Solo Travel For Introverts: The Best Tips For Traveling in 2023

Travel for introverts is analyzing and experiencing every moment to its fullest. Also, traveling involves interacting with new people, cultures, landscapes, perspectives, and experiences. But other moments can cause unwanted anxiety or overwhelm you mentally and emotionally, such as public transportation, trying out a new language, group tours, and small hostel talk. 

If you are an introvert that loves travel, this article is for you! Also, if you love an introvert and want to travel with them, this is for you, too, so you can understand your companion better. 

Here we leave you the best tips for traveling in 2023 if you are an introvert!

What’s an Introvert?

First of all, let’s just make a few things clear. If you’re not an introvert, you may not realize these things about your quieter counterparts yet!

We’re NOT all:

Most of us ARE:

The basic difference between introverts and extroverts is that introverts draw energy from recharging alone, while extroverts draw energy from recharging with others! Both love people and enjoy socializing, but on their terms. Everyone falls along a spectrum between introverted and extroverted – it’s not a black-and-white personality trait. A third of the global population is more introverted than extroverted, so it’s farfetched!

Introverts love just being. We never get bored – we always have our minds occupy us. Sit us on a park bench, and we’ll be happy and fulfilled for several hours – with a book, journal, or music, thinking about the world’s deepest questions, watching how the leaves blow in the wind, or wondering about the life of every person or animal that passes by! Seriously, guys, it’s a beautiful life. 

Tips travel for introverts

1.-You don’t have to do group tours

Spending the day (or several) with 30 strangers can be extremely draining, keeping you from enjoying the places you visit. From time to time, splurge on a private tour. Unfortunately, they are more costly than group tours, but it might be worth it for you to feel better during your trip! Plus, you’ll get a more authentic experience of the country you’re visiting. For example, you can do a private trek, a cooking class, or a city tour. 

If you choose a group tour, find a tour operator with small groups. Salkantay Trekking has a maximum group size of only 12 people! You can also pick destinations where it’s easy to escape from the group when needed. Ideally, those would be vast landscapes, especially off-the-beaten-path ones. Around Cusco, Peru, try out these Sacred Valley spots or a few peculiar day trips, such as the alternative rainbow mountains or the South Valley.

Of course, there are also a lot of places you can visit on your own, without a guide. You wander around on your schedule and observe the destination for yourself. If you do some good planning, you can have a really great time discovering new places in solitude! 

2.-Write in a journal

It’s often said that introverts write better than they speak, and that’s the case for me! Journaling helps us to dive deeper into our minds and experiences, putting down on paper the intense feelings and transformative encounters we’re having. It’s the perfect activity for a cafe, park, beach, or countryside setting!

Travel often brings up to the surface a lot of strong emotions because it’s a change of pace, a reset, and a time when we’re observing so many things differently than we’re used to. Journaling about what you see, think, and feel helps you connect more profoundly to the destination and the local culture, as well as to process the things going on in your life in a new environment. Anything on paper leaves a deeper impact on you and a cathartic peace that’s difficult to explain to less sensitive people. 

3.-Headphones + a book when you’re not up for chatting

Ever been on a plane with a chatty seat buddy when all you wanted to do was relax? Introverts will enjoy it for a bit, but likely not for the whole flight. You feel trapped. The same can happen in a park, cafe, ort common campsite areas. If you prefer to spend uninterrupted time with yourself, stick your nose in a book or put your headphones in. They’ll get the idea. 

This kind of quiet, slow, and individual activities are an introvert’s favorite. These are the moments when you recharge. You feel whole again afterward, ready to take on the world. You even feel excited to socialize again. Do not take them for granted! And don’t let anyone cringe on your personal time of self-care or make you think it’s unimportant.

4.-Stay in an AirBNB

AirBNBs are probably the most comfortable lodging to travel for introverts. There’s no front desk staff to watch every time you come and go from your temporary home. It feels more like a real home away from home, a unique place you can experience. Introverts like to be visibly invisible, functioning on their terms within society, and that’s easier to do in a residential area.

You won’t have to eat out at every meal if you’d rather be alone because you’ll likely have a kitchen. Introverts love to observe details, so staying in a personal home nurtures that passion. Hostels can be loud, and the pressure to socialize is heavy, not to mention opening the bedroom door to see 5 strangers staring back at you. Hotels are always bustling with daily activities, and breakfast is often in a room full of people. Even with a private room, it doesn’t feel so private. Plus, AirBNBs are more eco-friendly! It’s a win-win.

