How does it feel to travel alone?

I'm 24 years old, and I've been travelling alone since I was 16.

I've been to Japan many times, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapour, Korea, India, Canada, Mexico, USA, Greece, Denmark, Sweden, UK, Netherlands, Spain, Germany, all of those country alone every time.

Why ?
Because I've also tried to travel with some friends / boyfriend, but I really realized that if you want to fully live your trip, you have to travel alone. It's only by travelling alone that you would have the right to live it the way you want. No one would tell you that you don't have the time to go visit that think because he / she wants to visit that other thing for example.

Of course sometimes you would probably feel lonely, if you go for a whole month, it can be hard sometimes, wandering in the streets and realize that you're the only one alone. But it also makes you grow a lot and understand some things. Before travelling alone I found it really hard to go out to the cinema or to the restaurant alone. Now I just don't care anymore, I even enjoy that moments.

Also there is no better way to meet some peoples that travelling alone. I've met one of my best friends during a hurricane in NY, we were all confined in the hostel lobby, and while we were all very bored, he came and talked to me. That's how it started, now we're still friends 3 years later and we keep seeing each other in every parts of the globe !
Peoples are often more open to people alone, that's how I met amazing people all around the world and that's what's amazing about travelling alone.

Back in 2017, I went to Meghalaya. It was a solo motorcycle trip. Initially, I was a little sceptical, and worried that I would feel awkward or I would be lonely, but the idea of getting out of my comfort zone won finally. For starters, I made an itinerary, but little did I know that once I begin the trip, I’ll get complete freedom, and I’ll hardly stick to any plan.

I hired a Royal Enfield, Classic 350 from Guwahati, and the ride began towards an undiscovered territory. It took less than two hours to reach the outskirts of the Scotland of the East.

And within no time, the beauty of Umiam lake blew my mind apart. I could feel the air doing its magic, with the lake breeze drifting over me.

It's exhilarating and liberating, but lonely.

When I was traveling this summer I posted on Facebook about feeling lonely in a busy, beautiful, bustling city and one friend said something that especially resonated: part of the joy of traveling, of going somewhere new and experiencing something new, is the pleasure of sharing it with someone. But it's not really just anyone; it's a sharing experience that you want with someone close to you, someone who gets you. It doesn't matter if you can make friends with the first person you pass by on the street, can get invited to exclusive parties on your first evening out, and can lead the dance floor by the end of the night, because making ephemeral friendships doesn't fulfill that need for sharing with that closeness.

All the positives of traveling alone are fairly obvious and explained at length: you can set no itinerary, do whatever you want, spend as much or little money as you want, and have no one you need to be held accountable to. You find out exactly who you are when you're not reacting to your home environment or friends -- but please parse that correctly, I don't mean you necessarily find "yourself", I mean you discover the yourself-that-isn't-a-reaction-to-your-home-and-your-friends.

But honestly, that one moment you really wish you had someone you cared about, friend or significant other or family, there with you to share the experience with -- it kind of eclipses a lot of that joy of freedom. Humans are social creatures, and we find some pleasure and comfort in our chains.

Traveling alone in a foreign country can be both exhilarating and intimidating.

On one hand, it's exciting to explore new places without having to worry about accommodating someone else's interests or preferences.

You get the freedom to go wherever you want, when you want, and do whatever strikes your fancy.

On the other hand, there is something daunting about being completely on your own in an unfamiliar place with different customs and language barriers that can make it difficult to navigate around or find help if needed.

Ultimately though, traveling alone in a foreign country is an incredible experience that will open up new perspectives of the world while also teaching valuable lessons about independence and self-reliance!

Last year, after I resigned my job and was waiting for the academic session at IIM Calcutta to start, I decided to go for a solo trip.

This was a draft itinerary I prepared a month before the trip. Amazingly I could almost follow it completely.

I just booked the important flight and train tickets. I did not book any bus or hotel for travelling within Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim. I wanted it to be as impromptu as it could be.

