There’s this desire in all of us to travel the world and explore beyond our horizons. Live out our Mamma Mia fantasy and say, “life is short, the world is wide, and I want to make some memories.”

However, I think the thing that stops a majority of us from running through the isles of Kalokairi embracing our inner dancing queen is the fact that we might have to do it alone; whether that’s because of lack of interest or scheduling conflicts from a travel partner. In the end, you’re only going to be this young once and if you don’t take the opportunity to travel while you can, you might never be able to.

There are so many benefits to traveling alone. For starters, you can choose where you want to go. I took a trip to Boston this summer, and because I traveled alone, I had the freedom to decide that I wanted to go to the Boston Public Garden first, then go shopping, then go to the Boston Public Library, then go to a coffee shop and so many other places after. Not that you don’t have the freedom to do that if you’re traveling in a group, but in that scenario, you have to make sure a majority, if not all, of the group wants to do that too.

Going off of that, you can choose when you want to visit certain places, and when you want to leave those places. Originally, I planned to be in the garden for 30 minutes at most, but I was jaw-dropped the moment I walked in and stayed for much longer than I should have. With a group or even with just one other person, you would have to discuss when everybody was ready to leave, and most of the time, someone is going to end up compromising.

This next benefit is a little abstract so stick with me on this one. Traveling alone is actually so freeing. Walking through the streets of a city with music playing through your headphones and spontaneously deciding that you’re going to go into a store. Or shop and go to a touristy sight is the most main character thing you can experience.

For tips on how to travel alone, check out this article!