A Love Letter to Solo Travel

by, Jen Rose Smith

Not long ago I traveled to Istanbul, by myself, with deliciously few plans. I spent afternoons riding the Bosporus ferries between the city’s seaside neighborhoods, sipping tulip glasses of the sweet, tannic tea served on board. Inside the cabins, buskers played Turkish folk songs on slender-necked tanburs. Only when dusk faded the city’s minarets to shadows would I come ashore, in search of a waterfront dinner as leisurely as my day had been.

I savor these solo meals. Each time I’m in Paris, I take myself out: I’ll bring a book and prop my elbows on a bistro’s zinc-topped bar, dining to the balletic murmur of popped corks, clinking silver, and quiet conversation. Even without the addition of a crème au caramel, that sort of night feels like an over-the-top indulgence.

At times I want the world all to myself. Without a companion’s pleasant distraction, new sounds and aromas recalibrate my senses. On many journeys I’ve learned how sweet a little solitude can be, but often, going it alone sparks connections that turn to fast friendships too. After a sunny-faced Parisienne sat beside me in a patisserie, we spent two days swapping stories on the Mekong River in a slow wooden boat.

Researchers have found that spending time alone has the potential to increase creativity, self-exploration, and renewal. And traveling alone is trending, with Google searches for “solo travel” having grown steadily in the past five years. Companies are responding to the demand, offering special pricing and trips catered to solo travelers. Some travelers are seeking a grand adventure; others see alone time as a lavish gift to themselves.

“Traveling by myself has an element of luxury, I didn’t feel obligated to look out for someone else. I did whatever I wanted, ordered room service when I wanted. I engaged with other people, but I spent a lot of time by myself.”

For many, seeking that kind of solitude may feel like unfamiliar territory. Booking a table for one can be intimidating, much less traveling across an ocean. For the solo-curious, a little might go a long way. Planning an afternoon alone in an unfamiliar neighborhood is a good place to start, while group trips catering to solo travelers offer the best of both worlds.

Wherever you find it, the benefits of such time alone can linger. When you’re by yourself, emotional chatter – what experts call “activation” – begins to ease, says psychologist Thuy-vy Nguyen, who studies solitude at Durham University in the UK. “That leaves space for calm and relaxation. When we go into a state of solitude, it’s like hitting a reset button.”

Solo travel can be a reset, or even a kind of chapter break, an unwritten page hinting that your story might soon take an unexpected turn. A few years ago, I spent a long weekend alone in Vienna one night catching a spellbinding performance of Handel’s Alcina amid the Vienna State Opera’s gilded grandeur. At intermission, I drifted toward the bar alongside elegant attendees. Then I slipped away by myself. Bubbly in hand, I followed a sweeping marble staircase down to a vaulted lobby, luxuriating in my fleeting solitude, happily alone in the crowd until the music struck up once more.