When I was a little bit younger than I am now, if you would have told me that I would have lived alone in a foreign country on two separate occasions, in two different countries, I would have laughed at you. I was not a confident girl growing up; I hated doing things on my own and the thought of travelling somewhere by myself would be a very daunting one. Since then, I’ve spent 4 months teaching in Milan and a year teaching in Strasbourg and I have grown into a woman who loves travelling, whether that be in groups, with friends, or else completely by myself.
I’ve been on a few trips by myself now, most of
them whilst I lived abroad for day trips, but I’ve taken the plunge and stayed
in foreign countries alone for days at a time as well! I normally organise my
trips in such a way that I meet up with friends along the way, but I am
completely in favour of an entirely solo trip. There have been so many
occasions where my friends have bailed on plans at the very last minute and
left me hanging. In these circumstances it’s a case of ‘if you don’t go alone,
you don’t go at all’ and I’d much rather go somewhere by myself than miss out
on a fabulous opportunity.
If you wait for other people, you’ll never get anywhere.
DROP THE FEAR
I know this is probably easier said than done
but with the right amount of preparation, you have absolutely nothing to be
scared of if you make the decision to do a trip solo. When deciding where to
go, check out statistics and information on the safest areas to stay in your
chosen city. Work out how easy it is to get from the airport to the area where
you’re staying. (Story time: I arrived at the airport in Bergerac, France, in
February to find that there was neither a shuttle bus, nor a taxi rank, at the
airport to transport me to the city centre to get my train to my final
destination. I’d just assumed that there would be! BE. PREPARED.)
YOU’LL MEET PEOPLE
ALONG THE WAY
If you’re staying at hostels, you’ll definitely
get chatting to people and probably find someone to check out attractions with,
if that’s something you want to do. I’ve met people from all over the world
through travelling and working abroad, people I still see to this day. If you’re
scared of being lonely, there’s always a way around that.
YOU GET TO KNOW
YOURSELF
I have learnt so much about myself and my own
needs whilst travelling. I learnt that I have a fascination for architecture
and could happily wander around a new city exploring the buildings and the
exteriors for hours and hours at a time. I discovered that I love history and
learning about the extraordinary history of a place- the quirkier the better. I
learnt that relaxing in front of a beautiful building with a book is an ideal
thing to do when you have an hour to kill between trains. I have learnt so much
about myself that I probably never would have had I not had the opportunity to
travel by myself.
THE TRIP IS ALL ABOUT
YOU
One of the only things that annoy me about going
on holiday with friends, especially if I’m going on a city break as opposed to
a beach holiday, is the discussion over what
to do and when to do it. I’m very
much an early-riser when I’m on holiday; I like to be up, showered, dressed and
out of the hotel as quickly as possible when I’m travelling, to avoid the
massive queues at tourist attractions and there’s always the worry that the
friend won’t want to get up and get out like you do. I also like to explore
cities seriously and properly, visit museums and learn all about the history of
a place: deciding on where to go when there’s more than one person involved in
the deciding can often prove tricky, especially if you have different
interests. Cut out the middle man and see what YOU want to see.
Solo travelling can be daunting but it’s also
the best experience of your life. I can’t wait to start planning my first ever
long haul solo jaunt next year! Have you been anywhere on your own? How did you
feel? Let me know in the comments!
