From Eat Pray Love to Emily in Paris there’s a lot of groan-inducing cliches in the world of solo female travel. But behind all the “find yourself” fluff, there are some real, tangible benefits to embarking on an adventure of your own. I’ve personally struggled with anxiety for a good part of my life. For me, it would show up frequently in my day-to-day, worrying over whether I was making the right choices, from the big things to the small.

My first time traveling on my own I actually worried that solo travel would make it worse - that I’d just be stuck all the time, unsure whether to go pizza or pasta, a museum or the park.

Over time, I found solo travel to be one piece of the puzzle that’s helped me to maintain a healthy perspective and deal with the challenges that come up in life.

Reflecting on years of solo travel, these are the biggest benefits I’ve experienced personally when it comes to mental health and solo travel:

1. Solo travel opens you to different perspectives

I left the US with my husband and two cats in 2019. In addition to exciting new adventures and promising career opportunities, I was exhausted. I was exhausted by the intolerance of so many. The hatred, the belief that it’s ok to actively work to control and diminish others.

I was seeking a different, more nuanced way of looking at the world, a reminder that the world isn’t black and white. And nothing builds empathy and understanding like catapulting yourself outside your comfort zone and into someone else’s reality. Every time I do this, I’m reminded that there’s no one ‘right’ answer, no one ‘right’ way of doing things. Solo travel helps me to be more accepting and curious.

2. Solo travel reminds you that you’re capable

There are few things in this world that can inspire a rush of self confidence quite like finding your way in a foreign place. Whether it’s successfully navigating the German train system, finding a place to stay when the hotel mixed up your booking, or dealing with flight cancellations when travel plans go awry. It’s frustrating, daunting and…empowering.

I’ve found personally that no matter how daunting the challenge, nine times out of ten, I can figure it out. When you’re traveling with others it’s so easy to fall back on them, to ask for help. Whether it’s getting the in-room coffee machine to turn on, figuring out how to get somewhere, or even just deciding where to go for breakfast. It’s so easy to turn to others. And it's easy to forget that we can actually handle pretty much everything life throws at us.

It may take hours on the phone with customer support. It may mean spending $300 extra to fix my mistake. But the feeling of having sorted it out on your own is one that sticks. And it’s that quiet realization that I can deal with whatever life throws at me, that comes back home with me. It’s that feeling that gives me the guts to take that new job even if I’m not fully confident it’ll work out, or make that move even if I don’t know anyone there yet.

small hut next to the beach with kayaks on offer — Photo Credit: Emli Bendixen

3. Solo travel gives you space to slow down

For most of us, life is chronically busy. There’s work, school, family, friends, relationships, parents, children, commitments – so many things to upkeep and relationships to maintain. On top of just the in-person piece, there’s social media and digital identities to upkeep. Slowing down often doesn’t feel like an option. If I slow down at work, will someone else get that promotion?

But slowing down also has its positives. Slowing down gives you space to reflect. It can help you identify what matters, and what doesn’t, so that you can approach your life with more focus. It’s hard to gain that perspective when you’re constantly pushing through a to-do list, and running from one meeting to the next. It’s a lot easier when you’re wandering through a park with a full day ahead of you and no commitments to distract you.

4. Solo travel forces you to consider what you enjoy

What do you enjoy doing for fun? This question was asked of me recently and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one that has to pause and think on it. Especially growing up in a generation told to “follow our passions,” we often find ourselves in a place where the things we did purely for fun have fallen away and been replaced by areas of interest that have become work and career. When is the last time you did something purely for fun?

It doesn’t have to be a big thing either. I was in Valencia, Spain a couple years ago and sat down to breakfast at a cafe near my hotel. The menu only had 10 items, but I took twice that long to order. Why? Because I realized I don’t actually know what kind of coffee I like. For years I had been getting cappuccinos. It’s something I picked up while hiking the Camino de Santiago in Spain, and I just kept going with it.

