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Self-growth,  Solo Travel

The Life-Changing Power of Solo Travel: 20+ Lessons I’ve Learned From Solo Travelling and How It Transformed My Life

Last Modified: 11/07/2024

If you are hesitating about trying solo travel or wanting to understand why solo travel can be a life-changing experience, or you find yourself at a stage in life where you are uncertain about what’s next and want to seek answers or break through, crave new adventures, then this article is for you.

I used to be someone who didn’t truly know my preferences, lacked self-confidence and the courage to do things alone, and struggled with forming and expressing my own opinions.

However, an unexpected solo travel experience in the USA in 2012 dramatically transformed my mindset, my perspective on the world and life, and helped me better understand myself. Since then, I’ve done more solo trips and lived in different countries for travel, work, or study.

Having personally benefited greatly from solo travelling, I’m eager to share my experiences with you and others, with the hope that it can provide encouragement, inspiration, or that extra push you need to embark on your solo travel journey. Here are 20+ lessons I’ve learned from my solo travel adventures, hope it helps!

List of Contents

1.Be an independent person and being capable of doing things on my own is true freedom

Growing up in an Asian culture that values collectivism plus I had others make decisions, or done things for me during my childhood and adolescence, I got used to relying on people for many activities (although secretly, I craved doing things independently). And I was most of the time doing things in groups, and didn’t actually dare to do things alone. 

As a result, I often found myself waiting for others, and compromising my time and desires. This resulted in missed opportunities and wasted time as well as losing some of my motivation and my own voices. 

However, my first unexpected solo travel experience marked a turning point. After those trips I finally dare to shop, dine, visit cafes, bookstores, and go to the cinema alone. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel lonely.

This newfound freedom allowed me to act on my desires when it occurs and when I am ready, which changed my life in so many different ways, from small things like going for the movie “Nomadland” right after I saw the trailer, or doing more solo travels,  to big movements like studying and living abroad. 

2.Being alone doesn't mean we are lonely, and it's not as scary or weird as I thought

Somehow, after a few solo travels and living abroad experiences, I no longer find being alone scary. In fact, I enjoy it immensely. I find what is truly scary is not spending time with ourselves, knowing what we are thinking, what we want and blindly following the crowd, pursuing things we neither value nor enjoy. This can drain a lot of our energy and time.

As I started embracing solo activities, I realised there are many others doing the same and enjoying it as much as I do! So, it’s not as weird as I once thought.

Because I had heard people judging those who do things alone, saying that such people do so because they don’t have friends and are lonely. 

Consequently, I had the stupid fear that people would assume I have no friends if I do things solo. But after my experiences with unexpected solo travel and learning to be more independent and enjoy ME time, I understand that this is a choice, a privilege and freedom.

Don’t get me wrong; doing things with the right friends and family is also very enjoyable. It’s just that I’ve uncovered a different possibility, realising that I don’t always have to depend on others. It’s a positive revelation, and it would be fantastic if more people embrace it.

However, as much as I adore solo travel, I still encounter some challenges when it comes to sleeping and showering alone in unfamiliar places. I still need to overcome these issues. So far, I have discovered a few solutions that have helped me solve these issues, which you can read about here.

3.To get to know and find myself

Reflecting on the years of my life before my first solo trip, I see that I tended to follow the crowd and listened to others’ opinions without doing my own research or sure about if I genuinely liked what I was doing. I gave in my own power and control over my life to others – some friends, relatives, teachers etc. This eventually left me feeling lost and weakened my self-confidence, as many of those choices weren’t aligned with my true interests.

Solo travels provided me with the space to reconnect with myself, and I could move at my own pace, make every decision from the moment I opened my eyes to when I went to bed. This helped me get to know myself better, find my own voice, and discover what I genuinely liked and disliked. It allowed me to make plans according to my preferences and develop my own thoughts without the need to listen to or follow others. 

This newfound self-awareness made it easier to understand what suited me and what didn’t. It also gave me the motivation to take action on ideas I loved and wanted to pursue. 

For example, I decided to work in different countries, found my passion for advertising and marketing, got a master’s degree in the UK, and also created this blog to share my journey and tips in exploring the world and self-growth, with the hope to connect with like-minded souls & aspiring solo travellers and provide a little help, inspirations for their next adventures, as I believe that everything starts with an idea, couragement and one step.

I am still constantly exploring what my true self and purpose is, and what I can do even better. I believe we all need this. Some people have already found it, some are on the way, some might never know it. I hope we can all find it. 

