Pros and Cons of Solo Travelling

We all probably as children wished we traveled alone, or perhaps you are still wishing so. I sure did once, but after doing it for the first time, and being forced to do it a few times after, I found myself wishing to travel accompanied again.

Now, don't get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed traveling alone before, but I just feel like I have had enough, for now at least. So I will share with you my reasons for which I would rather not travel alone. Actually, I find more cons than pros to solo travelling!

CONS

1. You get the worst pictures of yourself.

Imagine, you are at this awesome place and you want the perfect picture of yourself but you don't have anyone you know around to take that picture for you. It's sad!

Of course you can still take selfies and even use a selfie stick but I doubt these are ever going to be as good as the pictures that can be taken by a friend or someone else with you.

As such, when you travel alone, you are forced to ask random strangers to take pictures of you. Unfortunately, more than likely you're not gonna like the picture or the picture it's not gonna be "Instagram worthy".

First off, it is not even as easy as it may sound to ask a random person to take a picture of you if you're kinda shy like me, much less it's gonna be easy to ask them to retake the picture. I mean, 1 out of 10, if that much, of the strangers you ask are going to know how to take a good picture. They simply won't take or have the time out to help you take the picture you desire and even if they did it's gonna be hard to ask them to because you don't wanna bother them too much or come out as too picky . With that said, if you actually build up the courage to ask someone, you are likely to keep the first picture that they take whether it's good or not.

2. You have no one to talk to and keep you company obviously.

From when you're at the airport or even on your way to your final destination this is a struggle. Sometimes you just want someone to hear you out on your feelings, whether they are good or bad, or you want to express your emotions on what you are seeing or experiencing but you can't. This can even get frustrating because sometimes you just need someone's opinion or just the presence of someone to share what you're living.

And don't get me started on long flights or long bus rides by yourself, yes you can sleep, but daaaamn, it ain't nothing like company during those boring times that feel endless.

3. You have no one to watch or hold your things when needed.

This is mostly a struggle when you are at the airport because you have to do everything with your luggage since you don't have anyone you can tell to watch it for you. Sometimes you just want to quickly go in the bathroom or go buy something without the hassle of holding on to your things which may be even heavy, but since you have no company, you have to carry around everything with you all the time, and this can get very annoying and even time-consuming.

4. You may not feel as safe.

Traveling alone can be a little scary because when you are alone the risks of being robbed or assaulted are higher. Also, if anything were to happen to you, it's harder for you to get out of the situation as you have no one to help you. I mean, something as little as your phone dying wouldn't be so bad if you had company.

5. The costs of the trip may be more expensive.

Usually there are costs like the rent of a place, etc, that could be shared during your trip. However, when you're alone you have to bear all the costs by yourself, making you spend more than if you had someone to share some expenses with.

6. The chances of getting lost are higher.

Yes you can get lost with a group, but this is harder than when you are alone. You know what they say, two heads are better than one!

PROS

1. You can literally do whatever you want whenever you want to.

This gives you so much freedom because you can plan anything as you wish and you don't have to wait on anyone or agree on any decision. Usually when you travel with people, you all have to decide on a plan and sometimes you even end up doing something that isn't what you would prefer to do but you do it regardless because others want to do it, and it doesn't look good or feel right to ditch them. Therefore you can avoid this issue if you travel alone, which also allows you to save time or spend just the right time doing what you want. You can pretty much be selfish with your resources.

2. You may end up in places or doing things you didn't plan for.

This you may actually accomplish when you're in a group as well but I believe it is more likely to happen when you are alone. As continuation from the previous point, the freedom makes you improvise and wander. Sometimes it's good to not have a plan, to walk and see what happens and to get lost, or at least believe that you are lost. Because you end up in places you never imagined, places that are not down in any map or schedule, and you will love them same way!

3. You get to meet new people.

I mentioned before that when you travel solo you don't have anybody to talk to, however sometimes you do end up talking to random people. This can be a good thing because you meet new people or just more people than you would normally meet if you traveled with company. Whether you are an introvert or an extrovert, traveling alone puts you in situations where you have to talk to people even if you don't know them or want to talk to them and this way you end up making the friends you didn't even plan or expect to make.

With all that said, I personally rather deal with the pros than the cons involving solo traveling. However I do encourage everyone to try solo traveling at least once! It really is the experience of a life time!

"Remember that happiness is a way of travel- not a destination" - Roy M. Goodman