Travel alone! Sounds scary to many… but it can be an enlightening experience if you lend yourself to it.
Follow my top 5 tips below to reduce your stress of travelling alone, and to experience more of life!
Why travel alone? How it can benefit you?
In a world filled with the need to impress our Instagram followers, or the mother of your boyfriend, or your BOSS… It is nice to take a step back and relax, and do something that is for you and only you. Travelling alone, can be so fulfilling as it is directed purely at your own interests, through and through. Heck you don’t even need to impress yourself - you can just do it for the sake of doing it! We all need a little me-time once in a while - who is to say this must be spent binge watching “Friends” on a Sunday, when it could be as I like to call it, #solomissions.
Travelling alone isn’t something you always want to do, after all people are community oriented animals… but, it is something that so few have dared to try! Why? It is scary, and we fear judgment from those who think it isn’t “cool” enough, or put one down for being “too independent”, or “lonely” or “sad”. I have heard it all… My only reply ever is, “Well you certainly missed out - it was the best thing for me, and so enjoyable.”
I have travelled alone simply because I wanted to really see something that no one else had an interest in and I was then mandated to go alone… but I have also travelled alone totally voluntarily - without the need for companionship. Sometimes, if you are of strong character like me, it is great to make that decision and not have to rely of anyone else to carry it through.
Here’s my top 5 tips for travelling alone:
- Choose a destination for YOU: Choose somewhere that may be out-of-the ordinary to some, but something important or interesting to you! It’s okay to be out of your comfort zone, but remember this is exactly why you’ve found yourself doing something alone.
- Be aware of your surroundings and plan ahead: Seeming your destination may be little well-known, especially to your friends and family - it’s good to inform them of your travels! There is not reason for secrecy - even if you think no one cares - the point remains that someone has to know where you are if something goes wrong. Research your destination beforehand, don’t rely on your phone once you are there. Look up reviews of places, maps of your area, the nearest hospital, and the nearest police station. Make sure you are prepared for any strange happening and have access to the basics.
- Be open and positive about it: Travelling alone can be daunting… who can take your photo, who can you chat to about the day, who is there to pick up that $20 you just dropped out your pocket, who is there to share in this experience? These questions require some real self-reflection and self-carriage. If you break down the experience into something that is creative, fulfilling, peaceful, calming but still totally random and exciting - these are the emotions that should contribute to it being enjoyable! It doesn’t matter where you are or who you are with, travelling alone forces you to be content with self-generated happiness.
- Be resourceful: Be prepared with the right gear for your occasion, make a list prior and make sure that you are cognisant of your belongings at all times - mommy isn’t there to help you with your sunscreen and sunglasses you forgot at home. A backpack helps to pack all essentials while freeing your hands. If you want photos, bring a tripod! If you want to share what you see, write a journal, or take a mental image - something just for yourself to cherish forever. (It is totally ok to not have to share experiences with anyone but yourself, this is the joy of travelling alone. If you can see it as something that is pleasant, because that is how you chose to view it - then that is exactly what it will be.)
- Enjoy the small moments: All too often I see people missing the sunset’s final seconds, or never seeing the birds overhead sing their songs for ages on end, or hear the wind like it were right out of Pocahontas. It may sound silly to some, but these moments are what make travelling alone so wonderful. If you can find beauty, and wonder and delight in nature (or art, architecture, even a crowd in a busy market) - all these moments are what add up to make the experience an overall enjoyable one. Put the phone down for a second, breathe and take it all in. If you can spend a few seconds with yourself, immersed in a new environment, and take away with you new knowledge and memory - then that is a job well done.
I hope you can use these tips on your next trip alone. They may be a bit “out-there” and vague - but that is the nature of self-reflection - they are personal and only speak to those who wish to hear.
Photo: My photo below is on my #solomission to Mapungubwe National Park. This was the tree top canopy walk and I was the only person for miles as it was off season. There were so many birds above and below me, that I couldn’t count all the species. It was serene and brought together memories of my late father sharing stories about the Mapungubwe gold rhino. It was highly personal for me to visit the location, and no one wanted to join me - that clearly didn’t matter. I had driven 120km to reach the park that day, alone on a crazy road full of potholes, and returned late afternoon on the same 120km road back. The road was quite scary, but getting to see the park, the amazing baobabs, and feeling so close to nature and my dad’s stories were totally worth it.
I hope more people will visit and support this world heritage site.
