Boring, expensive, dangerous, and only for people who do not have friends - this is how many (if not most) people still think about lonely travel. Today we will deal with the most popular stereotypes!
After all, after long deliberations or - on the contrary - a spontaneous decision made, you are going to set off on your way out of a tangle of different events, desires, and dreams. You willingly and excitedly tell your friends and family about it, read hundreds of articles and blogs, and prepare yourself for the undisguised applause of those close to you. The aunt congratulates you and asks if you already have a backpack and asks you to send photos on a regular basis, friends pat you on the back and say that it is a great decision and you will definitely have a lot of adventures, the bank lady assures with a smile that in this situation they will immediately pick you up interest on the savings account, because the trip will not pay off on its own, and the boss immediately shortens the working hours so that you have time to get ready.
And it would have been so, if not for the fact that solo travels are treated like a whim in most cases. In fact, you will be faced with an avalanche of opinions from people who - if only the academy were handing out Oscars for writing black scripts - would have received multiple awards. And while the most expressed doubts are due to concern, well… they rarely have anything to do with the truth. Because…
Yes and no. In fact, traveling alone can be more expensive than one in which we divide the costs into two. Especially when we choose a route where renting a car is key, there are no hostels with multi-person rooms and we have to take the so-called "Double private room for single use" or simply - we are going on a trip with a travel agency. However, there are also countries that are even made for lonely trips. Last year, we even prepared a special list for you - so that every solo traveler will find something for himself. Regardless of whether he prefers big cities, spectacular adventures or simply looks for rest, relaxation and solitude.
In addition, the tourism industry knows very well the financial potential of individual tourists and is increasingly preparing special offers for those who do not want, cannot, or do not like to go with their friends, but also do not necessarily want to organize on their own.
Do you know this pretty famous picture circulating on the internet where - when you announce that you are going on a trip, there are a lot of willing companions around you, and over time their number gradually decreases, until finally the day of departure - you are completely alone? He's funny but cruelly real. Friends will always find a pile of reasons they would like to but can't go. If you have a free moment, please send them our text: “Do you want to get away from traveling? Nothing of that!" - we refuted the most common excuses in it.
The first lonely journey is most often simply the result of that one small droplet that poured the cup of bitterness. You no longer want to look for someone to accompany you, you don't want to wait forever for others, and you don't want to waste your time because others have different priorities. You say "enough!", Pack your backpack and suddenly discover that the only pointless idea was to postpone that decision. We have friends, family, and friends. But that doesn't mean we always have to go with them. And sometimes - even when they want to - we feel the need to take a break from them. And we have a sacred right to do so.
We travel alone but we are not lonely. This is a key difference highlighted by many single travelers. I guarantee that you will get to know so many people over the course of a few weeks journey that you will often not be able to remember them all.
Roommates from the hostel, fellow travelers from the same bus, people in a pub, on the beach, a married couple who run a local restaurant, a girl who first only showed you the way, and from word to word offered accommodation with her family, or even accidentally met in a small shop - because it turned out that they speak Polish, and yet "obożej it, since we are at the other end of the world". Being alone, you are much more involved in conversations, because sometimes you just want to open your mouth to someone, if you apologize. It is easier to take a lonely traveler home, it is easier to invite to a family celebration, and an additional +1 when half the hostel goes sightseeing together does not make any difference to anyone. And above all, you do not close yourself to the company, which often happens when we travel with someone from the beginning.
Many things can happen to you, but loneliness is the last of them. Unless at your own request - which is a completely different matter.
Every journey is dangerous. It doesn't matter if you're going to Barcelona, Masuria, Kenya or a supermarket. Something unpleasant can always happen. Of course, the degree of threat will be completely different in Central Africa and different in Krupówki, but this does not mean that anywhere in the world you can forget about taking care of your safety.
Always - whether you are traveling alone or with the company - you have to be careful. We never shine with our "wealth", that is, the handful of dollars in the old wallet, with a huge camera just after its premiere, nor do we put a backpack "just for a moment" in some shady place. We don't accept drinks from strangers, and if we hitchhike or sleep in the wild, we first learn to do it wisely. Always be prepared for crisis situations and find out in advance what to do if someone steals your document or if you have an accident and find out where to seek help in hundreds of other cases.
Yes, be mindful of potential robberies, thefts, frauds, spoofs, and many other unpleasant situations because they just happen. But if you think he finds more frequent travelers, that's none of those things. Because if someone wants to attack you, the fact that you will be the two of you is a poor consolation for you - and a double profit for potential attackers. With criminals, we are almost always in a lost position, unfortunately.
However, the risk can be minimized, although this is often done in a slightly different way than when traveling with another person. However, it is not more dangerous, but it is definitely a bit different.
In conclusion, traveling alone - no different than traveling with friends, with parents or even in an organized form - has both advantages and disadvantages. As we wrote in Fly4free, in a lonely journey, no one will support you when you fall ill, lift your spirits when a crisis moment comes, or watch the amazing sunrise with you. However, when friends have a pile of excuses for a trip, and we are pulled on the road - going alone will be much better than rotting at home and growing frustrated.
And with all the theories voiced by great experts who travel at most in the Bermuda Triangle of Life, supermarket - homework, you can stuff your shoes. However, if you have never decided on such a trip before, I warn you - such trips are addictive. Because you often find that you have a lot better fun with yourself than with anyone else.
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