Why You Should Consider Solo Travel For Self-Care

Traveling solo – no matter how much you love your partner, kids or job – is one of the most restorative things you can do for your self-care practice. I say this as someone who struggles to step away from my husband and mother, for whom I am their caregiver.

Experts suggest additional reasons that solo travel is a great choice for your self-care routine.

No matter what your leadership or caregiving role, you may be susceptible to something called caregiver burnout or responsibility fatigue. When you must make decisions for others on a regular basis, your wellbeing can take a hit.

Taking a solo vacation allows you to step away from this responsibility enabling your mind and body to take a break from the challenges of decision-making. Instead, your responsibilities become keeping yourself fed, clothed, and cared for and nothing else for that short time away.

When you travel with others, you’re required to consider their needs and desires. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, and, for many of us, that’s a good thing. If you’re looking for true self-care, though, taking a step back from accommodating others all the time can help relieve mental exhaustion and offer independence you may lack at other times.

When you travel alone, you can slip into a restaurant and snag a great corner table by the waterfront, take as long as you like meandering the stacks of a glorious library, buy that discounted ticket for a travel activity or dawdle your way through a museum because you feel like it. There’s something incredibly freeing about that.

As you traverse new places, you may find the ability to explore the relationship you have with yourself. You can step away from the people-pleasing and choose your own self-sufficiency and care, looking after your own needs for a change. You’ll learn how to meet your needs first and take care of yourself before attempting to care for others.

When you travel, you naturally break away from routine. Solo travel provides you with new experiences, be that through new relationships, new activities or cultural experiences and even mental challenges as you navigate new spaces and opportunities.

Doing something new creates space for flexible thinking and releases dopamine for both improved cognition and heightened mood. Traveling on your own means you cannot rely on anyone else to provide those changes and, instead, you’ll find yourself exploring change naturally and, with any luck, positively.

Some of the cheapest and safest destinations for solo women travelers include:

• Helsinki, Finland
• Zagreb, Croatia
• Berlin, Germany
• Singapore
• Warsaw, Poland
• Chicago, Illinois
• Madrid, Spain
• Vienna, Austria
• New York City, New York
• Budapest, Hungary

You don’t have to travel as far as Europe for a healthy moment away, though. Try Denver, Austin, Seattle, Portland or Burlington, Vermont to explore nature, culture and lively communities while feeling safe. You could also take on new places you might think are too pricey like San Diego and Miami, which, as it turns out, aren’t so pricey, at least according to Conde Nast.

You don’t need to book yourself an expensive retreat experience, join a tour group or travel beyond state borders to benefit from solo travel. You can book a hotel or cozy bed and breakfast in the next county or hit up the budget tickets you spot on airfare discount sites and go somewhere you’ve always wanted to.

To keep it from putting you out of pocket, plan your trip with some budget-travel tips in mind and then just go and have that break from the responsibilities in life. Be sure to budget a little splurge money for a day at the spa, new adventure or some other exciting adventure.