Reflection: My First Solo Trip Experience
When people hear the words “solo travel”, they sometimes assume it’s something that’s a huge undertaking. That solo traveling is way too much to do for anyone. Or, people may think that it’s something they could never bring themselves to do. How they could never travel anywhere without someone else.
To be fair, these are all valid thoughts people may have about solo traveling. I know I had some of these thoughts, believe it or not. And while solo traveling is quite an undertaking, one shouldn’t be quick to push it aside.
I Wasn’t Too Sure I’d Do It
It took me a while to think about solo traveling myself. For the most part, I’ve always traveled with friends, family, or my boyfriend. Even when I studied abroad in England 6 years ago, I made friends quickly and we traveled to other countries together. And when the opportunity for a solo trip emerged, someone at the last minute usually asked if they could join me on my trip. Needless to say, I’ve never solo traveled before and never really thought to do so. That is, until this year.
I came to the decision to travel solo from all of my wonderful followers on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. The travel communities on these social media platforms are amazing. Because of their solo travel trips and experience, the seed for solo travel was planted in my head.
I figured, if they can go on tons of solo trips, domestically and internationally, then I can too! With that, I started planning my first ever solo trip in December of 2020 for Utah in April of 2021. At first, I couldn’t decide where I wanted to travel to but I knew I wanted to try solo traveling domestically first. Of course, my lovely Twitter community helped me to reach a decision and before I knew it, I was planning my trip to Utah!
Taking My First Solo Trip
When the time came in April of 2021, I was very excited and somewhat nervous about solo traveling for the first time to a new state. I honestly felt more excited but calm rather than anxious. This was new to me because usually when I travel with others, I tend to be very anxious. But I’ll explain that later on.
Once I landed in Salt Lake City, I felt so happy and free. There was no one with me to cloud my judgement, no one to override my opinion, no one to tell me what to do. It was the greatest feeling in the world! I did what I wanted, when I wanted, at my own pace. There’s nothing like it!
Driving all over the state of Utah and exploring the national parks was stunning as well! If I would’ve went with family, friends, or my boyfriend, I’m not sure if they would’ve been up for the drives everyday of the trip. It is very tiring but it was so worth it! The scenery and landscape throughout Utah is so beautiful and different, you wouldn’t think mountains, sand dunes, cliffs, deserts would all be in one state!
Well, I really enjoyed the solitude of being in the car, driving hours away to national parks and exploring what they had to offer. I feel like if I went with someone else, I wouldn’t have had the same experience.
I enjoyed every minute of my solo trip. From walking around downtown SLC, driving through Utah, exploring national parks, and vlogging of course, it was such an experience. Especially when you’re in public vlogging, it’s not easy getting out there in front of the camera. When I vlog with certain friends, I just feel embarrassed even though I shouldn’t be but I can’t help it. However, I was on my own and no one could lessen my confidence with vlogging. Never in my life would I think I’d be capable of doing something like that on my own.
If you haven’t checked out my other blog post on my 3 Day Solo Trip Itinerary in Utah, then click on the link and check that out. I outline what I did in Utah on each day of my trip. It’ll give you a better picture of what I did while solo traveling.
My Thoughts On Solo Traveling
Now that my first solo trip is said and done, I can now reflect on my overall experience. Overall, it was an amazing but tiring experience. I mean, driving to and from Zion NP took about 9 hours, not to mention all the driving I did within the park. Plus walking through Arches and SLC, I was physically exhausted by the end of the trip.
Needless to say, I’d do it again if I had the chance. Although it was physically tiring, mentally it was amazing and freeing. Having all that freedom was something I was craving for, something I didn’t know I really wanted until I went out on my own.
Do I still like traveling with others? Of course I do! If my friends, family or boyfriend want to travel somewhere, I’d be more than happy to travel with them. Yet, solo traveling gives you a different kind of satisfaction and happiness that traveling with others can’t produce.
I mentioned earlier that when I travel with others I have a lot of anxiety. I get very anxious and this is something that’s always happened with me when I’m traveling with others. However, when I solo traveled, I didn’t really get as anxious as I normally get. There was some anxiety, I just get anxious when I think about the worst case scenario or things not going according to plan (like when I couldn’t find parking in Zion National Park).
Solo Traveling Helped My Travel Anxiety
After taking this solo trip, I’ve realized that the primary reason why I get anxious is because of my inability to control other people’s behaviors or actions. I’m not necessarily a control freak but if we’re trying to travel and follow an itinerary, I like having things in place and done ahead of time to ensure we can account for unexpected things. But when you’re with others, you can’t control their actions or thoughts. There’s more room for error, arguments, and other problems.
An example of this was when I traveled with my friends Steph, Dayana and her fiancé to Orlando. I didn’t mention this experience in my blog post though. When there was about 10 minutes left for the flight to boarding, Dayana and her fiancé left the gate area to go walk around. Steph and I were angry. By the time they had called our group, and subsequent groups after that, they were still nowhere to be found. My anxiety went through the roof and I literally walked onto the plane without them. Don’t worry, they caught the flight just in time.