Travelling alone was liberating. It taught me:

Patience - Waiting for the one bus to a place; waiting to reach a destination, because the terrain is so difficult to travel; wandering to find a place to sleep sure taught me to be calm and patient.
Living on the edge - I had no plans as to what I would do after going to a town. I just went and figured out there. Everything that happened on that 15 days trip just fell into place. Being uncertain was one of the most amazing feeling on the trip.
Understanding necessities - When you travel, that too on a strict budget, you just cannot take everything with you. You have to understand what would you really need. You need to understand the basics and leave out the luxuries.
Socializing - Being an introvert, I have trouble socializing with people. On this trip however, I made many friends, while trekking in McLeodganj, while travelling in a bus from Dharamshala to Dalhousie, with the locals in Yumthang Valley, etc.
Solitude - You introspect, you do what you love, you think of things you would not otherwise try to think. You have no work, because you have left everything behind. You listen to your heart and try to find meaning in little things and understand what really matters for you in life.
Nature is the true beauty - Nature is beautiful beyond words. You have to see it to believe it. I used to just sit for hours, listening to my favorite songs, with a cup of tea and a smoke in my hand and get mesmerized in the vast expanse and beauty of the clouds, the mountains and the cities. I could feel the freshness in the air, the stark difference in the pollution level from the big cities.
Learning and appreciating different cultures - Cultures can be interesting. I was amazed, looking how different people can be, yet all are really the same inside. Specially the warmth with which I was welcomed at all the places, made my trip all the more memorable.
I got lost, missed the last bus, could not find a place to sleep, went really low on money, got really tired and spent hungry nights, but it was all worth it.

Everyone should travel alone at least once in their lives!

Having traveled solo through different states of India, 4 countries of Europe and a few states of America, I feel a little qualified to answer this question.

Traveling in a group - Your entertainment lies in the company you have, how entertaining your friends are and how well you guys get along!
Traveling alone - Your entertainment lies in the places you visit, the cultures you learn about, the fellow travelers who become your friends. Your entertainment lies in walking 7 hours in the sun, challenging your limits and getting to know yourself better.
I will try to relate learnings by the incidents you face during the journey! Talking of traveling sometimes strikes a philosophical chord in me, so please bear with that. You learn a lot of skills like:

Courage: It takes a lot of courage to convince yourself and, in my case, people around you to let you go for a solo trip. Then there is that moment when you realize that you are all alone in a country where you do not know anyone. That courage keeps you going!
Independence: Once the trip is on, you have to decide everything on your own. Where to go, how to go, when to go, where to live and such endless things. You are your own master, you no more blame others for your mistakes!
Management skills: I had 4 different currencies in my wallet, but their net value still couldn't afford me a hotel room. Cheers to youth hostels and local food, I learnt how to be poor and survive, and still be happy about it.
Life skills: I know I can sleep in a sleeping bag, in a tent, on bunker beds, a wooden floor or on an insulation mat placed on rocks. Suddenly, life becomes more about being at a place than being in your comfort zone.
Street Smartness: Finding your way through a good bargain, reaching your hostel when you miss the last train, carrying a fake wallet to prepare for a time when you are robbed - you learn to carry yourself when you step out of that door!
Social Appetite: Youth hostels have the best people you will ever meet. You make friends within seconds and create infinite memories that last a lifetime. Name a country and chances are you will have a friend there whom you met at a youth hostel. (I am in touch with people from atleast 8 countries, whom I met over a span of just 2 weeks)
Humbleness: When you meet a 28 year old Brazilian guy who quit his 7 year job just to travel, a 24 year old Canadian couple who trekked one of the deadliest peaks, or a 18 year old Australian girl who has been traveling alone around Europe for over 4 months - You realize that life is way more than what you ever thought of. You start valuing accomplishments more than recognition and are more down to earth than ever.
Strength to push your limits: From walking 2 hours a day in routine to walking 7 hours a day when in Paris! Living in a single apartment to sharing a room with 7 more people in Prague! You challenge your mental and physical strengths, and I guess that is what we call growth!
Cultural Quotient and Respect for others: People from different parts of the world have different cultures. You learn more about those cultures and start believing that respecting human values is the best religion.
Solitude: You get alone, sometimes depressed, but then you jump out of it and you meet a new person that was hiding inside you. That person is the real you, whom you couldn't meet because you never had the time to look within yourself, you were too busy to introspect. Hence, by the end of the trip, you become a different person, the real you!
Solo traveling is like a shorter version of how human life is!
It shows all the emotions you will experience in your life, in just the duration of your trip!

You have good times, bad times, friends, loneliness, challenges, boredom and between all this, just when you think you are lost in a city, that is when you find yourself!

It’s nothing short of incredible!

In June 2017 I was going through a tough phase in my life. I was depressed and for two straight days I could do nothing at work. So one afternoon while I was sulking at office, I decided that I had enough and I decided to take my bike and ride through the Himalayas. And next day at 5:30 in the morning I was off to Lansdowne.

