Solo travel and what it means for you

“Travel far enough, you meet yourself’ – Cloud Atlas.

Travel is regarded as one of the most exhilarating experiences one has in their lifetime. The gift of being able to explore a new place, far from the familiar, learn about an unknown land, talk to locals, mix with other travellers and dip into the culture of another place is highly rewarding. Many people have been part of a popular trend in travel culture, which is solo travel. Solo travel allows you to be your personalized trip planner which allows for flexibility in travel that is otherwise often missing. The first solo travel experience of an individual without a fixed trip planner is often deemed as a religious experience.

Solo travel helps you find that inner peace of mind and be your own travel guide. You can guide yourself through your selected destination and explore stunning places and leave a little piece of yourself there. A solo traveller can themselves experience and add some wonderful stories to their personal travel diaries.  Many people are known to go on solo trips after a particularly challenging event in their life, whether due to work stress, relationship stress or other interrelated events, they entrust themselves as the sole trip planner and set out on a journey they’ll never forget. What ensues is a life altering experience that solo travellers speak of fondly in a number of their travel diaries.

Travel culture is now advertising this type of travel with a lot of emphasis on ways in which an individual can have a successful solo journey. However, there are downsides of being your own travel guide. Sometimes, important aspects of travel can be missed out on in a new place without proper planning. You can also run into a lot of issues in a foreign land such as language, food, stay, safety and places to visit which can be avoided with a professional travel guide who can help you in moments of need.

On the flipside, solo travel is abundant with positives. It is ironically believed to one of the most social forms of travel. The ability to pull away from pre-fixed social groups and engage with people from different worlds and cultures, allows an individual to grow socially and make new connections.  Solo travel is in some ways a gift of total self-indulgence. It lets you move away from the “tourist” tag and move onto being a true traveller and seeing the world with your own unbiased eyes. A person can create their own space, physically and mentally which can be extremely therapeutic. It’s an experience that helps you create and share personal memories with yourself, enriching your soul for life.

Many travellers document their travel diaries online as a blog to share their knowledge and experience. This helps motivate other people and aspiring travellers achieve their dreams of exploring the world. Travel blogs have become increasingly popular in the recent times. They shed a positive light on solo travel and give tips and tricks to make solo travel as smooth as possible.

Thus solo travel is a beautiful episode in one’s life a person must experience at least once in their life to change their perspective and evolve within their own personal space.