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The best travel companion you can have is yourself. The interest in traveling alone has grown in recent years, and the travel industry all over the world has come up with ways to cater to the growing need of solo travelers. Despite what most people assume about travelling alone, such trips can lead to a lot of self-meditation and learning unlike when traveling in groups.
Solo travellers always manage to get the best out of their trips and get to experience the people and cultures of the places they visit on a more personal level.
1. It makes trip planning easier
Everyone has a bucket list of places they want to travel to in their lifetime, but many a times we hold ourselves back from experiences due to having no one to share experiences with. Everyone has different schedules, budgets, and traveling interests, and waiting around for the right person to join you for a train trip can be a waste. When you travel alone, only your needs matter, and you can plan something at the last minute if you desire and it is easy to plan a trip around your timetable.
2. You get to enjoy time alone
In a world filled with digital distractions, taking some time off to reflect and relax can be hard. Fortunately, solo travel offers the time and space that’s necessary for valuable alone time. You may not be the type of person who goes off the grid when traveling but being alone on a vacation will give you the opportunity to reflect on life and enjoy your own company.
3. You're the master of your itinerary
If you have ever planned a vacation with another person or a group of people, you know that picking the dates to travel can be a hassle since everyone has different schedules. That is just one factor to consider when taking a trip with someone.
Where the other party(ies) will stay, what they will eat, what do they want to do on the trip, how much money are they willing to spend are some of the key factors that can make planning a trip a headache. Some people can be too choosy on where they want to stay and not willing to part with large sums of money to cater for their comfort. Traveling solo however offers the best conditions for one to consider all these factors depending on what works for them.
4. You make new friends.
One of the biggest fears of solo travel is the fear of feeling lonely. However, you will never feel this way if you make the right choices. For meals, one can always find restaurants where you can dine at the bar and interact with the bartender or skip restaurants altogether and stick to street food and meet new people while learning about the food culture of the region.
Street food has proven to be among the best things one can eat while visiting a new town or country. Visiting lively cafes or bars that appeal to your tastes can help in making new friends and if in a foreign country, you can find spots that are popular with expats.
5. Your experiences will be more meaningful
Taking other people on a trip can often serve as a distraction from the destination you’re interested in visiting. The experiences you have when traveling alone tend to feel more personal, and the memories last longer.
6. It boosts your confidence
We all feel nervous when going on a solo trip, but in the end, nothing makes you more confident than being able to travel the world on your own. It’s nice to have someone to rely on, but it is very satisfying when that someone is you.
7. It makes you a better traveler
Traveling alone makes you a better observer of people and places around you, which has the power to make you more compassionate and aware of the different cultures and behaviours of people around the world. Being a tourist automatically changes the way you interact with others, factors which are positive when it comes to travel.
Apart from making you kinder and more patient, it increases your curiosity about your surroundings, and the chances that you will pay more attention to the little details are high compared to how much detail you will notice with a companion.
8. You easily stay within your budget
Everyone has different spending habits since money is always a pressure point when it comes to travel. It is much easier to figure out your budget for a trip and plan accordingly when traveling alone. Even in instances where you are sharing the budget with someone you may have varying ideas on how much money should be spent on what and why.
9. You feel more satisfied in the end
Everyone who has travelled with a group or one more person has experienced one or two disappointments on the trip. Problems always arise when people travel together thus making it less problematic when one travels alone since if there is any kind of inconvenience or problem it can easily be handled.
10. You find things to do alone
If you have never traveled alone because you don't think there is much to do alone, then think twice and start planning your solo trip. In addition to everything else, you will find time for the things you love doing but don't have time for back at home. You can ride a bike, go skinny dipping, swim with the dolphins, and learn to cook a new dish or take a painting class. You can sample the local wines and so much more. There is so much you can do when you travel alone that will leave you wanting more solo travels.
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