The Five Greatest Benefits of Traveling Solo

I’ll never forget the moment I bought that plane ticket. I was a junior in college, sitting on the floor of my living room in the middle of the night, in shock that I just purchased a round-trip ticket to Peru. In exactly six weeks, I was to board a flight headed for a country I’d never been to, had absolutely zero scheduled plans in, and knew nobody. And I was going by myself.

I sat, mouth agape, half excited and half terrified to my very core.

Ever since history class in middle school, I’d dreamt of someday traveling to Peru to visit the incredible ruins of Machu Picchu. It was one of those dreams I had lumped into my list of things to do when I was “old, rich, and retired,” so when I found myself looking up flights to Peru as a broke college student, I thought of it as a fun way to dream about my “far into the future trip” - until I accidentally came across an incredible deal for a round-trip flight.

I barely had enough money to cover the cost of the flight and knew of no one else who would be able to travel with me, yet I couldn’t help but feel that this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. The thought of traveling alone as a young female for five weeks scared me immensely, but what scared me even more was the thought of not pursuing this dream strictly out of fear. I wasn’t rich, I didn’t have a travel partner, and I had no prior experience in Peru, but hell - I had traveled before, spoke passable Spanish, and felt that I could give a good enough stink-eye to ward off any potentially threatening individuals I encountered on my travels. Perhaps this shouldn’t have been enough justification for going, but thank goodness it was, or I would have missed out on what would become the most empowering trip of my life in the most beautiful country I had ever been to.

As the saying goes, “leap and the net will appear.” In the week after I booked my flight, I found a program in Peru I could volunteer with for a portion of my trip, I discovered ways to save money that I had previously overlooked, and colleagues of mine who had traveled (solo!) to Peru approached me with recommendations. By the time my flight touched down in Lima, I had realized that the moment you commit to something is the moment you’re ready for it - as evidenced by everything somehow falling into place in ways I never foresaw.

In fact, had I waited to travel until I had someone who could go with me, my trip probably still would have been great, but it definitely wouldn’t have been the empowering and self-affirming experience that it was. As I look back on my time in Peru, I wouldn’t change a single thing, but I do wish that the general response to my decision to travel alone had been more positive and encouraging. Traveling solo as a female seems to be universally discouraged, and while it would be naive to think that there aren’t unique risks that women face while traveling alone, there are also incredible benefits that no one seems to be talking about. Even though I had no idea what those positive aspects were before I embarked on my trip, I’m infinitely grateful that I can now share from firsthand experience what they are. To all of the women (and men!) with an endless list of places to explore, here’s why you shouldn’t feel pressured to make the trip with a partner:

You have total control over your time. When you travel with others, there’s always some level of compromise that takes place, but when it’s just you, you can structure your days however you please. Whether you prefer to wake up at 5 am or at 11 am, hike all day or club all night, eat out for every meal or find cheap staples at the supermarket, you can do it, compromise-free! Personally, I love to pack as many hikes, tours, and mini-excursions (think checking out markets and museums) into my days while traveling, which I realize is the exact style of travel many people avoid, as it doesn’t provide much time for slowing down and relaxing. Since I was on my own in Peru, I planned out big and little adventures for every day, not having to worry about burning out a travel partner and knowing with certainty that I was making the most of my trip by doing exactly what I wanted to do. And on that note...

...you learn about yourself by discovering what you gravitate toward. When there’s no one else around to call the shots, you may discover, “wow...I actually would spend all day hiking/lazing/socializing with locals/sightseeing/etc. if left to my own devices.” In our day-to-day lives, it can be hard to separate what we truly want versus what we do to please others, but when you spend time alone in a foreign country, you have no habits or people to influence your decisions - meaning that everything you do is purely out of your own desire.

It can be easier to meet locals and fellow travelers when you’re on your own. I’ve traveled in groups, with a partner, and on my own, and I consistently make the most connections when I’m by myself. One of the reasons for this seems to be that you’re simply more open to meeting others when you travel alone. When you travel with others, it can be easy to create your own “bubble” and primarily interact with the people in that group. Conversely, when you’re traveling solo, you have to meet strangers in order to have conversations, so every person you meet suddenly becomes a potential candidate for someone to eat lunch with, go on a tour with, or just swap stories over beers with. Plus, it’s easier for others to approach you and get to know you when you’re solo, as they’ll never feel like they’re “interrupting” your time with fellow travelers. (And, yes, this can be unwanted when you just want to embrace your alone time - but sometimes it’s a good challenge to get out of your comfort zone a bit)!

You discover that most people really do just want to help others. While traveling alone, you have to get used to asking for help - a lot. When an average day can involve figuring out where the hostel is, what time the bus comes, how much cab fare is, how not to get ripped off at the market, and a hundred other things, you realize that any fear you might have talking to strangers is best left at home. Once you get used to constantly approaching others with all kinds of questions, however, you discover that most people will actually go out of their way to make sure you get the help you need. While in Peru, I had people walk me multiple blocks to the grocery store I was looking for, patiently sort out how much money I needed for bus fare when I couldn’t remember which coin was worth which amount, and give me the phone number of their cousin’s sister’s friend who lived in the city I was traveling to next just in case I needed to call them for any questions while I was there. Of course, there will always be people who try to deceive you to make a buck off of you, but nine times out of ten, people will be more than happy to help you.

You discover that there are always other people (read: potential friends) who want to do the same things you do. Before I left for Peru, I wondered how many places (alpine lakes, ruins, etc.) I’d actually be able to visit since, for safety reasons, I didn’t like the idea of going to some of these places alone. However, this idea was laughable once I actually arrived in Peru - there were countless tour agencies organizing trips to these places every day. While I was in the mountain town of Huaraz, for example, for a very reasonable price I could reserve a spot on a tour bus that would shuttle me and other travelers to a trailhead, where we’d have a set number of hours to complete the hike to what was always a beautiful destination before being driven back to town. I also partook in plenty of tours that were much more hands-on and informational, but on every one of these excursions, I met like-minded travelers - some of whom I went on to travel with and am still in contact with today.

Making the decision to travel on your own can feel incredibly intimidating. Yes, you will feel like you’re in over your head sometimes, but remember that it’s a sign that what you’re doing is surely life-changing. If you have to, fake your confidence until you successfully make it to the end of the trip - at which point you’ll realize that you never had any reason to doubt yourself in the first place.