After practicing physical distancing for over 2 months, I’m starting to crave travelling more than ever. I want to visit a new city, experience the culture and live like there are no consequences. Do everything that is only possible when you’re living in your twenties and have so few responsibilities.
Last December, I felt stuck. The routine of waking up, going to work and coming home was getting very old. To add, my supervisor was encouraging me to take a new position. This position was a promotion, but also a shift to a different field. Knowing my goal was becoming a lawyer, I truly could not decide which position was the right choice.
I needed something exciting to focus my attention and energy on. A friend mentioned the possibility of visiting home with them in the Bahamas. Having been twice before I loved the idea. Going and exploring somewhere different than home felt like the most genius idea. Although this trip fell through, it got me thinking of other places I could visit.
I started dreaming of perfect vacation destinations. My university roommate had recently moved to London, England and this seemed like the perfect time to visit her!
Without a care about logistics, budget or anything else I booked my trip. 10 days in London, England, 3 days in Berlin, Germany and 3 days in Dublin, Ireland. Within a week I went from fantasizing about a warm Caribbean vacation to planning a European tour.
Coming off the high of booking my flights, I realized I only had 3 weeks to plan the rest of my trip. As an avid planner, this should’ve driven me crazy. But instead, it became the distraction I was looking for. I got to spend hours looking at hotels, excursions, restaurants, and I could not have been more excited.
The whole trip was the last-minute impulsive decision I didn’t know I needed. It was my first time in Europe, my first time travelling alone and one of the best decisions of my life!
Why Solo Travelling is the Only Way I Want to Travel
1) Freedom, Freedom, Freedom
There is nothing like freedom when you’re travelling. The ability to choose whichever activity I wanted on whichever day was amazing. There were many times I got so absorbed in an activity I didn’t get through everything I planned. Travelling alone made it so easy to simply reorganize my itinerary to match my preferences. Other times I decided to leave an activity after half an hour because it wasn’t what I expected. Being able to make itinerary changes without someone’s approval and getting to plan the trip my way was pure bliss.
The day I flew into Berlin my plane landed in the early evening. I was so excited that I went straight to exploring the city. My only meal of the day was breakfast but I could not imagine stopping to get food. I wanted to visit the city and do all the activities I had planned while everything was still open. Every time I think back to the freedom of solo travelling I think back to that day. No one I know would forgo eating for almost 12 hours simply to visit a city. By the time I was ready to eat, I was so starved I picked the first decent restaurant I saw. It ended up being one of my favourite meals of the trip.
2) Alone Time
I love to hang out with my friends, but I also enjoy being alone. Usually, this means watching TV in my pj’s. I was never the type to go to a restaurant alone or sightseeing alone. When there’s a fun event happening, I message all my friends until I find someone to join. If no one’s interested, I usually skip the event. Something that sounds ridiculous to me now!
Being alone somewhere new pushed me to come out of my shell in ways I wasn’t sure was possible. I found ways to make eating alone fun, found pleasure in sightseeing by myself and became more in touch with my surroundings.
I left for this trip feeling stuck, confused and indecisive and came back feeling clearheaded and refreshed. As cheesy as it may sound, the alone time gave me the chance to find the answers I was looking for and more.
My bank account did suffer but that’s okay. I simply went from very broke to broke beyond belief. Yet, I wouldn’t trade this.
There are certain places in the world I would only visit with others (mostly cities known to be unsafe for women travelling alone). But if solo travelling is an option, it will always be my number one choice!
Have you ever travelled alone? What was your favourite, or least favourite, part?