As women, we are often told that traveling solo is dangerous and we should always have at least one other person with us at all times. Preferably a man. The first question that your friends and family will ask is if you think it is safe or if you are not afraid. I do not know about you, but I hate that to my core. Just because you are a woman, does that mean you are not able to buy a flight ticket and pack a bag to go to a destination on your own? Do not get me wrong. I am fully aware that some destinations are safer than others. I am not as naïve as to think that I can go anywhere, but if I cannot, it is not because I am a woman, but because I am regarded as a foreigner and should not be there.
Believe it or not, when you are single, you have more opportunities to travel solo than when you are in a committed relationship. Why is that? Because women are usually caring beings who think about their partner more than they think about themselves. We are wired that way, and there is no point in trying to fight it. So, let’s go around it, shall we? Here is why I think that traveling when you are single is the best idea ever.
You will feel empowered
I cannot even begin to describe how strong you feel when you decide to travel alone. Actually doing it is another story. You will have such a good feeling about yourself, and one of the first questions you ask yourself will be ‘Why have I waited for so long to do this?’ True story. I am not going to deny that you will feel some fear at first. I say that from experience. My whole life I have been surrounded by people telling me that I cannot manage by myself, and that got stuck with me. That is why I felt afraid. But then I thought ‘Can I not buy a plane ticket and handle the situation by myself?’ You know what? I could. Splendidly. I packed a bag and took my passport, and I was gone. I felt so liberated. I gained a wonderful sense of freedom that I did not have in my entire life. I felt like the Genie being liberated from the lamp. All of a sudden, I was 2000 miles from home, with nobody around me. And I was perfectly fine. So, as I said, you will feel empowered, no matter how strong you think you are.
You get to do whatever you like
When you are in a relationship, the tendency is to care for the other person and to listen to their likes and dislikes. That is completely normal. We all do it, and it makes us feel good because we are such good partners. However, that can sometimes work against you. How? Because your partner may not be attracted to something, you lose the chance of experiencing it. It makes you wonder if it is worth it. You would think so because your significant other is very important to you and you must take into account whatever they want or do not want to do while on vacation. No matter how much you love them, you cannot but stop and wonder if you did things differently if you were alone. Most of the times, the answer is yes.
When you are single and you travel alone, on the other hand, there is nobody else to take into account. So, if you want to see some museum that most people find annoying, you can. That is the beauty of traveling when you are solo. You can do whatever you want. I cannot stress enough the word ‘whatever.’ There are no other tastes to take into consideration but your own.
You will learn so many things about yourself
When you are single and you travel alone, the person you will be around the most will be yourself. You will confront new situations all by yourself, and that gives you the amazing opportunity of learning new things about you. After all, you do not know a thing until you try it, right? Traveling is no different.
When your first travel alone, you are put in all kinds of situations that probably were handled by your partner in the past. After all, you do not plan a vacation for two all by yourself. One is in charge of something, while the other is in charge of something else. It does not have to be incredibly significant. It can be a little thing like finding your way to a remote beach. It is not a difficult task, but if you are not used doing it, it is new to you. The point is that there are a lot of things you do not know about you, and traveling solo when you are single will reveal some of them. You have time to be with yourself, and that will teach you a lot.
You will find out that you are more resourceful than you know
Traveling solo when you are single will also teach you that you cannot blame anyone else for a mishap. Let’s say that you miss a connection flight and you are stuck on an airport in a country you have no business being in. While you may stress about it at first, you will see that you are perfectly able to get out of that pickle all by yourself. After all, you have the same resources at hand as the next person, and you should handle the situation just fine. The secret is to not panic and use everything you have at hand. You do not need a brainstorming session to solve an issue.
I truly hope that you get to experience solo traveling at least once in your life. But you should know that you can do it while being in a committed relationship as well. It does not take much. You need to make the decision to buy a plane ticket and pack a bag. Maybe get a visa or something. However, when you are single, you have more opportunities to do this. There is nobody else to care about but yourself. That puts you in a great position. And if you find more benefits to traveling when you are single, you can come back and share.
