Why I Love To Travel Alone

It all started May last year. I had a week off and was wondering what I should do with it. I really wanted to see the sea again because I haven’t seen it for a while. My older sister and I still had a flight voucher from 2017 because we missed a flight then but that is a different story. So I checked the airline’s website and searched for cheap flights. I found Varna in Bulgaria or Thessaloniki in Greece. So I started looking for cheap accomodations. I found a cheaper one in Varna and was interested in seeing the black sea, that’s why I decided to go there. The thought ‘Should I really travel alone?’ was crossing my mind. But then I thought, ‘Ok girl, you can sit at home alone for a week or you can sit on the beach alone for a week.’ I mean, who wouldn’t choose the beach? It was also new for me to sleep in a hostel but I wanted to save money so I could spend more for other stuff there. But I booked a single-room because at that time I didn’t feel comfortable sleeping together with strangers. So I did it and flew to Varna.

When I arrived there, the hardest part was to get from the airport to the hostel because Varna is a small airport and I couldn’t read the letters neither could I understand the language. I didn’t want to take a taxi which would have been the easiest way because I wanted to save money. Luckily I thought about that before so I wrote the hostel when I booked to tell me the cheapest way to go there. They told me I should take the bus, it only costs 50 cents. That was right but as you can imagine there wasn’t only one bus stop.

I went to the closest and on the way three taxi drivers asked me where I wanted to go and that I should take the taxi, they would make a special price for me (first 30€, then 20, then 15). Still very expensive comparing to the bus. At the bus stop there was a picture from the city but I still wasn’t sure if I was right, neither did I know how to get a bus ticket. It was lucky that a nice man was sitting at the bus stop and spoke English, so Iwas able to ask him. He helped me but the taxi drivers were still very annoying, one of them even sat next to me at the bus stop. Then a very nice woman passed by and asked me if I’m OK and needed help. I guess sitting between two men, both talking to me, must have looked weird. I told her I’m fine and thanked her, she also helped me find the right way because she was taking the same bus. I’m happy to know that there are people like her in the world, who don’t look away and care about others. Even I wasn’t in a dangerous situation, it still looked suspicious, and you can never know.

Finally I arrived at the hostel, where I was welcomed very nicely. I checked in and of course my first walk was to the beach. The hostel was only 10 minutes away. I still remember my first impression. There weren’t a lot of people, it was May so it wasn’t that warm, but the sea is just amazing to me, no matter how often I see it. I also went swimming, though it was a bit cold and I was the only one. 😅

Later I went to sleep, and on the next day I went to the beach again, then came back to the hostel where I met four very cool Bulgarians. We drank a bit and listened to music and later one of them showed me the city a bit. If you get the chance to see the city with a local you should always take it. We came back very late. The next day I met other cool people from different countries (USA, Australia, Guatemala, Begium, Italy, France) at the hostel. Some of us went to a beach bar at night and we all told each other different stories of our lives. It was a very special night.

The thing about travelling alone is, you can do whatever you want, whenever you want and you meet a lot of cool people, who also travel alone. You will hear their stories, and maybe start to think twice before judging someone. You can’t imagine experiences like this, you have to make them.

So next time when you have some time off, you should ask yourself a question: Do you want to sit alone at home for a week or do you want to sit on the beach alone for a week?