Travelling Solo - The Pros & Cons

Embarking on my Nomad with a Notebook ventures has meant that I have necessarily embraced travelling solo and all that it entails. Some people say a person is 'brave' for travelling alone while others cannot understand why someone might choose to travel solo.

Being alone in a completely different country, culture and continent surrounded by new languages, sights, sounds and tastes comes with challenges. However, it can also broaden your mind and open your life to new possibilities and adventure.

What then are the pros & cons to travelling solo?

Have you done it or would you consider it?

Here are my thoughts...

Travelling Solo - The Pros!

There are many advantages to travelling alone, rather than with another person or as a group. Travelling solo can be an amazing experience and a time to really be true to yourself and develop and indulge in what you want.

Here are some of the pros to booking that solo travel ticket!

- Independence

One of the biggest advantages to travelling solo is the complete independence it gives you.

The travelling you embark on can be in your own time, on your own terms and to destinations that you pick!

It might be considered selfish but you do not need to consider anyone else in your day to day activities or plans....

- Want to lie in bed or on the beach all day and forget the world?? Who is going to stop you?

- Prefer to spend a day sightseeing around the local tourist sights or trekking off the beaten track? You can do so without worrying that a companion has other interests.

- Do you work as a digital nomad and need to spend some time on work pursuits, stuck to your laptop for hours at a time? No need to worry that your travel buddy is bored while you work.

Travelling solo means you are completely independent and can just worry about and indulge in yourself... seeking out and enjoying what fulfils you in your travel experiences.

- Meet New People And Grow An International Social Network

Often when we are alone it is more likely that other people will seek to interact with us and this can be an opportunity when travelling to meet new people and make new friends.

If we are already with another person or engrossed in a wider group then strangers are less likely to 'interrupt' and attempt to build a relationship with us.

Therefore, being alone can have the advantage that you will grow a great social network of varied and fantastic individuals from around the world. You never know when these contacts could be useful and it is always fascinating to meet new people and hear about the lives and experiences of others.

When travelling alone, if you want to make connections with others then be open in your facial expressions and body language and you will surely find that people will interact gladly.

- Secure Bookings More Easily

If travelling on transport that is very popular, seeking accommodation at busy periods or making other travel plans that are in demand, being alone and just seeking a booking for one might be an advantage.

Finding a single seat left on a flight or coach or finding a hotel room for one (rather than rooms to accommodate six) is likely to be much easier.

In this way, being alone might even offer more flexibility in terms of options for what and when you can book as well as in terms of prices you pay.

- Develop Or Cultivate Important Life Skills

Travelling completely alone and not having anyone else alongside you to assist or to fall back on also makes it necessary to develop and cultivate a good set of life skills that can be widely transferable.

Organisational skills are essential when travelling alone - you need to organise and manage all your own bookings, travel arrangements, currency and finances, navigation and time-keeping.

Your self management skills will become polished to a shiny new level if you are to succeed as a solo traveller!

In addition to this, skills in communication with people from all different cultures, backgrounds and with different mother tongues to your own will be essential.

Travelling will provide an opportunity to hone in on a variety of communication skills.

You will develop better cultural understandings and tolerance of other people's differences, perhaps appreciating more why and how we differ so much from one culture to another around the world.

Overall, travelling solo is an experience that can be empowering and lead to great self-development.

- Become More In Touch With Your True Self And Find Fulfilment

One of the reasons I started to travel and take on my Nomad with a Notebook adventure was because in recent years I felt I had become lost within myself.

I was no longer really sure of what my inner self wanted or even where she was! I knew that the life I was living was not one that was fulfilling or making me happy.

Starting to travel, and travel solo can be a route to really getting in touch with our true selves and finding fulfilment in this life we have been put on this planet to live!

Often I think we can seek permission from others in the life choices we make or make our decisions based on what we think others might approve of.

Travelling solo is a chance to give yourself permission to be true to you; to go into the world and follow your heart. This is a chance to not need to seek approval from anyone but yourself and I think you will find that if those who love you see you are happy and fulfilled then they will be very approving of what you are doing!

Travelling Solo - The Cons

Having considered some of the pros to travelling independently, it is only fair to balance it out with some cons (although perhaps I should have done this the other way around!)...

- No One To Share The Immediate Moment With

As humans it is natural to enjoy and seek the company of others and find pleasure in being able to share experiences with another. Having someone with whom you have a close relationship to build memories and to capture and analyse travel experiences with can be special.

