It’s hard to think about solo travel without some fears (rational and irrational) coming to mind. When I set out on my 14-hour road trip from Seattle to the North Bay, all kinds of fears swirled around in my head.
There was the fear of getting lonely. Fear of being a young female roaming around an unfamiliar place. Fear that someone would steal the belongings I’d packed in my car. Fear that I’d starve without anyone to Yelp a restaurant for me on the road.
And worst of all, fear of just being with myself for 14 hours. Would I get (*gasp*) bored, thereby coming to the conclusion that I’m actually a boring person?
Despite having other travel experiences under my belt, I wasn’t sure whether I’d be able to pull off a solo trip on any scale of time or distance away from home -- even two days on the West Coast, the approximate area where I’ve always lived.
You're probably wondering, is solo travel worth facing those uncertainties and insecurities? I’ll try to answer that question a little later. But I was surprised to find that this short solo road trip was enjoyable, even if different from other trips I’ve taken.
How I kept myself from going crazy
My itinerary was simple. Day 1: Redmond to Ashland. Day 2: Ashland to Healdsburg (home). I made pretty good time and arrived home earlier than expected.
There was the fear of getting lonely. Fear of being a young female roaming around an unfamiliar place. Fear that someone would steal the belongings I’d packed in my car. Fear that I’d starve without anyone to Yelp a restaurant for me on the road.
And worst of all, fear of just being with myself for 14 hours. Would I get (*gasp*) bored, thereby coming to the conclusion that I’m actually a boring person?
Despite having other travel experiences under my belt, I wasn’t sure whether I’d be able to pull off a solo trip on any scale of time or distance away from home -- even two days on the West Coast, the approximate area where I’ve always lived.
You're probably wondering, is solo travel worth facing those uncertainties and insecurities? I’ll try to answer that question a little later. But I was surprised to find that this short solo road trip was enjoyable, even if different from other trips I’ve taken.
How I kept myself from going crazy
My itinerary was simple. Day 1: Redmond to Ashland. Day 2: Ashland to Healdsburg (home). I made pretty good time and arrived home earlier than expected.
I’m proud to say I kept myself [mostly] sane while driving. I alternated between calling friends and surfing radio stations until I’d driven so long that I started to notice NPR's same-day rerun stories about Hurricane Irma and all the chaos in Florida. And of course, I took breaks for gas, coffee, and the restroom.
I’d say the real MVP of this trip was the little espresso stand on the side of the highway.
I’d say the real MVP of this trip was the little espresso stand on the side of the highway.
Actually, I did go a little crazy
Coffee is the thing that I’ll buy for rain or shine, whether or not I have any company, no holds barred. But restaurants and food are a different thing. To me, it’s hard to justify spending money or going out for nice food when there’s no one to share that experience with you. But still, I treated myself to poke on the way to Ashland, which was a much-needed stop. |
When I got to Ashland around dinnertime, though, I had no reason or motivation seek out anything gastronomically or aesthetically exciting. I walked past plenty of cute and fragrant restaurants, but I didn’t want to go alone. After all, no matter how great the food is, there was never a great meal without great company.
I brainstormed all possible channels for making friends in Ashland, and I came up with nothing. I even searched for meetups on Couchsurfing, but of course no one was on the app in such a small town. Maybe I wouldn’t have this problem if I were 21 and could go to bars to meet people in a socially acceptable way. And come on, it was Saturday night after all!
I bought a pint of Halo Top from Safeway and went back to the hostel for the night to cry about my problems.
I brainstormed all possible channels for making friends in Ashland, and I came up with nothing. I even searched for meetups on Couchsurfing, but of course no one was on the app in such a small town. Maybe I wouldn’t have this problem if I were 21 and could go to bars to meet people in a socially acceptable way. And come on, it was Saturday night after all!
I bought a pint of Halo Top from Safeway and went back to the hostel for the night to cry about my problems.
So, is a solo trip a good idea?
You do meet some cool people at hostels. At the hostel in Ashland, I met a Danish traveler named Karina who was road tripping solo from Bodega Bay to Portland, headed to Eugene the next day to visit her friend. I asked her what she thought about solo travel and how it compared to traveling with a friend or two. It’s not necessarily better or worse, we concluded. Here’s why: |
Pros (“Riding solo”) :)
Try anything once
My advice is to try a solo trip, just once, or you’ll never know. I don’t think I could sustain solo travel for a long period of time, but I’m sure glad I took this short trip to reflect on my summer internship and to learn about myself. I realized that I don’t just have fun for myself; I have fun for other people. I get a lot of satisfaction out of planning a trip where my friends are also enjoying themselves and getting excited about new experiences. But it was necessary to take a solo trip to understand my motivations for travel and experiences in general.
A solo trip isn’t a journey you can share, but it’s a journey you should seriously consider taking for yourself, even if you’ll never be able to remember the experience in words, if only in the memories you create for yourself.
- You notice things that you wouldn’t have noticed if you were using your energy and attention to talk to another person
- You make your own decisions whether and where to stop without having to come to a consensus with others
- You heighten your sense of independence
- You don’t have to pretend to like your friend's country music
- You can’t take pictures of the beautiful things you see. So I have no photos of Mt. Saint Helens or Mt. Shasta
- You can’t split gas or food, so your trip might be more expensive
- There’s no one to Yelp for you, so you have to plan some of your stops ahead of time
- It’s sketchy to use Google Maps to find a bathroom to stop at while driving
- You have too many inside jokes with yourself
Try anything once
My advice is to try a solo trip, just once, or you’ll never know. I don’t think I could sustain solo travel for a long period of time, but I’m sure glad I took this short trip to reflect on my summer internship and to learn about myself. I realized that I don’t just have fun for myself; I have fun for other people. I get a lot of satisfaction out of planning a trip where my friends are also enjoying themselves and getting excited about new experiences. But it was necessary to take a solo trip to understand my motivations for travel and experiences in general.
A solo trip isn’t a journey you can share, but it’s a journey you should seriously consider taking for yourself, even if you’ll never be able to remember the experience in words, if only in the memories you create for yourself.
Have you ever traveled solo, and if so, what's your take on solo trips? If you haven't traveled alone yet, would you consider it? Leave a comment or shoot me a message! I'd love to hear about your experiences and thoughts.