How to get over the fear of travelling solo

When I was younger I was incredibly shy and introverted, to the point where even taking a trip to the local shop by myself was a task, let alone a trip to a foreign country! Fast forward a decade and I’ve not only been fortunate enough to move half way across the world by myself but have also managed to travel solo to several countries, with plans to visit many more! So how did i do it? How did that shy little girl garner the confidence to venture to the unknown unaccompanied? Well heres a little look at just how to get over that fear and brave it alone!

Loneliness

I would say the top fear of travelling solo is that it will be incredibly lonely, but in most cases this is far from the truth. Unbeknownst to some there is a stark difference between being alone and being lonely, and I assure that though you will definitely be the former that doesn’t necessarily mean you will be also be the latter. When travelling alone you have the opportunity to completely forget the stress, troubles and worries of your day to day life. Being alone also allows you to have some “me time” clear your head and just enjoy your own company, something that I think we all should do from time to time! Another point to note is that though you are solo you are not alone. You will be surrounded by locals, other tourists and even other solo travellers, some of which who you may just end up spending your time away with!

Safety

Another top concern, especially for female travellers, is of safety. Of course this is a valid concern given the world we live in today, however what I say to that is that anything can happen anywhere and actually you are no safer at home really than you are abroad. As long as you are aware of your surroundings you should be fine. As well as this there are steps you can take to stay safe when travelling alone, namely keep your valuables safe and with you, check in with friends and family regularly whilst on your trip, make sure you are staying in a safe are, be careful of unknown areas and finally research and plan, plan, plan before your trip!

Planning/Money

Planning not only helps to keep you safe but it makes for a much smoother and stress free trip too. Now I’m not saying you should plan your whole trip from start to finish with no room for spontaneous ventures (especially as these can lead to some of the best experiences), but at the least planning for must visit places and how to get there beforehand saves for a lot of time during your trip, which leaves more time for actual travelling rather than time wasted figuring out how to get here or there or ending up going to somewhere that actually is of no interest to you whatsoever. Money is also often another factor that stops people from travelling solo, but actually if you research well and plan ahead you can take some very budget friendly trips!  Or you can make travel a priority and save for a trip!

Boredom

A lot of people assume that travelling with only yourself for company would be boring. With no one to talk to, no one to go to dinner with, no one to do those things that “must” be done in a pair or group, travelling alone would be no fun. That, however is really not the case! For one often you will meet fellow travellers or bond with the locals on your trip, so you will have people to talk to and do things with. Secondly as previously mentioned travelling alone invites for great thinking time and can be a great escape from our day to day worlds, something that is not boring at all. Thirdly since the only person to please on this trip is you it means you have all choices of what you want to do, so if you think something is boring you don’t have to go! Finally can you ever be bored when everything around you is new and different?!

Bravery

Along with feeling lonely I think not being brave enough is a big fear that stops people from travelling solo, a fear that I myself was not immune to. It can take a lot of confidence and guts to brave travelling alone, especially if you are not a particularly extroverted person to begin with. The key is to start of slow with maybe a short day trip by yourself not so far away and once you gain more confidence plan for longer/further away trips! It’s also good to ignore all those niggling voices in your head telling you “people will stare”, “I can’t do everything by myself!” , “I need someone to plan/ do directions!” and trust in yourself! Once you get out there you’ll realise how capable you are and will fall in love with the freedom that comes with travelling alone! So go on, take the plunge and go do some solo travelling!

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