Why I Travel Solo: Embracing the Adventure

Hello Solo Travelers (and maybe some that are not solo travelers)!  I want to welcome anyone that is interested in travel whether you travel solo or not.  My name is Cindy, I am 62 years old, and I travel solo most of the time.  I have a career in Human Resources in multiple industries, raised a family and got divorced.

I am lucky that I have grown children that still like to travel with me, but when they are unable to join me, I have learned to travel solo. I realized that there are others that travel solo (of my age and otherwise), but there are a lot of others that want to travel but are either afraid to travel solo or don’t have the confidence to travel solo.  The Travel Solo Bug blog is for everyone whether you already travel solo or want to gain the confidence to travel solo.

Why I started traveling solo

I have always enjoyed traveling, but I was raising 4 kids, running a household as a stay-at-home Mom and the money wasn’t there. The other thing holding me back from travel was a partner that didn’t like to travel.  It never really bothered me until I found myself single after a divorce that I realized I wanted to travel more.

I have 4 children and when I got divorced, my oldest was in high school and my youngest was in kindergarten. (Crazy, right!)  It took a few years before I could recover financially from the divorce before I could budget for travel.  I started off just doing weekend trips when my kids were with their other parent, but in 2005 I found cruising.  I took my three youngest children on a Carnival Cruise out of Long Beach for a 4-day cruise. I wanted to make sure I would enjoy cruising and 4 days seemed long enough if I liked it and short enough if I didn’t.

It opened a new world for me.  You unpack once, you get fed without having to lift a finger, someone cleans up after you and you are free to relax how you prefer, what wasn’t to love?

I took several cruises and continued taking short weekend trips until 2021.  My best friend that I had known since 3^rd grade died of cancer at 59 years old. It was a wake-up call for me. I realized that if I didn’t prioritize the things that made me happy, I could end up dying with regrets. I know my friend didn’t have regrets because she lived her life with intention and I recognized that I needed to do the same.

How I got comfortable traveling solo

I have been on several solo cruises and other trips and the common thread during these trips is that people are surprised when they know I am traveling solo. It causes awkwardness sometimes, but early on I realized I needed to work through the awkwardness I would feel when the topic was brought up.  I had to practice being solo in the world that prizes partnership and companionship. I started by understanding who I am and why I remain uncoupled after 24 years of being single. My comfort in that has really been the catalyst for my comfort in traveling solo.

I started this journey by going to local restaurants and eating alone.  Sometimes I would bring a book and sometimes I would just sit and enjoy the environment of the restaurant.  I live in the South in the United States and there are many restaurants that have outdoor seating that allows you to look at the surroundings and not stare at others eating in the restaurant. I recognized when I felt awkward and reminded myself that I wouldn’t die from sitting alone in a restaurant (the absolute worst outcome I could imagine). What I found from this pilot program of solo dining was that I had to not care what others might think of me. This is a profound and freeing realization that I had never considered before.  The pressure to conform is self-imposed and if you are being your true authentic self, you don’t need approval from others. When I am alone at a restaurant, I know that my deceased friend’s energy is with me so I never feel alone.  Even when I do feel alone, I remind myself that everyone who has ever loved me is there with me and I can recall all the happy memories with them to keep me company.

Safety and traveling solo

Many people ask me if I ever feel unsafe traveling alone.  Most of the time, I can say I feel safe. I will admit, I have had circumstances where I knew I needed to change something because I started to feel unsafe and it requires listening to your gut and making a change even if it means disappointing yourself.  I will write a blog just about remaining safe, but there are many ways to ensure you are safe when traveling solo.  I will share the story in another blog, but I have a shout out to two wonderful women that protected me from a creep on a cruise.  They helped save two of us and they are still my heroes! When you travel solo, you must remain self-aware and make decisions that protect your safety as much as possible.

Conclusion

My love of cruising has me learning about the travel business.  I am working as a part time vacation consultant for ExpediaCruises and I am happy to help anyone in the US or Canada book travel to try out solo travel, couples travel, or group travel. The world is a wide-open learning opportunity and travel has taught me so much that I can’t wait to share it with others.  In 2022 I found a $90 cabin (for a 4-day Western Caribbean Cruise) and that was the culmination of my pilot to see if I was going to be able to cruise solo.  Yes, $90 for the cabin for 4 days!  It was a small cabin, but just right for one person. More on how to find deals in future blogs.

Welcome to my community and happy solo travel!

If you want to see my ExpediaCrusies webpage and enter to win a free cruise, you can go to Travel with Cindy