Don’t believe the haters – rolling solo on your travels is probably one of the best things you can do, not only in terms of experience, but also for self development. So why do it? Oh I don’t know, maybe for just some of the following reasons:
Logistics
Possibly the biggest benefit of solo travel is you don’t have to work around someone else’s schedule or time constraints. You can take that spur of the moment vacation, 3 day escape, or month-long adventure without having to concern yourself with others (unless you have a pet, please concern yourself with finding someone to watch them).
Do what you want, when you want to
Piggy backing on the last point, you don’t have to worry about going to some place you’ll hate simply to appease whoever you’re travelling with. If you are a beer connoisseur and want to check out the great monasteries that brew incredible beer- you can do it without worrying about your museum-junkie friend. You can make your vacation as varied or specialized as you like. If you want to lie on a beach the entire time, you can do it guilt free of what anyone else thinks.
Drama free
You don’t have to worry about getting into an argument with someone and then having to share a room with them for the next few days or sit by them on a 15 hour plane ride. If there’s a mishap, you won’t be blaming someone and they won’t be blaming you- you simply handle it and move on.
People tend to admire and respect those who travel alone
From hotels to restaurants, you’ll be surprised at the little perks you’ll get (sometimes in the form of free drinks) for travelling alone and the conversations that will take place. More often than not, they’ll even let you in on under the radar local things.
Great interview talking points
Travelling is a marketable skill. Traveling alone is even more impressive. It means you know how to organize (they don’t need to know about the flight you almost missed or the documents you left at a late night dive bar) and it also means you’re prepared for whatever the workplace throws at you.
Meet new people
It may sound crazy, but you really do meet more people when you travel alone. Others are more inclined to talk to you, just as you will be more inclined to chat with them. You’re more approachable when you don’t have a group around you (if you’ve ever been to a bar and wanted to talk to someone who was surrounded by a group, you know this to be true). The people you meet while travelling can be wildly different from your normal friends back home and could lead you to try things you never would have dared to do with pals from home (especially those who are record button happy), like singing karaoke.
