As a solo travel expert, I can say the surprising benefits of solo travel are too many to mention in one blog post. But trust me, traveling alone is the gift that keeps on giving, and giving and giving.

Think of Santa Claus after a glass of wine too many when he’s mistaken your 1 gift for 1, 000, 000!

Imagine the Fairy Godmother whose magic wand has been dipped in Irish luck and she’s sprinkling you in happy dust.

Visualize Harrods on Valentine’s Day and you’ve won access to the entire store and its personal shoppers to chauffeur your luxury gifts around as you quaff the finest champagne.

Solo travel will give you all those feelings and more!

So what can solo travel give you that a relationship, Chanel handbag, and Netflix can’t?

Well, let me start by saying I can see the benefits of a tall, dark, handsome piece of eye candy to fall in love with. I can also see why my penchant for Chanel lipsticks gives me a buzz. I love to pop on a new layer in the mornings. And, I can see, with the best of them, why I can enjoy a night curled up on the sofa. It’s fun to be glued to the entire series of Emily in Paris. But, if I pause and ask myself why does anyone want any of these, the answer is one reason and one reason only. It’s the feelings they create inside of us.

Don’t get me wrong. I’ve nothing against any love interest. And a girl can always hope a 007 type is going to cross her solo travel path and whisk her off her feet. However as the world is rapidly changing and how people want to live, one thing has become more dominant than ever before. That is the freedom to live life in a way where you can be 100% yourself.

So cool those jets. It doesn’t mean the end of handbag shopping, Mr. Right and ‘Emily in Paris 3’! It just means what we once thought of as aspirational is beginning to change. A plus-one may be part of the life you want and that’s ok but heh, it’s not the be-all and end-all for many.

Besides, isn’t it best to become the best version of you to attract the best one for you if that’s what you dream of? Like attracts like. ALWAYS.

And why not head off on an adventure of a lifetime solo traveling and show that ‘future soul mate ‘ what a badass babe you really are for being so daring. Even married women can spice things up if they want to and do the same. It’s exceptionally healthy.

Most of us know that indescribable feeling of falling in love with someone when you meet for the first time. Butterflies arrive in the tummy in droves having the party of all parties. Once tasted, you want to stay that way forever and never come down.

And then there is unrequited love which seems to last the longest. Do you look at photos of Jason Statham and just melt. He has probably made you feel that way for years. And isn’t it funny when you’re dating someone and get to see their little nuances. Butterflies start to leave one by one albeit you still love them, yet Jason is still going strong?

Is it the same with a Chanel handbag? or in my case lipstick? Women LOVE handbags and want to feel like a Cindy Crawford strutting their stuff along the street. We want onlookers to see that iconic CC logo. Why? Because it makes them feel good! Yet, after a few months, Coco seems to have lost her sparkle and is playing wall art in the closet. (and like the little Duracell bunny, solo travel memories will still be going on and on beating Coco to a pulp).

And Netflix, well, I watched Emily In Paris like millions. I just loved how it had me in that faraway dream world of imagination. I know that it takes people into feel-good escapism but you too can have that life if you wish and feel good without leaving it at the door of an unrealized dream.

So how do the surprising benefits of solo travel fit in?

The surprising benefits of solo travel will create all of those feelings and MORE. Why? Because everything we do in life is for the feeling, doesn’t it make sense that solo travel is going to give you newness, adventure, and excitement and last a lifetime? It’s going to wow you and wow you and wow you. Plus you don’t need the budget of a Chanel handbag to do it.

Solo travel is the relationship you have with the real you. You have most likely heard the saying ‘’ a rolling stone gathers no moss’’. This is so true. When I lived in South America, I felt like the shiniest stone ever and moss-free the whole time I was there. I felt for the first time since childhood like the real me. It felt like I belonged. It felt like I’d always been there and was one of the locals. I was in heaven and I was home!

I can still feel today that high when I’d just arrived in South America and was excited in a way I’d never known before. It was even though I lived an adventurous life in the UK. South America is passionate with a capital P and the people are the energy at its heart. When you taste that passion, you want it more and more and more.

When you solo travel, it truly brings out the best in you. You feel levels of emotion you most likely never knew were even in you.

At times, some people don’t want to experience that kind of feeling out of fear in case they can’t sustain it at home. But wouldn’t you rather taste a life of extraordinary than ordinary?

Amusingly, the Chanel handbag will give you the greatest amount of pleasure just before you buy it. The excitement is of going to the shop and holding it. It’s also the build-up and anticipation as you walk around with it, and men watching you look like a babe with it.

And just as you part with the money and have it in your paws, that process of newness changes, and the exhilaration will go down little by little. Not immediately but it’s just the fact of the body’s pleasure make-up. The honeymoon period stopwatch has started. So enjoy it, savor it, and love it while anticipating the next purchase. The same is true of relationships. Isn’t the anticipation of a kiss often more thrilling than the kiss itself? The lead-up will often be the thing you think of the most too.

If you haven’t heard of solo travel, or think it’s only for single people, then get ready for the next big trend. With 6.6 million #solotravel on Instagram, it is climbing fast. I’d be bold enough to say it’s going to take the world by storm. This is particularly going to be in the USA where it’s not as much of a thing as with Europeans.

Solo travel will take your breath away. The people you see take your breath away. The food takes your breath away. And just as you’re feeling satisfied, a new surprise comes and it just keeps on coming like you’re on this never-ending happy wheel. That was my experience of South America and a place I felt more at home in than any other country.

Solo travel, truth be told, is one XL honeymoon where you’re in your own Netflix series bringing imagination to life. One thing that’s certain is the memories of solo travel will last a lifetime long after the handbag has been confined to a dust bag. Sorry Coco!

And who knows, as you solo travel, there may well be a Jason at the end of the rainbow just waiting for you in the most perfect place imaginable. PS when you come home, you’ll never be the same again. And that my friend is what I call living wanderfully.

So you may be asking how do I start traveling alone and find out about the benefits of solo travel myself. If you want to know how to plan your very first solo travel adventure, please click here on Solo Travel Masterclass to find out more.

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