Traveling Alone – Are You Up For The Challenge?

Hey everyone! It’s Kyle again.

I know a lot of you are studying English to travel abroad someday, and I’m sure many of you have already done so.

Today’s entry will be on the topic of traveling; specifically if it is worth it to travel alone and if any of you would feel comfortable doing it.  Let’s dive into it!

This post was inspired by my recent decision to travel alone to Vietnam in December.

I have never been to Vietnam before and it is also my first time traveling abroad by myself. Naturally, I’m a bit nervous to go somewhere new just by myself but it is also one of the main things that has me excited to go. To be honest I’m a bit of an advocate for traveling alone. However, that’s not to say I don’t like traveling with other people, too.

I think we can all agree the traveling experience greatly changes if you are with another person or multiple people. Whether that change is good or not is of course up to you but there is definitely a difference for everyone involved if you are traveling in a group versus just by yourself.

Let me explain my personal reasons for and against the two options.

Traveling with others undoubtedly can be a wonderful experience. You can make memories together, plan the trip together, try new things together and overall become closer with one another. Furthermore, it is always good to have someone else to call in case you get lost or need help. However, in my opinion, it is not the best way to travel. You are with your companion(s) for the entire time, which can be a little much for some people if you do not regularly spend time with them. Also, how many times have you had this conversation: “What do you want to do next?” “I don’t know, anything is fine. What do you want to do?” “I don’t know…”. When traveling with others you must always decide on what to do next and make sure everyone in your party is okay with it. This could lead to wasting time and potential bickering among one another. In my experience, some of my best memories are traveling with my friends, but there have also been times where indecision and poor planning led to a mediocre traveling experience. Traveling alone, however, does not create the same type of issues.

When you are traveling alone, the entire trip is solely in your hands. You are completely free to do whatever you like. You do not have to worry if your travel buddy wants to do something, can eat a certain food, or is interested in the things you want to do. You are also on your own time schedule; you do not need to wait for anyone except yourself. Also, and this may be a bit controversial, you are free to be selfish with doing exactly what you want to do (which is what vacation should be, right?). On the other hand, you lose the opportunity to talk with your friends and say “Remember that one time in Tokyo…” since you are the only one making the memories. The most blaring of all disadvantages is that you are completely on your own to figure things out and solve and problems that may arise, which are certain to come up if you are traveling to a new place.

Despite all these things, I personally like the freedom to do what I like, go at my own pace, and allow my trip to be a product of all the research I do prior to leaving. I know that it may be risky but to me it’s worth the risk.

I very may well come back from this solo trip wishing I had a travel buddy along for the ride.Or, I could come back with a head full of stories that I can’t wait to bring all of my friends together for so I can tell them.

Either way, my upcoming solo trip will be one to remember.

What do you think about the points I made here?

Do you agree or have a different point of view? Which method of traveling do you prefer?

Would you want to go to an English speaking country alone to try out your language skills?

Would you ever travel alone? If so, where would you want to travel and why?

Kyle

英語講師として日本だけでなくアメリカでも活躍されたKyle先生。日本人に英語を教えた経験が豊富であることから、日本人が間違いやすいポイントをしっかりと理解されています。日本語検定試験N2も持っており、日本語も堪能。また、「なぜ元の表現が間違っているのか？」という理由をきめ細やかに説明できる講師です。
座右の銘は「You only fail if you fail to try.」