Why travel alone

My biggest solo trip turned out to be my best one. In , I moved to New Zealand. I learned how I like to spend my time, self-reliance, and I learned that I could go just about anywhere and do just about anything. And no one can take that knowledge or independence from me. Carrie Miller is a New Zealand-based writer, traveler, and storyteller for National Geographic Traveler magazine and other publications.

She loves trying new things, from diving with great white sharks in Australia to riding reindeer in Mongolia. Follow her on Facebook and Instagram. All rights reserved. Share Tweet Email. Read This Next Wild parakeets have taken a liking to London.

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Meet the people trying to help. I randomly signed up to join a group of people who was up for a white water rafting experience. It was definitely one for the books. After a day of exploring central Barcelona I went on a slow aimless stroll upwards out of the city and turned around to this spectacular sight.

The people you meet shape you into becoming a more open-minded, sociable person. It does not always have to be much or long. I did two weeks of volunteering at a childcare centre in Buenos Aires. No problem! Gives me a chance to get out of the airport and explore a new city.

Nine hour bus ride to get from Tokyo to Osaka? No problem, gives me a chance to see the beautiful countryside of Japan at ground level. Be brave, and speak out.

They will come from all kinds of countries and backgrounds and most of them will be awesome. When I was travelling with my cousin, I realized that I always let her navigate. After we split up and I went on my own, I had to step up, and I did it! You must be logged in to post a comment. Here are 71 reasons why you should: 1. You can detox from technology?

It will increase your compassion? You will become more comfortable in your own skin? Goodbye comfort zone! Whether you're lost together in a new city or missed an important cultural cue, the company of friends creates a safe environment to freak out in when something goes wrong. But being alone will force you to gather your courage and figure things out independently.

Who do you become when all your usual safety nets disappear? How do you interact with the world around you? Being pushed out of your comfort zone might scare you, but it will empower you when you realize that you can survive all on your own.

There are plenty of opportunities for relaxing. Trips with friends tend to be very "go, go, go," completely taking away the most important part of vacation: relaxing.

If you're on your own, you always have the option of spending the whole day out, but also no one will be around to shame you if you want nothing more than to order room service and lay in bed all afternoon. Perhaps most importantly, traveling alone will help you find out who you really are. Even though this was a seemingly elementary trip, my brain kept wrestling over and over with this errant decision to pick a place on the U.

I had never been to the west coast and had certainly never traveled by myself. But I was desperate to make a change in my life. At the time two-years-ago , I was living in a cyclical panic of late twenties depression fueled by zero money , no upward job mobility and a recurring internal alarm whenever a person would walk too close to me or I would wind up in a room without a quick escape.

It was truly exhausting trying to navigate these symptoms that kept me from much at all — nonetheless travel. In the most self-actualizing of efforts, I decided that I needed to live like another person for a few days. Cue the solo travel.

I did a quick search for travel-friendly cities and landed on Portland, Oregon. The decision shot a nervous pang throughout my body even though it was very much the perfect city to escape to: public transit, cool art, food trucks. My finger slowly made its way to the track-pad on my computer; repeatedly telling myself this was a way to stand at the precipice of my fears and acknowledge them. Traveling in itself is an act of confidence.

Chloe Carmichael Peet. Your behavior is reinforcing a positive self-esteem. As your self-esteem grows, you start engaging in more independent, self-serving behaviors.