The thought of travelling solo is enough to put many people off making their dreams a reality. Here’s a scenario, you want to travel the world, you’ve saved money, your ready to go, however the friend(s) you want travel with are not. What do you do? a) Stay in your dead end job and wait around for said friend(s) to be ready or do you b) Decide to go it alone. Unfortunately many people take option a. NOTE – this should never be an option. Travelling alone can be one of the greatest things you will ever do. Granted there can be downsides but the pros far outweigh the cons.
If you ask any solo traveller I guarantee they would never say they wished they’d waited. The world may not be going anywhere but life is too short to wait around for other people. I put off travelling for nearly 10 years, and finally I am doing it on my own, with friends joining me later down the trip.
Some may say but don’t you get lonely? what about safety? Loneliness and safety are a travellers biggest fears, I know they were mine. My response you will always meet other like minded people if you are staying in the right places i.e hostels and if you are working you will also meet people that way. Sometimes that feeling of being alone can also do you the world of good. There’s one thing to remember and that’s someone somewhere is in your exact same position.
Well what about safety you may say?! No matter where you are even in your home country you should be safety conscious. My advice, research research research – research the area you are traveling to and be street wise. Don’t be gullible and be aware. Guards up at all times.
The beauty of solo travel is the freedom….oh the freedom! Imagine doing what you want, when you want to do it at any given opportunity. Sounds great right? Well it is. You have absolutely nobody else to argue with, debate with on where you should and shouldn’t go and when. Spontaneity is your best friend, take it, use it and abuse it. Imagine being able to pack up your things, book a flight and be gone the following day, just because you feel like it. It’s that feeling of freedom like no other that keeps people moving and experiencing solo travel on a daily basis.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have the best of both worlds. I travelled to the other side of the world from England to Australia alone, but I also have friends over here. I still get to feel the effects and experience solo travel. I do a lot on my own, but have those friends for company at the times when they or I are not working and we want to do things together. In addition to that I was able to get a job relatively quickly and have made friends in my own right. I’ve loved every minute of meeting and sharing experiences with new people and learning about different cultures and I’m keen to keep moving and keep that feeling alive.
In my opinion never wait for your friends to be ready. When you’re ready, you leave. You’re friends can meet you later, and the chances are once you’ve packed up and left this will spur them on to join you. “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone”