Why You Should Travel Alone as a Female

Find out all the solo female travel benefits and why every woman should try the life-changing experience of traveling alone at least once in their lifetime.

In life, traveling is known to provide us with life-changing experiences beyond the capacities of any financial figure.

According to The Wandering RV, internet searches for “female solo travel” have increased at least 62% between 2016-2019. As of 2019, 85% of solo travelers polled by Overseas Adventure Travel were women.

More and more women are becoming empowered to travel alone, regardless of their relationship status. Here are some of the many reasons why every woman should travel solo at least once in her life.

To challenge yourself and become stronger

Travel is the best way to challenge and push yourself outside of your comfort zone. For those who quit 9-5 cubicle jobs to go against the norm and create a life of long-term travel, this is one of the biggest testaments to throwing yourself headfirst into challenges.

However, you don’t have to quit your job just to travel. You can even take a short, overnight day trip somewhere local, but do it for the means of pushing your boundaries. This forces you to challenge yourself by organizing, planning and putting the trip into action – all on your own.

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” How can you change the world without challenging yourself first? There comes a point when you get fed up with merely reading and dreaming about what could be, or how you could have taken that trip of a lifetime if you didn’t make up a number of excuses preventing you from doing so.

Instead, shape your biggest fears and/or your travel dreams into your own reality, complete with its disasters, mistakes, and mishaps. When you turn your dreams into actions, you undeniably become stronger and more resilient in the process.

Truthfully, I’ve had so many near-death experiences when traveling, they’d fill an entire book on their own. Would I trade any of these life-changing situations to have stayed in my California bubble, close-minded to perspectives of the world we live in?

Never.

We all learn best through challenges and mistakes, and it has been proven endlessly that travel is the best education. By challenging yourself to travel alone, you’ll inevitably become a stronger, more empowered individual in the long run (and thus, a better citizen of the world).

To conquer your fears

Traveling alone, especially as a woman, may seem extremely risky and unsafe to many. However, with all due respect to safety, it just boils down to having common sense (regardless of your location).

Fearing for your safety should never be something that hinders you from traveling alone. While it’s completely understandable to have these fears, the world is out there for you, waiting to be explored. If you keep fearing possibilities, you’ll never accomplish your goals.

Travel forces you to become fearless, especially when you have no one else to turn to. You’ll be placed into unforeseen situations, such as having to book a different accommodation on the spot when you miss the last train back or having to ask strangers for directions when you’re a certified introvert. These are a few of many instances in which you learn to sink or swim when you’re on your own.

The more comfortable you get traveling, the more your fears are put at bay. Whether you conquer your fear of heights by skydiving over the Great Barrier Reef or fear of enclosed spaces by exploring caves in Thailand, you become increasingly brave with every experience.

To experience full-fledged freedom

The feeling of being unequivocally, completely free is one of the main perks of traveling alone. You can run around in any location with your arms outstretched, just taking in the sheer beauty of our world.

For many who haven’t even traveled out of their home country, the concept of having so much freedom may seem daunting. However, this should be seen as positive reinforcement. You’re in control when you travel alone; you’re your own boss. No one can tell you what to do except for you.

To gain independence

When you travel by yourself, you’re forced to become independent based on every situation you encounter. You learn to build communication skills by talking to locals and learn to navigate streets via a paper map when your SIM card runs out of data.

Travel is the best way to grow and nurture your independence, since it places you in situations that you wouldn’t normally encounter back home.

To have your own agenda

The best part of traveling by yourself is the ability to make your own decisions, go wherever you want, eat whatever you want, and spend an indefinite amount of time in a particular place.

There is no drama, stress, or strings attached when traveling on your own. You answer to yourself and can travel as slow or quick as your heart desires.

This is a primary reason why so many women love and continue sticking to this method of solo travel. The ability to map out your own travels and do whatever you want is incredibly simple, yet still empowering.

To find yourself

Some turn to solo travel as a method of finding themselves again after a rough patch in life.

In this sense, solo travel can be therapeutic and beneficial for many who need to figure out their next steps in life. You’re never closer to yourself than when you travel alone to a region outside the confines of your comfort zone (i.e. the zip code in which you grew up).

Traveling on your own gives you more time to reflect on your needs, passions, and true interests. Journaling, listening to music, going for long walks and runs, and hiking are some of the ways you can use your solitude productively when traveling.

You undoubtedly change as a person when you travel in eye-opening ways that help shape you into the future version of yourself. Thus, traveling alone is almost like a preparatory school enriched with priceless experiences that you can’t obtain anywhere else online or in person.

The Best Resources For Solo Female Travelers

To engage in self-care

We all have times in our lives when we feel like we need to silence social media and just get away from everything. Thus, taking a trip alone is actually a proven method of self-care.

When you’re on the road by yourself, you’re forced to take care of yourself inside and out. You’re able to put your priorities first and take care of yourself mentally, emotionally, and physically.

Those who travel regularly are at lower risk of suffering a heart attack and have lower levels of stress. Being on your own, away from the routine of everyday work, removes you from objects that enable stress (such as co-workers, your phone, car, computer, etc.).

To build confidence

Traveling solo and confidence complement each other as perfectly as icing on a cake. No matter how far you choose to go, traveling alone ultimately builds your confidence.

You need to put yourself out there to make friends, ask for directions, and learn new things about every new region you set foot in. You’ll never have more time than on a solo trip to truly examine your strengths and weaknesses (and grow as a person in doing so).

Traveling by yourself will truly test your strengths, but it’s part of your journey in building confidence. These are lessons and experiences you’ll carry with you for the rest of your life.

To find contentment

Rather than be cliché and write “happiness,” opt for “contentment.” Traveling alone allows you to be content with who you are as a person, where you are in life, and what you’ve achieved.

Our society is filled with electronic distractions, social media pressures, and work-related stress. The ability to get away from it all and be free is one of the most gratifying aspects of solo travel.

To take risks and be bold

As stated by Margie Warrell of Forbes, “[…] those who are willing to take risks, step out of their comfort zone, and into the discomfort of uncertainty will be those who will reap the biggest rewards.”

Buying a ticket and emboldening yourself to travel alone in the first place is the first part of taking a risk, and the rewards are always worth it.

The memories of navigating a new city by yourself, making friends around the world, summiting an intense mountain, and trying all the local foods (even some that may scare you) are all things that make solo travel worth it.

To inspire others

Every woman has the ability to inspire others through her actions and words. When you take a trip by yourself and share your experiences on your blog, social media accounts, and any other mode of communication, you’re actively inspiring others to go against the norm (whether you realize this or not).

Through your stories and experiences, it’ll undoubtedly create a ripple effect within your network that inspires others to follow suit. It doesn’t matter if you inspire 1 or 1,000 people, you’re leaving impressions on thousands of people who actively search social media and hashtags on a daily basis.

If you can embolden even one person to finally take a trip they’ve always dreamed about (especially a solo one), consider yourself an integral part in that person’s journey.

Solo female travel benefits conclusion

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Everyone (regardless of whether or not you’re a woman) should take at least one solo trip in their life in order to become a stronger, more confident version of themselves.

The experiences alone will teach you to view the world from varying perspectives, while also understanding the importance of gratitude.

Debbi Shibuya runs My Debstinations.

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