4.At times, we may feel lost, especially in unfamiliar places or when our minds are undergoing changes. However, this is entirely normal, and it's okay because we eventually rediscover ourselves or find a way out, experiencing the feeling of being found once more

Getting lost is actually a common thing in life and during my solo travel trips, sometimes in the cities, sometimes in the middle of the mountain, and sometimes within my own mind. 

The feeling of getting lost can be uncomfortable and scary, primarily due to the uncertainty it brings. This uncertainty leaves us not knowing what will happen or where we will end up.

Yet, my experiences of solo travel and getting lost have taught me that, in the end, we do find our way out and feel found once more, as long as we know where we would like to go, remain calm, consciously search for the ways, and take one step at a time. We often arrive at either our planned destination or one that may suit us even better.

Every solo travel trip I’ve taken has played a significant role in helping me rediscover myself at different stages of my life or help me heal, especially when I haven’t felt like myself. So I got to return to normal life with a newer, recharged version of myself. 

I believe that getting lost and finding oneself can be ongoing experiences in life, and that’s perfectly fine, because getting lost provides us the opportunity to be found again, and even, for the better.

5.Taking full responsibility for our behaviour and decisions is key to personal growth, building confidence, and improving our lives

Travelling solo has made me realise that freedom is precious, and discovering what I love, being able to decide what I want to do, and taking action is such an amazing feeling.

However, it also means taking full responsibility for my behaviour and every decision I make. If something goes wrong, there’s no one else to blame but myself. For instance, getting lost while hiking alone in Crete, Greece in the late afternoon, or experiencing missed flights and having to cancel some plans, or walking for an hour to The Women’s Building in San Francisco only to find it under renovation and a lot more- these are all on me.

But facing the consequences, solving problems independently, and learning from these experiences have been opportunities for my personal growth and increased my self-confidence as I know that I can handle such situations.

On the bright side, each of these experiences has brought surprises, realisations, lessons and stories. Related travel stories are shared here. 

6.Even travelling alone, it is never really alone, unless we choose to be

I know that one of the biggest things that stops many people from trying solo travel is the fear of feeling lonely or handling things on their own. I was no different.

But after experiencing solo travel, going alone to the UK for study, and moving to different countries by myself, I can assure you of this: travelling solo doesn’t mean being alone, and it’s never really alone. In fact, in most cases, solo travels provide us with more opportunities and space to connect deeper with people from around the world, each with unique backgrounds and stories to share.

From my personal experience, solo travel and living abroad is how I found out that like-minded people do exist! I’ve made lifelong friends and soulmates who are more similar to me than some of my old friends from childhood. We share similar personalities, interests, dreams, and values. And I can just be myself every moment when I am with them, and we get along so well that every moment we are together is very comfortable, and precious. We don’t need to say much or explain ourselves; we simply understand each other. They are also my awesome inspirations, I am so thankful every day that I’ve met them.

7.Don't let others tell us that we have problems; we need to know ourselves better to determine whether these are our problems or simply differences and strengths

One of the most important and relieving things I’ve learned from solo travel and met people who shared my values is that I’ve come to realise that the issues raised by people who don’t share the same values, dreams, and thoughts as me aren’t necessarily problems. 

It suddenly hit me that I am not a problematic person; we simply held different values and aspired to different lifestyles.

In fact, some of the like-minded individuals even showed me how to harness these traits within myself and explore their potential. Which helped me get closer to the person I meant to be. 

So, don’t let others convince you that you have problems. You have to know yourself best and can identify whether these are your problems or your strengths. More importantly, find your people!

However, if, unfortunately, we discover that they are indeed problems, then find ways to resolve and improve them if we aspire to become a better person.

8.Life isn't solely about working, earning money for a living, getting married, buying houses and cars, and having babies. Life is also about experiencing new things, doing more activities that make us laugh, feel happy, and feeling fulfilled

As an Asian from a traditional family, I was often told to seek stability and be realistic, to find a steady job and stick with it. 

Yet, I knew that a life of just working and going home, waiting for the weekend, or going out for food and drinks with friends in Taipei and letting the days pass was just not satisfying and fulfilling for me. While many of the people back home followed this path and found contentment in stable life patterns, I respected their choices but didn’t want to be like that. At the same time, I was uncertain about how to make a difference, and I feared my life might become ordinary and dull.

Fortunately, my first solo trip experiences in the USA changed everything. Travelling to both the East and West coasts of North America on my own, and meeting numerous international travellers along the way, exposed me to lifestyles that are different from the traditional Asian norm. For these travellers, travel itself is a way of life. They either work in their dream jobs while travelling or use their skills to sustain their travel lifestyle/hobbies. They work with a purpose. 

