Abduljabbar Ali Solo traveling can either be fun or boring depending on the individual. If you are always used to being around your significant other, family, and friends it will be hard not to feel lonely when you are far away from them.
But if you don’t have strong connections with your friends, partner, or siblings, solo traveling will be a fortune for you.
Those who have something to think about when they leave their homes are the ones who will struggle within the first months of traveling alone.
Traveling around the world sometimes can be exhausting, boring, and even stressful.
The part of you moving from one place to another, constantly making huge decisions, and being the adult in every situation isn’t fun for anyone.
If you have a faint heart you will end up giving up on this solo traveling dream.
Apart from that, the challenges you will face around the world without having someone to help you but yourself are super tiring.
When you remember that you have to plan everything by yourself for the trip to be successful, and it’s not only once is enough to make you feel so trapped.
Is there a way to make the solo trips exciting and fun?
Yes! You can make these trips spectacular just by implementing some of the things I’m about to share.
This is how to make solo traveling fun;
1. Seek for adventures in your travels.
This is the first thing you have to do if you want to make your solo trips exciting and fun.
You should seek adventures on every trip you take. Don’t just move from place to place without doing something incredible.
Traveling itself is an adventure, the only thing you have to do is handle it like one.
The part of you moving from a flight, train, bus, or boat to a taxi is a freaking cool adventure.
You won’t find this fun if you perceive everything you do to get from one point to another as a normal thing.
The first way to find adventures when you are traveling alone is to perceive it as one.
Feel and acknowledge you are no longer in the same situation you were back in your country.
You are hoping from flights to boats just seeing places and things you have never imagined in your life.
Everything has now been open to you since you started traveling. The same places you used to watch them on your screen are now right in front of your eyes.
You went from just words on a book or soft copy to something tangible.
Your budgeting and planning have enabled you to achieve strange things you have never believed were possible.
Read also; Solo Travel 101: Why Planning Is Essential for New Adventurers
This aspect alone should make you feel like you are in a once a once-a-lifetime adventure.
Not all people can do what you do.
Another way to find adventures in your solo travels is by getting yourself out of your comfort zone.
You can take yourself out of your box by doing things you have never done.
Try new things whenever you are in a new destination.
The new things can be from activities to trying new foods. If you travel around the world and do the things you used to do back at home you won’t make a difference.
People travel to gain exposure, and experience, learn new things, meet people, and see the world from a different perspective.
If you are traveling alone but you aren’t able to gain any of these things your trips will be boring.
For you to search for adventures when traveling solo is by getting yourself out of your comfort zone.
Try things you have never done before. Be the first person to approach people, try activities you have never done before, choose the hardest part to get through something, and find meaning in what you do.
Hike the mountains, go kayaking, make friends from awkward situations, and try new foods you never knew existed.
If this is what you get from traveling alone, it will never be boring for you.
You will always be motivated and excited to travel anywhere you want to.
The fun in your solo travel comes from how you perceive it and what you do.
Your adventure comes from your journey, that’s how you will make this a blast.
Read also; 9 Ways To Get Over The Fear Of Traveling Alone
2. Create goals to chase in your trips.
You are traveling from place to place while searching for things to do and see.
Just the aspect of this is enough to make you feel super excited. You just don’t know where to look yet and that is why you are here.
You can make your solo trips incredibly fun and exciting by creating small goals to chase while you are traveling.
The thing is, you already have goals. The part where you move from one location to another and find a place to sleep, these are bigger goals you are working on.
You can set small goals that will push you to chase them whenever you move from one destination to another.
Apart from going places, doing things, and seeing things while traveling, come up with another set of activities you can do.
Examples of tiny goals you can set when traveling alone are these;
- Improve your language skills in every country you travel to.
- Make at least 5 friends in the places you visit.
- Keep on improving your workout routines even in the middle of the jungle.
- Try to make at least 3 local cuisines of the country you are traveling to.
- Learn some interesting facts about the places you visit apart from what you just read or watched online.
- Help orphans and people who are needy.
These are just a few examples of goals you can create when you are traveling solo.
If you have a list of things to achieve when you are traveling, it will be always exciting to accomplish one thing for another.
Your travels won’t just be empty. You will feel like you are on a quest to something bigger.
This feeling alone is enough to make your solo trips super exciting and fun.
The achievement of all these tiny goals you will create is what will reward you even more.
If you want solo traveling to be fun you have to make it that way.
You can do that by just following the tips I have shared in this part of this article.
When your trips are more than what you do and places you go to, you will never be bored.
