are

Not knowing anybody at the destination of your journey actually prepares you to open up more and forces you to let go of any inhibitions. It’s the single most effective way to step out of your comfort zone, so much so that most teenagers opt for what’s called a gap year before they finish university- just to travel solo! It has now become a recognised part of education and the skills we learn during solo travel, including self-responsibility, openness, broad-mindedness and the spirit of sharing acquire greater value by preparing us for the challenges we encounter in our life ahead. And that’s true, however young or old we may be!

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