It is a silent, momentous change that is taking place in the big, wide story of man exploring. The ideal picture of the travel was collective, over the decades: a family crammed into a station wagon, a couple on the front of a well-known monument, a gang of friends acting silly at the beach in the sunshine. These were photos of mutual discovery, photos telling about memories made together. Yet a new hero is entering the picture, who lives by a different narrative, that has companionship, but not as an element of his or her story, but something he or she is unable to know. This is the solo traveler, and they are not only a niche market; in the world of modern travel they are one of the largest and most revolutionary trends. Going it alone is no longer a desperate measure or is regarded as a lonely matter. Rather, it has been willed as a conscious choice, something to be proud of and a strong commitment to oneself. It is the quest, not in isolation, not without others, but something that sprang up out of the very depths of oneself, the freedom that has not been passed through and refined, the radical self-sufficiency, a relationship to the world that is sheer, direct and utterly personal. This is not just a tendency registered in the statistics of bookings and reports of the industry; it is a social movement, a joint response to changes in the modern world. This book will take us into the world of solo travel knees to knees, peelling away all the fallacies of the so-called solo traveller, widely believed to be a middle-aged, long-haired female, and unveil all the faces of the men and women leading lives of their own, abroad. It will also be a guide to planning, staying safe and prospering in the world of solitary travel. This is a path along a movement that in the end is not a journey of being alone, this is a journey of being complete.
The meteoric popularity of the solo travel requires one to peel deeper below the surface to a combination of entrenched human urges, cultural changes, and the empowerment by technology. By essence, travelling alone is a freedom. When we live our lives we have strings of compromise, yet the person who travels alone got them all rid of, creating his or her own story. They are permitted to get up early as the sun comes out or lumber asleep until the stroke of noon, they may spend a day in a museum or just jump on a train to a new town without the bother of any negotiation and agreement. This freedom that is not at all compromised is probably the most powerful aspect of solo traveling. In addition to this freedom, the journey is a deep journey into oneself that results to finding out more about oneself and radical self-sufficiency. As you go solo, you disengage yourself out of your social comfort zone, the one you are used to and deprived of any fixed roles you had and you are left with yourself. All the things, like using an unfamiliar subway navigation app, a working order of your lunch trip to a restaurant, are the challenges, which have become the test of your personal competence, developing a sort of internal self-esteem with each difficulty successfully tackled. The quietness of train rides and walks, in general, leave the mind free and the reflections can be made independently with all the clarity possible. It is a procedure, which is a mirror to the soul. One of the big paradoxes in this experience is that being alone you will often become more accessible to stronger connections. The solo traveller is an open circuit that is more accessible to locals, will be more apt to explore the world and this will result in genuine insights into the lives of another people. The digital revolution also contributes to this phenomenon; the smartphone is now an instrument that travels the world with us; with navigation, translation and accommodation apps; barriers to fear are broken by directly connecting people with the wide, supportive world a few taps away; through social media groups.
The stereotype of the solo traveler as young scruffy backpacker is pathetically missing the point. The modern-day solo traveler is just that eclectic and the world he/she travels just as varied, because they can be of all ages, genders, and backgrounds. The biggest demographic change perhaps has been the outburst in female solo travel. Millions of women are saying no to old fear stories and rediscovering their right to explore the world in their own way in a truly empowering move of self-reliance. The evolution of work has also introduced a new breed of single traveller, the so-called digital nomad, mixing up remote working with the long-term visit to a destination country, or the addition of personal vacation days to the business trip, the so-called bleisure traveller. To the other extreme of the demographic spectrum there lies the silver adventurers. Retirees and empty nesters, who have more time and disposable income, are no longer content to take part in culinary classes in Tuscany or wildlife safaris in Tanzania, but want comfort first and enrichment second. All personality types also find a special attraction in this form of travelling. To the introvert, it is a relieving slume and recharging retreat and to the extrovert an exciting social task of establishing a new encounter with people and brief but exciting relationships as friends.
