Traveling does something unexplainable to our minds and souls. When experiencing wild, weird and foreign people and places, we’re often filled with wonder and joy and the cravings to seek out more of these experiences is insatiable.
When traveling alone, the feeling intensifies. Without anyone to distract you, you’re able to really take in the moment, however fleeting it is.
It’s often difficult to put these emotions into words, but like-minded travelers around the world have come up with some great quotes that really encapsulate the experience of solo traveling as a whole.
Let’s have a look at some of the best travel alone quotes for solo travelers!
1. “Dare to live the life you’ve dreamed for yourself.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you grow up in a society that measures success with jobs and wealth, it’s sometimes hard to break out of that mindset. If you’re an individual who isn’t happy with just chasing paper or the next role up at work, don’t feel like you have to.
Do what makes you happy. Take that leap. Dare to go out and live the life that you want.
2. “I always wonder why birds choose to stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on earth. Then I ask myself the same question.” – Harun Yahya
Like many birds, people tend to feel comfortable where their roots are.
But why stay in one place when you can experience all corners of the earth?
3. “To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the most pleasant sensations in the world” – Freya Stark
For anyone who has solo traveled before, this quote should spark something inside of you.
When you’re enjoying your own company, in a strange place, free from the perceptions and judgment of other people, it’s liberating. The unknown is at your fingertips and you can go out and do whatever you want.
4. “Solo travel not only pushes you out of your comfort zone, it also pushes you out of the zone of others’ expectations” – Suzy Strutner
We’ve all been at the mercy of other peoples’ expectations and judgements at some point in our lives. The joy of solo traveling though, is that once you push all that aside, you’re guaranteed an amazing time, incredible memories and pride in yourself that you’ve not let others dictate your decisions.
5. “Don’t live the same year 75 times and call it a life.” – Robin S. Sharma
When you look back at the life you’ve lived so far, the first memories that jump at you are probably the ones you’ve had peak experiences in.
Breaking the cycle of jumping through hoops to the next ‘expected’ stage of your life and traveling solo will be an adventure you’ll remember for life.
6. “You never really travel alone; the world is full of friends waiting to get to know you.” – Unknown
One of the most insane experiences when traveling alone is the idea that you could actually meet your soulmate. As with all friends that you have now, think about the time before you got to know them…they were strangers, right?
That’s the perception you should have of people you meet whilst traveling; first strangers, now friends, and then who knows what the future might hold?
7. “Only those who do not climb mountains ask why people climb them. For those who climb, the answer is both obvious and impossible to explain. The everyday concerns of livelihood, of social standing, overdue bills, and futureless romance all fall away before the vast and overwhelming absolute of the mountain. ” Paul Watkins
Have you ever stood at a place, surrounded by a landmark or monument so big, it made you feel like an ant? When all your worries just wash away and your problems just disappear; when all you’re thinking about is just how big the universe is and that you’re just a tiny speck of existence?
When you feel that moment of realisation that your troubles are momentary and you can overcome them with the right mindset?
Paul Watkins gets it!
8. “When the traveler goes alone he gets acquainted with himself”. – Liberty Hyde Bailey
When you travel solo, you’re spending immense amounts of time alone. You may never have had the opportunity to do so before, since the moment you’re born, you’re surrounded by family and then friends up until the moment you decide to embark on a solo journey.
The experience of being alone with your own thoughts and feelings is a rewarding one, because you eventually find out things about yourself you’ve never known before.
9. “A ship is safe in the harbour, but that’s not what ships are built for”. Gael Attal
You’re always going to feel safe and comfortable in an environment that you’re familiar with, like where you grew up. But is that where you want to spend the rest of your life?
Solo traveling will open your eyes to experiences and places that you’ve never seen or felt before, and you may even find your true calling outside of your comfort zone.
10. “Open your heart to the world. It’ll dazzle you in ways you never thought possible.” – Unknown
The thought of solo traveling is daunting and scary. However, even when you get past that and embark on said solo trip, if you’re always reserved and super cautious, you won’t really get the full experience.
Instead, whilst still keeping safe, open up your heart and your mind to the experience you’re having in the moment. The people, the place, the atmosphere, the vibes – all of it.
