"Aren't you afraid?!"... "What does your husband think?!"...
"Don't you get lonely?!".."Don't you feel unsafe?!".."Isn't it weird to do things alone?!"...
And the list goes on and on...
I've been so fortunate to connect with some incredible women who choose to travel solo! In the next few blog entries, I'll be sharing their stories. Who they are, why they travel solo and why they LOVE it!! I'm excited to share their stories and give them voices and to show that women traveling solo isn't so abnormal!
My first featured traveler is Ana Rijo who was born in Portugal but moved to London at the age of 25.
She found a new world opening up before her when she moved to London! Here are some of her words about why she travels and if she is ever afraid.
"I started travelling solo because I had a friend who bailed on me for a girl’s trip and I ended up going by myself (to Santorini, no less). I had a lot of fun exploring the island by myself at my own pace, doing my own thing, not having to worry about other people. And it started from there. I was open to having people travelling with, but I didn’t have anyone who wanted to, so I just decided to do it myself, and now I don’t even think about inviting other people to my trips, I just book them and enjoy them by myself. And I always end up meeting people along the way. I know the world we live in is diverse, with different customs and traditions. I know that being a female can attract unwanted attention (unfortunately), but I’m not afraid of going to a new country. I think I’m more afraid to lose a flight or having my accommodation cancelled, etc."
I also asked if she had some advice for first timers and I loved her advice and I can definitely relate to her sound wisdom! Because she faced her fears, she has amazing memories to last a lifetime. This is why we travel!!
"I think my best advice would be “do not overthink. Just go and enjoy. The first solo trip might be daunting, but you will learn how strong you are”. I’m an overthinker by nature, but when it comes to travelling, I dive head in."
"the most memorable place I’ve travelled was definitely Budapest, Hungary. Besides being the first time I vlogged in front of a camera for an audience and having my videos on my YouTube channel, the city made me realise how much I love travelling and I wanted to do that as much as I could. It was the beginning of everything really."
Check out Ana's YouTube channel where she documents her travels, you are going to love it! Give her a follow on Instagram as well, she always has amazing travel photos, she is @red_girl_travels. I hope it inspires you to take that first step and venture out on your very own solo adventure!!
Thank you to Ana for being so gracious and collaborating with me on this first post! Stay tuned for more stories from other fearless female travelers.
As always, keep traveling and much love!
H
👍👍👍👍👍👍
ReplyDelete