20+ Benefits of Solo Travel | Why You Should See The World Solo
If you want to have an adventure, learn a lot and wouldn’t mind a little personal growth along the way, solo travel is for you. The benefits of solo travel are powerful and life-changing, and I believe everyone should have the experience at least once!
Especially as a solo female traveler, the idea of solo travel can sound unsafe and uncomfortable, and not worth the effort. In reality as long as you use common sense and take it one step at a time, solo travel can sometimes even be safer than the things we do in our every day lives. And it comes with so many benefits that will feed your soul and change you for the better.
After extending a girls trip to Hawaii to experience hostel life, where I had the time of my life, I was convinced that solo travel could be the adventure and rejuvenation we all need from time to time. Now let’s see if I can convince you. 😉
Why do the benefits of solo travel matter, and why is it an important experience to have?
Traveling solo vs. traveling with close friends or relatives is a completely different experience. Both are valuable but solo travel is what I’m focusing on in this blog because there are so many people, especially Americans, who hesitate to travel alone. I’d like to give you confidence to get out there and do it if you think solo travel could be fulfilling!
Think about it like a party – if you were to go to a party with someone you know well, you’re going to be much less likely to have a new experience or get out of your comfort zone than if you were to go to a party alone. There’s nothing wrong with that of course, but it’s hard to have much personal growth when you stay in your comfort zone.
By going out and traveling on your own in the world you’ll see the benefits of solo travel stack up in your own life. When you’re open to what life has in store for you, adventures will fall into your lap.
20 Benefits Of Solo Travel
- Getting out of your comfort zone
- Confidence and empowerment
- Meeting new people & making new friends
- Improved mental health
- Go at your own pace with no limitations or diversions
- Personal growth and self discovery
- Meeting people from different cultures and learning from them
- Build your foreign language skills
- Find independence
- Learn to enjoy your own company
- Feel part of a group of like-minded people
- Helps to foster world peace
- Communal living and working with others
- Builds your trust
- Easier to plan
- Less loneliness
- Improves decision-making skills
- More time for self care and rest
- New experiences and hobbies
- Great stories to tell
#1 Top Benefit of Solo Travel – Getting out of your comfort zone
Traveling solo will likely put you out of your comfort zone in many different ways, for example maybe you get anxious doing things in public alone, putting yourself out there to strangers or doing new activities. Although it may be a little anxiety producing at first, your comfort zone will expand because of it and you will grow as a person!
Every day adult life doesn’t provide as many opportunities for getting out of your comfort zone a lot of times, especially in the suburbs, which is why solo travel is such a powerful opportunity. Being uncomfortable is where growth occurs! I’ll tell you personally during my first solo trip I was less uncomfortable than I thought in some ways, and more in others. I was happy to come back feeling like I could do and see more without the anxiety attached to it.
#2 Top Benefit of Solo Travel – Confidence and empowerment
Imagine how empowering it will feel when you have the time of your life in a foreign country, without needing anyone else to make it happen for you. Your first solo trip will get you out of your comfort zone in a way that gives you confidence that nothing else can, which you’ll carry back with you to your daily life. This is why I put it at the top of the top benefits of solo travel.
An underlying importance of solo travel is the empowerment you felt when you realize you don’t need anyone else to make you feel comfortable during a trip abroad. Personally traveling solo made me feel alive in a way that I didn’t know I was missing, and I think its deeply based in the fact that I now know I can do hard things on my own and have a heightened sense of confidence in myself!
#3 Top Benefit of Solo Travel – Meeting new people & making new friends
As humans we’re all seeking connection and solo travel is such a great way to connect with people from all around the world. My personal favorite part of solo travel is meeting new people, swapping stories and having fun experiences with people I just met!
You can always find people who are looking for a conversation with a new friend as a solo traveler, as long as you’re in a backpacker heavy area. I ended up meeting so many other travelers and at least five female solo travelers who I connected deeply with and ended up spending lots of time with.
#4 Top Benefit of Solo Travel – Improved mental health and emotional intelligence
Following on the last point, the extra time you will have inside your own head for practice mindfulness and reflection during solo travel gives you the space to process things you may not have been able to, for example from your past, life at home, state of mind, etc. As said in this Mindfulness Matters blog by Inspired Self, “Bringing yourself back to the present moment, taking away the stresses of the past and future provides a calming space for you to come back to.”
You can also be more intentional about your actions while traveling solo, which is similar to what cognitive behavioral therapy is (intentional action)! As a result you may come back with a better mindset and emotional intelligence which will affect your relationship with yourself and others.
