If you’ve ever wondered to yourself, ‘Should I travel solo?’ then I have news for you. It’s going to change you, in ways you might not be ready for. Here’s a bunch of reasons that you should NOT travel solo.

It’s addicting

My first hit of solo travel was going to work abroad with a bunch of people that I didn’t know. I was hooked right away and started taking day and weekend trips away from my colleagues. My addiction escalated and a few years later I studied abroad with a group of people from around the world that I didn’t know. After graduation, I joined the workforce and I started taking weeklong trips to countries that I didn’t know the language. It got so bad that I started going on extravagant road trips to national parks and even went camping alone.

Now, I am so far down the rabbit hole of solo travel that I book travel before finding anyone to go with. The addiction is real, and if the first step is to admit that I have a problem, then group travel is simply not a rehab program that I’m interested in.

You’ll experience too much

I hear people say that they don’t want to solo travel because they’ll get lonely. While I understand that it’s easy to confuse being alone with being lonely, I have to object. Loneliness means that you’re seeking conversation, and conversation means a new experience with a new person.

Because I stay in hostels and take tours in English, it’s pretty rare that I go longer than I want to without having a great conversation with someone. Once you learn to start conversations with other travelers and locals, the whole travel experience changes!

When it comes to other travelers, I find it super easy to strike up conversations! Most of the time, when you meet another solo traveler, they welcome the conversation. I was traveling on my own and stayed in a hostel on Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. The hostel had community breakfast and I sat at a table with people from 5 countries and mentioned that I’d like to hike to the next town over that day. One guy asked if he could join me, and we have traveled to 3 countries together since then!

Locals will appreciate you speaking with them as well, and are typically super helpful. I remember asking for directions one time in Cyprus and it turned in to a dinner invite with the person’s entire family. If I’d been traveling with a friend and not been dependent on asking other people questions, I would never have experienced a traditional Cypriot family meal.

Do NOT solo travel if you’re not looking for new, unique experiences.

It will affect your mental health

Do you struggle to find confidence in yourself? Do you lack gratitude for what the rest of the world has to offer? Then definitely DON’T travel solo.

Traveling solo puts you in situations that will challenge you. I was once left without a flight home from Hong Kong and had no idea what to do. The same thing happened to me in Lebanon another time. I once thought I had a broken foot in Croatia and had an infected ear in Thailand. I’ve had to figure my way out of situations many times and it is exhausting. It left me more confident in my abilities and more mentally resilient than I could have imagined.

Not only that, but being outside of my comfort zone brought me a deep appreciation for both where I’ve visited and where I am from. Before visiting the Middle East, I only knew what I had seen on the news. I still chose to visit, but only because I had friends of friends that were going to hold my hand the whole time. While there, I camped and ate the most amazing food of my life. I saw what was behind the news-created curtain, and I developed keen gratitude for the freedoms that my passport allows.

You’ll be forced into doing things you aren’t ready for

Oh, so you’re not looking to grow as a person? Great, then don’t travel solo. Because let me tell ya, I have had to do some things that I was not ready for.

Did I want to have to figure out the Paris metro system without cell service? Nope, but I did because I didn’t know I could buy a SIM card. Was I comfortable asking strangers for help with my Duolingo level Arabic? Nope, but it was my only option. Did I want to jump off a cliff? No, but I did because I was in the Mediterranean and felt silly saying no. Was I ready to say goodbye to the amazing people that I learned to surf with? No, but life moves on and so did I.

Traveling, especially solo traveling, will put you into situations that you can’t plan for. Which leads me to my final point…

It will leave you changed

If you like who you are right now, then definitely don’t take off on a solo adventure. You will come back with stories that people might not relate with, and you won’t have a person by your side to reminisce with. In fact, the people that you share the memories with might be a Facebook message and a world away.

You will not come back from solo travel as the same person. Things that felt intimidating before you left will seem trivial now. You might find yourself going to dinner alone or striking up conversations with strangers.

The bottom line

If you’re not looking for a new addiction that makes you a more interesting person, then don’t solo travel. It will only leave you worse for the wear – you’ll become a more resilient, educated, outgoing version of yourself. And really, who wants that?