5 Myths About Traveling Solo
“There are some places in life where you can only go alone. Embrace the beauty of your solo journey.” – Mandy Hale
To some people, the idea of traveling alone sounds boring and unwelcome. A typical tourist thinks that it’s more fun to travel with friends or family. Traveling alone, especially for a woman is considered absolutely undesirable.
People have different notions – it’s not safe for a woman to travel on her own and other stuff. It’s obviously lots of fun to travel with friends and family. Who wouldn’t like to share hearty laughter, good food and great pictures with dear ones? Nevertheless, a solo trip opens new doors to the idea of traveling, which you can’t discover unless you have experienced it on your own.
Whether you travel alone or with someone close, each holiday has a few flip sides to deal with. It’s up to you how you want to take it. Every individual has different set of priorities, tastes, likes and dislikes. Two different individuals could be equally fond of traveling, but with different ideas and attitudes towards it.
There are quite a few myths about the idea of ‘solo travel’, which I would like to burst in this post.
Myths About Solo Travel
It’s lonely to travel alone.
Alone and lonely are two different terms with two different meanings. You are lonely even if you are traveling with a bunch of friends who like adventures such as water sports or rock climbing, while you like to just laze around and gaze at the scenic views. On the contrary, if you are alone and doing your own thing without any reservation – taking a ferry ride, hiking or playing with children on the street, you are certainly not lonely.
Besides you meet a lot of lovely people on the road!
This particular myth is not really applicable to men, but it’s attached to women. I would say nothing is safe or unsafe. It’s always wise or unwise. If you are doing something foolish, you should be ready to face the consequences as well.
If you have like-minded travelers around – people like you (men or women) who really are keen to enjoy life, go around, have coffee, take pictures and make some nice memories – you are at the right place. On the contrary, if you see people who are unlike you – people who look suspicious or insane, it’s wise to get away from such a place.
Also read: 10 Tips For A Smooth Solo Trip
It’s useless to travel alone.
Most of the tourists think that it’s a waste of time to travel alone. You can’t even have fun with your people. At the end of the day, you don’t have anybody to share your experiences with. People who think like that don’t understand travel in its true sense. Of course, there’s nothing better than traveling with your dear ones.
However, traveling alone is altogether a different and unique concept. It introduces you to various ‘useful’ things – you learn to be more economic, independent and confident. It teaches you to value life and people. You get a lot of time to think and take better decisions, which eventually helps your overall life.
Also read: Lessons Solo Travel Has Taught Me
What do you really imagine when you think of a person traveling alone? Do you imagine somebody sitting quietly by a riverside and sulking? Do you imagine somebody in an amusement park looking around and wondering what to do? Nope! That’s not the way it is when a person decides to go on a holiday completely on his own.
When you are alone on a trip, you end up doing a lot of things, which you would not do otherwise. For instance, if you are with someone elderly, you wouldn’t want to wander much, you would rather sit and relax more often. It’s when you are solo, you end up wandering and discovering a lot of interesting things by chance. You may do so if you are with someone who’s as enthusiastic as you, but ‘discovering a place’ happens when you are on your own.
Also read: Where To Travel Solo In India?
Thus, traveling alone definitely gives you more freedom to do ‘your kind of thing’ and that’s certainly more fun.
Also read: The Ultimate Packing List For Solo Travelers
It’s selfish to travel alone.
I am not saying that people say that very often, but it could be a concern for some. I mean, some people might just suppress their desire to travel alone in the fear of possibly hurting their people at home. Two are definitely better than one. A married couple wouldn’t like to travel without the other. That’s perfectly alright.
However, it’s not selfish to take a holiday alone – it could be for several reasons. If a woman wants to take a holiday on her own, it doesn’t mean she wants to be alone. Likewise, if a man wants to go on a trip alone, it doesn’t mean he wants to be left alone. The idea is to explore something on your own – to see something from your own perspective!
Well, a holiday is a holiday. Everybody has different viewpoints. The idea is not to go rash and do things without thinking. Traveling alone doesn’t mean one shouldn’t care for his or her family. Go out in the world, breathe, spread your wings, but at the same time be careful, be smart and be wise.
What apprehensions do you have about traveling solo?
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