These few days when I scroll through my Instagram feed I see tons of pictures of my friends travelling solo (be it for leisure or for work), heading to beautiful places all around the world. Convincing your parents to allow you to travel solo can be a difficult one as they will raise safety concerns which makes you feel that solo travel is intimidating.

Moreover for all the ladies out there, travelling solo can be even more challenging due to gender inequality issues such as being catcalled on the streets.

Despite all these, why do so many people like the idea of solo travel?

Many people who go on solo travel often feel empowered after they return from a trip, me included. I planned everything of what I want to do during the trip and seeing how smoothly my solo trip turned out gives me such a great sense of satisfaction. It felt like I could do anything. Also, on solo trips you tend to have some time for yourself to reflect on things personal to you, and as such you come back home as a new person with fresh perspective on life.

I feel that solo travel is a brave endeavour as you only have yourself to rely on if anything goes wrong. It is therefore essential to plan properly such that if Plan A fails you still have Plan B as a backup. The more research you do on the country that you are going to, the better prepared you will to handle whatever screwups that may come your way.

I wasnt that fully prepared before I went on my solo trip, but I felt that stepping out of my comfort zone by going somewhere alone helps me gain tremendous confidence to take on whatever lemons thrown at me in my life. By entering the unknown, we are given opportunities to face different challenges which boost our self-confidence.

Like I mentioned previously, you only have yourself to rely on during your solo travel. So a lot of times you need to rely on your gut and choose the direction you want to head. This allows you to think hard about the decisions that you make and find out what more about yourself and the choices you make in life. Spending time alone during a solo travel will allow you find yourself through a journey of self-discovery.

So next time if you can’t find a friend to go on a trip with you, try going there yourself! It is an invigorating experience. 😉