24 Revelations Every Solo Female Traveler Encounters While Exploring the World

Kristin Addis from Be My Travel Muse contributes our regular column on solo female travel. It’s a subject I can’t address myself, so I invited her to discuss topics and specific challenges that matter to other women travelers. In this month’s piece, Kristin reflects on the wisdom she’s picked up while traveling solo.

“You’re heading across the globe all by yourself? Are you serious?”

You’ve heard that before, right? A well‑meaning person tries to talk you out of solo travel, listing all sorts of potential disasters.

They can be pretty persuasive, zeroing in on the downsides — but completely overlooking the countless upsides that come with travel. What about everything that could go right?

There are experiences that only solo female travelers get to enjoy (things that simply don’t happen when you’re with someone else). It’s like a secret club almost anyone can join, but few know about. Yet those of us who’ve done it understand that it’s far less frightening than we imagined, and far more rewarding than we ever dreamed.

Traveling the world alone has taught me many lessons and revealed truths you only discover when you go it alone:

1. Trying a new food on the opposite side of the globe — and realizing you absolutely adore it — is much more thrilling than dining at a fancy restaurant back home.
2. An exotic dish somehow tastes even better when you eat it with your hands, sitting on the floor with your shoes off.
3. Lying in a hammock on a tropical beach, watching the waves roll in — whether completely alone or surrounded by new friends — is worth every mosquito bite.
4. You can say “hello” and “thank you” in more languages than your fancy car has gears.
5. Playing with a child in a different language is more heartwarming than all the designer sweaters in the world.
6. People are beautiful everywhere, in every shade, shape, and size — there is no single standard of beauty.
7. There’s no bigger rush than buying a plane ticket to a place you alone want to see, a place you alone chose.
8. It’s sexier to have more stamps in your passport than watches and expensive handbags.
9. A sugar rush tastes sweeter when you’re sitting in Europe eating a chocolate croissant with a full day of adventures ahead.
10. It doesn’t matter what someone is wearing, where they’re from, or what their bank account looks like. If they can hold an intelligent conversation halfway across the world, you’ll happily hang on their every word.
11. Espresso really does taste better in Italy, and Panang curry really does taste better in Thailand.
12. Knowing what it’s like when the sun sets over the ocean on the other side of the world is worth more than all the Instagram likes in the world.
13. The Facebook news feed becomes far less interesting when you have an entire day of adventures ahead — no plans, no obligations, no strings attached.
14. Maybe makeup, hair products, straighteners, and Spanx aren’t all that necessary — you look fantastic just the way you are.
15. The heartbreak later is worth the fling right here and now with that beautiful stranger with an accent from far away and the promise of an adventure.
16. Being able to say “yes” without checking in with anyone first feels incredibly freeing and satisfying.
17. Being able to say “no” without worrying about offending anyone or feeling obligated can feel even more powerful than saying “yes.”
18. You’re braver than you thought.
19. You’re capable of doing things that a year ago would have terrified you.
20. No classroom anywhere will ever be a better learning environment than going it alone on the road.
21. No boardroom, job interview, or house party where you don’t know anyone will ever intimidate you again, because you know what it’s like to go solo to a country where absolutely nothing is familiar and everything is new. And you handled it like a boss.
22. There were a few blunders and “learning experiences” along the way, but you’re better off for them.
23. Out of everything you learned, most of all you’ll remember that you are a capable person with a better understanding of how you fit into the world — and that’s something that will benefit you for the rest of your life.
24. When the trip is over, you’ll remember these things that only you know, and what you’re capable of — and probably start researching plane flights again.

We solo female travelers know that traveling alone is an incredible gift. It gives us a chance to build our confidence, make every decision about where to go and what to do, and become the CEO of our own lives and adventures. That confidence and ability carries over into our daily lives long after the trip ends.

Our loved ones’ fear and misunderstanding of it will probably always exist. Rebuffing a few well‑meaning but uninformed remarks just comes with the territory. You can often show those naysayers by example how wonderful it can be.

If you haven’t yet traveled solo but really want to discover who you are and what you’re made of, go to the other side of the world by yourself and prepare to be amazed. Don’t let anything hold you back — you deserve to see the world on your own terms.

24 Revelations Every Solo Female Traveler Encounters While Exploring the World

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Kristin Addis is a solo female travel expert who inspires women to explore the world in an authentic and adventurous way. A former investment banker who sold all of her belongings in 2012, Kristin has roamed the globe for more than five years and visited over 70 countries. You can find more of her writings at Be My Travel Muse or on Instagram and Facebook.

This article originally appeared on Nomadic Matt’s Travel Site under the title “24 Things Every Solo Female Traveler Learns on the Road.”