How to overcome the fear of travelling alone

Fear stops many people from aiming for what they want in life. We need to stop letting fear rule our decisions. Staying in our comfort zone is going to teach us far less about what we are capable of in comparison with stepping outside it. For those travel dreamers out there, lets overcome the fear of travelling alone!

Of course, money and commitments are very much real issues for many people so I do realise that travel is not possible for everyone. However, a lot of people who dream of travel are more than capable of it. Although, many people are able to travel but use their committments as excuses. This is often simply due to the fear of travelling alone causing doubts to start appearing.

The fear of travelling alone leaves you with many ‘what ifs’ –

• What if I run out of money?
• What if I get lost?
• What if I’m assaulted?
• What if I get ill?
• What if lose something important?
• What if I feel completely alone?
• What if I don’t make any friends?

I could go on and on. However, the ‘whats ifs’ above are what I think of as negative ‘what ifs’. So, how about the positive ‘what ifs!?’ –

• What if I make money while travelling?
• What if I come across the most amazing places?
• What if I help people and communities along the way?
• What if I try lots of new food?
• What if I have life transforming experiences?
• What if I grow in confidence?
• What if I make life-long friends?
• What if I have the best time of my life?

Don’t let negative thoughts make you scared to travel alone –

It is far too easy to slip into a negative mindset. This allows us to make excuses not to do the things that scare us. Anxiety about travelling alone is real but it is entirely possible to overcome the fear of travelling alone! I have conqured it and am currently living in France for a few months while working online. I’m relishing in all the boulangeries, idyllic cafes, their tasty restaurants and exploring all the sights. Every day, I feel confidence in my ability to travel alone continue to grow.. Read on to find out my advice on how to stop being afraid to travel alone.

1. Imagine yourself travelling

Do you often find that you dream about travelling? Then, in that case, you already know you want to do it. Like many things in life, if you want to do something then generally you give it a go. But because travelling alone feels like such an enormous thing to start, people develop a fear of travelling alone.

Picture yourself at your dream destinations. Do you want to go on a safari? Then imagine yourself on one. Use this feeling of excitement and passion to push through with your dream travel plans. Positivity will hugely help to keep you moving forward with your plans. Just as things can go wrong, they can also go phenomenally well! So rather than focusing on the negatives, focus on the positives of travel.

To help make this image clearer, make a vision board. Gather pictures of places you dream of travelling abroad too. Organise them in a sort of collage. Look at this whenever you need a motivational boost!

When you have moments of doubt, simply remember all the travel dreams you have.

2. Take small steps to overcoming the fear of travelling alone

If you dream of travel to a faraway foreign place, you don’t necessarily need start with this plan. Stepping out of your comfort zone is not easy.

So how about starting with a small trip and building up towards heading to your dream destinations. Taking small trips is a great way towards feeling capable of leaving your comfort zone. You could spend a weekend in a nearby city and gradually increase the length and distance of your trips.

Although, if you are very new to doing anything alone then I recommend doing a 30 day comfort zone challenge. Start with solo trips to the cinema, solo dinner dates and walks alone.

Before you know it, you will be on that Safari in Africa! You will start to realise that the magic happens outside your comfort zone!

With each solo trip, you will feel your self-confidence start to increase. Over time you will have fewer doubts. These trips will help to quash the negative thoughts in your mind. You will start to find yourself simply accepting that possible negative experiences might happen but rather than worrying about them. Take small steps and positivity will start to rule your mind!

3. DOn’t fear travelling alone – You won’t be alone

This is the 21st century. There are so many ways to meet people now, it is actually quite ridiculous!

• There are apps and sites for travellers to meet each other
• Hostels are a great place to meet people
• Attending events in the local area
• Trying out classes – language, cooking etc.
• Using co-working spaces

Most people are a ‘comfort zone fan’ so you will feel alone occasionally. This is normal and to be expected though. In these moments, do something that you would do back home to relax.

Of course, just because there are many ways to make friends, this doesn’t mean it will always happen. However, you will find that you come across like-minded people frequently throughout your travels. During a solo trip to Iceland, a group of us from the hostel went out to the Golden Circle late at night to watch the Auroa Borealis.

In those moments where it feels like your travels are not going well, you are able to contact your friends and family at the touch of a button. So, there really are endless ways to interact with others.

Although travel won’t always feel like a magical trip down Hogsmeade (imagine!), I promise you as someone who needs and enjoys most of their time alone, you will 100% meet people. And the magical thing with travel is that there are usually always like-minded people around. I find that I fit in far more when travelling in comparison with people I’ve met back home. Now home for me feels like where whereever my suitcase and I lay our tired heads but also where my parents and their dog (soon to be dogs) stay too of course.

4. It is possible to earn money while travelling

For those worried about running out of money, you can earn money while travelling or you can simply save by getting free room and board in exchange for work. There are many ways such as –

• Teaching English online
• Housesitting
• Volunteering
• Working in Hostels
• Aupairing
• Get a working-holiday visa

You honestly do not need to worry about money. Travelling can be as cheap or as expensive as you want! Do housesitting long-term while teaching online. All that money saved on rent can be put towards future travels. So, if the travel bug well and truly bites you, then it is entirely possible to travel full-time!

5. You can always return home anytime

Remember that leaving for solo travels does not mean that once you have left, then there’s no point of return. Remind yourself that your home, whether it’s an actual home or just an area you think of as home, will still be there. You can return at any time. Think of this when you have moments of doubt. And remember to look at your vision board!

Wouldn’t you rather attempt your travel plans than live your life wondering ‘what if’? You will never know if you don’t try. If it doesn’t work out, then it’s okay to come back. You don’t even have to tell anyone for a while. You could do a Miranda Hart and stay in the local hotel!

Travel will teach you that you are more capable than you realise! Fear is of course there to keep us safe but living our lives in fear of everything we want to accomplish is not a way to live. We need to follow our dreams! So, for the love of travel, just step out of your comfort zone and go explore the world!