Solo travel for females is a topic I’m often emailed about. Can I do it? Is it safe? Will I survive? My parents don’t want me to go? Help! Luckily, I’ve got some good girlfriends who have travelled solo a lot, plus a few experiences of my own, and even a friend who wrote a book about travelling solo fearlessly, and between us, we can give you some good advice.
While most of my travel has been with a boyfriend/husband, or a friend, and occasionally even my mother, I have had the good fortune to do a few solo trips. Actually, I wish I’d done more! After you get over the initial discomfort, there are so many advantages of travelling on your own. And the most important one for me is that you get to be totally itinerary-selfish. You can go where you want, when you want, how you want, for however long you want. If you get my drift.
When I’m travelling on my own, I get a marvelous sense of freedom. This photo is the main train station at Hamburg in northern Germany, and I remember taking it just before I got on a relatively long train journey down south to where I was living – I adore having a long train trip like that all to myself! One of my favourite solo travel memories actually happened when my bus in Croatia missed a connection and I ended up alone in the Zagreb bus station at three o’clock in the morning. I looked at the timetable board and realised there were numerous places (all in different countries!) that I could go next, all still in the vague direction of where I was going, and I was free to choose whichever one I wanted! That’s why I love travelling on my own sometimes.
Superwoman solo travellers: Four women, four stories
Jen: Solo travel is luxurious
Aki: Finding a new personality
Rhi: Solo travel with a book
Charlotte: Solo travel is freedom
Yes travelling alone can be a great experience, mainly that you can go to places and see things that you want to. On the down side you do have to figure out problems on your own too and you can be sure that when you travel sometimes the unexpected happens.
Oh, very true Hilary, sorting out problems on your own can be more of a challenge (although at least there are fewer arguments involved)! All part of the fun I suppose 🙂
Yes, we shouldn’t be afraid to travel alone. It is confidence building, it represents freedom and it gives us time and place to be who we really want to be. Love these stories 🙂
Thanks Jo! Yes, travelling solo really does build your confidence in a completely different way, does’ it. So important to do it that way at least some of the time.
Thanks a ton Jo for sharing this post. Its a big YES, solo travelling creates a sense of confidence in ones life.I think it makes you feel more happy and refresh. Every women should try solo travelling as you will start discovering yourself more and everything around you will be positive.
Great to hear from you Maria and yes, utterly agree with you, of course! Solo travel can really be life changing – very life affirming!
I really think solo travel can be life-changing! I love the freedom of it and it’s given me huge confidence boosts at times when I wasn’t feeling my best. But my favourite thing is the really deep bonds I’ve formed with people in a short space of time. I think that’s a little less likely to happen when you’re with friends or family. Great post, Amanda!
Thanks Grace and yes, I totally agree – much easier to make amazing friends while you’re travelling if you’re on your own!
I’ve been on tons of solo trips, I crossed West Africa on my own, went to China alone when I was 16 and criss-crossed Europe on trains and planes. I had some excellent adventures on these trips, and met a ton of interesting people along the way. On the other hand, I had some miserable trips like this too, where I spent way too much time on my own and hardly met anyone. I still think it’s a great way to travel but to be honest, these days I prefer company.
Good point Nina – I think solo travel for me is so exciting because I rarely get the chance to do it – but I think it’s something where you can have too much of a good thing (or the good thing becomes not so good)! I still want to do more though – your history of solo travel sounds amazing!
Very good post! I also travelled by myself to Australia. I agree, you’ll make friends way quicker when you’re traveling solo and also it’s freedom. You can do whatever you want, whenever you want. Great post Amanda!
Thanks so much! Yes, heaps easier to make friends by yourself, I think that’s one of the biggest positives.
Travelling alone is altogether so different as a feeling.!! Can’t express it.
I have always loved traveling along, It builds your confidence and make you fearless..
Cheers and thanks for posting.
Yes indeed Howard, I agree, especially about building confidence – that always gets a boost when I go travelling alone!
Sometimes my wife travel solo in business trip. I give your blog link to her and say her, its helpful advice for you.
Thanks Tom, hope your wife finds it useful!
I travel solo, always, everywhere. Enough has been said about the utter freedom, so I’d like to contribute a little bit about safety. One of the first things I did was sign up for self defense classes which developed into kick boxing of which I am by now a brown belt. It’s not that I ever needed to kick someone where it hurts, but it is the sense that you CAN which gives you so much more confidence. And people who are confident are much less likely to be attacked. You can practise the sport at any age.
That’s a really great tip Inka – and I completely agree. I did ju-jitsu classes as a teenager and I still have that feeling that I would be able to kick someone if need be (fortunately have never needed to – hope it stays that way)!