Solo Travel: Overcoming The Fear of Traveling Alone

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Most people do not start out wanting to travel solo. However, due to events that are beyond their control, they find themselves left with the option of either not traveling at all or just going by themselves.

You know how the story goes. You start planning a trip with your friends and one (or more) of these things happens:

  • Everyone is on board during initial stages of planning a vacation, but when it’s time to finalize, everyone slowly but surely starts coming up with excuses or that famous “something came up” line. It has been my experience that they were never serious and really had no intentions of going anywhere in the first place.
  • Schedule conflicts— you never seem to be able to find a time for everyone to leave together, regardless of how far in advance the plans are made.
  • Money issues.
  • You can’t agree on a destination, activities, or itinerary.
  • Fear—people start listening to all the negative talk about what’s going on in the world. For many, their backyard is much more dangerous than where they would visit. Many are afraid to use various modes of transportation. I have heard so many say they are not getting in an airplane or on a cruise ship. There are car accidents everyday all day. Accidents with planes and ships are few and in between as compared to vehicle facilities.
  • You put money down on based on the promise that everyone will pay you back. Instead everyone backed out. Rather than lose your money, you go solo.
  •  Everybody is waiting on some other person to comment before they do.
  • They want someone else to sponsor the entire vacation.
  • They always must “work some things out” before they can go somewhere.

Just as in trying to achieve anything in life, if you want to see the world you don’t have time to sit around waiting on people to get their act together. So this means you might have to travel alone.

There are those who were never concerned about traveling alone. Venturing out on their own just comes naturally to them. However, if you are a person who has never travelled by yourself, solo travel can seem overwhelming and downright intimidating. But for many, after we let go of the negative mindset and relaxed, we learned that traveling alone is not the horror that everyone tries to convince us it is.

The one thing that surprised me most is that once I got beyond the initial fear and caring what people thought I really enjoyed traveling solo!

To become comfortable with traveling alone I recommend baby steps:

If you are someone who never does anything alone, you first need to get comfortable with being by yourself. Try the following:

  •  Eat lunch alone once or twice a week.
  • Go someplace where you are alone, but still surrounded by others like a museum or a concert. You are solo but in a setting where you can meet and interact with others. This is great practice for socializing when traveling solo. Many have developed great friendships during their travels and a few have even met their spouse. You just never know.
  • Go to the movies alone. This setting is different. It’s not a place where you can socialize, yet you can get the true feel of being alone while doing something.
  • Eat in a restaurant alone. Many people struggle with this because they think everyone is wondering why they are alone, pitying them, or think they have no friends. We have to get over being concerned with what others think, especially when it stops us from moving forward.

Once you become comfortable with doing things alone, graduate to the following:

  • Before actually traveling to a new location, stay in a hotel near home. For example, if you live in New York, spend the weekend in another borough.
  • Do staycations in your city alone. Explore what your hometown has to offer.
  •  Before venturing too far from your home state, city, or town, visit the surrounding states or cities. This gives you the travel experience with the comfort of being in a country you are familiar with.
  •  If you do travel aboard, instead of staying in a hotel where you will be completely alone, stay in a hostel or Airbnb. There you will have access to other travelers, even those who may be traveling solo and you may find a travel buddy.
  •  Use tour guides and/or the Hop-On buses for some of your activities.
  • Join travel groups. Here are a few suggestions:
    www.weareblackandabroad.com—This group specializes in travel destinations throughout the world for people of color.
    www.africanamericantravelers.com–The focus of this group is to provide exceptional and affordable international trips for African Americans.
    www.sisterstravelingsolo.com–This site was created to empower, educate, support, and advise women who want to travel solo.
    www.sheswanderful.com—This community offers resources, support, and destinations for women who want to travel the world.
    www.bemytravelmuse.com—This site encourages women to take adventurous solo trips

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