I get a lot of questions when I tell people I travel alone.

“Don’t you get lonely?” “Is it safe?” “How do you meet people?”

People are amazed that I’ve traveled so much by myself. “I couldn’t do, especially for so long.” They say. Yet I wouldn’t do it any other way. Traveling alone was the best travel decision I’ve made and the only way to go if you are traveling long term.

People often assume that solo travel means alone travel. For from it. I meet more people on the road than I ever thought possible. When I left to travel, I was worried that I’d go without meeting people or that it be extremely difficult to make friends. I was wrong on both accounts. I often couldn’t get away from people! I was meeting so many people that it sometimes was friend overload! Even when I wanted some alone time, there was always someone around to chat up. Everyone I met was so friendly that I found it easy to make friends. Travelers make for kindred spirits. I recently got into this conversation with a co-worker, who was worried about this very thing. You meet people I said. You have too. Otherwise, you’ll spend all your time alone. Solo travel forces you out of that bubble.

I met many people who said that when they were traveling with friends they found it harder to meet new people because they had someone to talk to and were less likely to make an effort. Going alone forces you to make new friends otherwise you wander bored and depressed. It brings you out of your shell and forces you to be comfortable saying hello to random strangers and adjust to new situations.

As you meet people on the road, you head to new destinations together. I picked up travel partners everywhere. I found roommates on boats, lifetime friends on beaches, and girlfriends on buses. I was always jetting off to new places with perfect strangers. It’s one of the most enjoyable things about traveling- the ability to constantly interact with people from all over the world. And if I didn’t like who I was with or where I was, I simply moved along.

That is one of the other great advantages of solo travel- flexibility. You go where you want when you want. Don’t like a town? Just leave! Simple. Beautiful. Easy. When you travel alone, you only have to answer to yourself. In away, it can make your more selfish because its all about you but the upside is that you discover you. You discover your likes, dislikes, all you can do, and can’t do. You learn to survive and adapt. You learn to deal with new cultures and calamities. Solo travel is the travel of self reliance.

However, don’t think I never want to travel with people. I travel to meet people, to discover new cultures, and make new friends. Sometimes you want to share that moment or share that adventure with someone. No one wants to always party alone or eat by themselves. But group travel has too many downsides for me. There’s too many opinion, needs, and desires. The larger the group, the worse it is. I rarely ever travel with more than four people. In the end, I always leave home alone, not because I’m a loner…far from it…but because I like to explore the world and on my own terms. I love meeting new travelers and new people but I’d rather set out on that journey alone. Because, isn’t it all about self-discovery anyways?