11 reasons why you should travel alone

"I can't imagine travelling alone. Surely you're on your own a lot? Is it not dangerous? Does it not get boring? I don't think it's for me!" However, everyone who has dared to travel alone says exactly the opposite and now can't imagine not travelling and exploring new places alone. Here are 11 reasons why you should try and travel alone at least once! If it's not for you, fair enough. But, like I said, I am yet to find anyone who wasn't really enthusiastic about it afterwards!

1. You are never actually on your own and you meet lots of new people

The myth that travelling alone is lonely is simply not true. You are never lonely because lone travellers naturally approach other people more easily. It's quite the opposite of lonely; when you are travelling in pairs, you are dependent on finding new friends and only then do you realise just how many other backpackers there are, all of whom are travelling alone. The result? You meet more people than you would have, had you travelled with friends, and you get to know a crazy amount of people. Great new friendships just fall into place!

2. Broaden your horizons

As you aren't travelling with friends, but rather mainly with new people, you are constantly learning about new opinions and points of view. What's more exciting than learning about a new culture and values that are completely different from your own? If you stick to what you know, you never learn anything new. However, if you dare to take a leap of faith into the unknown, you will broaden your horizons. I believe that's one of the main reasons why I like travelling alone so much; I come back to Germany having learnt so many new things and maybe even with new opinions on things, as I spent time with so many different people and got to learn about their own point of view on things!

3. Find time for yourself

It is important to be alone sometimes and to spend time with yourself. Being alone doesn't mean lonely. In my opinion, it's important to take some time to clear your head, rediscover your balance and have a rest. The good thing about travelling alone is that you can choose if you want to be alone or if you want to spend time with other backpackers. When you do need time to yourself, you don't have to be with other people and you don't have to justify anything. As you aren't travelling with friends, it is completely up to you how you spend your time and you don't have to agree anything with other people. Isn't it nice sometimes just to read a book alone on the beach or to explore a new town on your own?

4. You can change your plans every couple of hours

Nobody apart from you decides what you're going to do in the next few hours or days. Have you met people in hostels who are going surfing in Mexico the next day and you want to go with them? Did you fall in love with a place and end up wanting to stay for a bit longer? Have you met an amazing person that you want to travel with for the next few months? No worries, you don't have to sort out anything with anyone! You can do whatever you like; you can do your own thing and change your mind spontaneously. It all depends on who you meet and what you feel like doing. You don't have the same flexibility and spontaneity when you are travelling with someone!

5. You get to know yourself better

When you are travelling alone, you discover new personality traits that you didn't know you had before. You get to know yourself a lot better as you see how you react in certain situations, what you are comfortable or not so comfortable with, and what is important to you, not just in terms of travelling. As you are spending time with yourself but also with new exciting people, you question things more and come back home with new ideas and a more reflective view of yourself!

6. You only do what you want to do

Do you want to try out yoga? Have you run out of money and just want to eat potatoes for the next few days? Do you want to spend the whole day lying on the beach with a book? Do you want to spontaneously go on a hike? Go ahead, you don't have to discuss it with anyone else. You decide what you want to do and you learn along the way to listen to your gut instincts. You don't have to pretend and do something you don't want to do. Sounds great, right?!

7. You don't have to worry about other people or be responsible for anyone

There is hardly a time in our life anymore when we don't have any responsibility. Normally we are responsible for a thousand things, we have to study or work and we feel responsible for anything and everything. Because of this, it is unbelievably liberating to just be responsible for yourself for once. The only thing you have to think about is where you are going to sleep and what you are going to eat, everything else follows. You don't have to be careful of other people or follow what others want. You also don't have to worry about what other people want or need. For once, you can put yourself first and you don't have to constantly think about other people. (But you really should let your parents know you're still alive from time to time!).

8. You have unique experiences

The experience of watching the sunset from a cliff on the coast, either standing alone at the peak and enjoying the view, or surrounded by completely new people and feeling close with them, a feeling you usually only get with your closest friends- these are things you only get to experience when you are travelling alone. They are one of a kind experiences that come from unknown situations and are therefore so much more special and valuable. They are also difficult to describe as it's hard to sum up such experiences in words. But they are memories that you will still be talking about when you are old and grey and sitting by the fireplace. They are moments that will stay in your heart forever.

9. You grow beyond yourself

Travelling alone is scary. It's something new and unknown. It's diving into the deep end, and that's why it's great. You grow beyond yourself as you have to overcome yourself and after talking to strangers for the first time, you realise that it really isn't that difficult. You learn just how quickly you get to know people and how nice it is to be outside of your comfort zone. Suddenly, it isn't so scary anymore. It's exciting and wonderful and it teaches you an important lesson: just because something looks scary at first, it doesn't mean that you shouldn't dare to try it. On the contrary; you should dare to do just that, and find out that 99% of the time, most fears are irrational and it's actually something amazing. You learn so much and have one of a kind adventures. The only scary thing would be not trying it!

10. There are so many opportunities

All of the reasons I mentioned above lead to one conclusion: travelling alone makes you into a new person. You learn a lot of new things, gain so many new ideas and who knows, maybe you will even meet the one? Travelling alone offers so many opportunities and so much potential to get to know yourself better and to find out what you actually want in life. Maybe you'll also realise that you don't want to go back to your old life at all, and you want to stay there. The world is ours for the taking. We should use that and try to take on whatever is possible. Travelling alone is a chance that nobody should miss out on!

11. You learn to be thankful and appreciative

Drinking tap water? Rubbish collection? A roof over your head? A working toilet? Enough money to live? All of these things are a given for most of us. When you are travelling, you learn that they really aren't. Everything who travels, alone or in a pair, comes back being thankful for what they have at home. When you are travelling alone however, at least in my opinion, you experience more intense things and learn to appreciate what you have. You are also grateful for friends, a family, and obviously for material things too. You have different experiences alone and come back with your heart full of gratitude!

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