11. “Don’t look back. You’re not going that way.” – Unknown
When solo traveling, you’re bound to come across some bad experiences. It could be mugging attempts, lost documents, or your phone running out of batteries at the most inconvenient time. But somehow you made it through and here you are now.
Take the time to appreciate that you’ve overcome these experiences and emerged stronger.
Don’t look back at the past and be more afraid, look ahead and imagine what could be.
12. “Blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventure.” Lovell Drachman
Having a passion and natural curiosity for traveling is a wonderful thing. It will lead you on many adventures, both great and not-so-great, that you would otherwise not be taking if you weren’t naturally inclined to want to see and do new things.
13. “Never hesitate to go far away, beyond all seas, all frontiers, all countries, all beliefs.” – Amin Maalouf
See beyond where you’ve always lived and what’s in front of you. More often than not, adventure is waiting just a flight, or boat ride, away.
14. “You must go on adventures to find out where you belong.” – Sue Fitzmaurice
This is a great “travel alone quote” that speaks to how, sometimes, one can feel like they don’t belong even when they’re surrounded by loved ones.
When you go solo traveling, you’re able to spend time with yourself and only yourself, and you come out on the other side knowing more about yourself than when you left.
You find out where you belong. It may not be physically but more of a mental or spiritual understanding.
15. “I am not the same, having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” – Mary Anne Radmacher
Many solo travelers will agree that after embarking on a lone adventure, they rarely come back to the same person. Experiencing new cultures and seeing the world through your own eyes, all by yourself, challenges your perspective of life in many more ways than you can ever imagine.
You can get coffee at the same place everyday back at home, but after traveling solo around the world, you might learn to appreciate the art of making coffee, the culturally-significant design of the exterior, or the purposefully chosen sustainable furniture.
16. “Loneliness adds beauty to life. It puts a special burn on sunsets and makes night air smell better.” – Henry Rollins
When traveling alone, not every moment will be a big, bright and beautiful adventure. There will be times when you’re feeling wistful and maybe even a little bit lonely.
But it’s those moments that will make your positive experiences even sweeter. It will make you appreciate the small gestures, and the grand; you’ll notice both the beautiful sunsets, and the equally stunning night sky.
17. “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” – Neale Donald Walsch
Many people don’t believe that you’ve truly experienced life until you’ve pushed yourself out of your comfort zone. For some, this may be through trying a new social activity, changing career paths, or moving out.
For others, it’s solo traveling.
Making the decision to travel to a new and unknown country, one where you don’t speak the language and aren’t quite familiar with the culture and people, is one of the most uncomfortable experiences you might ever have – but it’s also the most rewarding you’ll ever have.
18. “Travel far enough to meet yourself.” – Unknown
When you travel solo, you make your own choices. You decide the itinerary, or you can make decisions on the fly. You answer for yourself and you take care of yourself. It’ll come to a point where you find out more about yourself than you ever would if you had just continued living in your comfort zone.
19. “People never learn anything by being told, they have to find out for themselves”. Paulo Coelho
This is quite similar to the famous quote, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime”.
Like many things in life, it’s one thing to read about the wonders of travel and different cultures, but it’s an entirely different thing to actually experience it yourself, especially as a solo traveler.
Eating a foreign dish in a foreign country, meeting people from all around the world, learning to speak a new language – you experiencing all this for yourself is the greatest gift you can give yourself.
20. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain
One of the biggest philosophies in life, and we’ve probably heard it time and time again, is that you’ll regret all those leaps you didn’t take.
You’ll remember all the people you met whilst traveling, the sunrise hikes you did in a foreign country, and the weird and wild food experiences you’d never get back at home.
If you didn’t make that decision to go solo traveling, you might not get the opportunity to do so in the future. We can’t predict what will happen 1,2 or 5 years from now. If the chance presents itself, take the bulls by the horn and go on that adventure. Sail across the seat or fly across the ocean to embark on that solo adventure of a lifetime. Explore. Dream. Discover. You won’t be disappointed.
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These beautiful travel alone quotes all have a special place in our hearts. It reminds us that travel is one of the best things that we can buy to make us richer – richer in experiences, richer in confidence, and richer in happiness.
We hope your feelings of wanderlust have been reignited again after reading this. Happy traveling!
And if you are thinking about your next trip, we listed for you 10 amazing places to visit in South East Asia that you will LOVE!