Observing their diverse ways of living inspired me to start thinking about what I truly wanted and how I could incorporate more travel into my life. Everything that unfolded after that solo trip was a result of the lessons I learned and the people I met during my journey. I’m still learning, evolving, and growing every day, thanks to many inspiring travellers, the friends I’ve made, and the books I’ve read.

Money is undoubtedly important; it allows us to do what we enjoy and live our lives. But it’s also crucial to know why we choose our jobs and what we want to achieve with our earnings. Some people work only for money, without a clear idea of the life they want. They end up merely working to support their families, without considering their own dreams beyond family and finances. 

9.Dreamers do exist and they do chase dreams. They shine while working on achieving their dream and doing what they love, and it is beautiful!

The people I’ve met during my solo travels and living abroad have not only shown me the diverse lifestyles and possibilities in life but also demonstrated that dreamers who are turning their dreams into reality truly exist. Friends like Mia, Petre, Eric, Ana, Dean, Vittoria, Luigi, Nicky, Jason, and many others have been a tremendous source of inspiration, empowering me to continue growing and pursuing my own dreams.

10.If we know what we want, we can reduce or stop activities that waste our time, money, and energy

I used to go out all the time, spending my money on parties, food, and drinks with most of the friends who invited me out. 

After more solo travels and tasting the joys of travelling, learning to distribute my time and money, I began saving up for trips and gradually became more selective over the years. I reduced the time and money spent on unnecessary social events, people and things.

11.Being comfortable with my own company also makes me more selective and gives me the courage to leave when I identify things, places, or people that are not right for me

Solo travel has provided me with the space to become more self-aware and independent, allowing me to recognise my likes and dislikes. 

It has also made it easier for me to embrace new experiences and environments alone, which has taught me that leaving something I am accustomed to isn’t as scary as I once believed, as the worst-case scenario is being alone or starting from scratch again, both of which I have found to be bearable and achievable after years of restarting my life in different places and practising being comfortable in my own company.

As a result, I have developed the courage to leave things, people, or places when I discover they’re not right for me. I’ve also become slightly more selective, especially when it comes to deciding with whom and on what I want to spend my time, energy, and money or allow into my life.

This is very different from my previous self, as I always sought the company of others and often sacrificed my own preferences, which I’ve come to realise wasn’t a wise choice. Thanks to my experiences with solo travel, I now know.

12.A simple, genuine and friendly smile and hello can bring you the world

I didn’t know a smile could be so powerful, but from my experiences, one of the best ways to make friends and connections on the road is to smile—a genuine smile. It can open up a conversation, even with strangers on the street. 

This is mainly how I make friends on my solo trips or when living abroad alone. It works, from toddlers to travellers in their 50s, and some of them have become my lifelong friends and soulmates.

One of the most heartwarming moments that I will never forget is an encounter with a Spanish toddler when I was on a solo trip to Schloss Neuschwanstein. She kept following me, wanting to sit with me, tour with me, and repeatedly telling her mom, ‘mi amiga, mi amiga,’ while pointing at me. Her smiles and laughter were just so precious.

I believe it’s like a mirror; when we are friendly and kind to people, most likely, they respond kindly as well.

If you’re looking to make friends and connections while solo travelling, give it a try, and let me know how it goes.

13.The feeling of experiencing things that make me feel the most alive is amazing! It's good to know that we can actually live an exciting life

When I am travelling or living in a new country, or engaging in exciting projects, I feel like every day is filled with excitement, especially when I’m travelling solo. 

I’ll never forget how exciting that kind of life feels; every day, I can’t wait to wake up and explore, as if I don’t want to miss a single thing. When I travel alone, I often find myself just walking, exploring and forgetting to eat or drink. Most of the time, during my exploration, I don’t feel hungry, thirsty, or tired until the end of the day. Yet, it all feels so vibrant, and I believe that’s the way life should be lived!

The exciting life I’m talking about doesn’t mean doing thrilling things and being overjoyed every single day. It means living with a purpose—discovering our world, new environments, new projects, learning something new, reading new books, and being excited to wake up every day! 

Of course, there are also moments of quiet and downtime, but if those times are the preparation period for new exciting moments or chapters in life, and we are conscious about it, then I’d say they are worth it. Besides, having some downtime is normal, it’s all part of life.

