Enjoy travelling anywhere by yourself
You won’t always be able to travel with a group. And even with group trips, you might end up with a day or an afternoon to yourself. How do you fill that time if you’re used to only following others?
Being comfortable traveling by yourself is a wonderful skill to have. It opens up new opportunities for you to visit anywhere you want without being tied to what others want. You’ll feel confident in more situations knowing you made it through trips across the country or across the world on your own.
You can often transfer your solo travel skills to other situations too. You might get better at internally mapping your own city, or navigating to new places in your hometown. Maybe you’ll develop an appreciation for Thai food or feel comfortable eating out or watching movies alone when you’re back home.
Who solo travel is best for
If any of these statements describe you, solo travel could be perfect for you.
Advantages and disadvantages of solo travel
Most of the pros and cons of solo travel cut both ways. What’s a pro in some circumstances can be a con in others. For example, you get to decide where you eat, but that much flexibility could be paralyzing for some travelers who don’t know where to start.
Advantages of solo travel
Disadvantages of solo travel
Best cities for solo travel
Most cities work for solo travelers who want to go it alone the whole time or make new friends along the way. Compare a few cities we’ve tested for accommodating solo travelers.
Tips for solo travel
Bonus tips: How to play travel bingo
Ever talked about travelling to someone who doesn’t travel? Prepare yourself now to hear the same responses. In fact, these phrases are called bingos because they’re so common you could fill up a bingo board with them.
Real life example: “You’re going to Japan? Aren’t you worried about being so close to North Korea?” (Yes, this conversation actually happened to the writer. While speaking with a librarian.)
Get ready to hear phrases like these, and feel free to use these sample responses to shut people down. The level of sarcasm is completely up to you.
“Are you sure that’s safe?” “Actually most of the world has a much lower crime rate than the US.”
“Isn’t that a third world country?” “You know, Mexico has cleaner water than Flint, Michigan.”
“Do they speak English there?” “No, but I know how to say ‘which way to the bar?'”
“Do you have family there?” “No, the best part of travel for me is to get away from family.”