For awhile, solo travel was on my list of “things I maybe want to do in life, but I’m not in a rush to complete.”
But at the time, it wasn’t something I necessarily needed to do. (In my mind anyway). Family vacation and the occasional trip with my friends were kind of the norm, so I just assumed that’s how it would always be.
*everyone in unison* WRONG!
As I got older and travel became more accessible to me (ie having a job to support said travel), it started to become more difficult to coordinate with family and friends. Agreeing on a destination or time to travel made the fun planning phase of any trip stressful. Friends would agree and then back-out last minute. Time was passing by and my wanderlust was just growing and growing.
If I wanted to travel as I had dreamed, I would have to go solo.
So I started thinking seriously about solo travel. I absolutely loved the idea of it. Being able to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. Experiencing things as I wanted to experience them. To me, it was the ultimate in freedom and independence. I knew it was something I had to try at least once in my life.
But as with anything new, I had my reservations. For starters, I was scared. I worried about safety and if I would be OK alone. I wondered if I would feel weird eating alone. If other people would think I’m weird.
(Yes. No. Absolutely not and besides, who cares what people think?)
I finally got my chance to test the waters (no pun intended) of solo travel back in March, when I embarked on a very necessary, long weekend “cruise to nowhere.” I had been stalking the cruise on Royal Caribbean’s website for months, but I knew none of my friends would be up for it. Two weeks before departure I was again stalking the cruise but now I was in desperate need of an escape that I finally gave in. Without thinking twice about it, I booked one of the last solo cabins on the ship.
The closer I got to my weekend away, the more excited I got. By the time I boarded the ship, I felt like Kevin McCallister both times he was home alone. I couldn’t wait to do all of the things. All of the things that I wanted to do. With everything that was going on, going solo was just what I needed to rest and reset effectively.
I truly had a few pinch me moments. Moments where I absolutely could not believe that I was actually doing it. I enjoyed my “me” time, but also met some other new and seasoned solo travelers along the way. We were a diverse group in age, race, career, you name it. But we all shared one common goal and that was to travel, wether we had someone to come along or not. They were a great source of inspiration and information and I learned so much from them in our brief time together. (Create a backup story to thwart creepies, carry a fake wedding ring if necessary, where to travel in Spain, the best cornetto in Italy…)
And the things I worried about? I truly forgot about most of them once I boarded the ship.
I never worried about my safety because I made sure to remain vigilant and not let my guard down completely. (It’s the New Yorker in me.) And while I did share a few meals with some of the other solo travelers, I was too busy enjoying my food to worry about dining solo when I did. It was all relative.
I did think briefly about what other people might think. Because when people found out that I was traveling solo, many of them confessed that they wished that they were traveling solo or that they always wanted to try it and were too scared. This was often followed up with stories on the terrible trips they have taken in the past (or were currently on…).
As the weekend came to a close and we docked back in NY, I was sad the cruise was only three days as I was just getting into the swing of things! Although my time was short, I knew for certain after those few days that solo travel was definitely for me. Doing things at my own pace, without over compromising and missing out on things that I wanted to do. The flexibility. THE FREEDOM! Oh, the freedom. I left the ship feeling rejuvenated and more sure of myself. Less fearful and much more confident. I can’t wait to do it again, hopefully soon.
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