Learning how to travel alone will give you access to one of life's most rewarding experiences. Traveling solo is one of the best ways to discover your life strengths, shortcomings, and opportunities for growth. All sounds a bit Kumbaya, I know, but it can really be an amazing way to see the world while diving deeper into your own personality at the same time.

When you travel by yourself, you do so at your own pace. You are making decisions for you and you alone, you call the shots. You have the option to interact with people you meet along the way, or the opposite, take as much Me-Time as you need. These are some of the clear advantages.

But traveling by yourself has so many more advantages that have an impact on your entire life. You are inspired by the experience and whether consciously or unconsciously, you grow and develop. You become more self-assured and adept at addressing problems. You develop a deeper self-awareness and greater independence - you will be building a library of stories and memories you will carry with you forever.

Here are some basic tips to make the process of all of the amazing things listed above a little easier:

What type of trip do you want? Is your main goal some downtime, to unwind, to recharge? Then plan accordingly - don’t create an itinerary for yourself that takes over your trip. Unless you need to pre-book something (which you really really really don't want to miss out on), try to take it easy and decide each morning what kind of day you want. Sometimes chilling on a beach, lounging by a pool or doing some people watching at a café is just what the doctor ordered. 

Find out about your destination from like-minded travelers Before boarding that flight and heading off, try and find people who’ve already been where you’re going. It’s a great way to get a sense of what you want to do, what you don’t want to do and the general feel and traditions of where you’re heading. It'll probably get you even more excited about your trip!

Learn to speak to strangers Yes we know, for some, this can be a daunting prospect. But the great thing is, when you connect with other Solo Travelers, you’ll have pretty much instant topics to cover! Where are you from? Where have you traveled so far? Where are you still planning on going? You could end up finding out about a great pub, restaurant, beach or museum from them. Traveling alone can give you a sense of community with other people on the same journey. Seems counterintuitive, but it’s pretty awesome.

Be flexible Sometimes the best-laid plans don’t work out and that’s totally ok! Make sure you’re open to playing things by ear - if it rains, maybe that park isn’t the best option, if that place you wanted to see is closed for renovations, there are plenty of other things to do. Keep your mind open, take a deep breath and stay open to discovery. You may have an even better time than you had planned.

Take a class, or go on an organized tour. Remember what we said about having an open mind? If you’re in Thailand for example, a Thai cooking course is a lot of fun! All destinations have some great, unexpected things you can get stuck into. It’s a few hours, or a day, at most. Just do it. Seriously!

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