5.-Slow travel is blissful, and quiet time is necessary

When I first started traveling, I had FOMO. I fit as many things as possible into every day and as many destinations as possible into every week. I’ve since learned that was a mistake, and it made me miserable. I may have seen a lot of places, but I didn’t experience anything at all. Slow travel is the best way for introverts to absorb the environment via natural osmosis, not a rushed list of to-dos. Travel less, see more. Form a deeper connection with one destination instead of seeing just a snapshot of several. You can do that on the internet from home, after all.

Adding “spend 3 hours listening to music, doing yoga, and meditating on the riverbank” isn’t wrong for your travel itinerary. When planning your itinerary, leave open spaces for you to adjust the day to your mood. Plan in blocks of quiet time to relax, recharge and do those things that make you feel whole. If you visit a lake and love the view, spend time there just feeling all the sensations it gives you. Don’t rush on to your next destination, even if that means you miss it altogether. P.S. – No need to feel guilty when you want to avoid other people for a while. 

6.-Do your own thing sometimes, separate from your travel partners

You don’t have to be connected to your travel group at the hip. If you want to do a slow activity and they prefer to spend the morning doing a tour, then do that! Maybe you’d prefer to spend a few hours wandering around a museum and taking it all in, but your buddy wants to go to a festival. That’s ok! You will each have a fabulous experience tailored to your needs and preferences, and then you’ll come back together afterward and share how your day went! No one will feel like they’ve missed out on something or been pushed beyond their limits. 

Communicate your needs, preferences, and travel style within your group before you leave! It’s a nightmare to sort out personality differences within a group once you’re already on the road. There can be much frustration and hurt if everyone isn’t understood and respected. Make adjustments so that each will feel comfortable and excited about the end result. Listen to your travel partners, as well, and help them accomplish the things they’d like to, compromising if that doesn’t match up with your own preferences. 

7.-Go coffee shop and park hopping

Introverts love to be around activity but without participating in any of it. It’s excitingly stimulating and interesting for us! Carve out some time each day to spend a rejuvenating hour in a park or cafe, two places where you can do something without doing anything. That will ramp you up for the afternoon or evening activities! If you can go early in the morning, it feels like the world is still sleeping. You’ll see people peacefully watering their flowers, sweeping, or reading the newspaper. Birds flutter from one branch to the next. 

In most cities, there are so many of these places to choose from! And they’re so cozy, definitely the places with the best vibe. When I was studying abroad in Europe, the first thing I did in any city was sit in a coffee shop with my friends for a while. It was a perfect, slow introduction to the new city, plus we usually got travel tips from the barista. If you’re alone, this is a great time to write, plan your itinerary or edit all the pictures you’ve been taking! In Cusco, where I live now, the historical center is full of delightful cafes with a lot of character, plus Peru has some of the best coffee in the world. 

8.-Get into the wilderness 

Dramatic spaces of rugged wilderness set an introvert’s soul on fire. There’s nothing like it; it’s absolutely ethereal. It’s an opportunity for extreme mindfulness, endless observation of new things, and life-altering sensations. Being outside is a soul detox from the busy, crowded, and loud world you manage in your daily life. Nature is a natural cure for the anxious mind we know all too well. These wonders are fuel for the passionate observer and daydreamer in you. You have the physical and mental space to breathe and grow undistracted for the rest of your life. You feel free! 

The world’s natural wonders are the most important reason I travel. They’re things we were gifted by the universe to enjoy and experience with all 5 senses. And there are no two landscapes that are the same anywhere in the world. There’s variety and excitement, and we indulge our adventurous side while nurturing the mind and spirit. Peru is no exception – it has some of the most spectacular panoramic viewpoints, hikes, and glamping spots!

9.-Take baby steps out of your comfort zone

Travel for introverts is a great opportunity to challenge yourself. Puff yourself up, and let yourself be uncomfortable from time to time! Take a language class, and then go to a restaurant and order in that language. Book a group tour, and initiate one small conversation. Stay in a hostel dorm for one night. Go out on a date while you’re traveling. Ask someone what their dog’s name is while you’re relaxing at the park. Join a Meetup just once!

These things seem simple, but I understand they can cause anxiety! Each time you push yourself further, it’ll be easier the next time. You’re allowed to rest before doing it again. The things that were once hard will start to feel normal, and then you can go just a tad further still. In a place where you don’t know anyone, there are plenty of excuses to try something new.

Onward, Introverts!

Travel for introverts is, and should be, super stimulating! But when that stimulation passes your limit, you can end up with an “introvert hangover.” Use these simple tips to avoid that overwhelming feeling or to heal if you do end up caught in a deluge of social interaction for too long. Always remember that the best thing to do is what’s best for you; you know yourself better than anyone else. 
After traveling to several places, I settled in Cusco, Peru, and I found it perfect for my introverted needs. Take a look! Everything that fills my soul is available here, and slow living is easy.