On the topic of fun – I discovered that I love people watching. I really enjoy sitting at a cafe table in the sun with a coffee or glass of wine, and a notebook, watching the world go by. I love imagining all the different lives that people lead in this world. I love small conversations with strangers. And I love being in a cozy space with a good book to keep me company. I also love art, but history isn’t my thing.

5. Solo travel helps you allow yourself to let go

The joy in travel isn’t in everything going right – it’s often found in those moments where things go sideways and you find yourself having to chart a new path. It’s that time that everything in town is booked up, and so you’re forced to take a bus to a different city and figure it out. It’s that time that you realize that *everything* is shut down for Easter and your only dinner option is going to come from the vending machine in the lobby. And that’s just where you’re at.

There’s freedom in learning to let go of all the things you can’t control. There’s freedom in accepting that dinner will be tiny bags of pretzels. And in learning to let go and accept these things, you just might discover something new – whether that’s a new flavor of Pringles or a new favorite city you never would have discovered if everything went according to plan.

6. Solo travel helps you learn to be more kind to yourself

You’re going to get it wrong sometimes. You’re going to accidentally book that museum ticket for the wrong day. Show up at that restaurant you’ve been dreaming of for months on your last night only to find they are closed on Wednesdays. It sucks, and you’re going to kick yourself for it. But you’re also going to figure it out. You’ll find another restaurant, and perhaps that cafe you pop into when you realize you can’t hit the museum is where you meet your new best friend.

When there’s no one else to feel guilty about messing up their plans, it can be easier to be kind to yourself about messing up your own. These are lessons that follow you back home and help you treat yourself with kindness when things don’t work out exactly as you wished.

7. Solo travel can help you find your footing (and yourself)

At the risk of sounding terribly cliche, when you’re going through a major change, solo travel can help you come back to yourself in a way that brings clarity and a path forward.

My first solo travel trip happened when I transitioned from freelance to full time at Google. I was excited, but also unsure. I knew I was “supposed” to feel thrilled that the place I had a company crush on for nearly a decade wanted me. But the reality is I was mixed. I had taken the freelance job because I was certain I wanted the freedom and flexibility it afforded, and I felt mixed about leaving that behind for another full time gig.

One week into my two weeks solo traveling Europe, I found myself absolutely miserable in a tiny hotel in the Rhine valley in Germany. I had set off to explore a new wine region (one of my favorite travel activities). But it was early April and I learned an important lesson. Shoulder season can be great for avoiding crowds, and lower prices. But it can also be really, really lonely when you’re traveling solo.

After much anxiety, I canceled the last few nights of my non-refundable hotel and booked myself onto a 10 hour train to meet up with a couple friends. This experience made me realize that the decisions we make aren’t permanent, and if I didn’t enjoy this full time job I could always leave.

people on a beach with hazy skies — Image Credit: Emli Bendixen

8. Solo travel affords you the space to make mistakes

There’s so much pressure to make the right choices in life. Choose the right school, career, life partner, home. And on a smaller scale, the right clothes, the right approach to that hard conversation at work. Be kind, but stand up for yourself. Be a leader but don’t be bossy. Look put together but not too sexy. Be bold, and funny, and brilliant, but never offend. Moving through this world as a woman means navigating a minefield of decisions and opinions.

Solo travel can afford you the freedom to wear that bright red lipstick that makes you self conscious at home – because who is there to judge you? You can try out that modern art museum, or finally order escargot. Because if you hate it? That’s ok.

9. Solo travel can help you appreciate what you have in your life

There’s something about stepping away that can really shine a spotlight on the things and people that you love and miss the most. Over these last couple years of the pandemic many of us have been literally quarantined with our families and partners. Nearly overnight the people we live with and love went from having one primary role in our life to being everything. And that’s incredibly tough on anyone.

Stepping away from it all can give you the space for gratitude. It can give you the space to remember why you chose the things you did in your life, and to choose them all over again.

Ready to plan your own solo travel adventure? Get the support and inspiration you need with the SoloTrvlr app.

*Please note, the ideas and opinions expressed here are my own personal experience; I am not a mental health professional.*

9 mental health benefits of solo travel