Although the idea of going traveling on your own is very intoxicating, it is successful implementation with the help of clever planning and awareness of the situation. The practical course of action starts by the vital decision of destination. Most first-timers are comforted by safety and good tourist infrastructure of such countries like Iceland, New Zealand, Japan or Portugal. The cultural immersion enthusiasts may be more inclined to Italy, Vietnam or Peru and the adventuresome bunch may feel more at home in the jungles of Costa Rica or in the mountains of Nepal. After selecting a destination, it is necessary to have some form of blueprint of the trip. This includes arranging at least an initial several overnights in either a social hostel or a comfortable hotel or a local guesthouse and relieve the air travel stress. The best thing to do is to leave your schedule flexible; not having expectations of where you want to go and sticking to it as closely as possible leaves the fun out of discovery the chance to explore. The art of packing carries with it a very simple mantra, and that is to travel light, and smart by carrying versatile clothing with multiple layers and the much essential equipment such as a power bank, a first-aid kit, and copies of all the important documents. Number one of these priorities is safety, and this does not mean fear but refers to empowerment by being prepared. It implies being always situationally aware, not flaunting your wealth, not discussing your plans with a person back home, and last but not least being able to use common sense. When something seems to be not right, then it is not right. It is easy to overcome such fear of loneliness being the greatest obstacle, as long as one is proactive in attempting to achieve a sense of connection. Good ideas of meeting people are to stay in social hostels, attending group activities such as walking tours or cooking classes and learning basic phrases of the local language. It is also important to redefine solitude as a luxury- a moment to read, think about and just watch the world in your own time.
Although the whole world is accessible to the solo traveler, there are a few destinations that appear to fit the bill especially. For example, Japan is the model of safety and efficiency: one can never feel unsafe, no matter what happens to a traveler in the glittering labyrinth of Tokyo or calm beauty of temples in Kyoto. New Zealand finds itself as an adventure playground with everything one has to do to test his or her physical abilities through bungee jumping or glacier hiking with a very hospitable culture which is reinforced by a very good hostel system. If you want an easy entry into a Euro solo trip, then Portugal is just the right mix of affordability, scenic places, and friendly people, with its easy-on-the-eyes neighborhoods of Lisbon, and beach lovers of the Algarve. Vietnam is an explosive experience that is extremely rewarding, boasting of a surging street food culture and clearly marked path that allows easy navigation and mingling with others. To get closer to nature, the epicentre of ecotourism, Costa Rica is the place where a person can fly across the cloud forests by zip-line or observe the nests of sea turtles, breathing the national slogan of Pura Vida. In Germany, at every step you can find Berlin, a city full of history, breathing with the breath of modern creativity, in which you can endlessly engage in independent tourism with a great public transport and an abundance of museums and cafes.
Looking forward, further development of solo travel does not seem to slow down; it is expected to be more personalised, networked and integrated. Future trends indicate hyper-personalization, where apps enabled by AI will perform the role of personal travel agents, as they will provide itineraries in real-time, tailored to specific tastes and location of a particular traveler. There is no doubt that we will be bound to witness a very big increase in solo-oriented business, such as more one-person hotels, tour companies focusing on more narrow interests that individual traveled people can enjoy. Moreover, the solo traveler as more meditative in general is the ideal person to take the first steps toward sustainable and regenerative tourism, making a deliberate choice in sustaining the local market and preserving its physical nature. The online world is going to be of critical importance, virtual communities, and even metaverse-based test-before-you-buy experiences will enable people to take the plunge.
Travelling alone means you travel twice: to another place on the face of the world, and to the most remote parts of your own soul. It is something brave and it is a sign of curiosity and an unlimitable path to self-improvement. You get to know how to trust not only your own intuition but also the basic goodness of strangers. You find the world not being nearly as frightening as you think it is and yourself being quite capable of handling it more than you ever thought possible. Travel story is no longer a one-script story. It is an extensive storehouse of books, and the solo travel segment of it is getting thicker and more voluminous every day. Have you ever been pulled by another coast or wanted to know who you are when nobody sees you, ever wanted to have the story of your life and that only, then it might be time. Close your bag, draw a big breath and walk out of the door. The most exhilarating chapter of your life possibly can be the one written by yourself.
Wheeling along in the flamboyant, rumbustious chronicle of the exploration of this little globe, a revolution has occurred which is revolution by stealth. A family stacked in a station wagon, a couple in front of a recognizable landmark, friends laughing on a beach in the summer sun all of them were the iconic images of travel, for generation. These pictures discussed a collective exploration, of memories made collectively. But there is a new protagonist that is coming, and this story is not characterized by companionship, but rather by the strong, exciting solitude. This is what is known as a solo traveler, and it is not only a demographic segment, but one of the most important and revolutionizing trends in the contemporary travel. Due to these changes, when a person decides to go it alone, it is no longer considered to be a desperate or lonely measure. Rather, it has turned out to be a considered, popular decision- a statement of independence and an extreme investment in oneself. It is not a trip they take when nobody is around, it is an adventure they take to seek something strictly individualistic authentic freedom, extreme independence, the connection to the world that is intense, immediate, and fully personal. It is not just a trend that can be observed in the current statistics in making reservations and industry analyses, but also it is a change in culture, a societal response to this intricacy in the contemporary world. The book will explore the solo travel world on all levels, going deep on the motivating forces that drive millions of people to put a single bag behind their shoulder, breaking all the mistaken stereotypes to unveil the varied images of the present-day solo traveler, and providing a cross-faceted tool on how this can be done better, how the solo traveler will do best to get on the road and stay safe, and get the best of the experience. It is a quest into a movement, which is not, after all, about loneliness, but about wholeness.
