Travelling Solo. Why I Do, and Why You Should Too!

I’ve been sharing a lot of beautiful destinations and even more beautiful hotels, cruise ships and resorts for months now, and that is truly something I love researching and sharing. And if you’ve read some of my earlier posts, by now you’ll know that I’m a solo traveller, and that it’s really how I prefer to travel. However, I have had both positive and negative experiences, with friends. My only advice is make sure you are both truly on the same page, meaning if you want to go and do something they aren’t interested in, that they will be okay with going off on their own for a few hours. Dig deep to figure that out!

Just note as you go along, I’m sharing some of my favourite travel quotes, but I’ve taken each and every picture.

So generally, when it comes to solo travel, I have lots of friends that look at me in horror when I talk about travelling by myself, they simply can’t imagine solo travel. Whether it’s because they don’t like the idea, because they don’t really like being alone, they find it way too scary or any number of other reasons; I simply can’t imagine not going just because I’m single.

I think I got the taste for travel when I was young, my parents are very well travelled; though now well into their 80’s they’re over it so to speak. However, we had lived in 4 different countries by the time I was 6 with Canada being our final destination. Admittedly I remember very little for obvious reasons. However, they encouraged a fiercely independent 11 year old to take her first trip alone, it was a short flight from Comox, BC to Penticton, BC, where I spent a couple week with my relatives. Then at the age of 12, my mom bought me a ticket to Sweden! Yes, I was 12 going on 16 – and back in the 70’s it was both legal and safe to send your kids on an international flight. Obviously I wasn’t going to solo travel once I got there, I mean, they delivered me to my gate (again this was something you could do back then), and I was picked up at the airport by my aunt upon my arrival in Gothenburg. But I was off solo without my parents, without the safety net, and I think the bug bit then. It just took me a long time to get serious about solo travel. I did the obvious things in my 20’s-30’s like Mexico, Cuba, road trips to California, but nothing by myself until I got older.

London was my first short but real solo trip in 2008 (I was 41) – I fell in love! I went back to the UK in 2010 to hang out with a friend, and took myself to London for a weekend, going to the theater (Wicked), eating out, going to museums, learning the tube and British rail system, and all that by myself. It was a bit nerve wracking but I loved it. Then I lived there for about 5 months, and my heart has lived in London ever since, despite the rest of me living on the Canadian West Coast!

You’re probably wondering how that counts as solo travel, well it doesn’t really, it was just a taster or teaser in my case. Why hadn’t I done more if I loved it so much…Unfortunately, I made lots of bad financial choices throughout my life, which kept me from travelling, because you need money to travel. However, I hit my late 40s and decided enough was enough, I was financially stable enough to take a trip without owing a dime after I got home!

I think it’s fair to say that that we all have bucket list cities that we have always want to go to. I’d say my top 5 were London, Paris (from the age of 13), Rome, Venice and New York, with many more European countries on the list, and places like Bora Bora, and African Safari and even Hawaii on that list. But the top 5 were definitely the above.

And so a week before my 49th birthday off I went to Italy. I had 4 days in Rome and 3.5 days in Venice, before joining a friend in Paris. Was I nervous, well yes, obviously. This was taking it to the next level for me. I went on a budget, because as I mentioned, I didn’t want to come home owing anything for this vacation. I did Airbnb’s rather than hotels, for two reasons. Firstly, they are cheaper as a solo traveller, but also, I like to stay in a hosted home, it means there’s someone to talk to when I want to, and I do a little food prep for breakfast.

However, as I get older, I am more and more inclined to spend more and so my future trips will probably include hotels. And I can happily say that I’ve now been to all 5 cities on my top 5 list! Plus a bunch more.

I’m not going to bore you with every trip, suffice to say in the last 4 years, I’ve been to London, Venice, Rome, Oahu, The Big Island and New York alone. I have also been to Paris, done a couple road trips from Victoria to San Francisco and Sacramento, Monterey & Carmel, been on an Adriatic cruise plus I’ve spent 6 days in Tuscany and Florence. With friends.

I think my one caveat when travelling is road trips, with the right friend is a lot of fun, more fun that going alone! Otherwise it’s a risk when going on a international trip; I have my own stories and those of others that can attest to a ruined (ok maybe not ruined but disappointing) trip because someone wasn’t honest with themselves, and as such with their travelling companion. My Florence trip…turns out they hated international travel, so now I have to return to Florence because that was not a successful trip; but Paris was successful, though I want to go back by myself, to experience it alone.

I can tell you now, the best days are spent getting lost and wandering aimlessly, which is an amazing way to see a new place. Though it gets a bit much when you can’t find your way out of a rabbit warren of old streets, that block all internet signals and your feet are aching! Just don’t be afraid of getting lost, in the end you’ll come across a landmark or someone that can help guide you in the right direction! Oh and let’s be clear, I’m talking cities here, not the woods!

How you travel is really a personal preference, lets just say that I was never a hostel, backpacking kind of a girl, not even at 21, it was never going to happen, which is one of the reasons that I didn’t travel. I always felt that if I couldn’t sleep in a real bed, without 15 other people in the same room, then it wasn’t for me.

So, how do I plan it. I love the research, which is why I’m a travel advisor, so I spend months researching; and find that the planning is half the fun, it builds the excitement and anticipation.

My struggle is never where to go, because my list is long, sometimes it’s about how much time I have, or money, some trips cost more than others. For example I’m taking a cruise, I have to pay for both beds so to speak. Is it fair, no, and are more and more cruise lines getting onboard (pardon the pun) without penalizing solo travellers, yes! Unfortunately the lines that I want to travel with, generally don’t, yet. So for example, I’m booked to take a 14 day South American cruise, the cost is about 4.5k per person, I’m paying 9k. So these sorts of trips don’t happen as often because the price for 2 weeks is way more than I’d spend for a land trip.