14.Solo travel is an excellent way to foster empathy towards others. If more people make an effort to understand one another and show empathy towards different cultures and nationalities, we may witness a reduction in racism and stereotypes, potentially leading to a more peaceful world

I used to hold stereotypes about many countries and people, which led me to dislike or hold incorrect opinions about them. However, many of these stereotypes were challenged through my travels and explorations, particularly during my solo trips. 

The flexibility and freedom provided by solo travel offered me great opportunities to form deeper connections with international travellers and locals, engage in more profound conversations, and experiences. 

This learning and discovery have been invaluable in my daily life, whether at work or with family and friends. It also helped me in resolving conflicts and misunderstandings between different groups of people.

In my opinion, racism and conflict often arise because we lack familiarity with and empathy for the situations, backgrounds, stories, and cultures of others.

Before we personally put effort into getting to know and understand the situations of other people and countries, let’s try not to judge or develop stereotypes about things. The reason for this is that what we hear from others and the media isn’t always true (or is often just one-sided opinion); most of the time, it only represents their perspectives. And yes, this includes my perspective too. You for sure have a different perspective than mine, even when we are looking at or experiencing the same thing.

Each of us interprets the world and everything that happens in the world in our unique way, and most of the time, what we see is not real, or is not the entire picture, not to mention the things we don’t see. However, if we make an effort to ask, to get to know, and to understand different cultures and people’s stories, we may reduce the racism and stereotypes we hold due to a better understanding.

This effort could hopefully contribute to a more peaceful world.

15.We all have our own paths to walk, our own destination to go, and we must walk it by ourselves because no one else can do it for us

Sometimes when I find myself in nature alone, facing challenging hiking paths and steep stairs, I wish I didn’t have to walk them all. But since I had already placed myself in that location, in order to find a way out and reach my destination, I had to continue walking. Even if there are people passing by or accompanying me on the journey, they can only walk for themselves. If I wanted to progress, I had to do it on my own.

And although I’ve had wonderful experiences and made friends with people I’ve met during my solo travels, we all still have our own lives to live and our unique paths to follow. We may support and inspire each other along the way, but each of us is headed toward our own destinations. 

16.To get used to saying goodbye and to understand that just like what the movie 'Nomadland' says, “there is no final goodbye; people do meet again.”

One of the most exciting aspects of solo travel is meeting strangers (other travellers) who happen to share similar personalities and hobbies with me, resulting in instant clicks.

However, we all have our own paths and destinations to pursue afterward. Even though we may change our routes for each other, after a few days or a while, most of us still need to continue on our individual journeys and say goodbye to our dear friends.

Initially, saying goodbye to these friends made me feel sad, as I felt I’ve finally found them. However, I eventually grew accustomed to it, and the thing is that if they are important and special to us, and we become lifelong friends, we do reunite.

17.It's perfectly fine not to plan everything ahead; sometimes, just setting a destination, booking the flight, and then letting the rest flow is a great way to travel

During my solo travel in the USA, I met an Israeli friend in a hostel in San Diego, and I remember the day he was about to fly to New York in just the next few hours, but instead of packing and getting ready to leave, he was chilling outside. When I ask him: “where will you be going in New York and where will you stay?” He said: “oh I don’t know yet, I have not booked any hotel or plan my trips yet”. I was like oh wow, how! Because it is so different from how I used to do things, but I’ve learned from him that sometimes trips without a well planned itinerary are ok too. 

This experience made me realise how often we overcomplicate things, and tend to ensure everything is thoroughly planned, which makes us become so worried about the details in front of us that we lack the courage to simply book a ticket or start doing something. 

But this Israeli friend taught me the good things of being spontaneous and taking a leap. Inspired by his approach, I’ve done a few spontaneous solo trips myself, leading to numerous surprising discoveries and unforgettable stories. While I haven’t reached his level of spontaneity yet, I hope to one day embrace that level of freedom.

18.Sometimes, having no fixed plan turns out to be the best plan, as it often leads to delightful surprises

After learning from the Israeli friend and a few more personal solo travel experiences. I tend to leave some free days for doing things spontaneously for my solo travel trips.

Especially taking the time to simply walk around cities, discovering random gems in alleys or hidden corners, or visiting places recommended by locals.

Most of the time I ended up finding murals, aesthetic cafes, bookstores, colourful places, street markets, rooftop bars/cafe/restaurants, local eateries, and more. Additionally, recommendations from locals or interactions with them usually provide the most delightful and unique surprises of the entire trip. To me, these are some of the most precious moments of travelling solo.

Some of my favourite experiences while solo travelling without plans include:

1. Discovering 2 hidden gems in Berlin by perusing special postcards at a local bookstore while leisurely strolling around Checkpoint Charlie.