In Edith Cowan University’s (ECU) article on travel as a means of therapy, the author discuss how music therapy, cognitive stimulation, physical movement, adaption to one’s environment and experiencing moments of ‘awe’ are all accepted forms of therapy, and how each of these take place in a heightened sense during vacation and travel. So the next time you feel guilty for taking a holiday, think again!
#5 Top Benefit of Solo Travel – Go at your own pace with no limitations or diversions
You get to be selfish when traveling solo and go at your own pace, so that means you are the boss! You don’t have to make diversions or miss out on anything you’d like to do. You’ll have total freedom to do it your way and see what you want to see without limitations.
One thing I was a little worried about is doing things that could be dangerous to do alone, or not possible, but that hasn’t ended up being a problem. When theres something you’d like to do that requires a group, you’ll be able to find people to go with at hostels or tour groups. The world is your oyster!
6. Personal growth and self discovery
Traveling solo has the unique ability to transform your mindset and teach you things about yourself you never knew before. Personal growth is inevitable when you’re out of your comfort zone, having new experiences, learning and hearing perspectives from people in other cultures. By keeping your own company, solo travel gives you the time and space you need to be able to look inward, without trying to fit a certain stigma or act out of habit. This will give you more clarity on who YOU actually are, which is the self discovery piece. Personal growth is my favorite of all the benefits of solo travel because it’s a fun way to improve your life.
Some questions you may end up reflecting on during your travels, whether consciously or subconsciously, could be things like what lights me up day to day, how do I want to present myself to new people, what are my values and so on.
7. Meeting people from different cultures and learning from them
When you venture alone you are more likely to engage with locals, participate in traditional activities and observe the daily life of the local people in a way that travel with family and friends doesn’t always allow. Even though I’m actually pretty introverted, I always try to interact with the local people as often as I can during my travels, even if that’s just a friendly gesture in passing.
Those observations and personal interactions foster a deeper appreciation and understanding for different cultures, broadening your world view and connecting you more with the people of the world! If you end up in a conversation with a local or someone from a different culture, try to ask them a few questions and see what they have to say.
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8. Build your foreign language skills
Depending on where you’re traveling to, solo travel can be a great opportunity for learning some of the local language if it’s different than yours. Especially words like yes, no, food, water, bathroom, etc. This way you will feel extra confident on your trip, with the added bonus of being able to connect more with the locals and building your foreign language skills.
Without the crutch of talking in your native language with travel companions, you’ll have more interactions between yourself and the locals, which could sometimes be in a foreign language. If you travel solo for a good amount of time, those interactions add up and your foreign language skills will get better and better.
9. Find independence
Independence is a fantastic trait, and many of us struggle with that in every day life where codependency is natural in a lot of situations. The independence you learn while traveling solo is invaluable for not only your confidence, but also your relationship with others. When find more independence and aren’t reliant on others, you fill up your cup so that you can then fill others.
10. Learn to enjoy your own company
One of the most liberating and important benefits of solo travel is that you will learn to enjoy your own company. Solo travel teaches the invaluable lesson of how to be inside your own head without distractions. When solitude turns from daunting to empowering, lots of opportunities open up!
11. Feel part of a group of like-minded people
Feeling like part of a group always feels great, and as long as you stay in a hostel or somewhere where expats go, you’ll usually have fellow travelers surrounding you (including other solo travelers!). Connecting with like-minded people and other travel lovers is exciting and uplifting, especially when your family and friends may not be as into it as you. 😝
12. Helps to foster world peace
Traveling internationally bridges different cultures and fosters more connection between different groups of people who usually wouldn’t be meeting face to face, which is why I believe traveling can help foster world peace. As a solo traveller, you’ll typically be interacting with the local people much more often than if you were traveling with a buddy, whether you’re looking for information or to be social and enjoy. Shared experiences leads to more understanding.
When you look into the eyes of another person, you’ll naturally feel more empathy and connection with them – and so will they. The more we connect around the world the more peaceful the world will be. ✌🏼
13. Communal living and working with others
When you’re traveling solo there will be times you will have to ask for help from others, or work with others. For example maybe you have to share a bathroom in your hostel dorm or have to cooperate with you dorm mates to decide on a temperature to set the thermostat to that everyone agrees on. Or maybe you need help with directions or finding the closest pharmacy. This is especially true during longer term travel and when staying at hostels. Helping others and receiving help from others is a heartwarming experience, especially when you come from an “every man for himself” culture like I do in Northern Virginia.