Since we’re talking ships, I don’t care about my cabin, I like a dark room, so I’m happy to have an inside cabin, besides, how much time do we actually spend in our room as a solo traveller, not much. And the savings make it worth it for me.

How do I schedule, plan and even decide on what I’m doing for my trips…

Deciding where to go is never a challenge, though prioritizing is tough; I have such a huge list of places I want to see, I am generally pre-planning the following trip before I even go on my upcoming trip! Ridiculous I know, but I get excited at the adventure of it all. Sometimes I have a trip planned a year in advance, ie. my South American cruise, other times it’s only 5-6 months away.

Firstly my biggest and most important piece of advice for any solo traveller is, Don’t overbook your day! Trust me. Leave time to explore, to get lost (because you will), to meet new people and sit and chat. As much as I enjoyed Paris with my friend, I want to go back solo, so that I can sit in a cafe, and meet new and interesting people in a way that doesn’t happen otherwise.

I do like to have one major tour pre-booked per day, don’t leave these things to chance. For example, in Paris, I wanted to go to the Eiffel Tower on my birthday, there was big line-ups when we got there, but because I’d pre-purchased my entry, the front of the line we went. Same goes for tours, two of the best tours I’ve ever been on were by Walks of Italy, one day I did the Palatine, Forum and Colosseum, it was a small group (12 people or so) tour and was sold out, on the days that I wanted, long before I got to Italy. Don’t miss the significant things due to lack of planning, that’s just as important as not over-planning.

Personally, I like free time, I like exploring and discovering new restaurants/foods. I make a huge list of all the top rated restaurants in the area I’m going to be in, and no I don’t generally rely on sources such as Trip Advisor, I read local blogs, other travel blogs and find rating elsewhere. It usually allows me to create a unique list without a ton of other tourists, but is instead filled with lots of locals. Oh and I love food tours, I’ve done one in Paris, London and Florence, amazing! You really get to the heart of how and why people eat what they eat in each place, and you get a historical tour at the same time!

What does a day look like, maybe it’s my age, maybe it’s my need to have downtime, regardless of where I am, but I am not usually out and about before 10am – I detest mornings – and so I start slow. That being said, if I have a morning tour, like the Vatican, I’m up at 5:30 and there for 7am or seeing the sun rise over Napa Valley by hot air balloon, well then, I’m up and there! Otherwise, I start slow, that’s just me though. Then again lot’s of place aren’t open until 10am.

I do a tour, activity, find lunch, wander, see a museum or two, have dinner and then after about 9 hours of being out there, I’m done. I’m not into nightclubs or partying, so generally I don’t stay out late. It’s also part of being a smart solo traveller. Especially when you are doing the Airbnb thing, then you’re often walking home down empty streets. That sort of creeps me out, depending on where I am. Honolulu and London, not so much. Rome, definitely. Just be smart, and if your instincts are telling you not to be there late at night alone, or to go somewhere, listen to them, they are never wrong!

Something we solo travellers never like to talk about, because 95% of the time we love being alone, and love the experiences we are having, but I would be lying if didn’t admit that there are times that it can be lonely. Those moments when you see something particularly beautiful and feel the need to share the experience, or you’re sitting in a restaurant for dinner and everyone else is there with friends, having a great time. But those are just moments, and if you know they’re going to happen, you can shake them off and just enjoy people watching from behind your book! And sometimes if you’re bold, you chime in on a conversation and end up being engaged for a little bit. Or you help someone in a museum with their audio thingy and suddenly you’ve walked the entire gallery together and are on your way to lunch. And then those moments of loneliness are forgotten.

How often do I travel? Well I try to go somewhere every six months. Last year I went to NY in April, and then road tripped to Sacramento with my mom, dropped her off at my aunt and uncles, hung out with my cousin and his family, and then did a 3 day trip to Monterey and Carmel alone. I’m now coming up on 6 months, and tragically have nothing planned, because I’m waiting to have knee replacement surgery. Yeah it sucks, because even if you offered me a trip in March, I’d probably say no, because walking is so incredibly painful right now. So it is all on hold. At least the big adventures are.

I do plan on popping over to Britain in August, seeing friends, and renting a car to drive through the peak district and then get myself to Scotland for a few days, because I haven’t been there, and well it’s so close, so what’s my excuse exactly?! And that’s part of how I travel. I may repeat a place I love, but I “am not allowed” to go somewhere again without adding some place new to the experience! So this time it will be Scotland!

As you can see I am a lover of Europe, and my European list is so long there is simply no point in sharing it, lets just say ALL of Europe is on my list. However, as I mentioned, next year is a South American cruise, and once I’ve had the second knee done, an African Safari! And then, well back to Europe! But where you go isn’t important, you may love the idea of Asia, or you live in the US and want to experience all the amazing cities in your own backyard, I have a long list of US cities on my list as well, and NY is a definite return for me! It doesn’t matter where you go, just go!

What do I hope your take-away is from this, don’t be afraid to go alone, it’s really pretty safe, you just have to be smart. If you want to travel, and are sitting there waiting for your best friend or even your significant other, and they aren’t enthused, plan it anyway and go. Travel is about what it does to you and not your companion, because you will come back changed and more excited about life, and you will see the world through a different lense. And that is worth every everything!

Well I hope you’ve enjoyed my why, and found some of your own inspirations for why you should go and travel solo. I can promise that you won’t regret it.

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Thanks – Maria