Meteoric rise of solo travel cannot be explained in one-dimensional terms, but requires probing into the depths of human desires, social change and the way technology has enabled us. Solo traveling, in particular, is nothing more than a symbol of freedom. In our lives we are tied down with ropes of compromise, but the solo traveller cuts the ropes all together and becomes the sole author of his/her adventure. They may rise as soon as the sun is up or sleep in till after noon, spend eight hours in a museum or enroll in a train on a whim to a new city, without consulting anyone or reaching a compromise. This freedom devoid of compromise is probably the best ingredient of travelling on your own. Even more than this, the traveling is a deep pilgrimage within, in search of the soul and of radical independence. This mental development is among the strongest effects of the solo experience. It is an effective mindfulness practice, because you are unable to avoid an increased level of presence due to the lack of a companion chatter. You can start observing those beautiful designs on a tiled floor, that particular smell of the streets food cooking, that beautiful music of a foreign language around you. Your senses which have been numbed by the familiarity become alive. This mindful awareness may be very meditative and is hard to accomplish in everyday existence. Moreover, it is because solo travel provides an incredibly specific type of identity fluidity. In our home we tend to be locked into particular roles. When you are alone in a new city, you are free to explore some aspects of your personality, you can be quieter or more extrovert or more adventurous than you would be at home. It is a self playground. This mix of novel stimulation and utter isolation can be nothing but an astonishing source of inspiration to those people who represent a creative profession. The blank pages of a diary appear to be filled, photographic groupings can be found on every step, complicated questions solve in the murmur of a longdistance train. Travelling solo takes you out of your comfort zone in terms of social life; you are deprived of your usual image and have only yourself left to yourself. Even simple things like finding your way around a foreign subway or ordering a meal is like a test of your own ingenuity, and with each progress you make, a quiet confidence is created. The solitude is an element that also creates a kind of introspection since the silent time on trains and walks helps bring the thoughts to mind in a way that is difficult to perceive otherwise. It is a process which puts mirror to the soul. One of the greatest ironies about this experience is that when you decide to be a loner then you will end up finding deeper relations. A solo traveler is an open circuit, than an open circuit is more friendly to the locals and than an open circuit is more friendly to the world, resulting in breakthroughs in the visual reality of another form of living. The digital revolution is another facilitator of this phenomenon as well; the smartphone is now an essential accessory, breaking down the fear barriers through navigation, translation, and accommodation apps, and offering a supportive community of millions of people through social media groups a few finger clicks away.
The image of the solo traveler who is a dirty and young backpacker is pathetically outdated. The solo explorer in the present day looks no more homogeneous than the world he explores: all ages, all gender, and all backgrounds. But the biggest demographic change may well have been of the women-traveling-on-their-own kind. Millions of women are refuting old fearful narratives and taking their place to discover and walk the world the way they want it in an ultimate expression of independence. Newer patterns of work have generated a new type of solo traveler, too, starting with the “digital nomad” who balances remote working hours with an extended stint in a foreign country, to the aptly named “bleisure” traveler who adds some personal vacation days to a business trip. The silver adventurers are on the other side of the demographic range. With more leisure and disposable income, retirees and the empty nesters are taking the opportunity to do what they have always wanted to do, whether it is a set of culinary classes in Tuscany or wildlife safari in Tanzania, at the cost of comfort and enrichment. All personality types also take special interest in this type of traveling. To the introvert, it is a heavenly get-away and a great opportunity to re-power in privacy, whereas to the extrovert it provides an intoxicating social adventure to discover new acquaintances and to make exciting and temporary friendships.