You will always be excited to move from one place to another because you are always chasing something new.
3. Stay in hostels to make friends.
You are traveling alone, but it doesn’t mean you should be alone.
Solo traveling doesn’t mean that you have to explore the world alone.
You move from your country to a strange land alone to see the world and gauge it.
Other people also left their hometowns with the same goal you have.
You all share the same ambition of seeing this world for what it is.
When you are traveling don’t just look at your social accounts. You need them to be able to interact with other solo travelers you will come across.
Take yourself to places where you will be able to meet people to connect with and share your ambitions, knowledge, and skills.
Through this, you will be able to make friends who will forever stick in your life because you met them in incredible places and situations.
Sometimes you might feel that you are the only one who is on this journey of exploring the world.
This feeling is enough to make you feel super lonely thus making the trips boring.
But when you know that other people are also doing the things you do, it will turn out to be super exciting.
So, you only have the option of taking yourself to places where you will meet other solo travelers.
Some of the best places to meet other solo travelers are these;
- Hostels.
- Hanging out places.
- In group tours.
- Facebook solo travelers group.
- Co works spaces.
- Dancing and cooking classes.
When you take yourself to these places you are likely to meet people who you will share so much.
It’s always fun to be around like-minded people. Meeting these people and just hearing their stories and what they have been through in the journey of solo traveling will change your view.
As you connect, you might also share plans, explore together the locations you are at, and eventually make incredible friends.
You started your journey alone but here you are with a group of people you know nothing about exploring the mountains and waterfalls.
This is what makes solo traveling super fun and exciting. Meeting like-minded people and doing what you all enjoy.
How can you not enjoy something like this?
4. Be your own company during your travels.
Another secret to making your solo travels exciting and fun is being your company.
It will always be fun traveling alone when you are always the only person you need to feel great.
Whether you like it or not, you have to be yourself and independent because you are out there alone.
If you are in a situation you can’t change, you might as well use that to your advantage.
When you change your situation and make it all about yourself and not anyone else you will always enjoy traveling alone.
You can do that by acknowledging yourself, feeling your presence, treasuring your company, and focusing on no one else but yourself.
In these trips, seek to make yourself a better person, be the one you need, and make yourself the main character in your story.
When you are the only person you need and the company you treasure, traveling solo won’t bother you.
Instead of you feeling lonely in the middle of nowhere, you will embrace your company and turn it to your advantage.
You will learn to appreciate yourself, feel your presence, and channel all your energy into making it mean something.
When you get the sense that being alone in a strange country brings the best out of you, this will always make you happy.
You will always be occupied because you are all you need. Loneliness won’t be an issue for you.
As you are traveling, you will learn to tap into yourself and make yourself feel incredible thus making every second you spend exploring alone fun.
You just have to look at this differently and not just about you traveling the world alone.
5. Stay in the present moment and take it all in.
When you are traveling alone you are likely to feel lonely sometimes.
It’s not easier to shake off that feeling especially if you have been traveling for a while.
Read also; How To Travel Alone But Not Feel Lonely
At the beginning of the trip, you will be untouchable. You won’t even think about anyone or anything else other than yourself and the adventures you are in.
Solo traveling won’t be fun when you feel lonely and in need of another human touch.
You might start thinking about the people you care about that you left behind when you decided to start traveling alone.
Maybe you left your boyfriend or girlfriend, your family, and friends behind.
The more you are out of touch with them, the more you will miss them.
You think about them often and this just drives you nuts.
The only way to get rid of this loneliness is by being in the present.
Stop going back in time and reliving the beautiful moments you had with them.
This won’t help you but drag you behind.
To turn your solo traveling into fun and exciting, you have to be in the present.
Be where you are right now and absorb everything around you.
Enjoy what your trips have to offer to you. This is what will enable you to feel the thrill of traveling alone.
If you are in a restaurant eating something you never tried before, take that time to taste the food and appreciate it.
Focus on it and when you are done, keep yourself in the next moment you will be in.
If you are exploring the streets and markets in your destination, pay attention to it and learn as much as you can.
Don’t allow yourself to go back and think about what you left behind, you are in another world.
You are chasing something else and that is your travels.
Focusing on the present moments you have will make the travels super fun and exciting.
Don’t let anything you left behind be the reason you won’t enjoy your trip.
It will be fun when you allow yourself to enjoy what the destinations have to offer. Be in the present and take it all.
6. Try something new on your trips.
Another way to make your solo travels fun is by trying something new at every destination you go.
There must be a lot of things you haven’t experienced in the location you are in.
