Solo Travel - It's Good for Your Soul

How often do you hang out and do things with yourself?

I can hear you now. I don't have time for that, or I need to be around people. I get it, but I also think there's real benefit in trying. I'm not always rolling solo, but I've gone out to eat alone, tried the movies by myself, even hit a few food festivals solo. Still, there's always that one thing you want to try that fear talks you out of. And once fear kicks in, procrastination isn't far behind.

For a while, that one thing for me was solo travel. And once I finally did it, I was hooked.

I've taken solo trips to Curaçao, Aruba, and the Dominican Republic, plus solo staycations right here in Florida, and every single one gave me something I didn't know I needed. Time to wake up when I feel like it. Space to journal and actually hear my own thoughts. I come back with more clarity, more confidence, a quiet pride in knowing I can figure things out on my own.

I still think about that solo trip to Aruba, so many years ago. I'd been to the island before, so I was already familiar with it. I researched my hotel and went in with one goal: spend time relaxing on the beautiful, clear-water beach every single day. No one to check in with, no plans to coordinate. It was just me, chilling on the beach with the realization that I was completely fine enjoying my own company. I even booked a tour to explore the island and visited places I'd never come across on my previous trips.

It's been about a year and a half since my last solo trip to the Dominican Republic, right before I started a new job. Since then, I've been traveling plenty with family and friends, meaningful and fulfilling trips. But there's a difference between a trip with people you love and a trip that's just for you. Lately, I've felt that pull again, thinking through where to go next: maybe a solo cruise, a wellness resort... anything is possible.

If you've ever thought about solo travel and fear is holding you back, I get it. I've been there. But solo travel isn't just a checkmark on a bucket list. It's simply good for your soul.

When people say they could never travel alone, I don't think it's really about logistics. It's the fear of being lonely in a place where no one knows you. It's "what if something happens and there's no one there?" It's wondering what people will think of a woman eating dinner alone. I've felt all of it. I've had people watch me at dinner, and honestly, I had just as much fun watching them back. I've even had women tell me they dream of traveling alone someday. Every time I took a trip, the fear proved itself wrong.

If solo travel seems daunting, begin with small steps, just as I did. Make a list of activities you can do alone, such as dining out solo, attending a paint-and-sip class, purchasing a day pass at a hotel, or spending a night at a nearby spa hotel. These experiences act as practice, helping you build confidence for the real trips.

When you're prepared to go further, here's my approach to planning your solo trip:

Purpose

First things first, I clarify why I'm going. Defining your purpose upfront makes the trip worth it. Ask yourself what you need most right now:

• Creating your own schedule, without having to work around anyone else's plans
• Pure relaxation, because sometimes you're stressed, overwhelmed, and just need to get away from everyone
• Working on a personal project, such as your blog, a book, or your own business (especially if you've got writer's block)
• Getting to know yourself a little better through reflection and by aligning with your faith
• Meeting new people along the way
• Having a good time and genuinely having fun, because that matters too

Safety

As a woman traveling alone, especially when loved ones worry about me, safety is always my top priority. Here's what I research before booking anything:

• Which area to stay in. Don't just take someone else's word for it; do your own research
• Prefer a hotel, a condo resort, or an Airbnb, whichever gives you the right balance of comfort and independence
• A reputable transportation company, ideally a round-trip shuttle from the airport straight to the hotel
• A beach on property, or an easy shuttle to one nearby
• Restaurants and bars close by
• Tours through the concierge desk, Viator, or TripAdvisor, so I'm not figuring it out solo once I land, unless you like to be spontaneous, which is what happened to me in Curaçao after I met a few ladies from New York and we rented a car to explore the island
• Enroll in STEP (the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program) through the State Department, so someone official knows where you are in case of an emergency
• Travel insurance, because you want to be covered if a trip gets interrupted or something unexpected happens

Checking these off gives me peace of mind. Worst-case scenario, I never even have to leave the property if I don't want to.

Live Your P.T.O. Lifestyle

This is all about you. How can you plan a solo trip that feeds your soul?

• Live in the moment and be truly present, a practice many of us neglect
• Embrace the journey instead of rushing through it
• Immerse yourself in the culture, connect with people, savor the local food, and appreciate what makes each place unique
• Simply enjoy your own company

That's what feeds your soul. Not the flight or the hotel, but what you carry home after a few days of listening to yourself.

Coming Home

I've been grateful enough to keep coming back to this, a handful of solo trips now, all planned around purpose, safety, and living my P.T.O. Lifestyle. Every single one has fed my soul and has taught me something new, and I'm already dreaming about the next one, maybe a solo cruise, maybe a wellness resort.

So if that one thing on your list is a solo trip and fear keeps talking you out of it, remember: every minute counts. Why waste those minutes on fear when you could be using them to live the life you actually want?

So tell me, if you took a solo trip tomorrow, where would you go? Or what's the one thing still holding you back? Drop it in the comments; I'd love to hear it.

Written by,

Tashi Payne