If you are looking to travel but you don’t know where to start, I’m here to encourage you to take the opportunity to travel solo. This summer, I studied abroad for six weeks in Florence, Italy. While that experience was extraordinary, what really stood out to me was the time I took to solo travel. Here are my favorite things about traveling solo, why I would recommend it to everyone at least once in their life, and some helpful tips I learned along the way.Â
1. GETTING TO KNOW YOURSELF
One of the best things about solo traveling is getting to know yourself on a deeper level. A lot of times on your trip, despite meeting many people, you will be alone. I mean, that is the whole point, after all. Because of this, you can try so many new things, leading to discovering new things about yourself. This includes how you like to travel, the food you like, the activities you enjoy doing on your trip, and more. There is truly so much to learn about yourself that you may not have been able to figure out if you weren’t on a solo trip. I learned more about the foods I like, what I enjoy doing as a tourist, how I talk to people, and how much I like to step outside my comfort zone. For some people, the thought of being alone may seem scary, but it is really enjoyable to spend time with yourself and explore on your own. Learning so much about yourself and spending time in a foreign country can be a huge confidence boost. You really get to know who you are.
2. Feeling Accomplished and Well-Traveled
When you are alone in a foreign country, the public transit system may initially seem very intimidating. As someone who has rarely used trains and metros in the United States, taking these very often in Europe seemed super daunting. Once you figure out how these systems work, you feel like you can take on the world. A good tip is to use some apps and online resources to help. For trains, I often used an app called Omio, which allows you to buy your tickets easily and find your platforms. For metros, I used Citymapper and Google Maps set to the metro setting. Both of these helped tremendously, especially in Paris! I also recommend looking at Google images of the routes to help familiarize yourself with the stops. It’s the best feeling to be able to navigate a city. You feel super accomplished! Plus, after you get to know yourself and what you like, you can very easily navigate to each place with little trouble. This brings me to the next thing I love about solo traveling: doing what you want.Â
3. Doing What You Want
Because you are alone on your trip, you can genuinely do whatever you feel like without having to worry about other people. I was more stress-free traveling alone in Europe than I would have ever felt with family and friends. This was because I could actually go and experience what I wanted to do, eat what and when I wanted to, and go where I wanted to go. If I wanted to have a lazy day at a park in Madrid, I could do that without feeling pressured by others to do things I didn’t necessarily want to do. Or if I wanted to go to a museum, I could go for as long as I wanted without worrying about others or feeling rushed. Especially as you get to know yourself on these trips and navigate the area, you are free to go as you please.
4. Meeting new people
Another amazing part of solo traveling is meeting so many people from all over the world. I met several amazing people from London, Australia, Sweden, and more. If you’re planning your trip, I highly recommend booking some excursions because it is a fun way to meet new people who are exploring the same things you do. I did excursions to Paxos and Antipaxos, the Amalfi Coast, and a guided tour of the Acropolis. On each of these trips, I met amazing and welcoming people. I would also take advantage of Hostelworld if you are staying in a hostel. It is a really great place to meet people, but also find good accommodation with reviews and ratings that are super helpful. A lot of the time, these hostels have events where you can meet other people. And don’t forget, it really is a small world! You might even meet some people from your hometown abroad like me. I saw someone from my hometown in CT at the Louvre, of all places!Â
5. Sharing your Experience
One of the best parts about solo traveling is coming back home and sharing all your stories with families and friends. After a trip alone, seeing a familiar face means the world. It is a great feeling to show your family and friends pictures, souvenirs, and postcards from everywhere you visit. Not to mention all that you learned along the way and your newfound bonds to extravagant cities. One of my favorite things to show people when I returned was all the postcards I bought along the way, including a bunch from an antique flea market in Barcelona!
Whether you find yourself studying abroad, like I did, or are just itching to travel, I really couldn’t recommend solo traveling enough. From exploring iconic landmarks to eating new and authentic foods, traveling the world is a crazy experience. Why not challenge yourself to explore a little on your own? Hopefully, I inspired you to at least want to solo travel for your next Euro summer!