Whereas North Carolina resident Rima Chakravarty has been on a number of journeys around the globe in her lifetime, she by no means launched into a solo journey till simply over a 12 months in the past.
For her fiftieth birthday, her husband gifted her a visit to Paris to rejoice the milestone.
“I had by no means travelled solo earlier than. I’d take heed to podcasts with solo girls travellers and I obtained actually interested by how it will be,” Chakravarty remembers, pointing to their tales as examples of inspiration.
Whereas she admits she was anxious about issues like security, language obstacles and navigating a brand new transit system, she was decided to persevere.
“The primary time I got here to the United States was as a pupil, and that was my first journey ever exterior India. It was completely different coming for school however it was all on my own,” mentioned Chakravarty.
“I used to be very nervous after I went [to Paris] the primary time however I simply pushed by and I assumed, ‘OK what’s the worst that may occur?’ That’s what I stored on pondering, despite the fact that I didn’t know a single particular person in France,” she mentioned.
Since then, she’s deliberate a lady’s journey to London, the place she spent just a few days alone earlier than assembly up together with her associates. Moreover, she took the leap and joined a small group tour to Southern Spain with G Adventures.
Why journey in a small group tour
“I feel there was a connection that occurred naturally inside the Southern Spain group,” mentioned Chakravarty, including the group had a spread of travellers from completely different areas and ages.
Chakravarty was one among 5 solo travellers on the tour and ended up bonding with all of them, from having dinners collectively on free evenings, to taking a aspect quest to discover the Alcazar of Seville.
A few of the different journey highlights she pointed to included experiencing the music of Flamenco reveals in Seville and Madrid, strolling by the Alhambra of Granada, and collaborating in a Mescladis Paella Cooking Class the place they had been in a position to cook dinner with, and help migrant employees.
“On this specific Spain journey, there was lots of free time … So what we had was the CEO (Chief Expertise Officer), she created a WhatsApp group, and at any time when we needed to plan to go to dinner, we might simply submit, and others would present up,” she mentioned.
“Even after we got here again, we had been nonetheless chatting there … genuinely, it developed right into a relationship.”
Suggestions for travelling as a solo lady
Travelling utterly solo versus travelling solo in a small group tour has its professionals and cons, Chakravarty says, including for individuals who want to plan much less and meet different like-minded people, a small group tour could be extra useful.
“For solo vacationers the primary time, think about excursions. It’ll chill out you. You’ll not really feel anxious, and you’ll actually get to get pleasure from the whole lot,” she mentioned.
And with regards to phrases of knowledge for different girls considering a solo journey, Chakravarty says it’s an empowering expertise that’s price taking the leap for.
“Going solo, it builds your confidence,” mentioned Chakravarty, including it’s vital to belief your self and luxuriate in independence.
“I discovered that it’s extremely liberating. You might be doing what you actually need to do, however in case you go along with somebody, you then typically simply have to regulate to the opposite particular person. So that have, you get once you solely go solo,” she mentioned.
