This is what I think about solo travel!
Have you ever traveled alone? You want to try but you are scared? Just give it a try! I am sure that you will get the most precious experience ever in your life. Some people prefer traveling with a group. That’s fine, but I would recommend you try it alone.
The discussion is indeed not about what is good and what is
not, It depends on the individual! So here is my personal experience.
Independent travel is good because you have to solve all
your own problems. You don’t get to problem solve if you’re traveling with a
group. Instead, you’ll have a lot of help and sometimes you won’t have to do
anything. Although being helped may sound appealing, I believe that traveling
alone and fending for yourself makes you a stronger person. It gives you
confidence. It changes your life and makes you a better person; whereas, if
someone is holding your hand all the time through life or through travel, you
don’t have the benefit of growing stronger and better as a person.
When you travel on a package tour, your schedule is
completely out of your hands. For example, you can stay in your favorite place
for only 30 minutes or so, which is such a pity. On the other hand, if you travel alone, you
can stay in your favorite place for a few days if you want. “When traveling
alone, you don’t have to follow the schedule. You can go anywhere and have
whatever you want,” said Elena a companion at Mexico.
As well, for example, what if you fall in love with somebody
living in a place you visit and he or she wants you to stay longer? If you
travel alone, you can definitely extend your stay and you won’t bother anybody.
When I was traveling in Mexico in January - 2017, I fell in love with one
family in Taxco which is about 3 hours away from Mexico City. I was supposed to
stay there a few days but actually, I stayed there for 1 whole week. I met the
family when I was eating dinner alone at a restaurant. They treated me like a
daughter and I had a wonderful experience with them. They always invited me
home and offered me delicious Mexican food. Also, I studied Spanish, so it was
good for me to practice my Spanish with them.
It’s all up to you when you travel alone. It’s not easy of
course. You need to find your way all alone. “I like traveling with a group
because I don’t want to get lost, However, I can tell you from experience that
getting lost is not always bad. When I got lost in Costa Rica last February, I
asked for a direction from many people and every single person gladly helped me
even though my Spanish was not really good.
You might be afraid of asking for directions in the local language, but
if the local people are really kind to you, it’s going to be a great
experience. You can get a lot of help from local people even though you are
alone traveling, which makes you feel so warmhearted. There are tons of chances
to communicate with local people. When a bicycle I rode was broken in Cambodia,
many Cambodians came to me soon and tried to fix it for me. Nobody fixed it
after all but I just felt so happy that they tried to help me.
One more thing I can tell you is that there might be some
relationship problems when you travel with other people, especially with
friends. “I have some experiences traveling together with my friends, but
usually the relationship goes bad,” said one of my friends. I’ve met quite a
lot of people. I think one reason why the relationships go bad when traveling
together is that everyone has such different opinions and desires and
expectations. Your friendship could be messed up by a crack or a slightly
sarcastic remark. “When I traveled alone, I saw many people who were arguing
even though they were very close friends,”. You better think about who you
would travel with really carefully before you ask your friends to go on any
kind of long-distance journey with you.
I am not saying which is good or bad. I just want to
recommend you travel alone if the idea it looks good to you. It will make you a
stronger and a more independent person. You will be proud of yourself after
having managed alone. You will also get many new points of view through your
amazing independent journey.