1. Travelling alone whether a short weekend away/holiday or long haul travel will be one of the most empowering things you can ever do. Allow yourself to be proud of yourself.
2. You have to deal with YOU. It is a great time to analyse yourself and learn about your triggers. For example what triggers you to always say yes to a plan? Is it because you genuinely want to do everything or do you have a fear of letting people down? Having the time to analyse yourself and your triggers is a luxury that is difficult to achieve in normal working life and can help you later on to make a few subtle changes in your life that help you to put yourself first which ultimately leads to a happier more fulfilling life. It helps to have the notes section on your iPhone available to jot down little things you notice as you go.
3. Meeting people. Whoever thinks travelling solo is going to be lonely is wrong. Travelling solo is as lonely as you want it to be. Maybe lonely is the wrong word. I think what I mean here is how much ‘me time’ you have. How you act on your travels directly implicates how much ‘me time’ you have. Generally if you stay in hostels you will mostly be meeting other solo travellers who also want to meet other solo travellers (just like you)! It is like being transported back to University freshers week where everyone is in the friend making zone. Tbh in my experience I found myself craving ‘me time’ more often than ‘meeting new people’ as the meeting new people came more easily and more frequently. It is absolutely amazing to be surrounded by so many other solo travellers as generally they are people who are like-minded and naturally friendly.
4. Being the sole decision maker. Making decisions with others can sometimes be more stressful than anyone even realises until you don’t have to do it. It is not until you have experience of travelling solo and only doing what you want to do that you realise how much of a difference it makes. To be able to go at your own pace is the most relaxing thing in the world. It also means that you don’t end up going snorkelling if you’re not really bothered about doing it.
5. Time. So as mentioned above, going at your own pace is relaxing. On top of this travelling alone is like being given the gift of time. No exaggeration. Time moves slower (in a good way) when you are not spending your time towards others. When you have the luxury of spending time just for yourself you suddenly have many more hours in the day to fill up than the maybe two hours spare every weekday after work (that’s if you are actually working Mon-Fri 9-5pm which frankly who actually does?!). Imagine the possibilities…

Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre, Italia