2. Stumbling upon an alley with murals and a vintage bookstore after realising that the Women’s Building in San Francisco was under construction, after an hour-long walk to reach there.

3. Encountering locals in Sfakia, Crete Island, Greece, who provided some of the most heartwarming and kindest experiences I’ve had with strangers in recent years. This included meeting a local playing a handpan at the beach and a stranger saved me when I was lost in the middle of a hike. 

You can find the full stories in my travel stories section if you’re curious. 

19.Deep inside, our hearts know what they want, and where they want to go, if we just take time, listen and follow it, we may also know and live life with more joy and feeling more fulfilled

From my experiences, solo travelling is one of the best ways to discover ourselves, especially when we simply go with the flow, without rushing toward specific destinations. Our hearts seem to know what they like and want to do.

However, I must confess, other than solo trips and living abroad for study or work, I haven’t always followed my heart enough, and that’s something I need to work on. Nevertheless, I love the places my heart has led me to so far.

20.We can actually change to become a new version of ourselves, and we can heal

A solo trip is a great opportunity to discover the possibilities of becoming a new, better version of ourselves, as on the road or in the new environment, nobody knows us; we don’t need to conform to the image that old friends and family have of us. It feels like breaking free from a cage or frame, like taking a leap and finding a second chance.

Every time I go on a solo journey, I encounter a new or a healed, or an ‘on the way to healing’ version of myself.

However, the biggest challenge arises when I return home or to the familiar places and communities where people know the old version of me. It’s not easy to sustain that new version of myself; it requires effort. But one thing is certain—there are always positive influences from those experiences abroad that I can bring back to my community, family, and friends. I am happy about it.

Will we become the same person again? How do we adapt a new version of ourselves to places where people are familiar with the old version of us? How do we fit back into the society we’ve broken free from? I believe that’s why I keep moving—returning to the beginning and moving forward again.

21.To feel we are different from our surrounding is not because we are weird, and it doesn’t means that we have problems

If you feel like you don’t fit into your current environment, don’t worry. Perhaps you are just in the wrong place, one that doesn’t resonate with your heart or suit you. Somewhere in the world, within a certain field, you’ll discover people who are similar to you.

I can assure you of this because I’ve experienced it many times. The first time was during my initial solo trip when I met my soulmate and lifelong friend. I felt it even more strongly when I ventured alone to the UK and pursued a master’s degree in Advertising and Marketing at the University of Leeds. During that time, I was amazed and fascinated by the number of people who shared similar personalities, thoughts, and behaviours with me. We didn’t have to explain ourselves much; we just understood each other.

Some of these behaviours and thoughts might be considered weird, problematic or crazy by our family or old friends. However, our hearts do lead us to where we truly belong, or at the very least, closer to it.

It’s an incredible feeling when you find those who resonate with you. So, yes it is true that somewhere out there, you will discover your people and your place of belonging.

22.The mature and best kind of relationship, friendship is when people do enjoy each others company while also comfortable being alone and doing their own things

From my own experiences, I believe that if we always need to do everything with others and lack alone time for ourselves, it becomes easier to lose our connection with ourselves and deplete the time and energy needed for self-development and growth. This isn’t good for healthy friendships and relationships and can potentially lead to growing apart. Particularly, when some individuals within the relationship or friendship are evolving, while others are not, the connection may weaken.

In my opinion, the best approach in the relationship is that we all have our own spaces, where we can recharge, grow, and later share what we’ve learned with each other.

The same applies to friendships; we can be with our friends when we need each other or want to share moments and experiences. However, it’s essential to leave space for each other.

When it comes to travelling together and planning an itinerary, the ideal situation is when people have similar tastes and preferences. But if not, the most comfortable approach, in my opinion, is that we can do things we all want to do together and also feel comfortable doing different things alone when there are activities that don’t align with everyone’s interests.

This way, individuals won’t feel like they are sacrificing themselves for others, ultimately fostering healthier relationships and friendships. Personally, I only became comfortable with this approach after experiencing all the solo travel journeys I have so far.

These thoughts wouldn’t exist if I hadn’t experienced all my solo travel journeys or moved abroad alone. Thanks to solo travelling, I uncovered the possibility of living a different life, transforming into a different version of myself, and adopting an entirely different mindset and perspective on life and the world.

If you’re reading this and haven’t yet tried solo travel, I strongly encourage you to give it a go. There are numerous benefits to solo travel (you can read about them here). You’ll be astonished at how a single experience can change your life.

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