Things like that, where I have no control over it, trigger my anxiety. It effects everyone in the group and it prevents us from doing things while traveling. However, when I solo traveled, I relied on myself and no one else. This decreased my travel anxiety and gave me confidence in my abilities as a traveler.
Final Thoughts On Solo Traveling
At the end of the day, I’d solo travel again. I have plans for more solo trips throughout this year. I think solo traveling is great and everyone should give it a try at some point. On the other hand, it’s not for everyone and that’s ok. But it’s something you wouldn’t know if its right for you unless you try it.
I loved solo traveling. I can foresee myself taking more solo trips in the future. An experience like this is so eye opening and that’s a good thing. That’s how you grow as an individual. Like with my travel anxiety, that’s something I didn’t think about until I got out of my comfort zone. Had I not solo traveled, I wouldn’t have learned something new about myself.
In addition, it was amazing getting out of my comfort zone and trying something new. I doubted myself and my abilities because I didn’t think I had what it took to plan out a whole trip. I’m never underestimating myself again. I’m looking forward to my future solo trips here in the USA and eventually, abroad as well.
Overall, I had a great time, I grew as a person, saw different things and created new experiences and memories.
Congrats on your first solo trip! This was such an inspiring piece to read and I’m so glad you gave solo travel a try and enjoyed your experience. I can definitely understand how it’d be tiring with all that time driving and hiking around the park. That’s so interesting that you found solo travel less anxiety-inducing; I think I’m the same way. When I travel with more people, I get stressed about whether or not everyone is enjoying themselves, following the itinerary, running late, etc. When it’s just me, there’s less to worry about and my actions only have consequences for me. That’s such an interesting way of thinking about it and I totally relate!
Thank you! Traveling solo opens your eyes and mind to things you never would have thought about before. It’s such a learning experience and I think any solo traveler is grateful for that. And I’m glad to see I’m not alone with travel anxiety lol, other people stress me out too much. Thank you for reading my post, I appreciate the support ❤️
I always travel solo and love it. Yes, I’ve travelled with friends and loved ones and it’s been fun but it can be frustrating.
The worst part is they want to go see/do things I have no interest in whatsoever. Whilst I agree to go/do it to help compromise and understand their need for it, I find they often don’t always reciprocate when its my turn I end up leaving them for part of the trip to go/see my stuff.
When you are on a time-strict trip and especially when it is a once-in-a-lifetime trip, as mine often are, you can’t afford to not do what you have gone there for.
A list of what each person wants to see/do beforehand is helpful I find and we agree what to see collectively and individually. That helps I find…
I agree that solo traveling is amazing, I’d love to do it more! And I definitely agree with those points when it comes to traveling with others. There’s so much room for problems that sometimes traveling solo is more beneficial. Thanks for reading!
I completely agree with your thoughts on solo travel. I’ve done it now and get way less anxious than when traveling with others. I still love traveling with other people too, but I think it’s important to plan the right solo journey. For me, I’d do a solo trip where there’s a lot of driving but I’d probably prefer to do that one with someone and do more city breaks or relaxation vacations by myself. Seems like you had a great time though, congrats on your first solo adventure
I agree that the right solo trip will make a difference! Certain places I feel like it would be better or more fun with others than traveling on your own. But if others are unable to travel with me to that specific location I won’t let that stop me! Thank you for reading the post, I appreciate it!
That’s awesome that you’ve done your first solo trip. I think everyone should do at least one in their lifetime. I agree, it has its advantages and disadvantages- but good to know it hasn’t deterred you from doing it again.
Absolutely, I’m looking forward to taking more in the future!
It looks like this was great fun and adventure. Lovely places and escaping the daily grind.
It certainly was, loved every minute of it!
Congratulations on your first solo trip! I definitely feel the same about being less anxious when I travel solo – I mostly worry that they won’t enjoy what we’re doing or that they’ll be disappointed in something. I’m lucky enough that my sister and I are great travel partners – but we both still love our solo travel time too! I can’t wait to get back to solo travel again.
Thank you! It’s so amazing knowing that feeling you get from solo traveling, it makes life better. Thank you for reading my post.
Congratulations!
Thank you! I appreciate it
Solo travel is definitely a must for everyone, while I love traveling with my fiance, family and friends there is something about being alone on the road that just creates a whole different envirenment and nothing beats it.
I absolutely agree, being by yourself and traveling is just amazing! I can’t wait for my other solo trip later on this year
Very courageous. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you ❤️
I was very inspired by your solo trip to Utah. I am thinking of doing the same thing. I tend to get anxiety when I get lost, so I’m trying not to think about losing my cell service. Also running out of gas is another anxiety. I might start in Salt Lake City and then stay somewhere in Moab. Thanks for your great blog. I enjoyed reading it.
Thank you so much, I appreciate it! And that’s awesome to hear! I understand all the anxiety around traveling, especially to areas where there’s little to no cell service and which are so out of the way that it’s hard to get things if needed. It’s part of the challenge but it’s what helps us to grow and learn to manage our anxiety. You’ll love Moab, it’s so beautiful!