The Pros and Cons of Travelling Solo

Everyone at least once (hopefully more) in their lifetime should go on a solo trip! Being out there by yourself will make you understand just how capable you are and boost your self-confidence. However, if you are one of those people who would love to travel solo, but you are not sure if it's for you or not, I thought I'll help you out by putting together 3 pros and 3 cons of solo travelling for you in this little quick-reading post for some heads up!

Let’s dive right into it starting from the good part…

Pros

1.You can do whatever you want, whenever you are

There will be no one there to tell you they do not want to do, or see, or go somewhere where you want to. You decide your own day and make your own decision without having to ask anyone and believe me it is the most liberating feeling ever. Saves tons of time during your trip too!

2.You become more approachable

When people see you by yourself you tend to become more approachable. People actually come to you, greeting you. If you go on a tour, you will have the best experience ever. If you are anything like me, you might end up chatting with your tour guide all the time finding out lots of new things while others get lost in conversation at the very back of the group. You will also be more likely to make new friends on tours or simply while exploring the city. Just learn to avoid the ‘wrong approaching people’ from the ‘good approaching people’ and you are good to go.

3.You will be able to see more things

The most annoying thing that can happen to you on holiday is being with someone that is super lazy and just slows you down because they are too tired to walk. Well, when you are by yourself you can walk and explore at your own pace, and again you won’t waste time deciding what to do next and which route to choose to get to your next location. You simply have so much more time for yourself and for the things you love.

As everything in life unfortunately even solo travelling has its bad parts...

Cons

1.Maybe to peaceful for some

Unless you make some friends straight away, you won’t be talking much to other humans during your holiday.

2.Some extra costs

I noticed that I tend to spend a little more on accommodation when I’m travelling by myself. Of course, when travelling with friends you divide accommodation costs, rental car costs, and any possible taxi/uber costs. Whilst if you are by yourself and you might want to opt for a private room and not a hostel dormitory, then you might find yourself spending a tiny little bit more. You can still find cheap and decent hotels for about 25,00 a night in most places but we have to admit than some cities are just more expansive than others unfortunately. Car rentals is the biggest one if you are travelling solo, yes you could use public transport but, in some places, having a car is just almost a ‘must’. I went solo to the Algarve this autumn and I can’t imagine what it would have been like going around there without a rental car in low season! Public transport was very limited during that time of the year of having a rental car just gives you an enormous amount of freedom that is sometimes very much needed in certain parts of the world.

3.Stress and anxiety

Your anxiety levels might be a little higher than usual as you will have to think about everything yourself, especially if you already suffer from it. Personally, even though I’ve always been the one planning and arranging everything for a trip, and consequently able to solve any sort of issue that might arise during a trip, I must admit that while going solo I do still get a few bad thoughts. Talking about the Algarve again last autumn, it did not feel 100% well and being by myself, with a rental car, by myself, kind of put me off a little. However, I managed to overcome the fear and anxiety and enjoyed my time in Portugal to the fullest. I suppose we just have to live the experience to overcome the fear...

Well, these are 3 pros and 3 cons I can think of when it comes to solo travel, but I want to conclude this post with another little annoying thing that I can't really place in either the pros neither the cons. TAKING PICTURES by yourself on holiday!

As you might have noticed most of my photos in this blog are selfies right now. Well, I still haven't figured out how to actually take pictures of myself especially around cities. You might be thinking, why don' you use a tripod? Yes, I would use a tripod, but I have read about so many solo travelers having their tripod stolen while taking a photo of themselves and it kind of set me off from even taking a tripod with me when going on city breaks. The situation changes if I travel to a remote place with no one around me of course, then a tripod and a remote control (or my lovely drone) will do the job! I leave this last point for you to choose. Should we add it to the cons of solo travelling maybe?

Solo female traveler? Check out my blog post where I talk about my top 5 tips for female solo travelers in here!