Recently I gave you 10 reasons why traveling on your own is amazing! I also mentioned it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. So I want to give you a clear picture. To show the other side of the fence, here are 10 reasons why traveling on your own is bad. These are things to know if you are considering venturing out on your own. But don’t let it deter you!
Solo Travel Cons – 10 Reasons Why Traveling on Your Own is Hard
1. Money
There is no doubt that when you travel with another/others that it will most likely always be cheaper. When I stay at an Airbnb for $50/night I have to pay for all of it, but it’d only cost me $25/night if I shared the accommodation with a companion.
I would be able to have a lot more money for traveling if the costs were to be split mainly for things like taxis, ubers, car rentals, fuel and accommodation. However, in most cases, it doesn’t matter when you consider things like groceries, flights, restaurants, tours (unless single supplement), catching buses & trains and paying tips.
2. Support/backup
Solo travel is not having anyone to tell you if something is good, safe, bad, the long way, the cheapest option etc. You don’t have someone to turn to and ask ‘is this a good idea?’ Whether you are traveling with a partner, friend, sibling; you can rely on each other to have support or backup with what you do when you’re traveling. For solo travelers we have to make these decisions 100% on our own.
3. Companionship
Pretty simple this con with solo travel. It is a lot of time getting to know yourself, enjoying your own company. You don’t have that companionship and someone to talk to, laugh with, have meals with, take photos together or of each other, discuss the day’s adventure with. It makes you miss your family and friends more because you don’t have either there with you by your side.
4. No Divide and Conquer
Whatever the task, journey or obstacle may be, you are the answer. You are the do-er, the go-getter, the master and the student. You have to be responsible, cautious, conscientious, accountable. The option is not there to say ‘can you do it?‘, ‘can you ask?‘, ‘can you help me?‘ No one else is going to help you (there are exceptions) and you’ll only have yourself to rely on.
You have to set your alarm and rely on it going off in the morning. Making sure that you pack your bag and get that 6am flight. I somehow catch a lot of early morning flights.
5. Memories For Yourself
Traveling on your own is having your memories to yourself. You can share and tell others about it, but they weren’t there. No one experienced it with you. Don’t get me wrong, us solo travelers meet other people and share memories with them, but not all the time.
The best thing, in this case, is to have a diary! Or a journal, Instagram account or even a Podcast. That way when you want to relive those moments, you can read how you felt and remind yourself of how special those times were on the road.
6. Safety
You know the saying; strength in numbers. Well, that goes out the window if you travel solo. Like right now I am living in Colombia, on my own of course and safety is a daily thought. There are so many ‘rules to follow’ to make sure you keep yourself safe when on your own.
There’s no present, physical voice of reason with you, as you carry about your day and night in a foreign land. You’ve got your gut, your instinct and you have to listen to it.
Over the years I am pretty impressed with my intuition, but there have been times when I wish I didn’t ignore that gut feeling. I’ve got myself into trouble a couple of times, and lucky to be alive. Those stories are secret sorry.
7. Emotions: Being Your Own Master, Comforter, Psychologist and Friend
In times you don’t feel so good, you have to be your everything especially when it comes to your emotions. When you are having hard times, you can’t just ring up a friend and say ‘Hey! Want to go for a coffee?’ or ‘Let’s do something fun today!’
I have to go through all the thoughts in my head and push myself forward. I am my own friend. I laugh to myself, I eat by myself, see new cities on my own and make memories that no one was there to share with.
Over the years, there are times when I feel like an emotional wreck for different reasons. You are on an incredible journey but who is there with you? No one. This is why eventually or some people in the first place don’t, can’t or couldn’t travel on their own. The solidarity is always present and it can be a big head f*ck.
Luckily these struggles were at the start when I was a solo traveler and now I rarely have these panic attacks with my emotions or tears pouring out.
8. More likely to get homesick
There are triggers that happen when you are traveling on your own which cause homesickness. It can be anything from missing a wedding, birthday’s, gatherings or seeing photos online of everyone doing their thing. Or it can be caused by your current location. Maybe you see a group of girlfriends and think of yours back home. You see families, couples and work colleagues having their lunch, coffees or wines. It’s a reminder of, sh*t I don’t have anyone to do those things with.
Of course being homesick passes or it does for me and I don’t experience it because of the following. A big part of getting over being homesick is thinking that if I were back home, I would just want to be out traveling again. CURED!
9. You have to talk to strangers more
You will either talk to no one or you will be talking to strangers a lot. It could be other travelers, the staff at accommodation, people on the street and other locals. When you travel with others you don’t need to talk to others unless necessary. You have to go out of your comfort zone and talk to people you do not know. You won’t even know if they speak English until you take the step. You’ll talk to strangers because you can’t ask your companion/s ‘where should we go,’ ‘do you want to eat here,’ ‘take a picture of me up there,’ ‘how amazing in this view.’ You have to immerse with those around you otherwise you won’t be talking at all, to anyone.
10. Loneliness & Goodbyes
At some point anyone who travels on their own gets lonely. It’s not just in the travel world. We’ve all heard ‘you can be in a crowded room and still feel like the loneliest person.’ This experience is the hardest when you travel solo.
When you explore, eat, drink, walk, sit in cafes, sit on buses or trains, wait at airports, long or short flights, cab rides, uber rides; you’re it. No one is with you. This isn’t the case 24/7 as I meet up with friends or become friends with once strangers around the world. But it’s something you face a lot of the time. It takes willpower, strength, happiness and determination to combat feeling lonely or being okay with being alone.
If you are feeling lonely while traveling there are many ways to feel better. You can talk to people back at home, go to meetups, take free classes or tours, go explore the place you are in.
A part of this reason as well is saying goodbye. You meet people and don’t know if you’ll ever see them again. You feel safe, happy, make memories and share your stories and trust each other. In everyday life, you don’t have to say goodbye as often or frequently. While on the road you can miss an array of people you’ve met on your journey like; the staff at accommodation, other locals and especially other travelers. I’m already not looking forward to saying goodbye to the people at the school I’m taking Spanish lessons at. You get used to leaving places but it still gets very hard at times leaving and saying goodbye.
This is my list of 10 reasons why traveling on your own is bad or hard.
These are experiences I have or still do go through on my solo travels in this beautiful world. However, it was also difficult to come up with 10 reasons why traveling on your own is bad. You will either love it or know that it’s not for you. Solo travel is definitely for me and has so many reasons why it’s amazing. If you haven’t yet make sure you read my post on all the positives of solo travel here.
Pin it for later!
