Life Doesn't Have To Slow Down
As a woman over 50, you might find yourself in a transition period of life. Your kids are grown up, your career is reaching its end, and your relationship with your spouse is changing, or maybe even ending. What now? Have you thought of taking a trip alone? Now, more than ever, women of this age group are embarking on solo travels, whether to reflect and find themselves or just to finally have some well-deserved fun. Here are 20 reasons to travel solo as a woman over 50.
1. You Deserve It
Whether it was childrearing, a career, caring for family members, or feeding the flame of a relationship, you've no doubt given decades of your life to someone or something. Now, it's your time and you deserve to treat yourself to an adventure.
2. Rediscover Yourself
Solo traveling will allow you to re-visit the sides of yourself you might have put on pause while focusing on building a family, career, or other things. Rediscover passions or personality traits that have been dormant.
3. Enjoy Your Freedom
Nothing lets you enjoy your freedom and independence quite like solo traveling. You'll appreciate it even more at this age after spending much of your adult life giving your time to others.
4. Build Your Confidence
Putting yourself out there in new places will help you gain a new-found level of confidence. You'll discover skills and resilience you didn't know you had as you rise to each new challenge.
5. Meet New People
When traveling alone, you're bound to meet new people. Whether these connections are only for a fleeting moment or become long-term friendships, they expand your horizons and give you new perspectives on life.
6. Relieve Your Stress
Solo traveling is oftentimes a lot less stressful than traveling with a group, particularly if you're responsible for others in that group. Go alone and have the least stressful travel experience of your life: just you and yourself, no itinerary, or schedule.
7. Cultural Immersion
When you travel solo, you immerse yourself much more fully in a different culture than if you were traveling with your family or friends. You'll push yourself out of your comfort zone and force yourself to speak a different language or dare to pick up a new custom.
8. It's Empowering
When embracing new adventures independently, you'll reinforce your strength and resilience. This is especially important as societal expectations shift and assumptions about your capabilities as an older woman creep in. Finding your strength can offer some pushback.
9. You'll Do Exactly What You Want
When you're solo traveling, you have no itinerary to follow other than your own. Whether you're someone who likes to go with the flow or pack the day full with scheduled events, you can go at your own speed.
10. Reclaim Your Time
If you're a woman of a certain age, chances are you've devoted much of your time and energy to others, especially if you were a mother. Now is your time. Embrace it!
Christina Deravedisian on Unsplash
11. If Not Now, When?
Picture yourself in 20 or 30 years in the winter of your life. You have a bad hip and can't walk up the stairs properly. Will you regret having traveled or will you regret not having traveled more? We think the latter.
12. Mindfulness
Although you'll be meeting plenty of people while traveling, you'll also end up spending a lot of time alone while solo traveling. These moments of alone time are perfect for practicing mindfulness and self-reflection, helping you feel more in touch with yourself.
13. Challenge Age Stereotypes
By embarking on solo adventures, you're defying societal expectations of what a woman over 50 "should" be doing and proving that life can be vibrant and fun no matter what age you are. Isn't breaking the rules fun?
14. Have Fun
One of the most compelling reasons for solo traveling is that it's just plain fun. Not only will you learn about yourself and others, but you will have a great time in the process too.
15. Live Your Long-Held Dreams
Are there things you always dreamed of doing but never had the chance? Well, this is your moment! Live those dreams and see where it takes you.
16. Set An Example
Embarking on solo adventures will inspire your friends and family. They will see from your pursuits that no matter how old you are, you can seize the day and live life to the fullest.
17. Gain New Skills
From learning foreign languages to local crafts, traveling enriches your knowledge and skills. Solo traveling specifically will push you to new horizons as you can focus your time on these new capabilities as opposed to focusing on the people you're with.
18. Tailored Budgeting
When you travel with friends or family, your budgeting is somewhat at the mercy of those you're with. When you travel alone, you can take charge of your own budget. The more cheaply you travel, the more trips you can budget for.
19. Gain New Perspectives
Entering the latter half of your life is a major life transition. You're probably close to retirement, if you have children, they're likely to be grown-up, and if you have a spouse, the nature of your relationship might be changing. Solo traveling and interacting with different people can help you gain a fresh perspective on these things which will help you more easily grapple with these realities.
20. Enjoy Being Respected
In North America, you might find you feel invisible as a woman over a certain age. Other countries, however, have a different perspective on age. In those places, you'll find yourself being received with respect and admiration.
