Solo Traveling – Intimidating but Awe-inspiring

By Agima Chopra

Time and again, when clarity and surety in life seem miles away, retreating to yourself and to your company can do acres of good. This practice has several names and variations – meditation, introspection, or self-analysis but the crux of it all stands in spending quality time with yourself and your mind to understand and build your identity truly and with purpose. 

A highly effective and experiential way to do this is to travel alone. Traveling alone is like betting on yourself; it’s a form of trusting your abilities and counting on them. It improves your intra-personal connection and opens up new horizons. 

Now, what exactly is Solo-Traveling?

Solo traveling is what the name suggests. traveling alone to destinations of your choice, at your own will and pace, and for leisure purposes. Solo Traveling has been around for ages, with explorers like Marco Polo and Battuta traveling in the pursuit of finding new cultures and places. Solo traveling for leisure gained popularity in the late 1900s, with people, mostly women, traveling to seek new experiences, gain practical knowledge, and indulge in cultural experiences. 

Solo Travelling today has grown exponentially in the past decade owing to the contribution of social media. Social media has endlessly added to the connectivity between individuals and between places. Statistics show that 76% of travelers in 2023 will be looking towards Solo-Traveling and women will make up the majority of it. Searches for the word Solo-Traveling increased three times from 2015 to 2023. All are indicating the positive influence and growth of solo traveling in the coming future. 

Why is there positive growth in solo traveling?

Solo traveling is transformative. It enables you to explore parts of yourself that would go unnoticed if not for the plethora of opportunities that traveling solo can provide. Especially in the age of media outbursts, it’s easy to lose yourself and feel the fear of missing out. To cleanse, grow, and explore solo traveling is a great option.

Solo Travelling can provide contentment

Solo traveling is like exercising. It forces growth and self-acceptance. Through feeling your feelings, sitting with yourself, and delving into experiences that transform, solo traveling provides a lot of opportunities to grow and build. Most of all, it provides self-acceptance, by counting on your caliber, you learn to trust yourself and accept yourself entirely, including the bittersweet parts. It offers self-contentment. 

Ensures that your trip is your own 

Solo traveling ensures that the trip you are taking is entirely up to your decisions. With people around, it becomes infinitely hard to do only what you would like to do. Solo traveling provides autonomy in that sense. You can choose where you would like to go, and how you would like to time your trip, and if you are tired or not willing to perhaps do what has been scheduled, you can prioritize yourself and your needs. In a group setting, it becomes hard to make independent decisions since everyone’s wants need to be catered for. 

Meeting new people becomes easier 

Solo traveling enables you to open up and create connections. It allows you to quickly meet new people and forces you to mingle with the locals and trust the people around you. With no one to fall back on or count on during your trip, meeting new people comes naturally. 

Encourage Language Learning

Whichever country or city you choose to visit, researching it is very important, and since you’re going there alone, the least you can do is learn a little bit about the language spoken there. Even if you haven’t learned it beforehand, being physically present there physically will make you catch on when you’re alone. It helps you increase your awareness, understand social cues, and be a part of the culture in whatever little way you can be. 

Contributes to personal growth 

Traveling in general opens up horizons for cultural experiences and new perspectives. Solo traveling, however, can contribute to immense personal growth. Solo traveling essentially molds you by letting you run free. It forces growth by enabling you to experience new cultures, and places and merge with people you wouldn’t have met otherwise by exposing you to uncharted territories. 

Explore the unexplored in India with these 16 off-beat destinations, from Majuli in Assam to Dzukou Valley in Nagaland. A journey of a lifetime!

Solo Traveling Tips

Traveling solo can be daunting. Especially since its an adventure that you are undertaking alone, here are a few tips that’ll aid you with the same – 

1. Stay organized and Connected – Make sure that you communicate your travel plans to your loved ones for connectivity and safety. Additionally, ensure that you keep all your documents intact and ready. Keep your passport and identity verification cards with you at all times, preferably with a copy of them as well. 

2. Research about your destination – Conduct thorough research on your destination prior to visiting it. Pick up some of the language phrases, and customs and gain sensitivity regarding the social climate there and the accepted manners of behavior. Make bookings for accommodations and transport, and limit your last-minute mess-ups. 

3. Let yourself be spontaneous – Try to infuse flexibility into your trip. Let yourself flow with the journey and not be so rigid in your outlook or follow a schedule. Accept last-minute changes with an open mind and make your solitary trip memorable. 

4. Use technology – Use technology to your advantage. Utilize its various offerings of maps, location, safety apps, connectivity with loved ones, and recommendations for food, beverages, and entertainment in the city. 

5. Practice self-awareness – Learn to trust your intuition and follow your heart. If a certain experience is not sitting right with you, leave. Take care of your mental and physical health while away, because that is what enables you to further enjoy your experiences and have a present and mindful trip. 

Traveling alone can thus do wonders for your mental health, personal growth, and identity or personality. It can offer solace, new experiences, countless opportunities, and a renewed mindset. This is why everyone should travel alone at least once in their lives.