I love traveling solo.
I’m in a Facebook group with women who travel solo. Well, some actually travel solo while others are considering the possibility of are simply curious as to why someone would willingly do it. It’s a fun group – I love seeing the possibilities I learn about from these fantastic women.
The spectrum of solo travel is vast. I love to travel with other people, but I also am fine on my own. My spectrum is quite large, though there are places where having a companion is certainly easier. I don’t necessarily want a jam-packed itinerary or a tour of all the famous tourist landmarks in an area. Often I’d rather wander around and see how people live and eat good local food. I may find a park to read in, a live music performance, or an adventurous activity I can’t do at home. I look for public art – statues and graffitti and murals.
For someone else a solo trip may be getting up the courage to eat a meal in a restaurant in their own or going to see a movie by themselves. It may be a drive over to the next town to walk around their downtown. (I like doing these things, too.) When you have spent your whole life going things with a partner or friends, doing things alone can be terrifying.
At this point in my life if I have to wait for someone to travel with, I wouldn’t be able to go to many of the places I want to go. Some of my friends travel with other friends and family, some don’t want to go to the places I want to go, some like doing different things than me and aren’t comfortable separating to do our own things for part of the vacation, some want to plan trips way farther in advance than I do (I’m more of a last minute traveler who can’t conceive of planning for a trip a year in advance) , some want trips more tourist-oriented. It’s all hood, but doesn’t work well for me.
I have had a travel rule with my friends since my twenties – we are all responsible for our own good time. I had found myself stuck in situations that drove me insane – like having to go to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch in Paris when only there 24 hours. Ugh. There were beautiful cafes all around.
After being really angry at my friends then, I realized it was my own fault for going along with others when I wanted to do something else. I was solely responsible for agreeing to go (though I was not pleasant about it). I knew I had to learn to create experiences I wanted, which were not always what my friends wanted to do.
Some may consider me a selfish traveler, but for me it’s about making sure everyone has the freedom to have a great time – and I’m included in that “everyone”.
If I want to see the world at this point in my life, I have no choice but to mostly do it on my own. I am open to traveling with others, but not if it means I have to endure a trip that does not suit me (though that know me know this is a wide berth since I love almost all travel).
I’m late coming to the solo travel thing -I used to have many friends who wanted to travel with me. We had great times. I have always gone to movies or eaten meals on my own and lived on my own, so those things aren’t difficult for me. At 64, though, I need to be intentional in my planning if there are places I want to go. The time to go is now.
Invest in those things you love. I’m investing in solo travel.
“In the solitude of solo travel, the mind expands, and the spirit dances to the rhythm of the open road.” – Jack Kerouac
In the Box, Out of the Box 