When it comes to seeing the world, some people don't want to wait for someone to go with.
Burned out by the stresses of work and life, more and more individuals are traveling solo to take a break and reconnect with themselves, especially millennials and Gen Z, as Business Insider previously reported.
From startup founders and finance bros to parents and social workers, individuals across backgrounds are getting in on the solo travel trend.
I've been at it for a while. Since I began working as a reporter in NYC seven years ago, I've traveled to 10 countries, three Canadian provinces, and dozens of cities and suburbs across the US all by myself.
Traveling solo is my norm, and I love it, but it certainly took some getting used to. Being alone in a new place can be daunting for first-timers. That's why I recommend one thing to everyone who is even considering traveling by themselves — practice.
Be a tourist in your own city
So, how do you practice for a solo trip? Treat your city like a destination. Explore it on your own. Get used to planning and executing days of activities and excursions without anyone else to rely on.
You can start small by visiting ticketed tourist attractions, so most of the planning is done for you. For example, before I started traveling solo, I visited observation decks atop New York City's tallest buildings.
Then I started planning more independently. I'd spend a whole day exploring one neighborhood. I even got creative by mapping out my own themed walking tours. I spent one day visiting the skinniest homes in the five boroughs, and another photographing historic carriage houses across the city. One December, I visited the iconic shooting locations from my favorite Christmas movie, "Elf."
I've also taken day trips to nearby off-the-beaten-path attractions, like an abandoned castle on the Hudson River and a Civil War fortress in Queens.
All of these excursions prepared me for weeklong solo trips in the US, Canada, and Europe, which included visiting multiple cities and traveling by train.
If you live in a suburb or rural area, your solo practice trip may look a little different than mine.
Maybe you'll visit a roadside attraction you pass by every morning on the way to work but have never seen up close. Perhaps you'll look up local events in your area, like a poetry slam at a coffee shop or a fitness class in the park. Or maybe you'll finally get to things you've never had time for, like a stroll through a farmers market or community garden. Rural residents may want to explore a nearby state or national park on a weekday, when the trails are less busy.
Try out new restaurants, visit quirky museums, or get a day pass to a country club, resort, or spa. If you're anxious about staying in hotels alone, book a stay so close to your house that you could drive there in the middle of the night if you really wanted to.
Whether you are intimidated by planning itineraries, navigating new neighborhoods, or simply spending time by yourself, facing your solo travel fears locally will prepare you to handle these challenges anywhere.
Facts Only
* Individuals travel solo to take a break and reconnect with themselves.
* The solo travel trend is particularly noted among millennials and Gen Z.
* Travelers include startup founders, finance bros, parents, and social workers.
* One individual traveled to 10 countries, three Canadian provinces, and dozens of US cities/suburbs alone.
* To prepare for solo travel, one should practice by treating the home city as a destination.
* Practice involves exploring local attractions independently, such as visiting ticketed sites or creating themed tours.
* Examples of local practice include exploring neighborhoods, mapping walking tours, visiting specific homes, and visiting historic locations.
* Day trips to nearby attractions like abandoned castles or forts are suggested for practice.
* Rural residents can explore local roadside attractions, community events, or parks.
* Accommodation booking should prioritize proximity to home for comfort.
Executive Summary
Full Take
The narrative frames solo travel as a necessary antidote to societal burnout, positioning independent experience not just as leisure but as essential self-preparation for navigating life's challenges. The core mechanism suggested is the externalization of anxiety: by mastering small, localized uncertainties—like planning an urban exploration or managing local logistics—individuals build internal resilience applicable to larger, unknown environments like international travel. This process transforms abstract fear into concrete, manageable skills.
The emphasis on "practice" implies that solo travel anxiety stems less from the act of being alone and more from a deficit in practical agency regarding planning and navigation. The model suggests that confronting local unknowns sequentially—starting with familiar territory before scaling to the unfamiliar—is the optimal psychological pathway for achieving cognitive sovereignty over future experiences.
The implicit assumption is that mastery of the mundane prepares one for the monumental. This pattern operates by reframing travel fears not as risks associated with external environments, but as solvable logistical problems rooted in localized experience. The implication is that true resilience is built incrementally through controlled exposure, suggesting that self-reliance in large endeavors mirrors self-reliance in small, domestic explorations.
Bridge Questions: What specific cognitive shifts occur when an individual successfully navigates a small local exploration versus a large international one? How does the societal pressure to conform to shared travel narratives influence the perceived value of solo experience? If the goal is true cognitive sovereignty, how can we decouple the need for external validation (shared experiences) from the development of internal planning capacity?