After going through a difficult break-up and finding myself alone for the first time in 7 years, I knew I had to re-build a solid relationship between me, myself and I. Thus, I made the decision to take a trip to Italy…completely solo. And let me tell you it was one of the best things I have ever done. 

I get asked so many questions about why I did it and why I want to do it again and again. 

In this blog post, I’m giving you 5 reasons why you need to take the plunge and solo travel. 

You can be completely selfish and plan your trip exactly how you want to- see what you want and experience what you want, without thinking about another person and their desires. It gives you the chance to be completely flexible, if you want to book a last-minute excursion or want to completely change the plan for that day, then you can… This is your trip, planned solely for you. 

Having to spend all day everyday with you and you alone allows you to create a relationship and bond with yourself that can’t be broken. We invest a lot of time in getting to know the people around us, but never put aside time to really get to know ourselves. Taking a solo trip gives you the chance to almost date yourself and gain an insight into the true you. 

Travelling alone and relying solely upon yourself is not only a challenge but also quite a scary thought at first. However, it’s actually easier than you think and so much less scary than you imagine. Then the feeling you get once you get to your destination after traveling completely alone is incomparable, you feel the biggest sense of achievement. You got yourself there without any help and without relying upon anyone but yourself. I remember how proud I felt when I had completed my first day in a foreign country alone. 

If you want to see as much as possible in one day, then you can but if you want to take it slow and have a lie in before having a slow day walking around the sites then you also can. You set the itinerary and the pace. 

When you travel with others, you don’t get the chance to fully take in the true beaty of something. I used to find myself looking at that other person to see what their reaction is and then we would discuss our thoughts on the view. Whereas, when you’re alone you’re forced into fully taking in that moment and focusing on the way it makes YOU feel. I really experienced this on my first solo trip to Lucca in Italy and I found myself stood overlooking the whole city and I felt so overwhelmed with emotion. I’ve been lucky to see many beautiful sites in my lifetime through travel, but not once have I felt the way I did in that precise moment. I know for sure that if I was with someone else, I wouldn’t have been able to be completely present in the moment and that maybe wouldn’t have been a core memory for me.