Should I Solo Road Trip? Going Out Alone!

Solo Road Trip Success

Going Out Alone

                Going out alone and starting your next journey all by yourself can seem like a very daunting task for many travelers. Traveling is a way to explore, engage, and experience different cultures. While traveling alone you will be forced to meet different people and learn to interact in an unknown setting around unknown individuals. This is exactly what people mean when they say solo traveling gets you out of your “comfort zone.”

                 Traveling alone or going solo is just one way of traveling the world. Just to clarify, solo traveling means that you will be traveling without a companion or a group. I have met people that considered themselves solo travelers, but they were meeting people they already had friendships with at every stop on their itinerary. In my opinion, this is not solo traveling because you are not forced to meet others and get out of your comfort zone.

Going Out Alone

                Going out alone is becoming a method of traveling that is taking the traveling community by storm. Social media, Facebook groups, and meetup apps have made it much easier to find connections before arriving in-country. Remember, there is a big difference between meeting up with friends that you already had before starting your trip and meeting up with people that you have recently met through a Facebook group. Meeting new people through a Facebook group is still a form of getting out of your comfort zone.  For some people, it will take much longer than others to feel confident while solo traveling.

                Choosing to solo travel is a decision that has to be made by the traveler themselves. Only they truly know why they want to embark on this solo road trip. This article will lay out the pros and cons of solo traveling that I have personally encountered. Perhaps this article can help sway you in the direction of attempting your first solo travel road trip experience.

Pros of Solo Road Trip Life

                Many travelers prefer going alone because they want freedom, personal growth, and want an attempt to build their social confidence. Solo traveling is a great way for personal development and confidence to be built but remember that there are risks as well. Let us start by discussing the positives and below I will outline some amazing benefits of taking your first solo road trip.

Solo Trip Freedom

                If you are looking for freedom in your life and want to get away from others being able to influence your next destination choice, then solo traveling is for you. Solo traveling allows for all decisions to be left up to you. This is an amazing feeling to have when you are standing in the airport lobby looking up at the board and just decide, “Norway it is.” Your decisions will be purely yours without anyone dictating. However, with big decisions comes big responsibility. Another big freedom to going out alone is the simple fact that you are no longer responsible for anyone but yourself. This can take a huge weight off your shoulders and allow for you to feel freer which can then lead to more optimism and positivity.

Personal Growth

                If you are looking for personal growth, then solo traveling is going to help you a lot. A solo traveler learns a lot of things that can help with personal growth. While traveling alone you will be forced to meet and interact with other travelers from around the world. These travelers will teach you tips, tricks, and hacks that they have learned along their journeys. This firsthand learning experience can only be learned through solo traveling.  

                As a solo traveler, you will make decisions on your own and face the consequences of your decision. These decisions may help you become a better person. You may make mistakes along the way, but the important part is that you learn from these mistakes. You will become a more socially conscious person which will lead you in the direction of becoming a better traveler. Successful traveling is an art form in a sense, it is a skill that has to be learned through trial and error. Learning this travel knowledge firsthand from other travelers will make you a traveler that people want to be around.

Meeting New People

                During your solo travel, you will meet a lot of new people and you will make a lot of new friends. Traveling solo will help you make friends all around the world. You will be surprised how often that you will randomly run back into a traveler that you met a few months back on the other side of the world. While meeting travelers from all parts of the world you will begin to understand why some countries feel or view topics the way they do. Seeing topics from multiple points of view will lead to personal growth in many more ways than just traveling. Exploring different cultures can be one of the most enlightening journeys a traveler can experience.

Confidence building

                Going out alone and solo traveling can have an immense impact on your confidence. You will gain more and more confidence as you travel. Your confidence will help you make bolder decisions and ultimately take you to the achievements you may have not expected. As your confidence grows you will see yourself taking risks that you may have not even thought about a few months prior. This is 100% natural and encouraged but always remember that you are traveling alone. For this reason, I always encourage solo travelers to stay at hostels. Hostel life allows you to be alone if you want but there are always potential friends around if you need them. 

Cons of Solo Road Trip Life

Solo Traveling Loneliness

                While traveling alone you will feel loneliness from time to time. This is natural and it does not go away based on how many times you travel alone. Loneliness can impact your mind and lead to you isolating yourself. If you are traveling alone for the first time, STAY AT A HOSTEL. I think it is also important to remember that loneliness is not always a bad thing either. Being alone can allow you to concentrate and complete tasks that you have been wanting to complete for a long time coming.

                Solo travelers can get depressed due to loneliness but there is also a solution, MAKE NEW FRIENDS. New friends can make loneliness disappear in an instant. I have personally seen it happen many times. Nobody is above feeling lonely. Be prepared and you can turn loneliness into an advantage. 

Solo Trip Safety

                Safety is a top concern for every traveler and every traveler’s family. Will you be completely safe while traveling solo? That is a difficult question to answer but there are many ways you can go about ensuring your safety and putting yourself in better situations. Ten minutes of research before arriving in a new city can go a long way. Understand the local customs so that you do not show up completely in the dark.

               Feeling more vulnerable while traveling alone is going to happen but you can put yourself in a better situation with some minimal research. An example can be seen when arriving in some middle eastern countries. It does not matter if it is 100F/35C  degrees outside.🔥 In some countries, you should not get off the plane in a belly shirt or a tank top. This should be common sense, but I assure you that it is not for some travelers. If you do not want to be a target, then do not make yourself a target.🎯

Solo Trip Expenses

                This topic is one of those that is rather obvious but sometimes overlooked. People traveling solo will pay more than groups. This can be seen in traveling to and from the airport, meals, accommodations, and many other areas of travel. Traveling alone allows more freedom but it may cost more money.

Limited Travel Backup

                During every traveler’s journey, there will come a time when they need some help. This will not always be a make or break moment for help but needing help comes in many forms. Consider you fell ill, who will bring you soup? Consider you have forgotten to do a currency swap and you are already in the taxi? When solo traveling a traveler must take further precautions than if they were in a group setting. Keep in mind that a travel journal can go along way to keeping you on track while traveling.

Solo Road Trip Conclusion

            The biggest piece of advice I could give you is this, “Solo traveling will put you in positions, some uncomfortable, you never thought you would be put in but it will also allow you to reach levels of freedom, social confidence, and personal growth that you didn’t know existed. Over 90% of my travels around the world have been alone and it has led me to meet some of the most amazing and optimistic individuals on the planet. Solo traveling is your choice and always remember, “you get to decide when you are ready to take your first solo travel journey.”

Next Up Check Out “Are there waterfalls in Arizona: Exploring Havasu Falls.”

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