Planning Your Solo Travel Reset
When was the last time you truly prioritized yourself? With a full schedule of work tasks, family functions, and daily to-dos, a solo trip could be the reset you’ve been seeking. Traveling alone can be simultaneously calming, exhilarating, and enlightening, no matter your current stage of life.
While we can’t understate the importance of human connection, solo time offers restorative benefits of its own. Read on for our complete solo travel guide!
Restorative Benefits of Solo Travel
Solo travel is a powerful tool for prioritizing your wellness. Here’s how:
- As you face and overcome challenges alone, you’ll build confidence in your ability to handle any situation.
- Alone time in any form can help alleviate stress and anxiety by promoting self-compassion. Research shows that time alone can center and ground you by calming high emotional states.
- Solo travel nurtures your sense of independence, which can provide peace and stability throughout life’s many seasons.
- Alone time promotes self-improvement and self-discovery by granting you free reign to explore your interests. Traveling to new destinations will bring you out of your comfort zone – where the most growth tends to happen.
- Solo trips provide ample time for self-reflection, mindfulness, and gratitude. It can be easier to feel truly present when you’re alone with your thoughts.
- While traveling alone, you may be more likely to interact with and befriend new people from across the globe. These connections may even lay the foundation for future non-solo adventures!
- A 2021 study found that solo travel fosters a sense of wellbeing among women, providing greater feelings of creativity, happiness, freedom, and self-development.
If a solo trip isn’t currently within your reach, don’t worry – carving out alone time in your normal routine can provide similar benefits for your confidence, personal development, and independence.
Where is the Best Place for Solo Travel?
With solo travel, you can throw compromise to the wind. No need to hold a vote to select a destination: the choice is all yours! The best place for your solo trip will be a location that excites you and aligns with your goals.
If you’re seeking travel inspiration, these destinations are popular among solo female travelers for their sights, safety, and ease of navigation:
- Portugal
- Greece
- Bavaria, Germany
- Costa Rica
- Iceland
- Bali
- The French Alps
- Thailand
- New Zealand
Best Solo Travel Destinations in the U.S.
Looking to stay domestic? Many cities across the United States offer unique experiences, cultural attractions, and natural wonders, without that trip through the customs line. Here are a few ideas:
- Seattle, Washington
- Honolulu, Hawaii
- Vermont
- Nashville, Tennessee
- Sedona, Arizona
- Asheville, North Carolina
- New Orleans, Louisiana
- Savannah, Georgia
- San Francisco, California
Tips for Your Solo Travel Reset
If you’re a proud extrovert or just don’t love the idea of being alone, hear us out. If you approach it thoughtfully, spending quality time with yourself can provide peace of mind, stress relief, and empowerment in your sense of self.
To ensure your solo time provides the greatest benefit to your wellness, consider these tips:
- Start with some reflection.
Ask yourself what makes you truly happy, how you’d like to spend your time, and what gives you purpose. Incorporate these answers into your trip planning for a vacation that’s all you.
Often, when we spend time with others, we bend to their preferences without even realizing it. While there’s beauty in compromise, alone time is an opportunity to fulfill your needs to a T.
A natural endorphin boost is a wonderful way to embrace your alone time. On your solo vacation, seek out unique activities that you can’t do at home, like scenic hiking, kayaking, surfing, and horseback riding.
Thorough planning can assuage lingering uncertainties about your solo trip. Aside from the basics of flights and accommodations, plan for the unexpected by purchasing travel insurance, researching the local culture, and checking out the weather forecast for your destination. Bonus tip: If you’re traveling internationally, learn a few essential phrases of the local language.
Finessing your trip can be a satisfying activity all its own. So, settle into a comfy seat with your laptop and a steaming mug of tea – it’s time to plan your adventure!
While planning your solo trip, it may be tempting to pack your days full of sights and activities. But, travel can be tiring, so leave time for relaxation, too. This may mean booking a day at a nearby spa, reading your book at a local cafe, or wandering through an outdoor market. Sometimes, the magic is in the simple joys!
Now Boarding: Solo Travelers
It’s always a good time to prioritize reflection and self-discovery. Your solo adventure awaits!