For Those Afraid of Traveling Alone

I am grateful for these stories and tips. I’m 54 and ready to stop sitting home and pouting that I’m alone. I want to see the world and if I have to do it alone, I’m learning how to do it well from all of you. Alone can be good. Right? Yes! Thanks again and God bless you. Robin

hi! great post! I have to say…I was afraid of traveling alone at first too. Last yr i decided to take a trip to London first then over to Iceland. I did this to “get my feet wet” in a city that spoke english and was like my home, NYC. I spent about a week here then went over to Iceland and it was an awesome experience. I took small group tours which was perfect for meeting people bc there are other people just like you traveling alone. I am a woman and I would say my biggest concern was safety. but I think if you join a tour or two it will make things a little easier. just my 2 cents. i say go for it!

ok…. so i’m heading down to london in three days time to see the amazing Crispin Glover live, and though im so SO excited to finally see him and meet him; im starting to get scared about london itself- esp. since I have to make my way back to my hostel at 1 am- somehow, since the train most likely isnt running then…

i suppose what im worried about is walking around, being happy then suddenly confronted by people and getting robbed/much worse.
plus the fact that everyone i meet keeps saying; “on.. on your own?” then giving that “ooooh” face that really isnt helpful

but i suppose the only thing i can do is organise all my routes, have back ups to getting there and back safely and seeing if anybody at said hostel is seeing mr glover too- wishful thinking but if not, i’ll just stride ahead and look uber confident, even if im not feeling it

thanks so much for this blog, it’s definitly calmed me down!
oxoxo

Traveling solo does not mean you must be alone! Sure the first steps are the hardest, but once you have began the journey as a solo, you probably will not want to make it any differently. As this article so aptly states, nice baby steps are important, as is gaining as much information pre departure as possible. I also make sure, the hotel or place of accommodation knows my whereabouts, expected return and my mobile number. I always ensure I am in a well known and populated area, and never, as our parents told us when we were young, go with anyone I do not know.

Hi Janice

As you know I LOVE solo travel and have done lots of it. One of the joys of getting older is that many of the issues we have at younger ages simply fade away.

In fact, age actually starts to become an advantage in many parts of the world where having some gray hair actually gets you brownie points. We North Americans are pretty much the only ones who ignore or de-value older folks.

I’m always amazed when I travel these days at how willing many young men, in particular, are to take time to chat with me, even to flirt a bit! I’m sure they see me as their grandmother, but that’s perfectly OK with me. I get to meet more interesting people, find out about issues in a locality as the younger generation sees them and gets hints and tips on what happening things I should check out.

I’m a big believer that safety is an inside job. The safer you feel about yourself inside yourself, the safer you’ll find the outside world. Now that doesn’t mean that I flaunt common sense either at home or abroad, but it also means that I know my self confidence and self assurance makes me much more likely to be the one a hustler or scammer passes by.

Keep up the good work encouraging people to get out there and discover our wonderful world instead of waiting for someone to join them.

I didnt travel for nearly a decade because I didnt want to travel by myself. I thought I would look pathetic to others, or be lumped in with happy couples and feel out of place. Fear also played a large part: what if I got lost? How to I decide where to go? Wont I be lonely? How will I meet people?

At 35 I decided I’d wasted enough time and left home by myself for a year-long trip that has now turned into a 16 month sojourn in New Zealand and Asia. The irony? I love travelling alone and get a little bothered when I have to make plans with other people. It’s so much easier by yourself! You get to go where you want, when you want, and are never late because of someone else’s punctuality issues.

If you stay in guesthouses and backpackers, you WILL meet other people to explore places with (and not just students on Gap Years. People of all ages stay in budget accommodation). The reality is that you are only alone when you want to. There’s always going to be someone to do things with if you want there to be.

Happy travels!

When traveling alone I take a handheld GPS unit with me. I mark the location of the hotel and other sites and destinations. I can either mark them at the location I am located at or get longitude and latitude off of many different webpages on the Internet. So by doing this I am really never lost as I have information on my GPS as to routing and distance back to a known site. This really builds my confidence to explore alone. Note…Solo Traveler is a great website!!

I spent my life in fear…of looking foolish, of appearing incompetent, of doing the ‘wrong’ thing, of not pleasing others enough. When, at the urging of my new husband, I took my first trip alone at age 40 I was so petrified I nearly passed out at the LAX international gate. I had never been overseas, it was just six months since I’d watched the planes bring down the towers and I couldn’t believe I was doing something so crazy and spontaneous. The only words of advice my wise husband said to me as I left him at the airport curb: “All you have to do is get on the plane.” It was true. Once I made it onto that terrifying beast and we were up in the air…every anxiety left me. I could not stop this now, could not do any more last minute frantic planning, no one was relying on me, every decision from hereon out would be mine alone.I was…free. Seven years later I am still traveling solo, and have filled many journals with the wonders of Paris, London, Shanghai, Beijing, Florence, Rome, Venice, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, the Pacific Coast…and the Costa Rica 2010 journal awaits its journey. The pure wonder of traveling solo can and does offset any fears of loneliness. My journals provide a way for me to share each experience with those I love…later. I am free to be completely imersed in each new place and experience it as I go, without worry about the needs of anyone traveling with me. It has changed my life.

well, this is really funny, Im planning a 40 day trip to europe and I dont have noone to to with yet.
I dont think I´ll enda up traveling alone but just the idea makes me nervous.
Why? well, Im independent and handful, but the truth is that being near home there is always someone to reach in case…
and of course, who is going to take photos!!! I want to be in some. This is just a joke of course.

Great to share these views – it is an area we don’t talk about enough. I used to fear not meeting people to share the journey with and being on my own too much … and, like you and many others losing my money, tickets and passport. All have happened – and the world did not end

Now, on the occasional times I do travel alone, I try to banish fear and enjoy the moment… Zoe