When most people book a trip abroad they do so with their friends, family, or loved ones. But have you ever considered traveling alone? Most people haven’t as it can seem like a scary prospect, although should you choose to do so, you will find out so many great things about yourself and will be able to tailor your trip to your exact likings. Keep reading for four reasons why traveling alone is a great idea.
1. You Won’t Have to Compromise
When you travel with somebody else you may end up spending a lot of time doing things that you don’t particularly want to do. However, when you travel alone, you won’t have to compromise. You can completely make your own itinerary and do everything that you want to do. You can eat where you want, travel where you want, and do whichever activities you want without having to ask the opinion of another person.
2. You’ll Be Forced to Learn the Language
When you travel with friends or companions, you can enjoy your holiday by speaking to each other in your native language. However, when you travel alone, you’ll find you need to be able to speak bits of the country you are traveling in’s language in order to get by. In doing so, you may end up meeting some great locals who may invite you to participate in things you wouldn’t have the chance to when traveling as part of a group. Plus, you’ll acquire a new skill that may come in useful down the line.
3. You Will Become More Assertive
When you travel alone, you have no choice but to be assertive in order to get what you want. If you don’t start conversations with locals and other travelers, you may begin to feel lonely. Yes, it’s a big step, but once you’ve done it once or twice, you’ll start to feel a lot more comfortable, and may just end up meeting a great travel buddy along the way. You’ll also learn how to deal with touts and other issues when traveling – if there’s no-one there to do it for you, you’ll have to learn how to do it alone.
4. You Will Become a Better Decision Maker
When you travel alone, you will be responsible for making 100% of the decisions you are faced with. If you have the opportunity to travel to a remote area, meet up with some locals for dinner, or even take part in an extreme sport, whether you decide to go through with it or not is totally up to you. You’ll have nobody around you to make the decisions for you, so this is one skill that will definitely improve by the time you get home.
Traveling alone offers a fantastic opportunity to find out who you really are as a person and to hone your personal skills. It might seem like a scary thing to do, but it is something that you will remember for the rest of your life.