Want to go on holiday, but nobody has time to go with you? Never mind! Take a solo holiday 🙂 There are many advantages to travelling alone. Above all, you can gain new and entirely different impressions, organise everything well, and still have enough time for yourself…and your own interests.
1. Travelling alone doesn’t mean travelling lonely
Our society tends to view being alone as something negative. People who are alone have no friends, meaning that of course, they have to be strange in some way. It is difficult to imagine somebody making a conscious decision to spend time alone. The best thing to do is simple try it out and experience for yourself that being alone is in no way being lonely.
2. No need for compromises
Starting with travel planning, travelling alone is a lot easier. There is no need to discuss the destination, duration, and accommodation with anyone, but rather, you can just book whatever you want to.
3. You can make your own decisions
When not travelling with a group, you don’t have to worry about what the others want to do. There’s no need to entertain or keep people happy and instead, you can do what you want to do. At the same time, you learn what it’s like to have to make your own decisions, as there is nobody else to do so. For example, how will I plan my city break to Vienna? Do I want to go sightseeing? What do I want to see and how will I get there?
4. Setting your own pace
Once you’ve decided what you want to do, you can take as long as you like for it. Nobody is around to urge you to move on and you don’t have to wait for anyone either. I can stroll through the Kunsthistorische Museum (Museum of Art History) for as long as I like and take time for the things I need.
5. Leaving your comfort zone
Many people find it a challenge to leave their usual environment or familiar surroundings. Being alone in an unfamiliar location is one simple step to leaving this comfort zone and becoming open to new things that you otherwise never would have done. Haggling with a vendor at the Vienna Naschmarkt is indeed a conquest, but helps to save a little of your travel budget.
6. Getting to know new people
Never before has it been so easy to approach strangers and strike up new friendships. You will realise that travelling alone changes the way you hold yourself. People view you as brave and confident. You will get attention from outsiders that you never would in a closed group and you will be more open to approaching locals, as there is no “safe space” for you to retreat to. The person sitting next to you in the coffeehouse – what is their story? Or those people that you climbed the steps of St. Stephen’s Cathedral with – where are they from?
7. Getting to know yourself
What actually makes you happy – or sad? Rarely are we able to spend so much time by ourselves in everyday life. When travelling alone, it is easy to discover these things as you only have to listen to yourself to quickly recognise what you actually need.
8. Recharging your batteries
People go on holiday to escape the stress of everyday life and to recharge their energy. Why then, do we so often return from holiday exhausted? Even when we aren’t in our familiar surroundings, we still travel within our social environment. And these have to be kept happy. When you’re out on your own, you don’t have to think about anyone else and can go the whole day without socialising if you feel like it. By taking a walk through the Schönbrunn Palace Gardens with earphones and music, your batteries will be recharged in no time.
9. You become more confident
Nothing increases your confidence quite like mastering a new situation alone. From finding the right departure gate to organising a bus trip to an unfamiliar area – all these things build your self-trust.
10. Learning to appreciate things
Being away from your usual environment for a while can help you learn to appreciate it more. In our everyday lives, we tend to forget how great our lives actually are. Initially, it can be unpleasant to miss family, friends, and partners, but we learn to appreciate them all the more.
