100 Most Inspiring Solo Travel Quotes
Thinking of travelling alone and searching for some travel solo quotes to inspire you? You’re in the right place. I know how scary solo travel can feel, I took my first solo trip to Australia when I was 18.
I’d just finished university and had a job starting a few months later, so I had some free time with no plans. My friends were taking gap years and were saving up to travel the following year, so it was either go alone, or don’t go at all. Although it felt really overwhelming at first, that trip changed me, and made me realise I can do anything I set my mind to.
Since then, I’ve travelled to multiple countries on my own, and I’m pretty good at giving myself a pep talk if I’m ever feeling scared. But sometimes, there’s nothing like an inspirational quote to reassure you that even though it might feel scary, it’s SO worth it in the end.
In this article, I’ve put together 100 of my favourite quotes to inspire your solo travel adventure. I’ve also added some pictures you can pin to your board on Pinterest, in case you want to come back to them later. Hopefully, after reading it, you’ll feel ready to take on the world. Ready for the 100 most inspiring travel solo quotes? Let’s go.
My FAVOURITE quote for solo travel
- “Feel the fear and do it anyway” – Susan Jeffers
This quote gets its own section because it’s my favourite quote ever, and not just for solo travel but for everyday life. I’m a big believer in acknowledging your fear and pushing through it, and not letting it hold you back.
Whenever I’m feeling overwhelmed, this is the quote I whisper to myself. And I’ve used it a LOT. Most recently, was last summer, when my boyfriend and I visited Montserrat, a mountain range near Barcelona. We decided to walk up rather than take the cable car, and there’s different walking routes you can take depending on your experience level. I’d asked him multiple times to check which one we were taking because I know how easy it is to end up basically mountaineering, and I have a crippling fear of heights.
About 45 minutes later we were on a very narrow path, on the side of a mountain, after definitely taking the wrong route. I was completely overwhelmed and sat down on the floor crying like a toddler. It might sound like an overreaction, but for me, looking down the side of a mountain at a sheer drop is TERRIFYING.
He immediately said “let’s go back and find a different way” but I’m extremely stubborn. So that wasn’t an option that even entered my head.
I reminded myself of this quote, and it helped push me to keep going. That and the fact I gripped my boyfriend’s hand and refused to look over the edge.
It’s the perfect travel solo quote – sure, there’s going to be times you’re scared, and that’s fine, just don’t let it stop you experiencing things.
Ok, now I’ve shared my favourite quote for solo travel, here’s the other 99. I’m just going to list the rest, no more long-winded stories!
Travel solo quotes to encourage you to take the leap
One of the hardest parts about planning to travel solo, is having the confidence to take the first step and book the trip. So these are my favourite travel solo quotes to remind yourself of if you’re debating whether to go for it.
- “A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” — John A. Shedd
- “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lao Tzu
- Do not fear failure, but please, be terrified of regret. – Deshauna Barber
- “You have exactly one life in which to do everything you’ll ever do. Act accordingly.” Colin Wright
- “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” — Neale Donald Walsch
- “I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it.” — Rosalia De Castro
- Traveling’s not something you’re good at. It’s something you do. Like breathing. – Gayle Foreman
- If you find yourself drawn to an event against all logic, go. The universe is telling you something. – Gloria Steinem
- “Take the risk, or lose the chance” – Unknown
- Don’t ever accept anyone else’s preconceived limitations. If there’s something you want to do, there isn’t any reason you can’t do it. – Amy Dodson
- The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me? – Ayn Ran
- “There are better things ahead than any we leave behind.” — C.S. Lewis
- “Not I, nor anyone else, can travel that road for you. You must travel it for yourself.” — Walt Whitman
- “Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” — Andre Gorde
- “Don’t be scared to walk alone. Don’t be scared to like it.” — John Mayer
- “Sometimes your only available transportation is a leap of faith.” — Margaret Shepard
- “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” — Neale Donald Walsch
- “The life you have led doesn’t need to be the only life you have.” — Anna Quindlen
- “People never learn anything by being told, they have to find out for themselves.” — Paulo Coelho
- “Nobody can discover the world for somebody else. Only when we discover it for ourselves does it become common ground and a common bond and we cease to be alone.” — Wendell Berry
- “You can’t control the past, but you can control where you go next.” — Kirsten Hubbard
- “The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” — Ayn Rand
- “Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it.” —Brene Brown
- “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” —Amelia Earhart
- “Solo travel will push you out of your comfort zone and give you a confidence boost like nothing else can.” – Anonymous
- “If you don’t get out of the box you’ve been raised in, you won’t understand how much bigger the world is.” – Angelina Jolie
- “Adventure awaits those who dare to leave their comfort zone.” – Unknown
- “I travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape me.” – Unknown
- “I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it.” ~ Rosalia de Castro
- “Adventure awaits for those who wander.” – Anonymous
- “Solo travel is not a break from life, but a chance to live life to the fullest.” – Unknown
- “You must go on adventures alone to find out where you belong.” – Sue Fitzmaurice
- “Jobs fill your pockets, but adventures fill your soul.” – Jaime Lyn Beatty
Travel solo quotes if you feel overwhelmed
As much as I love solo travelling, sometimes, it can feel overwhelming. You might be lost, and the only person you have to find the way is yourself. You might be in a hostel, trying to pluck up the courage to start a conversation with someone, or, you might just be feeling homesick. These solo trip quotes are perfect for reminding yourself why you’re doing it, and helping you to look for the positives.