14. Builds your trust
When you travel alone you have to at least somewhat trust people to really enjoy yourself and have new experiences, whether that’s in order to receive help when you need it or to connect with the people around you. You’ll also make friends much easier if you let yourself be open (of course only to a certain extent). When your ease your hesitation toward others, the energy will come back to you. When you increase your trust in others just a little bit, you’re helping to ease your stress levels and create more space in your life for what you care about instead of self protection.
15. Easier to plan
Between your travel buddies schedules, preferences, things they want to do, sensitivities etc., balancing all of that while trying to come up with a plan that works for everyone can be tricky. Instead of herding cats, you can spend that time and energy doing things you enjoy and being in the moment.
Group trips and trips with friends are worth the work that goes into them, but sometimes it’s a whole lot easier to plan a trip just for yourself. I’ve planned a lot of trips for groups of people in my life, and planning for myself was so much easier and less problems popped up along the way.
16. Less loneliness
Similarly to the last point, not only will you have the freedom to travel solo without hesitation, but you’ll also likely feel *a little* less lonely in your every day life. This is an unseen and overlooked benefit of solo travel. If you ever feel lonely, just think back on one amazing experience you had during your solo trip with a new friend, and hey maybe even book another trip! Or sign up for a local travel tour or club, where you can use your new confidence and independence to connect with others there. 😊
17. Improved decision-making and leadership skills
When it comes to the benefits of solo travel, improving your leadership and decision-making skills may not be something you’ve thought of, but coming from experience this one is huge. When you’re traveling solo there will be countless times where you’ll have to make your own decisions, rather than rely on others to make them for you. This type of skill building is invaluable for the work place as well as in managing a household, if you’re hoping to have a family someday. Basically solo travel will help you be “more adult” afterwards (despite the fact that it may increase your wanderlust).
18. More time for self care and rest
It’s much easier to build in wellness and rest when you travel alone, at least most of the time. For example if you’re traveling with a friend and you’d like to cancel an excursion because you’re feeling exhausted but your friend still wants to go, you’ll probably be stuck doing something you’d rather not go through with and using even more energy acting a certain way. If it’s just you, you have the full freedom to give yourself what you need when you need it. You may also be so distracted with the people you’re traveling with that you aren’t able to tune in with yourself.
A personal experience I have with this is that halfway through my solo Bali trip when I was feeling sort of burnt out and tired, I decided to get myself a nice villa last minute instead of going to the surf camp I was originally planning on. The second half of my trip was even better than the first thanks to the rest I gave myself!
19. New experiences and hobbies
As long as you stay somewhat open to the possibilities, new experiences are inevitable during a solo trip, which could be as small as trying a new food to as big as something like skydiving! Let your heart and intuition guide you to new adventures during your trip and you won’t regret it (sorry corny I know!).
20. Solo travel can be more budget-friendly
For more ways than one, solo travel can actually be more budget-friendly than traveling as a couple or with a bigger group. This is sometimes counter intuitive, since traveling as a couple usually means splitting room costs, excursion costs etc. but when you’re a solo traveler you can take advantage of cheaper accommodation options like capsule hotels or hostels more easily. You can read about the pros and cons of capsule hotels and my experiences with them in my blog.
Outside of accommodations, can also save money by having more time to think things through, not having to do things you don’t want to do, etc. Personally I tend to save a lot of money when I travel alone because I have more time to think through what I’m spending on.
21. The Most Fun Benefit Of Solo Travel – Great stories to tell
Last but definitely not least, when you travel solo you instantly become more interesting. People will be impressed when you tell them about your journey, and you’ll have stories to share wherever you go. You might even inspire others to do their own solo trips!
Now that I’ve convinced you of all the great benefits of solo travel and how it can improve your life, make sure to save this article so you can convince your family and friends it’s a good idea too. 😉
Ready to set off on a solo traveler while working remote? If so make sure to check out my guides to some of my favorite nomad-friendly destinations below, or my guide to all the must-have digital nomad gear. Happy travels!
New Orleans Travel Blog : Full Guide For Digital Nomads
Cabo San Lucas Travel Blog for Digital Nomads
Lauren Kessel
Lauren Kessel is the author of this blog post and the creator of the Inspired Backpacker travel blog. She is a passionate digital nomad, with the mission to make slow travel a more accessible way of life for everyone. Lauren believes travel is an important means of education and more importantly, a way for people of different cultures to come together and understand each other better. She has a BS in Tourism and has planned countless domestic and international trips for herself, her family and friends, having visited over 12 countries and 30 states so far.
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