Traveling solo is a dream of many young people. It’s exciting and out of the comfort zone, and it was my dream too. I was reading a lot, trying to get as much theory knowledge before practical. I read so many “how to” and “why is it good” and truth be told we already know why, we already know that it will make us grow as a person, that it is something that everyone should do at least once in their lifetime. But what we don’t know is how it’s really going to be once we are there standing in the middle of nowhere with a backpack and thousands of thoughts of “what I got myself into”. 

Everyone’s experience is different, but most people agree that it is the experience of a lifetime. Here is how it was for me, what I was experiencing on my first one month solo trip and how it changed my life.

Being scared

Let’s go straight to the point. If you are not some rare totally fearless creature, chances are you are just a normal human being and the truth is that you will be scared. Maybe just before the actual trip, maybe while on the trip or maybe both and that’s totally fine. Just don’t stress too much. If it is giving you so much anxiety and you’re scared to death, then don’t do it. Don’t think it is a must just because so many young people are doing it. Traveling solo is not for everyone and that’s absolutely fine. 

People are nice

It’s a general rule. You will always find more people who will want to help you than to hurt you. On my whole trip I didn’t have any accident or unpleasant situation, and I was traveling in some unsafe countries. You have to be more careful and responsible than usual, to have four eyes open but also let people help you when you need it. I met so many strangers who helped me. And it is true that when people see you traveling alone they will want to help you even more. Once I met a man who was amazed by what I was doing, traveling solo as a girl. He wanted to help me so badly, to do something for me. He ended up giving me a sim card, so that I could have internet access, and it meant so much to me that he gave me that small thing. 

Appreciating small things

It’s amazing how a warm shower can mean so much! After a long day in the city, being sweaty, you just want to jump in the hot shower. Same for the warm bed. But what mostly got me was getting my laundry done. It was feeling like a blessing just to get my clothes washed. 

Feeling lonely 

I’m a solitary person and I enjoy being alone, but there’s no doubt I felt really lonely on some occasions. Especially when something funny happens, you will want to have someone to share that moment with, someone to laugh with, and just telling the story later it won’t be as if someone was there with you. But at the same time you will enjoy having some time only for yourself, planning your day as you want and working on yourself, having that moment from “Eat, pray, love” while sitting and eating on the floor in Italy – one of my favorite scenes. And if you already don’t, you will start liking being alone and independent. 

Feeling powerful and confident

The more time you spend alone, the more independent you are. The more confident you are, the more powerful you feel. It’s amazing how solo traveling makes you feel so good while putting you in uncomfortable situations. The more problems you solve, the more you move on to the next level in this game. It feels like you can do anything, you can conquer the world… maybe a little overreacting, but the feeling is really unique.

Meeting lot of people

It’s inevitable. You are out there, roaming around, going places, people are everywhere. You will meet people even just sitting in the coffee shop. It’s weird how it happens much more easily than when you are in your hometown. I was using Couchsurfing, so I met so many people through CS but even if you don’t use any platform to meet people, you will somehow definitely meet others on the road.  

Finding love of your life

No one guarantees this will happen! But it happened to me and many others who decided to travel solo. Don’t go on the trip hoping you will find someone. The point is to have a great time, to meet people, experience new things and as a result it might happen that you meet someone special. When you are out there, far away from people that know you, it’s easier to just be yourself, talk with strangers and share your stories, and while doing things you truly enjoy it is almost inevitable you’ll find like minded people. But, even if you find just really good friends, it would be enough.

Being spontaneous 

Finding balance between being a yes or no person is the key. While saying yes to spontaneous adventures can bring you a lot of fun memories, also saying no can save you from unpleasant moments. Only you are deciding what you want or don’t want to do. Always remember that. But don’t be too scared so you miss all the fun. On a trip like this it is important to be spontaneous and open in order for things to happen. You are put in the situations that lead to adventures so you should embrace it, you are allowed to have fun, just always have one eye open on the back.

Trusting people

After being in so many different situations, with different people, meeting them and talking to them, you will start evaluating people more easily. You will start deciding faster which people you can trust and which not. You will be surprised by how much you actually started trusting others. I met a guy on the night train on my way back home at the end of the trip. We talked the whole night, went to breakfast together, he wanted to visit Belgrade and I ended up inviting him to my home where he spent 3 days with me. We became friends and till this day we still keep in touch. I would never do things like that before, inviting strangers that I just met. But the thing is that we do change in the process and we become much more open to new things that we end up surprising ourselves. 

Being tired

You will be tired so much! Especially if you are traveling fast, changing places often and being active a lot. You will dream about resting and sleeping whole day, and you will do it. You will miss to see some places just because you wanted to stay in bed whole day and sleep, and that’s totally ok. That’s how I missed to see Transnistria in Moldova. I just wanted to rest and don’t go anywhere that day. I regretted it at first, but then I said to myself that it is ok and I should not force or exhaust myself. It is equally important to rest as it is to travel.

Conclusion:

You will have the time of your life. It can be the best time or worst time. But the secret is, and you should know it, it only depends on you how it will be. You should go with your heart and mind open, ready for good and for bad, relaxed and conscious, creating good moments with your positive attitude and beautiful thoughts. 

Every experience is unique. After all, we meet different people, travel to different countries and have different stories. But one thing is similar to all the people who traveled solo – we all don’t regret it. Even if you try and fail, at least you tried and figured out it’s not for you and you can go find other things that are maybe better for you. But I encourage you to try it, ‘cause you’ll never know until you go!