I have flown a lot. Getting on an airplane to go to my next destination is a breeze, and I consider myself to be a pretty savvy traveler. The one thing that I had yet to experience in my 27 years of traveling was solo travel. I have done a few things abroad on my own: Flying somewhere to meet a friend or relative, taking a train to meet my travel buddy, wandering through cities early in the morning while others sleep. These are all easy for me because I have that safety net of a familiar face waiting for me at a nearby location. This changed recently when I booked a flight to Montreal, arranged my hostel, and told everyone I’m going to Canada!
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Why Montreal?
Montreal was an easy choice for me because: 1. It is a relatively safe city, 2. It is not too far from where I live, 3. I have always wanted to go there, and 4. The flight was a decent price. I wanted to take it easy as this was my first solo venture and even though this seemed pretty spontaneous, it was well thought-out. I want to share my own experiences and thoughts, and I hope that this helps anyone who is trying to decide whether or not to take that leap into solo travel!
For starters, you need to know a little about myself. Not all travelers are the same. We all have very different personalities and comfort levels, and this is important to consider when planning a solo trip. I am very introverted and I tend to keep to myself, however, I do enjoy chatting with other travelers and learning more about them. Being alone with my thoughts is the best thing ever to me, but torture to someone else. Though I may seem a bit careful, I tend to do things that actually surprise people, like traveling to Montreal by myself. Keep reading if you want to know more about my first solo adventure!
Outside of My Comfort Zone
Honestly, I am that person at parties who will follow around the one person that I am comfortable with. It makes it easier for me to mingle when I have that friend with me because they tend to bring out my personality a lot better than I would on my own. This trip was like stripping that away. Day one was great in that I celebrated my little successes. I got my public transit card, made it to my hostel, secured my ticket to a show that first night, and successfully fed myself all in a few hours after arrival.
I felt really good about my first night, despite getting lost a few times and my legs going numb from the cold. There was even a moment when I chatted with another woman staying in my dorm about her shopping that day. It is the small things that help boost your confidence!
Eating breakfast the next day was a little bit lonely. At the very least, I was not the only solo person there. I probably could have talked to someone, but I wasn’t feeling particularly social, and that is okay. After breakfast, I headed out for the day and got a lot of Christmas shopping done as well as visiting some Christmassy parts of the city. I am really in the Christmas spirit this year!
That Free Feeling
It was day three when I started to feel what I will refer to as “that free feeling”. As I hike through Mont Royal Park, I just start to smile and think that if I had someone with me they may not want to hike through the woods in the snow and cold, or they may complain the whole time. Yet here I am, hiking through the woods in Montreal, Canada, looking for a giant cross and trying not to slip and tumble down a hill probably not to my death but to a lot of pain I’m sure. As I walk happily through the park, I take my time, say hello to the people (especially people with dogs), who pass me by, and keep a look out for any critters that may be wandering around.
Does anyone else feel a bit wild when they hike? I tend to get a bit imaginative when I’m walking outside in solitude. This is something that I do at home, so it makes sense that this is something I would enjoy away from home as well. I did find some critters by the way. I heard one before I saw him. A woodpecker, working quite diligently on a tree. There was a dog nearby who was fascinated and barked, only to be scolded in French.
Getting Lost Happens
I lost my way several times. It seems like this always happens to me when I am in search of food. Food is very important to me and I knew that I would be eating a lot of that here. I got lost looking for food on two out of the four days I was in Montreal. However, each time I got lost in search of food, I managed to find my way to something wonderful.
Even if you lose your way when traveling solo, you will find your path eventually. The first time I got lost I felt frustrated. The second time I wanted to cry. By the third time, I was looking forward to where I would end up. Whether you are alone or not, you can easily get lost in a foreign place. It is okay to wander aimlessly. That is how you find treasures!
Meeting New People
I am not a social person. When I travel, meeting people is something that I want to do, but it is not a high priority. I have a hard time starting conversations with strangers. Mostly because I don’t want to bother anyone unnecessarily. I did manage to make a friend who is a bright person and easy to talk to. In this case, she asked me for directions, with which I was no help, and then we ran into each other a couple of times over the weekend. Sometimes life has a funny way of putting you in the path of another person.