When in a moment of excitement, happiness, fear or any other emotion that has been triggered by travelling and adventure, being able to turn to someone else and see that they have felt and had the same response can be important.

Travelling solo it is necessary to forego this.

There will be many moments when you are perhaps in awe of a new sight or travel experience; feeling intense excitement at fulfilling a long-held dream when you might wish someone was with you.

In these moments it might be even more important to try to connect with the strangers around you and form new bonds with people (see above) or, in this world of social media, sharing images of new experiences and putting words to them to show others what you are feeling can be an alternative.... (make sure you are also following me on Instagram!).

- Loneliness

Linking into the previous point, travelling solo will not be without feelings of loneliness at times.

Eating, sleeping, playing and adventuring alone can get lonely; particularly if you are not in a position to connect with fellow travellers or others who are around you.

Travelling solo will mean that you will need to be able to enjoy your own company much of the time and find ways to keep yourself occupied at times when you might have otherwise been social.

There will be nights when you will need to be content with sitting with a good book, finding a distracting TV show to watch or other quiet means to keep yourself occupied.

Another way to overcome feelings of being alone could be to surround yourself with people, even if you are not actually with them. Sitting in a cafe with a drink and people watching can help to feel a part of a local community, even if you are there alone.

Attending local events, markets and other busy and vibrant areas all can help feel that you are connected with others, even though you are still essentially a solo traveller.

- Safety

One reason people might consider us solo travellers 'brave' is the safety aspect that is thought more of a risk when alone.

Be aware of dangers and keep safe!

Safety as a solo traveller is a blog post in itself and the methods to keep ourselves safe, but it is worth visiting here too.

When travelling solo there will be times when people do not know where we are, what we are doing and who we are with. If we did not return to our 'home' (or accommodation) at night would anyone raise an alarm?

Travelling with others means that there is the opportunity to watch one another and to some extent protect one another. As the saying goes, there is safety in numbers.

Solo travel will mean you will need to be vigilant to the risks to your safety and put protection measures in place. This might include measures to protect your belongings from theft or damage as well as means to protect yourself from harm.

If you are going to be going to an area or undertaking an activity that would be considered more of a risk then ensure somebody (even someone back home) knows what you are doing and with whom you can check in again later.

- Single Supplements

Anyone who has ever travelled solo will have heart sink moments when they hear the words, "single supplement". It often does not pay to travel solo.

Being single can be expensive!

Very often if travelling alone, particularly if you are booking hotels or package type deals, then single supplements will be applied.

This is a difficult one to overcome. Seeking out travel deals that are offered with 'no single supplements' is one option.

If you do not mind sharing then some group travel deals will be offered without a single supplement if you are willing to bunk up with another person (which might help with loneliness too!)...

Or, as I am doing, house-sitting is a way of securing free accommodation when travelling for which no supplements apply (see previous posts about house-sitting)!

- Any Problems And You Are On Your Own!

One of the advantages to solo travel above was the fact that travelling alone can help to build life skills in terms of organisation, self management, communication etc...

On your own if disaster strikes!!!

Another life skill that will be necessary is problem solving without being able to call on another person in the immediate vicinity. Some might consider this a significant disadvantage to solo travel.

If something does go wrong (and hopefully it will not) but if you do find yourself without your luggage, there are issues with your accommodation, you are sick or a natural disaster impacts on your plans, then you will be alone to come to a solution.

This might mean you have to deal with authorities alone, overcoming possible language barriers. You might need to find alternative accommodation or transport or find some of your other plans need to change at the last minute.

When travelling with others, we can share the burden when problems arise and have others to talk things over with. Alone it is down to us.

However, as mentioned above, this is also good life experience at building resilience and besides, it might never happen!

Conclusion

Above 5 pros and 5 cons to solo travel are put forward. Other considerations for both lists will of course exist.

If you are deciding about whether you would enjoy or wish to travel solo then take these considerations into account and weigh up what might work for you.

Remember though, there is a great saying that,

'the world starts at the end of your comfort zone...'.

Not travelling solo because it feels daunting or causes some anxieties should not always prevent you trying it.

For me, the advantages of travelling and seeing the world solo far outweigh any disadvantages.

The world is large and worth exploring, alone or with others!

What are your thoughts about solo travel?

Good or bad? Worth doing or only travelling with others?

As ever, I would love to hear your thoughts or experiences.

Travelling solo has meant I have been able to see incredible sights like these!

**To make my travels possible and affordable I do so through international house-sitting, using both Trusted Housesitters and Kiwi Housesitters**