Traveling Alone

Overcoming Fears

Click here to see the original post I wrote for Xplor Park’s Blog.

There is no doubt that traveling is a fascinating experience. It’s not a thing you do and forget, actually, I’m pretty sure that you cherish many of your past vacation memories. Maybe you even remember your first getaway with your family as a child. Think about it, what is the most exciting trip you have taken? Who were you with? 

Maybe you are thinking about the time you went away with your significant other or when you went to the beach with your family, or that weekend you spent partying with friends. But have you ever gone with no one? When was the last time you had a vacation with only you?

If you have, then stop reading and please share your pictures with me! But the fact is, like most people, you haven’t. Why? Because let’s face it, you are too afraid to do so. 

But wait, don’t feel bad about it. It’s pretty normal to have fears that make you stay in a comfort zone, even when it comes to taking holidays. The good news is if you start traveling alone, you will learn to overcome these five fears:

1. Fear of Feeling Lonely. 

This is perhaps the biggest fear you have. As social people, we don’t like the feeling of having anyone around, but actually, this happens because we are not used to it. We are not used to enjoying a meal by ourselves and we may even feel judged by others when we do. Once you start traveling alone, you get to spend more time getting to know you and eventually you will feel more confident about yourself. You’ll see that you don’t need to be surrounded by people to feel comfortable.

2. Fear of Talking to Strangers.

It’s funny, you may fear of being lonely but at the same time you don’t like to talk to people you don’t know. You were taught not to talk to strangers, you’re even afraid to respond when random people try to socialize. But when you travel alone you see that meeting new people is very refreshing. Actually, the closer you get to another culture, the richer your journey will be.

3. Fear of Doing Things for Yourself.

 If you live with someone else, either it’s your parents, boyfriend or roommates, then I’m sure they are doing something for you. Maybe they wash your clothes or they prepare your lunch, perhaps they even clean your room. Well, traveling alone will teach you to just stop, do things for yourself! It will help you to grow up and be responsible once and for all.

4. Fear of Getting Lost. 

We sometimes hold back on getting out there because of fear of getting lost. Especially when we know we are far away from home. The funny thing is that if you think about it, there’s no such thing as getting lost, we only get to different places we didn’t expect to reach. You will realize that you just have to be happy that you are in a new place, enjoy the moment, and find your course back. You never know, you might find something exciting waiting for you in that new place.

5. Fear of Something Bad Happening to You.

When living in a comfort zone you follow a routine, you usually visit the same places and gather with the same people, so the idea of being alone in a strange place may seem scary. What if something happens to me? What if I get robbed? What if I have an accident? Are the common questions you ask yourself. But the truth is that once you travel alone, you realize these type of situations can occur to you anytime, any place, even at home. So what you should do to minimize the consequences if something does happen, is to buy travel insurance. Always.

There are many perks of traveling alone, you’ll get to explore at your own pace, you get to choose where you go, what you eat, no schedules, no rushing. Just enjoying. Where would you like to go? The possibilities are endless!