Why You Should Travel Solo in Your Twenties
For most people, traveling is the ultimate luxury and what they look forward to all year. That said, taking a trip is fun and easy when going with a group; you can rely on each other and split up responsibilities as well as financial responsibilities. Traveling with friends or family is also great to bond and make memories with one another. However, I recently overcame one of my biggest fears and present to you the argument that traveling alone offers a multitude of benefits. Specifically, I recommend this experience to anyone in their twenties, whether you think you would enjoy it or not. While I do identify as an introvert who feels comfortable being alone, I believe the act of solo travel can be valuable to anyone, no matter their personality or history. Those of us in our twenties are also experiencing very formative years; we are often presented with an uncertainty and apprehension about the future and the stress of needing to “have it all together” at a young age. I have experienced this feeling firsthand, especially during the pandemic. Given limitless time to think about my future and who I want to be resulted in bountiful stress but also wanderlust. After years of wanting to visit Nashville and never having the plans come together, I wanted to come out of the pandemic and just do it. I booked a ticket, made my plans, and decided to just go. Below, I outline the reasons why you should travel solo in your twenties and the results of my unaccompanied trip.
Opportunity to Take on Responsibility
This may not be the first draw to anyone considering a solo vacation, but it is crucially important. As a twenty-something, in my opinion it’s the time to take on more responsibilities and find independence. However, this has not always come easy for me. Who would want to take on responsibility if there’s always someone around who can share the burden? Reality hits hard in your twenties. Traveling alone, however, offers the chance to try out accountability on your own terms. While planning my trip to Nashville, I knew that one of the biggest things I needed to be responsible with was money and smart budgeting. My expenses included flights, hotel, rental car, food, experiences, and shopping. This trip allowed me to practice real-world budgeting on a smaller scale. I recommend looking at multiple dates, airlines, and hotels and spending time comparing and researching to find the best overall price. Additionally, I had to consider time management. How much time did I need to factor in to get to the airport on time? How long would it take to get from point A to point B? These are two simple examples, but you can see how thinking ahead and arriving on time to your destination will make your traveling experience much more enjoyable. Lastly, I wanted to be responsible about healthy eating. One of my fears is not feeling well while being away from home, and part of that is taking care of yourself and eating well. I chose to grocery shop when I arrived in Nashville so I wouldn’t eat out for every meal.
Do Whatever You Want, Whenever You Want
Hear me out- this is the best part of traveling alone. Of course it’s great to go on a trip with your friends and have fun together, but there’s always times when you get annoyed with each other or can’t agree on what to do. Since I was by myself, I got to decide the entire itinerary, and there was no one else to factor into the equation. The other great part was that I could change my plans at any time; if I wanted to lay by the pool or take a drive, it was affecting me and only me. Furthermore, this schedule allows you to experience another culture or city without the distractions of being with others and factoring in their plans. I took the opportunity to pack my schedule with all the things I wanted to do, but I also would decide to stop back at the hotel spontaneously when I wanted to grab something to eat or lay out in the sun. Truly, it was the best of both worlds. I’m telling you, book a solo trip, and bask in the glory of doing whatever you want, whenever you want.
Become Independent
Ok this is a big one. I’m probably the least independent person ever; or, at least I was before the pandemic (if you can’t tell, the pandemic totally changed my outlook on a lot of things). I always wanted to have someone I knew and trusted around me as a safety net. I always needed the security of familiarity. I think because I wasn’t able to go anywhere for a year, and was given nothing but security and familiarity for a year, that I began to consider that it wasn’t doing me much good to live in such a bubble. Taking a solo trip is a big step for a lot of people, including myself. I’m telling you though, it’s worth it. I was forced to be independent and take care of myself without relying on others. However, solo travel was the perfect scenario to try it out, because it was pre-planned, and I had control over a good amount of the details. This included location, activities, food, sleep schedule, and transportation. I could control these factors but it was still all on my own. I guarantee this experience will benefit you in so many ways, but independence grows quickly in a solo environment.
Overcome Fears
Fears have a funny way of holding us back from things that we want to do, or even need to do. A year ago, I would never have wanted to travel alone. It gave me so much anxiety just thinking about it. Once you decide you can handle it, there’s a euphoric feeling about overcoming your fears that is so incredible. Personally, I was always nervous and anxious about travel in general, and of being out of my comfort zone. If you’re an over-thinker, you get it. Again, the pandemic put a lot of things into perspective for me. I realized that the benefits outweighed the stress and booked my ticket. Through this experience, I realized that worrying about the future almost always doesn’t come true and isn’t worth the energy. Not to say I won’t still do it, but it was a great feeling to realize I can do hard things. In the span of this trip, I conquered traveling alone, social anxiety, and fending for myself, among others. Whatever your fears are, being faced with the reality of being alone in an unfamiliar place will fast-track your success and progress in overcoming them.
Confidence
This connects back to my previous point. Once you successfully complete a solo vacation, there’s no better feeling. There is a relief of coming home, back to familiarity and comfort. There is also the feeling of craving more adventure and conquering more discomfort. I can attest to the fact that you gain an immense amount of confidence as a result of traveling alone, especially as a twenty-something with relatively little real-world exposure. Think of it this way: imagine doing something you’re afraid of or uncomfortable with. Imagine doing it anyway. I am a type-A overthinker through-and-through, and it’s hard to admit but I can say confidently that worrying about the worst thing that could happen will 99% of the time not happen. Once you realize this, the world becomes a lot clearer. Fear, I’ve learned, is just a mindset. And a mindset, as it is intangible, is able to be changed or altered. Now imagine conquering your fear or overcoming an uncomfortable situation. That is the confidence that traveling alone can give you.
Self Discovery
Without even realizing it or meaning to, you will learn a ton about yourself during your travels. This includes discovering what you like, dislike, and how you handle yourself in certain situations. Take, for example, how you would confront asking a stranger for directions or reaching out to a casual acquaintance on your trip for some temporary company. In a group setting, it’s easy to pass this off to the extrovert of the group. However, getting this experience on your own allows you to a lot of self discovery. You may learn that you like to be active and on-the-go all day, or you might find that you tend to enjoy a slower pace; it’s your schedule, after all. On the contrary, you may discover personal challenges such as improper budgeting. Each negative self discover, however, presents the opportunity for improvement.
Takeaways
I would recommend solo travel to anyone, at any age. But I think that your twenties are the most ideal time to do it, in order to fast track learning about yourself before getting settled into life. Another important note regarding traveling alone is that you don’t need to go international to reap the benefits. I chose to go several states away, and it happened to be somewhere I had always wanted to go, but it wasn’t a whole day of travel to get there. That said, there are also affordable ways to do it. Consider these tips when planning for your trip:
- Pre plan: While I am a type-A personality, I think this is step one to a successful trip for anyone. Why risk future stress over something that can be done beforehand?
- Pre pay: Spreading out the costs of the trip will hurt much less when it’s done over a longer period of time.
- Make a list of what you want to do: That’s the beauty, it’s your trip! You get to do anything you want. Making a rough itinerary before you leave will also help the trip go smoother and help you feel that you’ve gotten the most out of it.
- Research: This part is very important; it ranges from knowing the locations of neighborhoods you want to visit to hidden gems recommended by locals. Spend time researching where you’re going before you show up.
