Solo Traveling: Why You Should Do It At Least Once!

As a woman, I am very happy to see a change in the old-fashioned mindset that says we are not made to do things on our own like men do it. We are very much capable of taking care of ourselves, so why not travel alone?

If seeing a man traveling alone is not strange or out of the ordinary, the same cannot be said about a woman who is doing this, but the millennial generation might be the one to finally break the pattern and show the world women can be solo travelers and can be even more successful than man are. So why don’t we see the number go sky-high? Is it more dangerous for us? Or are we just too afraid to go out of our comfort zone? My money is on the last one.

When I first started working, I received a project that required me to move to The Netherlands for 3 months. All my friends and colleagues keep on asking me if I wasn’t afraid and if I was comfortable with being alone for such a long period. Truth being said, I was terrified by the fact that I would be all alone in a foreign place and not speak Dutch, yet I kept on reassuring everyone that I will be OK. In the end, it was the best thing that could happen to me, because I got the chance to learn so many things about myself.  I became the self-independent woman that I always dreamed of being, I had enough time to rethink all my life, attitude and plans and it also gave me the confidence to do everything on my own.

In the time spent in Rotterdam I got to eat alone in a restaurant and not feel bad about it, read in the park or in a coffee shop, write in a coffee shop, visit a new city on my own, drive in a different country, go shopping alone, meet new people and have small talk. I learned that I don’t need someone else to survive and that I will always have me to count on. The experience started out as a terrifying one, with me being afraid to leave the hotel room, taking the wrong subway and eating only from the supermarket, but ended up with a new me, a more confident and happy version of myself.

I will not lie to you and say that I would like to have more experiences like this, I love to travel with my partner and my friends, but I am not afraid of doing this on my own either. It is this type of experience that teaches you what are your strengths and reassures you that you are able to take care of yourself, you don’t depend on anyone to survive.

Clearly if you decide on doing this make sure you travel in a safe manner, it doesn’t matter if you are a woman or a man, you should always make sure you take all the necessary measures to travel risk-free. Also, make sure you oblige the countries rules, there might be places where as a woman you must be accompanied by a man all the times, so plan ahead.

As kids, we are told so many lies and we learn to accept them as general things without questioning. Women are not weak and don’t need Prince Charming to save them from the big and mean world, they are very much capable of taking care of themselves. Having the experience to travel alone should be on everyone’s bucket-list since it will teach a valuable lesson, that you have all it takes to be independent so embrace the challenge and book the trip, you will definitely not regret it.

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