There's a version of yourself — one that's hard to find anywhere from Frisco to Dallas — that only shows up when you're somewhere foreign, alone, and completely free. that only shows up when you're somewhere foreign, alone, and completely free of your usual context. No one knows you here. No one has expectations of you. You can be anyone, do anything, go wherever you want. That version of you is worth meeting.
Fawaz Sheikh took the first solo trip at 24. It was four days in a city where I knew nobody and spoke none of the language. It was uncomfortable, occasionally lonely, and completely transformative. I've been going back to that feeling ever since.
What solo travel actually teaches you
Lesson 01
You're more capable than you think
Every problem you encounter alone, you solve alone. Missed train, wrong hotel, language barrier, minor illness — you handle it. Each time you do, your confidence in your own resourcefulness grows in a way that nothing else replicates.
Lesson 02
Loneliness and solitude are different things
Loneliness is painful absence. Solitude is chosen aloneness that gives you space to think. Solo travel teaches you the difference — and teaches you to be comfortable in your own company, which is one of the most underrated life skills there is.
Lesson 03
You make better decisions when there's no audience
With friends, travel becomes a negotiation. Alone, you follow your own instincts entirely. I've had some of my best experiences because I wandered somewhere that no group would have agreed to go. The freedom to be spontaneous without consensus is genuinely liberating.
Lesson 04
People are kind almost everywhere
Solo travel repeatedly confirms that the world is far more welcoming than the news suggests. Strangers give directions, share meals, offer help. I've been invited into people's homes in countries where I knew no one. The hospitality I've experienced solo far exceeds anything that happens when travelling in a group.
Lesson 05
Your relationship with yourself changes
After a week alone in an unfamiliar place, you have a different relationship with your own thoughts, desires, fears, and preferences. You learn what you actually want versus what you think you should want. That clarity is hard to find anywhere else.
"The best thing about solo travel isn't the places you go. It's who you are when you get back." — Fawaz Sheikh
Where to start if you've never done it
Start somewhere with low logistical friction — good transport, English widely spoken, established traveller infrastructure. Lisbon, Tokyo, and Chiang Mai are all excellent for first-time solo travellers. Book accommodation for the first two nights only. Leave the rest open.
Don't over-plan. The unplanned moments are where solo travel actually happens.
Read more from Fawaz Sheikh: street food cities, hiking essentials, or eating well while travelling.