Perks Of Travelling Alone

Just going off alone – on the one hand this is an insanely exciting, on the other hand also an insanely frightening performance. The freedom to stay or go as you like, to do what you like and leave what you like, while only having to pay attention to your own needs, sounds tempting. But what else is there to consider? Does this solo travel, which everyone seems to be talking about at the moment, have any other advantages and what are the downsides of travelling alone?

To answer this question, we have decided to ask those who are most familiar with it and who have made travel their profession. For us, Germany’s travel bloggers chat out of the box and tell us what they love about travelling alone, what they don’t like at all and what they have learned from all this.

Susi Maier, Black Dots White Spots

When you travel alone, you have to be able to bear with yourself. But that’s not as bad as it sounds! On the contrary: I have found that it is even very nice to travel at my own pace, not have to coordinate with anyone and consciously spend quality time with myself. Because when do you do that in everyday life? Travelling alone is an experience that should be made quietly – it makes you stronger and more self-confident! (I still don’t like going out alone, eating alone.)”

Denise Yahrling, Travelous Mind

“Since I dared to go on my first solo journey back then – only with my monster-heavy 80L backpack and a huge portion of curiosity in my heart – my whole world has changed. Travelling has taught me one thing above all else: that we usually have no idea what is really inside of us. Faced with the challenges that travelling brings with it and in the face of the new worlds we get to know, we can unfold and grow in a way that would hardly be possible in any other Sitatution. For me, travelling means redefining the limits of what is possible”.

Madlen Brückner, Puriy

For me, travelling solo is just as normal as travelling with a companion. I appreciate both types of travel. If you travel alone, you have to rely on yourself, make decisions alone and deal with the consequences. But you also get to know yourself and your limits better. For example, I perceive many things more intensively, pay more attention to small details, let my thoughts wander, which also promotes creativity, jump over my shadow more often, approach people differently, and am also approached more frequently than if I were on the road with company.

On the other hand, I often experience that other travellers, who are travelling in groups or in pairs, close their eyes more. In some areas I seldom meet women in their mid-30s or over 40s travelling alone, which is a pity.

There is much to be said for travelling alone regardless of age or sex. But some things have also annoyed me again and again: when you have to have your luggage in view while waiting at bus stations or elsewhere (also when going to the toilet). If one is robbed nevertheless once and one comes otherwise laboriously over Western union only again to money. If one wants to have a really good meal and one feels pitiful looks, because one usually does this with company. Or in other restaurants, one is often only assigned the cat table, as if one had no right to a nice evening as a person travelling alone.

If one is asked again and again whether one is really only alone. When your health tricks you, as it is often the case with me, my circulation, and you are afraid that you will collapse in your room unnoticed. Last but not least, travelling alone is often more expensive than travelling in pairs, you don’t sleep in Dorms anymore and sometimes you share the costs for a tour or a rental car. But what you find out about yourself is priceless – even for life at home.”

Julia Lassner, globus love

“To set out alone to get to know foreign countries and cultures requires a lot of courage. But as soon as you have mastered the first hurdle of being alone, completely new perspectives open up. One learns to spend time with oneself, to deal with one’s thoughts and problems without being constantly distracted.

Travelling alone also means getting by on your own, approaching strangers, becoming more self-confident and constantly evolving. Solo Travel has many advantages, for example you don’t have to make any compromises and can arrange each day according to your own wishes and preferences.

Nevertheless, this type of travel is not the ultimate and certainly not the best choice for everyone, because many are simply not born to travel alone. They long for a travel partner, want to dive into foreign lands together and share special moments with each other.

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