Everything You Need to Know About Solo Travel
Most solo travellers admittedly didn’t start out as solo travellers or they didn’t start out with the intention of being a solo traveller. It usually sort of happens upon you — you plan a nice trip with your closest friends and everything seems to be going along swimmingly until it’s that time to dig into the pockets and put down deposits on plane tickets and on accommodation, when it appears as if all manner of things go wrong. On the day you depart you find that you’ve now graduated into being a solo traveller, so you might as well enjoy it.
There are few things you need to know about being a solo traveller though, especially if you’re to make the best of it and keep travelling even if you don’t have anybody to call your travel buddy.
It’s Only as Lonely as You Make It
Introverts have to give up being an introvert, if only for a little while, when travelling solo. Okay, you don’t have to become a full-on party animal, but those conversations you usually avoid will become a normal part of your life on the road. You are the one who has to ask when you aren’t sure of something because nobody else is going to do it for you. Fortunately though, what you’ll learn is that a lot of people take a serious interest in the fact that you’re actually doing it — you’re actually travelling all by yourself, so expect to make friends with some interested parties who are utterly fascinated by your lifestyle choice.
It DOES get Lonely Sometimes
Keep in touch with your friends and family back home via social networking and the likes because solo travel does indeed get lonely at times. I mean if it’s hard finding a travel buddy who can up and leave at will like you can, how hard is it to find a romantic partner? It’s just one of the sacrifices you’ll have to make. However, you can find a way around the loneliness by enjoying the time you have with yourself. You’ll have all the privacy you need to indulge in whatever kind of self care you want. You can relax alone in your hotel room and watch adult content (find out more info here), or take long bubble baths with no one disturb you.
You Will Travel Solo More Than You Think
Even if you make plans with your friends, you’ll find that you travel solo more often than you might have imagined. Roll with the punches — there are many other solo travellers to meet.
It Always Costs More Than You Think
Well sometimes it costs considerably less, but generally solo travel costs more than it would cost you if you were travelling as part of a group. You only have to look at the rates of hotels for double-occupancy versus single occupancy to know what we’re talking about.
You Will Get Conned Sometimes
Destinations which are popular with tourists in poorer countries are hotbeds for the conning of travellers, particularly solo travellers, so sometimes it’ll be inevitable that you get taken. Just make sure the damage is never too bad however, like perhaps doing some research as to how exactly people tend to try and con tourists in specific destinations.
It Can Be a LOT of Fun
If you think of it as the adventure that it is, solo travel can be a lot of fun! There’s a whole big and wide world just waiting for you to explore, so go forth and travel and don’t let the fact that you’re travelling solo deter you.