The Solo Wanderluster

Solo traveling isn't about not having anyone to travel with... 

While it’s great to travel with friends and family, there is a romance associated with traveling alone. Your itinerary is suited to you and your needs only. You can go at warp speed or take things at a leisurely pace. You can choose to make new friends — or not.

No one else will be traveling with you, so you have complete control over your schedule. You can choose to sleep in, get up at the crack of dawn, eat wherever you choose, take in all the sights, or lounge at a café all day — there are endless options. You don’t have anyone to please but yourself.

Going it alone doesn’t need to be lonely or expensive. There are many places suited for the solo traveler. Whether you’re searching for a healing break from the hustle and bustle world or a unique adventurous experience. Your attention is more focused on the destination, and you’ll meet more locals and go at your own pace.

Having the guts to book your first solo trip is not easy. I have to admit it took courage for me to step into the unknown. Even though solo travel is getting popular, in some ways, it completely goes against the grain of human nature. There is a “safety in numbers” mentality to this.

Many places have easy transportation, exciting activities, and safe environments to make solo travelers feel at ease.

Solo traveling isn’t about not having anyone to go with. It’s about purposely choosing to go on your own — and surprising yourself as a result. In 2018 I did my debut solo adventure on the Camino de Santiago. Each element of that trip presented a challenge of its own and new challenges to solve entirely on my own. But after passing all those hurdles, I felt a sense of pride I had never experienced — a sense of my own strength. It was like an indescribable dose of empowerment.

I’m not the only one who’s discovered how transformative solo travel can be. According to surveys in 2019, one in four Americans prefer to travel solo. In fact, in 2019, 18% of global bookings were from solo travelers.
In this complicated world that we live in, it’s all about those rare opportunities to do exactly what you want, when you want to, without having to answer to anyone else.

When we travel alone, we discover things about ourselves that we never realized before because we haven’t had the space to explore who we are outside the context of the people we know.

With the challenges we have been living through in this day and age, the value of getting away and recharging can make solo travel a healthy habit worthy of embracing.

I never thought I’d say this but, to me, there are few things more satisfying in life than a solo trip. I went to a new destination, made all my plans, solved all problems by myself and, best of all, lived to tell about it! It has done wonders for my self-esteem and makes me feel like I can handle anything that comes my way.

This is the year to be the solo wanderluster, and consider finally taking that solo trip.