Why Travel Solo? 10 Signs It Might Be for You

Whenever I tell someone I’m about to go on a trip, the first question is always, “Who are you going with?”

“Nobody. It’s just me.”

Then, I usually get an awkward look and an “Oh.” 

Or a “But why?” 

Or, my favorite, “I could never do that.”

I’m happy to report that things are changing. A woman traveling alone – just because she wants to – might still seem weird to some, but they need to get over themselves. In fact, over recent years, solo female travel is becoming a global movement, empowering women everywhere, from all walks of life, to book that plane ticket, pack a suitcase, and just go.

What is solo travel really like, and is it right for you? In this blog post, I’ll give you 10 reasons why people travel solo – and maybe even inspire you to start thinking about your first solo destination.

First things first: What is solo travel, really?

Solo travel isn’t just about traveling alone – it’s much more than that. It’s about reclaiming the freedom to choose your own path. Go where you want to go. See what you want to see. Do what you want to do… and don’t do what you don’t want to do.

It might seem obvious that you should be able to do what you want while you’re on vacation, but if you’ve ever traveled with family, friends, or a partner, you know that’s rarely what ends up happening. 

What does end up happening? One person wants every minute of every day to be scheduled, while someone else just wants to sleep in and then lie on the beach all day. Nobody wants to go with you to that quirky museum or take the bus out of town just to see a rock that looks like a meerkat. You’re dragged to a touristy restaurant where nothing on the menu is appealing to you, and staying at a hotel you never would have chosen. Maybe you would have chosen a different destination altogether. You’re making compromises left and right. What else can you do? Nobody wants to spend their whole vacation arguing over what to do.

Traveling solo does away with all of that! It’s all about you, making your own choices, for you. It’s about taking a closer look at your own preferences, maybe getting to know yourself better. 

Is it always easy? No.

Is it for everyone? Probably not.

Is it for you? Let’s take a closer look and see.

10 signs solo travel might be for you

1. You’ve been bitten by the travel bug

There’s so much world out there, and so little time – but you want to see as much of it as you can. Maybe you’ve already done some traveling in your life, but it wasn’t enough. You’re naturally curious, and you’ve got this long list in your head of places you’ve never been before. You’re just dying to get out there and see, do, taste, explore.

That’s really the starting point for all of this. If you want to travel, you should. This is true of just about all things in life: when you sit around waiting for the right time to come, it never really does.

When you travel solo, the right time is whenever you say it is.

2. You crave freedom

Between work, family, socializing, and all the other day-to-day stuff that comes with being a human in the 21st century, sometimes it can feel like you never have a moment to yourself.

Now, imagine all of that disappearing for a while, and you’re magically transported into your own world where you get to do whatever you want, all day long. You could wander around a city you’ve never been to before, take a hike to a beautiful waterfall, sip a cocktail by the pool, or order room service, lie in bed, and finally finish reading that book. Heck, you could even do all those things in the same day. Or mix and match. I’m not going to tell you what to do. Neither is anybody else.

This is one of the reasons why I think solo travel is the best. Does it sound exactly like what you need right now? Then you might want to consider booking that plane ticket.

3. You’re tired of waiting for the right travel partner

Maybe you’ve always liked the idea of traveling with a friend or a partner, but the right person hasn’t come along. Maybe your friends are all too busy with their own lives or don’t have the budget. Maybe you don’t have a partner, maybe you don’t particularly want one, or maybe you have one who doesn’t share your passion for travel. Maybe you’ve traveled with someone in your life before and you didn’t really mesh very well. It happens – more often than you’d think.

With solo travel becoming more and more socially acceptable, you don’t have to keep waiting around forever. 

4. You enjoy your alone time

Solo travelers come from many different backgrounds, and everyone has their own travel style. Some solos like to stay at hostels or join groups so they can make new friends as they travel. Others are more like myself, choosing to travel solo because they actually want to spend some time on their own. No matter what your own travel style is like, if you’re going solo, you’re going to experience some alone time, to some extent, sooner or later. 

If spending time alone sounds incredibly appealing to you, you should definitely try traveling solo. If it sounds incredibly scary – maybe you should try it anyway. You might learn some surprising things about yourself, and you might actually enjoy it. Or you might hate every minute of it, but then, at least you can say you’ve tried.

5. You hate being on other people’s schedules

I’ve traveled with people who like to set their alarm clock (An alarm clock. In a hotel room.) for as early as possible and rush off to cram as many activities as possible in a day. I’ve traveled with people who like to create a schedule and stick to it religiously. And I’ve traveled with people who only want to wander around aimlessly, when there’s actually something specific I wanted to see.

