Solo travel is not for you if...

Disclaimer

This post is not intended to discourage travel, but simply to make you aware that solo travel is somewhat more demanding and worth preparing better for

This is the full content of the shortened Instagram post

1. You feel paralyzed when solving problems independently and in emergency situations

Don't get me wrong, like any point below, because everyone has some weaknesses, everyone has a breaking point somewhere. Me too. I don't intend to discourage you, but I've felt my brain burning many times. Just prepare for it. The situation in Malaga was such that when I arrived I was a bit tense, annoyed, had a headache, elevated blood pressure, and on top of that the carrier or airport damaged my luggage. I'd never reported luggage damage before, so I did exactly what I was prepared for by reading online guides. Unfortunately, the information I had was either incorrect, or that particular airport has different rules. BlaBlaCar was waiting for me, and my flight was already delayed. The situation was more complicated than it seems, but I'll shorten it to say it was pretty close. You need to quickly sort out a list of things in a foreign country, not knowing the language. This requires a so-called "problem solving attitude". There's a mission to accomplish, quick instinctive decisions, no time to lie on the ground and cry. So if my description above already paralyzes you - find a companion who will help you. Two heads are better than one.

2. You have difficulty making contact with strangers

You'll have much more of that contact than you'd like. I'm an extrovert by nature, and I like stimuli. But when you're talking in a club or pub for nomads with newly met people, don't be surprised that you might hear someone speaking to you in 2-3 languages, or you simply hear 4-5 languages around you at once. Personally, this can tire me out. Additionally, you constantly have to speak in a language that isn't native to you, e.g. English, and even if you've mastered it to C1 level, 24/7 communication can be exhausting after a longer time. You 200% won't know some name you'll want to buy, e.g. what "pain relief patches" or "shoe laces" are called in a foreign language if they break (and that happens). You need to learn, and with time you will learn, that showing a photo on your phone or "sign language" conversation isn't shameful. It's sometimes a fight for survival.

3. If you can't live "without a plan"

If everything has to be planned, sometimes it can be hard. I understand it probably gives you some stability in an already unstable environment, but sometimes the most interesting events come only because you decided to drop into some local board game bar, and there you meet 3 locals and 4 Poles who invite you the next day to learn Kite Surfing, or it turns out they're nomads like you on a workation and know a great open space they go to. And bam! You've got a work companion.

4. Eating and spending free time alone causes you discomfort

This is one of the biggest problems, even if you're not a nomad. For some reason a lot of people (which fortunately is slowly changing), have this block that going to a restaurant alone is shameful. I learned to do this abroad, and even when I'm in Poland I try to go out alone. Even just for coffee. To be among other people. I learned to take myself on dates and I derive joy from it, I turn off my phone and savor the peace.

5. You don't listen to locals, especially their warnings, e.g. in Monkey Forest

Another very important point is not listening to locals' advice. Trust me, if they tell you "don't ride in flip-flops, don't ride without a helmet, don't feed the monkeys, hide your phone around them, close your bag, don't pet them" then do what they tell you. Unless you want to end up without a phone 10,000 km from home, or without a passport they'll pull from your bag, or get bitten, so you'll spend the next few hours in a hospital getting vaccines for hundreds of dollars (if you don't have insurance for example, and insurance is a must-have ALWAYS!)

6. You don't try to get to know local cultures and locals

Okay, maybe this point is slightly stretched, and I don't want to tell you how to live and who to meet, where to travel, but my opinion is that if you're going to another country, the most interesting element is getting to know people of a different skin color, their approach to life, the geopolitical situation. There's no obligation, but trust me, it greatly improves the travel experience.

7. You give up quickly and tire easily

This is somewhat related to the first point. You'll really be facing many unexpected crisis situations like moving to another apartment or city with a 39°C fever, you might break your leg on a scooter in Asia and have to somehow pack up and return to Poland. Alone. Don't give up then. There's a mission to accomplish. Prepare for everything in travel.

8. You can't quickly adapt to plan changes

There might be a problem. If you're traveling with a group of friends or a partner, you usually have some plan and support each other. If it turns out they cancel your flight from another country and you need to get a hotel from the carrier, or horror of horrors sleep all night at the airport because there's a snowstorm across the entire continent, you need to change plans. Or maybe weather will mess up your plans like my motorcycle trip through Andalusia got messed up because of rain. Time to find other activities. Travel, especially solo, is constant plan changes.

9. You don't have basic travel safety knowledge and don't have insurance

Horror! As they say - insurance is most needed when you don't have it. You don't want to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars, if not hundreds of thousands for treatment abroad. While in the EU we still have that unfortunate EHIC, outside Europe it's absolutely criminal! Just like carrying your passport in your back pants pocket, or having just one identity document at all! Have your ID with you and your passport hidden somewhere safe. My friend had her phone and ID stolen in Greece the day before her flight on a weekend. She had to stay at the hotel. Without a phone and GPS, go to the embassy, reschedule the flight on the hotel computer, and wait for a temporary passport to return.

Summary

You don't have to agree with every element, and maybe not every element will be a dealbreaker. The fact that you don't agree with one point doesn't mean you can't travel solo. Of course you can, but you need to be a prepared and aware traveler. Certain situations that might tire me, such as loneliness and lack of permanent and stable relationships while traveling, might be a nice break from stability in Poland for you.

Each of these topics will be described more broadly and in detail in my new ebook, which will appear around February/March 2026. Particularly elements related to safety.