Solo travel lets you wander. There is no schedule, other people’s expectations, or anything keeping you from a nap. It’s just you and time.
And even though I’m happily married, we let each other have this freedom, for many reasons.
Hello Big Apple!
Why Solo Travel?
It’s easier when you travel solo to get into great restaurants, especially since you can often sit at the bar and dine, or enjoy their custom house specialty libations.
You can select exactly the attractions that speak to you, without have to coordinate with others who may often lag behind or simply not like your choices, just like I don’t care to accompany my husband on all day hikes in the woods. (Ugh—bugs, critters, itchy things.)
When I travel solo, I’ve noticed that I have an inborn radar that helps me find the most wonderful locally loved coffee shop to sit, where I can reflect, read (from my bedside table logjam), journal, blog, or surf the net for hours. All un-bookended by appointments or obligations. It is also true that the freedom to strike up a conversation with a stranger satisfies my (very) occasional extraversion needs. Either way, solo travel gives me the power to be who I want to be, WHEN I want to be. A few other benefits I’ve noticed come to mind.
Logistics are not too difficult when the other is gone for only a few travel days, but more importantly, you don’t have to miss your bed for too long.
It’s like exhaling from a terrific, loooong in-breath.–Page Rutledge, LCSW
Sometimes you just really need to break the routine, even if your particular routine is not a grind. Punctuate your life with planned getaways that allow you to anticipate them, and savor them afterwards. It is truly rejuvenating. Like exhaling from a terrific long in-breath.
Of course I understand that traveling solo is a privilege. It takes money to travel, and the time flexibility to do so if you have a demanding job, whether that is work or parenting, or both.
But if you can do it—nothing beats the ease and the peace of mind you will gain from traveling solo.
Need More Peace?
If less stress and peace of mind is something you lack, and would like more of, contact me here. I live in Wilmington, North Carolina, and helping others find peace is my joy.
