I usually travel alone, and I prefer it.

The last few times I went on vacation alone, relatives and co-workers seem to think it’s odd that I went all by myself. Sometimes I would go on tours and other travelers would approach me and curious why I was traveling alone.

It’s very hard to find someone to travel with that has the same interests as you. I’ve traveled with family members before and didn’t enjoy it as much. I sometimes felt stuck doing things or going to places I didn’t really enjoy because I couldn’t just abandon them.

When traveling alone, you make all the decisions yourself. You do whatever you want, go wherever you want, whenever you want. You wake up or go to bed any time you want. If you don’t feel like doing anything and just want to sleep all day, go see a movie, or do some reading, that’s completely fine. I also think that it’s easier to meet new people if you’re traveling alone as you’ll appear more approachable or you end up pushing yourself more to talk to strangers as you have no one else to talk to.

I’ve been traveling alone for about 4 months now. I thought there would be times it would get lonely, but to be honest, it hasn’t happened yet.

It’s very easy to meet new people while traveling if you choose to. One of the best ways to do this is to stay in a hostel. You’ll usually find people there to hang out with, and sometimes you’ll meet some people that you really get along with and you travel together for a few days or weeks.

There are times, though, that I actually just want to be alone. And since I’m not traveling with anyone, it’s very easy to find alone time. I do enjoy meeting new people, eating/drinking and doing things together, and having a good conversation. But I also enjoy just having some time to myself to write blog posts/code, browse the web, watch a movie on my netbook, or just read a good book. There are times where I’d spend most of the day just lying in a hammock, listening to music, and just thinking about the travel experiences and good memories I’ve had so far, which really makes me appreciate what I have. That’s probably why I never really get lonely or get bored. I’ve been in hostels where I’m the only one staying there and still enjoyed it.

For long-term travelers, it’s quite common to meet other people traveling solo. It’s hard to find someone to go with you on a long trip. I’ve also met people who started their travels with a friend(s), a significant other, or a sibling and ended up going separate ways at some point. They realized they wanted to see different places, do different things, they couldn’t stand being together 24/7, or the friend they were traveling with falls in love with someone he/she meets on the road (just like in the movies).

This is why I like traveling solo. You’re not stuck with anyone. If you end up traveling with other travelers for a while, everyone knows that at some point you might need to split up. It’s expected so no hard feelings.

For me, having this freedom is what makes traveling addicting. If you haven’t traveled alone before, it’s definitely worth a try to see if it’s for you. It might just change the way you travel.