Even though the fantasy of traveling alone is intoxicating, the actual process of making it work is established through the mechanisms of being smart and aware of the situation. The practical path starts like the destination decision, which is of high importance. Beginners usually feel safe in those countries with a good reputation regarding security and high tourist development, like Iceland, New Zealand, Japan, or Portugal. The culturally demanding visitor may choose to visit Italy, Vietnam, or Peru, but there is always the overseas adventure, with Costa Rican jungles or Nepal Mountains to visit. A blueprint of how to go about a journey should be made after selecting a destination and this begins with proper financial planning. The first step is to construct a special travel fund that can be done by implementing automatic savings or doing random work. When out on the road, careful budgeting will be very essential. A special app or a straightforward spreadsheet can help to follow daily costs and compare them with a previously determined limit preventing financial pressure and prolonging the trip. One of the reasons being a financially intimidating factor to solo travelers is the so-called solo supplement which is the hideous practice of hotels charging a single person almost but not quite the cost per head of a doubled room. This can be offset by considering accommodations that like people, i.e. hostels that have rooms and these rooms are privatized, serviced apartments and hotels in other areas like Europe and Asia which also have small rooms that come at reasonable rate but are of single occupancy. Dealing with money in another country is also a somewhat strategic consideration; a combination of a credit card where no foreign purchase taxes are applied including a debit card to withdraw money, and with a little supply of the local currency handling small amounts of money is the balanced use of credit and debit cards. Other than monetary terms, health and wellness comes first. Insurance is a must that cannot be ignored during a travel. A medical emergency and hospitalization policy must extend to medical evacuation, cancellation or interruption of a trip as well as theft of luggage. It is important to read the small print. Another possible problem is the preservation of physical and psychological condition on the road. Pressure of living without routine may break the exercise and healthy eating habits. Even little things like walking proactively, going to the local market to buy vegetables and restricting fatty meals can do wonders. It is also paramount to take care of mental health. There is such a thing like travel burnout and it is fine to have bad days. Knowing that once you need to have a rest day, where you just read a book in a café or spend your time in a park, does not make you a bad traveler, but rather a good, mature one. Preparation also includes such aspects as packing which is also an art of its own kind, focusing on lightweight and multi-purpose clothes and the essentials such as a power bank, a first-aid kit, and documents copies.
Although the experience of travel solo is full of those experiences of personal growth and companionship, it would be an injustice to the view of never-ending blissfulness without a mention of also existing challenges and traps which also shape a personal sense of resilience of travelers. Sometimes the heaviness of carrying all the responsibility may seem immense. All the decisions take place all by yourself; what train to take, what to eat at dinner, etc. This brings a sense of freedom, but it may result in decision fatigue because the experience may seem dull because of mental exhaustion. This eternal self-sufficiency has no one to divide the burden with, no one to exchange ideas with, and can be exhausting during a long journey. Although it is controllable, safety is always a serious and consistent factor that cannot be described by a mere notion of awareness. It is easier to feel that there are more opportunities to scam the lone traveler, where the taxi meter is broken, strangers are too friendly and have a hidden ulterior motive. It demands a certain degree of watchfulness which does not always work with the wish to be open and trusting. Also, there is also a thin boundary between positive solitude and lonesome suffering. Whereas solitude is a goal of most solo travelers, you are bound to see some wonderful sights, something really funny that happened to you, something mouth-wateringly delicious you ate, and you will wish there are people to share this with. These are some of the pangs of loneliness and they can be sharp particularly in holidays or festivals. The most outstanding though is to also know when you need a dose of connection with people and to pursue it, and keep the feeling at bay. The last issue of the least discussions is the post-trip blues. Coming back home after some time of heavy stimulation, liberty and self-exploration may be shocking. Ordinary routine may seem boring and limited, and it is possible to find it hard to compare your life-changing experiences with friends and family who have not experienced them. This stage of reintegration comes slowly and involves self-compassion, an additional, rather surprising step on the alone path.
Nevertheless, the temptation is still there, and there is no shortage of places in the world that appear to be designed with the purpose of being the solo spot. An example is Japan which has been the model of safety and efficiency. You may lose yourself in neon world of Tokyo, with the clatter of arcade games around your ears, or relax in Kyoto with quiet temple gong, and you will make the feeling of total safety. The respectful culture means that people feel very comfortable eating on their own and even walking around. New Zealand would like to be portrayed as an adventure playground, a place to experience the thrill of wind on your face as you bungee jump off a Queenstown bridge, the ice cold bang as your foot lands on the ice of a glacier and it is all assisted by that wonderfully accommodating Kiwi culture and a great hostel system. To take a solo trip to Europe, Portugal is a dream destination: safe on the wallet, easy on the eye and friendly to travellers, whether you are windsurfing on the beaches of the Algarve or exploring winding, hilly Lisbon. Vietnam is an aroma overload, the frenetic beat of scooters in Hanoi city center and the stench of a pho street vendor are not easily forgotten; nor is Vietnam well-trodden so it is easy to get around with lots of travellers to meet. Costa Rica is a place that provides an in-depth intimacy with nature and the sound of howler monkey in a cloud forest or a nesting sea turtle may be a quasi-religious experience.