If you are a quiet person like me, meeting people can be a difficult and anxious task. I have found that just by being myself and being kind to people makes it a lot easier to open up to someone. I try to get to know people. The more I relate to someone, the easier it is for me to speak to them. Just smiling and saying hello can lead to a conversation, which in turn leads to a long lasting friendship.
Solo Travel: Would I do it again?
This first solo trip was kind of enlightening for me. Everyone says that, but it is so true. I learned that I can go to an unfamiliar place and figure it out all on my own. I can feel anxious, and then elated, and then frustrated about things and sort them out all by myself. Going home I felt a bit different. Empowered, confident, and excited to go somewhere else! I will definitely continue to travel with friends and family when our schedules align, but now I know that I can confidently travel solo when I don’t have a buddy to go with me. I have realized that if I wait for someone to go with me, I will never go anywhere.
There is still so much for me to learn about traveling solo. I am pretty well versed in travel, which helps a lot, but wandering by yourself has a bit of a learning curve. After this experience, I want to work on a few things. One of my own shortcomings is that I don’t like to ask for help, even when I really need it. One of the times that I got lost, I finally asked for help and found my objective right away. I realized that even though I was alone, I didn’t have to do everything myself. Opening myself up to not only the world, but all of the wonderful people in it, is a major travel goal of mine.
Do you love to travel solo? Are you considering your first solo trip? I want to hear about it! If you are getting ready to head out on your first solo adventure, feel free to reach out to me and I can help you out when you feel you are losing confidence. Trust me, if I can be a solo traveler, anyone can!
Can I first just say–very off topic–that living in FL now, I am shocked when I see pics of Northern squirrels? They are so much…bulkier…than the scrawny little rat-like creatures we have down south. I guess they really do stock up for the winter, and they are WAY cuter. Love that pic!
I have not solo traveled since I got married–except to go home to see family. This post actually got me thinking that I’d probably be a wreck at first since it has been so long. I did move to Indonesia to teach English as a Fulbright for a year. Although 32 of us made the leap for the first 3 weeks together, they spread us out extremely thin all over the country for 8+ months. The friends I made in Indo as well as my Indonesian teachers would constantly comment how weird it was that I lived there alone. They were more shocked that I wasn’t scared or bothered by that fact. Hmmm, should I have reason to be scared? I’ll never know. I felt perfectly safe and comfortable. Homesickness never struck, which was surprising.
There are some countries that I am a little more ‘old-fashioned’ about–and I think traveling solo as a woman might be a little unsafe without bigger precautions in certain areas. Then there are places that I’d feel perfectly comfortable traveling alone in all of the time.
Like you, meals would feel a tad lonely for me. I’d definitely have books and probably social media my heart away. I’d be lost all of the time too.
Thanks for sharing your experience, and I hope you have many successful, fun, and comfortable solo travels with GIANT squirrels.
You are so right about the squirrels! The ones I used to see when I lived in Alabama were more…brown? I think the fat ones up north are so cute!
I’m definitely going to be picky about where I solo travel. I think that women can travel solo where ever the choose, but for me that will always be the “safer” countries.
I actually started taking my Kindle with me to eat after that first day. I originally didn’t want to carry it, but I ended up just sitting down to read whenever I needed a rest and meals were a breeze with a book! Definitely recommend that.
I always admire people who have taught English abroad. I feel like I would be terrible at it. It seems like it would be a fun adventure though!
Congrats on completing your first solo trip! 🙂 My first solo trip was my first trip ever overseas. I flew from Australia to London for a month long Contiki tour. I was so much more shy and introverted then than I am now (and I am still pretty shy) and I think that having that experience is really what pushed me out of my shell more. I was on a tour though so at least I did not have to eat alone like you! I will have to try going to a restaurant on my own one day. I have done it before for lunch but I feel like dinner would be more lonesome.
London is great! I would love to go back! I am sure the more I travel solo the better I will get.