This kind of thing can be enough to ruin a trip for me – and why I love solo travel. I’m not an always-on-the-go type of traveler, and I’m not a big planner. Even when I do make plans, sometimes I break them because something else caught my eye, or because I no longer remember why I wanted to do the thing I planned. If you’re not like me, you’d probably hate traveling with me.

My point: when you travel solo, you make your own schedule – or not. If you love this idea, you’ll love traveling on your own.

6. You like to challenge yourself

Any kind of travel brings on its own set of challenges. When you’re traveling solo, you’ll run into them all the time – whether it’s language barriers, unintuitive public transportation systems, or Google Maps going all whack and insisting that the nice restaurant where you have a dinner reservation is in the middle of the Thames and you have to jump off London Bridge to get there (true story). 

If you’re a natural problem-solver, you’re probably a natural solo traveler. Sometimes there’s nothing more satisfying than figuring out, all on your own, how to get from point A to the elusive point B. Or how to pay for that freaking train ticket. Or how to explain – without resorting to pantomime – that you’re looking for toilet paper.

If you’re not used to having to solve problems on your own, you might find yourself outside of your comfort zone. Many people believe this is why solo travel is important.

7. You don’t like making compromises

Maybe you strongly prefer the window seat. Or the aisle seat. Or the middle seat, because… you’re just really weird that way? When you travel solo, there’s no “You take the window on the flight out and I’ll take it on the way back.” 

There’s no “All right, I’ll go to that flashy mall with you but only if I can drag you to 12 different thrift stores tomorrow. What do you mean the limit is six? Okay, six.”

There’s no “Okay, I guess I don’t really need to see Jim Morrison’s grave if you really don’t want to.”

Are you still wondering why you should travel alone? If you love the idea of only doing what you want and never doing what you don’t want, you’ll probably be in heaven from the minute you rest your head on that plane window.

8. You have your own unique set of preferences

I’ve already mentioned travel styles, and sometimes your own quirks just don’t really match anyone else’s. And imposing your quirks on uninterested others can feel uncomfortable, especially when you hate when other people do that to you.

For example, I love looking at mineral collections, and wherever I go, I’m always seeking out the natural history museums. Seriously, if you ask me, the best place in all of New York City is the Hall of Gems and Minerals at the American Museum of Natural History. I can spend hours and hours just roaming around and staring at beautiful, colorful rocks.

As you can imagine, most people don’t want to spend their limited time in New York City staring at beautiful, colorful rocks. And that’s only one of my many, many quirks as a traveler.

You’ve probably got yours, and you know what they are. When you travel solo, you can live your life to the fullest, doing all the weird and wonderful things nobody else wants to do.

9. You’re fascinated by other cultures

I’ve traveled to over 30 countries, and while some have their similarities, I can confidently say no two are alike. It’s a big world out there, and sometimes the best way to experience it can be as an observer. Traveling with others can be fun (I guess), but it’s also like roaming around in your own little bubble from home.

Traveling solo gives you the opportunity to take it all in, process it on your own, and have your own experiences that are only yours.

10. You’re just curious what it would be like

And this, my friend, is a perfectly good reason to give solo travel a try. You only live once, seize the day, just do it, and a whole bunch of other clichés – but some things are clichés for a reason. I’ve got nothing to add to that.

What you don’t need to be in order to travel solo

• Rich. Travel is rarely free and you’ll need to be able to fund your trip, but some destinations and travel styles are surprisingly inexpensive.
• Someone who has endless free time. I’m certainly not that someone – some of my trips are only a few days long, while others might go on for up to a few weeks. You might not be able to leave everything behind and go backpacking for six months, but you can go away for a long weekend and come back with memories of your own exciting experiences. 
• Of a certain age. Well, if you’re a minor, that might make things difficult, but aside from that, it doesn’t matter if you consider yourself to be young or old. Remember, when you travel solo, you do what you want, and you do it your way.
• Outgoing. Making new friends while traveling can be nice if that’s your thing, but it’s in no way a must. 
• In perfect physical shape. When you travel solo, you don’t have to worry about wearing yourself out or holding the group back. You decide when to go and how far, you decide when to stop and for how long.
• An experienced traveler. If you haven’t traveled much in the past, don’t worry. You’ll figure it out. Just be sure to do your research so you feel confident you have all the information you need.

Final thoughts

If you’ve read this far and you’ve been thinking “Yes, that sounds like me,” then (a) you’ve made me very happy, and (b) you should probably give solo travel a try. You don’t have to commit to a life-changing adventure – you could test the waters by spending a weekend in a city nearby or by revisiting a place you’ve already traveled to with others.

Everyone has to start somewhere, and who knows? Solo travel might even become your next big passion in life.

And when someone asks, “But who are you going with?”

Just say, “It’s just me.”

If they say “I could never do that,” you can smile proudly. Because now you know you’re one of the people who can.

FAQs: Why travel solo?