The Perks of Traveling Alone
Since 2011, I have taken four trips alone. The first was a week in England, my first time ever to Europe. My family at the time wasn't very supportive of me traveling to a foreign country by myself (I even had a family member tell me I was going to end up like Natalee Holloway.. umm that can happen walking home from the subway in NYC!), but nothing could stop me from getting on that plane. From there I've spent time in Puerto Rico and Florida and my most recent solo adventure was going on a cruise (blog post on that coming soon!). With all of my friends getting married and having babies, I anticipate the solo trips to only increase in numbers.
And yet, I still watch people become shocked when they hear about how I go on trips by myself. My response to them? I think everyone should take at least one solo vacation and here are the perks (in no particular order) for doing so:
1. You get to do what you want on your own terms!
I've taken many trips with friends and family. Some people I travel really well with - we both have similar interests when it comes to how we want to spend our time on vacation. I also have friends that are comfortable with us separating for a day to do our own thing. We only plan to meet for dinner. Other trips have not gone over so well. When one person wanted to sleep in, the other wanted to get up at the crack of dawn to go sight seeing. (There are way more stories where that comes from, but I'll save them for another day.) Solution to this? Travel alone!
I have taken all sorts of trips by myself - domestic trips, Caribbean islands & European cities. Each trip comes with its own set of priorities for what I want to get done. Sometimes I'm ready to run around and go to all of the museums until I fall over, while others I just want to sit in a cafe with a glass of wine and people watch. When you are traveling alone, your time is your own. There is no sacrificing what you want to do.
2. You can de-plug from the world
There have been times in my life where I would give anything to get away. Whether it was problems in my love life, a fight I had with a friend/family, or just going crazy from stress of working full time and going to school, sometimes I just need a break. I find travel to be very cathartic when done alone. You can take a step back from all of the stress in your life and hit refresh. Key to this being successful? Turn off your phone, throw it in the hotel safe & go relax!
3. You can make new friends from all over the world
Photo Credit: Shelby Kaylin Schroeder
I have met some amazing people while traveling and most of them were on trips when I was solo. When I'm alone for an extended period of time, I find myself wanting to strike up a conversation with whoever is around me. (Ok yes, I do this when I'm out with friends too. What can I say, I'm a social butterfly.) Sometimes I'm sitting at a bar and the old couple sitting next to me wants to know what a young girl is doing by herself. Other times I just insert myself politely into people's conversations. I've made friends while playing craps at a casino or while sitting by a pool. I find that people who are on vacation tend to let their guard down and can be very open and welcoming, because we all just want to have fun on vacation! They take us solo people under their wing and before you know it you are adopted by a family and never have to eat dinner alone.
Most of the people I've met while traveling I keep in touch with at least via social media. Facebook and Instagram are a great way to keep track of what your new friends from all over the world are up to. And if you're lucky, you'll have a place to stay when you go travel to their home country!
4. You might fall in love... even if only for a week
Sorry mom and dad... you might want to skip over this part. But I can't lie - traveling alone is a great way to meet a potential partner. I've gone on dates while on trips by myself and while you always have to be careful, some of these dates have been the best of my life. In one case, I went on to become friends with the guy and still see him when he visits NYC. In another case, we tried to make it work post-vacation, but unfortunately weren't able to. Again, as I mentioned in point #3, there's something about vacation that let's people take their guards down and want to meet other people. In this case, maybe it's the allure of (probably) never seeing them again. All I know is despite sometimes getting my heart broken, I've never regretted the relationships I've made while traveling.
What's that saying? We only regret the chances we didn't take.
5. It can feel like one of the most empowering things you've ever done
One of the most spontaneous things I've ever done was book a trip to Puerto Rico that started two days later. I needed to get away and could not wait another minute to do so. I only told a couple people where I was going and two days later hopped on a flight for a long weekend in PR. I had never done anything like that before!
While in Puerto Rico, I spent a lot of time reflecting on everything going on back home in NYC. I would walk to a secluded part of the beach every day and just sit and look at the water. The whole experience was therapeutic for me and I found the weekend to be very empowering. When life isn't going the way you want it to, you take it by the horns and change it. I can do whatever I want to do (even if that means hopping on a flight that I just booked two days prior) and nothing can stop me.
I should also mention that on this trip I was able to experience all four of the above perks - I did what I want, when I wanted to, de-plugged, made new friends and met a guy. :-)
So what do you consider a perk of traveling alone?? Comment below!
xoxo - Kim