Have you ever had a dream of visiting a foreign place but haven’t because there’s no one to go with?
Women often fear traveling alone because they think something bad is inevitably going to happen to them. At first, I thought so. But when I was faced with the opportunity to make a dream come true -to attend a football match- I waited for no one. I booked flights, accommodation and traveled to Munich on my own. It was an incredible experience. I realized that there’s no need to have a negative mindset when it comes to traveling alone as a woman.
Solo travel has far more rewards than setbacks and this is why:
- It allows you to make your own decisions – since you don’t have to compromise, you can create your schedule based on what you want to see and do. This gives you the freedom to make all decisions and truly create the trip of your dreams.
- It shows you that you’re capable of doing things on your own – few things are more empowering than discovering you can do something you didn’t thought was possible. Traveling alone is the perfect opportunity to learn how to rely on yourself. By the time the trip ends, you will feel stronger.
- It allows you to make your dreams come true without depending on others – your goals and dreams shouldn’t wait for anyone. It’s a shame that sometimes we stop doing what we like because we don’t have someone to do it with. That’s nonsense.
- It sharpens your sense of direction and overall common sense – traveling alone means you don’t have someone close to you who you can turn to, in case something goes wrong. That means you need to be twice as attentive to everything: signs, rules, directions, places. It improves your memory and makes you more aware of your surroundings.
- It’s a great opportunity to get to know yourself better – since you’re doing what you want, you will discover that maybe you’d rather spend more time walking around than visiting museums, or finding hidden gems than visiting the landmarks.
- It’s an opportunity to get out of your shell and make friends – when you travel alone you’re more eager to talk to strangers whether it’s because you’re sharing a hostel room or you want someone to take a picture of you in front of a monument. You may meet fellow travelers from different countries and end up grabbing something to eat together.
- It helps you see the good in people – you will be surprised about how nice people can actually be. Strangers have helped me when they saw me struggling without me asking. Kindness still exists.
I’ve traveled alone to five countries by air, train, and bus. I’ve stayed at hostels and shared rooms with strangers. I’ve gotten lost, I’ve figured out foreign public transport on my own. And I loved it. Traveling alone helped me be more independent and realize that there’s still more good than bad in the world and that I can do anything I put my mind to.
My first solo trip - Bayern München's match against Schalke 04 in Munich, Germany
My first solo trip - Bayern München's match against Schalke 04 in Munich, Germany
A second trip to Munich - where I met some nice Chileans that were also going to the Champions League match
Visiting London & Oxford
A 3 day-trip to Prague, Czech Republic; Wroclaw, Poland; and Vienna, Austria
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Visiting London & Oxford
A 3 day-trip to Prague, Czech Republic; Wroclaw, Poland; and Vienna, Austria
...and realizing I didn't take a picture of myself in Vienna so here's a nice shot I took of Karlskirche 🙈
I encourage you all to take a solo trip. It will be an invaluable experience. Who says you can’t conquer the world on your own? 😉