Just like that!

Without any planning or preparation. I just took a saddle bag from a friend, stuffed clothes and other ncessary items and left.

When my folks came to know about this, they were like what is wrong with you? They were worried that I might get washed out in the rain or will be crushed under the landlsides that are so common in the monsoons in the Himalayas.

But nothing of that sort happened. And I had an incredible journey that I will remember for the rest of my life.

So how does it feel? To travel alone without anyone with you?

In one word: Meditative

You are all by yourself. You have no backup. You know very well that if anything goes wrong no one will come to help you. You feel a little unnerved and afraid in the beginning, but then you let go. You don’t give a rat’s ass about anything. You are mentally prepared for anything that might come your way both literally and figuratively. You realise that you are insignificant in the larger scheme of things and you control nothing. Absolutely nothing. And you come out stronger of it.

And that’s when you understand an important aspect of life: That life is not about controlling it, it’s about living it!

You have all the time in the world to think about yourself and contemplate about what mistakes you made. You come out wiser of it.

You solve problems on the go. You appreciate any help you get. You understand the importance of relationships in life.

You don’t worry about calls, messages, facebook etc. Rather you talk to yourself.

You learn so many things in such a short time.

You don’t have to worry about other people’s tantrums about accommodation, food and comfort when you travel alone. Even if you get a maggi in a road side shop you are content and happy.

You meet incredible people who have so many stories to tell.

When someone helps you without expecting anything in return, you realise that the world is not so bad as it is made out to be. That there is so much good in this world. And you feel ashamed about that incident when you could have helped someone but you didn’t.

I started from Delhi and went to Lansdowne. From there I went to Govind Ghat and from there to Ghagaria Village or Govind Dham (Basecamp of Valley of Flowers and Hemkund Sahib). From there I trekked to Hemkund Sahib and Valley of Flowers. Then

I came back to Govind Ghat and from there I went to Badrinath and Mana (India’s last village). From Mana I went to Khirsu and from there I came back to Delhi.

I rode for 1300 Kms in 6 days. Alone.

Being a very passionate traveler I would love to travel alone.It not only enhances our personality but gives a boost to our mental state.Some say to shed off your tension get high, and I suggest to travel alone.A school of thoughts are of the opinion that being with friends is 'traveling at it's best', but in the words of Wordsworth:"the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility."

Yes, traveling alone tends to be somewhat 'scarier' but at the same time I feel you accomplish much more and are much free to do whatever you wish.

You don't have to worry about the other person being content or happy or seeing/doing what they want. Oftentimes I travel with people who have different budgets than me (both greater and less than, depending on the trip), which can put a huge damper on my trip. If I am on vacation, I don't want to worry if something is within someone else's budget if I have some spending money. And conversely, I don't want to blow all my money on some touristy Western dance club if I am backpacking and want to have more unique experiences.

Essentially, it is good to travel both alone and with people. Try both, see what you like. For me, I equally enjoy both. As with anything in life, balance is important.

It is the best way to really experience travel. Yes, there are perks to traveling with a friend, a spouce or even, as I receintly discovered, to travel with your kid, but to really experience travel, the way I like it, solo is the best.

The ultimate freedom, no discussions on where to go and how to spend the day, about money, tiredness or what the shortest way is (or who cares?).... but as stressed by many the main advantage of traveling alone is that it becomes so easy to meet others. I have come to a point where I am perfectly confortable going to a bar by myself and I usually come out having met a few new people along the way... definately not something I would have thought of doing when I was younger!

Though it is obviously easier to meet other travelers, I also found it is so much easier to meet "the locals". Especially traveling in South America or the Middle East, I found people were often facinated by a woman traveling by herself. There was a certain amount of pity involved, which usually boiled down to me ending up being "adopted" by a random Surinamese/Cuban/Peruvian/Egyptian family who would show me around or invite me into their houses and their lives.

I have really never felt lonely on the road (though I obviously miss friends and family every now and then) and can only think of two real downsides of traveling by yourself:
1. Afterwards, by the time family and friends get weary of your trip-stories, there is nobody to talk about "remember when we were stuck in the train to Brazil during that strike, we had no money left and that sweaty guy was dripping into your sandals"
2. If you travel by bus and have to pee at the bus station, there is nobody to watch your stuff and you have to pee with your backpack on.