28 Oct The Joys of Traveling Solo: 5 Reasons for Women to Go It Alone
Remember the 1985 film Out of Africa? One of my favorite scenes is when Meryl Streep, playing Baroness Karen Blixen, shows up on horseback at her husband Bror’s hunting camp, leading an entourage of stock and wagons filled with supplies for to replenish the safari party’s multi-month outing. Utterly disheveled after the arduous 2-week trip, she announces with a small smile, “I’ve brought you some things.” The men greet her with stunned silence. Bror can’t believe she undertook the dangerous journey on her own.
Africa travel may have changed a lot in the past century, granted. But there are still plenty of people who look askance at a woman traveling by herself, especially in an adventurous context. While solo male travelers are admired as charismatic vagabonds, women are often deemed foolhardy or an object of concern.
Today, however, there are plenty of reasons to encourage women to travel in the footsteps of Karen Blixen, or more contemporary adventurers like Elizabeth Gilbert of Eat, Pray, Love fame, or Cheryl Strayed, who chronicled her solitary hike on the Pacific Crest Trail in Wild. And the benefits of traveling on your own aren’t lost if you choose a more civilized and comfortable approach to adventuring, perhaps even opting to join a group trip as an individual. Whether you’re single, or you and your partner have different interests and schedules, traveling alone can be a doorway to self-discovery.
Fully half of American adults are single, so it’s not surprising that women on their own comprise a growing share of the adventure travel market. And there are good reasons for choosing to travel solo no matter what your gender, starting with these.
1. Discover the Fun of Freedom
Perhaps the best reason to travel on your own is the sheer freedom it allows. You get up when you want to, eat where and when you feel like it, set your own itinerary, hike at your own pace, linger in museums for a long time, change your plans… You can opt for solitary activities, like reading on a train rather than chatting with companions, or indulging in a massage without having to justify it or worry about leaving your travel partner alone. If you want to attend a performance or sign up for a day tour last-minute, you might have better luck scoring a lone ticket. And even if you’ve opted to join a group tour as a single traveler, you can still add a few days before or after your scheduled trip to travel on your own, reveling in an unscripted opportunity for exploration. I did this before my group trip to Greenland in August, with three days on my own in Iceland where I signed up for an all-day horseback ride — something I likely wouldn’t have done were I traveling with friends who weren’t avid equestrians.
2. You Can Travel Safely by Yourself
Traveling by yourself doesn’t mean you must put yourself at greater risk. As long as you’ve done your research and use good judgment, there’s no reason you should be any less safe traveling on your own as a woman than if you were with a partner or a group of companions. Janice Waugh, author of The Solo Traveler’s Handbook and Solo Traveler Blog offers advice for staying safe: avoid sketchy neighborhoods, don’t walk alone after dark, stay in a public place with other travelers, hide your valuables and don’t wear expensive jewelry, dress in a culturally appropriate way, be aware of your surroundings and identify people to approach for assistance in a given location, and share your itinerary and plans with others.
3. Get to Know Yourself on a Deeper Level
Perhaps nothing offers a better context for self-discovery than traveling solo. There’s extended time for musing, pondering and self-reflection. It’s a rare chance to indulge your own thoughts at length, with no obligation to focus on others. No one else is around to filter your experiences through, to color or influence your perceptions. And if you’re inclined to journal, more opportunities exist to log the rich impressions and emotions that may arise during your journey, when it’s just you and all you are encountering, unsullied by interruptions from others.
4. Find Confidence Outside Your Comfort Zone
When you’re traveling entirely on your own, you automatically become more self-reliant. Whether it’s navigating a train schedule or examining a map, figuring out an exchange rate, buying a bus ticket or bartering in a local market, you’re on your own to make plans, get where you need to be, and sustain yourself. And even if you’ve chosen to join a group trip, you may find yourself participating in activities or conversations you might otherwise decline. When you are forced to rely on yourself and encounter new situations, you naturally develop a sense of greater self-assurance as you go.
5. Make Interesting New Friends
You may worry that you’ll be lonely on your own, but generally this is not the case. As a woman traveling solo, you’ll find that other people often pay more attention to you than they would otherwise. While this may not always be welcome (Italian men can be very forward!), you generally won’t lack for invitations to join others for meals, a night out, or a spot in a trekking party on the next day’s hiking route. If you’ve had a little too much of your own company, sign up for a day trip where you’re assured of some impromptu companions. And if you know you’d prefer fellow travelers for a longer stint, choose a scheduled group adventure. You’ll fulfill your dreams of exploring remote and exciting places while meeting others with a similar spirit with whom to share the experience.You can ensure your privacy by booking single accommodations (increasingly available without huge surcharges), yet still enjoy convivial connections along the way.
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