Take this opportunity to explore everything, try everything, and get to learn everything about the things you do.
It won’t hurt to teach yourself how to cook, dance, or surf when you are in Mexico.
When you make it such that you get to try something new whenever you go, you will always make your trips so fun and exciting.
You are looking forward to learning or trying something new whenever you go.
This will make your trips amazing because it won’t all be moving from one location to another and doing repetitive things.
If you are just exploring only (going to the tourist spots) and you don’t make any effort to indulge yourself in trying something new, your trips won’t be exciting at all.
Ensure that you try something new, learn things, and be in the center of your travels — be the main character in your story.
If you are interested in knowing anything that is out of your bounds, these trips can help you do that.
It will be incredible and easier for you to focus on learning and trying new things when you are traveling slowly.
This means you have a lot of time to get it all right. Every single day you spend will have something new and you will be looking towards greater rewards at the end.
People gain exposure and experience from the strange countries they visit.
Don’t allow yourself to go back to your hometown with nothing new you took from different countries.
Allow solo traveling to grow you as an individual. Don’t just let it all be about fun.
Read also; Why Traveling Solo Is A Good Idea [11 Reasons]
7. Get rid of any stressors.
To enjoy your solo trips around the world you have to let go of any stressors.
If you are dealing with some issues in your life that hinder you from enjoying the moment, your trips are likely to suck.
There is no way you will enjoy the things you are experiencing around the world when your stressors are blocking you from seeing reality.
If you are stressed about anything, sit down first and figure out how you can get rid of it.
Don’t start traveling around thinking that it will get easier as time goes on.
Solo traveling comes with its challenges that are enough to add to your stressors.
You dealing with an issue initially, will only make it worse. It will reach a point where you will be overwhelmed.
It will be hard for you to handle multiple stressors at a go.
Find a way to deal with your stressors if you want your trips to be fun.
Get rid of anything that will hinder you from enjoying your trips. Try to find solutions to your problems if you can.
If all you need is time, allow yourself to heal.
The moment you don’t have any burden on your shoulders and the only thing you are thinking about is your next adventure and destination, you will enjoy your trips to the fullest.
Your trips should be the only thing that occupies your life and mind.
If there is anything other than your trips taking over your head, solo traveling won’t be fun for you.
8. Do the things that pump your adrenaline high.
You will have fun when traveling alone when you do things that pump your adrenaline high.
Think of activities that will make you feel alive and in the moment.
We all enjoy doing different things when traveling. Maybe you get your adrenaline high when you go paragliding, snorkeling, and skydiving.
If these are the activities that make you feel alive, do them as long as your budget can cover them.
Read also; 8 Benefits of Early Trip Budgeting: A Traveler’s Guide
Maybe you are the party kind of a person. You enjoy vibrant and loud music with people jumping and dancing.
Once in a while take yourself to these parties and enjoy your time. That’s how traveling will be fun for you.
Do the things you enjoy, push yourself beyond your limits, and get out of your comfort zone.
Sometimes you might think that challenges are holding you back but it’s the other way around.
Facing these tricky situations as you are traveling alone and making out fine on the other end is what will make you feel you are doing something incredible.
Do the things you are afraid of the most. Camp in the middle of the forest alone.
Doing such kinds of things will always keep your adrenaline high because you don’t know what to expect from them.
Meet strangers and explore with them. Try different kinds of travel styles you have never done before.
If you are traveling slowly and nothing seems fun and exciting, spice things up.
You can decide to get someone, explore the relationship, and see where it will take you.
Don’t just hold yourself on the ground because you are afraid of leaving people behind.
Whether you like it or not, you will have to, but you might end up meeting that one person you won’t want to leave behind.
Allow yourself to venture into things that will make your trips exciting.
If you have the option of speeding up your travels because you feel that’s what will make them more adventurous, do it.
Observe what works for you and dive deep into it.
Lastly…
Solo traveling can be fun if you make it. Your mindset plays a big part in this.
If you allow yourself to feel bored and irritated by traveling alone, that is how you will feel about your trips.
But if you let your solo trips be more than just what you feel, be in the present, and seek to venture yourself into things you have never done before, they will always be fun and exciting.
Don’t let yourself drown in your past that will hinder you from enjoying what the trips have to offer.
Let go of anything that prevents you from enjoying what your travels have to offer.
Focus on the positive side of your trips and let the adventurous spirit take you around.
Be a free bird, enjoy your freedom, and keep chasing your goals. That is what will make these solo trips fun and exciting.
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