I find it reassuring to know that other people have done this before, and have felt the exact same way I have. You’re not the only one that finds solo travel scary, and there’s comfort in that.
- “Travelling alone will be the scariest, most liberating, life changing experience of your life. Try it at least once.” – Unknown
- “Traveling solo does not always mean you’re alone. Most often, you meet marvelous people along the way and make connections that last a lifetime.” — Jacqueline Boone
- “I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship.” – Mary Louise Alcott
- “One of the great things about travel is you find out how many good, kind people there are.” – Edith Wharton
- “Travel experiences are emotionally loaded. Often there is excitement and stimulation. The tingle-factor though comes partly from the fact that we’re stressed, just a little.” – Jane Wilson-Howarth
- “You never really travel alone. The world is full of friends waiting to know you.” — Unknown
- “I am of course lost in this journey I’m on, but I do remain confident, though I am lost it will be a great adventure, this adventure will surpass my wildest imagination. So call me a fool, but I’m happy to be lost.” — Micheline Jean Louis
- “One thing that I love about traveling is feeling disoriented and removed from my comfort zone.” — Sarah Glidden
- “If you make friends with yourself you will never be alone.” — Maxwell Maltz
- “It’s ok to be scared. Being scared means you’re about to do something really, really brave.” — Mandy Hale
- “Fearlessness is like a muscle. I know from my own life that the more I exercise it the more natural it becomes to not let my fears run me.” —Arianna Huffington
- “Some beautiful paths can’t be discovered without getting lost.” – Erol Ozan
- “In solo travel, you are forced to face your fears, discover your strengths, and learn to trust yourself.” – Unknown
- “The more I travelled the more I realized that fear makes strangers of people who should be friends.” – Shirley MacLaine
Inspiring travel solo quotes
These quotes are my favourite if you ever need to be reminded about how awe-inspiring this world is, and how much is waiting to be discovered.
- “It seems that the more places I see and experience, the bigger I realize the world to be. The more I become aware of, the more I realize how relatively little I know of it, how many places I have still to go, how much more there is to learn.” — Anthony Bourdain
- There is a kind of magic-ness about going far away, and then coming back all changed. – Kate Douglas Wiggin“There is freedom waiting for you, on the breezes of the sky. And you ask, “What if I fall?” Oh, but my darling, “What if you fly?” – Erin Hanson
- “Travelling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta
- “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” – Helen Keller
- “It is better to see something once than to hear about hundred times.” — Russian proverb
- The treasured vistas of our solo journeys are not always about the landscape. – Gina Greenlee
- “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” — Mark Twain
- “Adventure should be part of everyone’s life. It is the whole difference between being fully alive and just existing.” — Holly Morris
- “Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” — Gustav Flaubert
- “Not everyone will understand your journey. That’s okay. You’re here to live your life, not to make everyone understand. – Banksy
- “The treasured vistas of our solo journeys are not always about the landscape.” — Gina Greenlee
- “Fill your life with experiences, not things. Have stories to tell, not stuff to show”
- “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – Saint Augustine
- “The solo traveller is not looking for an escape from life, but rather a way to experience it more fully.” -Shane Dallas
- “I am not the same, having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” – Mary Anne Radmacher
- Loving life is easy when you are abroad. Where no one knows you and you hold your life in your hands all alone, you are more master of yourself than at any other time. – Hannah Arendt
- “Travel is the only thing you can buy that makes you richer.” – Anonymous
- “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller
- “The greatest gift you can give yourself is the gift of solo travel – to explore, to dream, to discover.” – Anonymous
Short travel solo quotes
- “Not all those who wander are lost.” — J.R.R. Tolkien
- “I don’t know where I am going, but I’m on my way.” — Carl Sagan
- “A good traveller has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.” — Lao Tzu
- “To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the most pleasant sensations in the world.” – Freya Stark
- “Some journeys in life can only be travelled alone.” – Ken Poirot
- “My soul is from elsewhere, I’m sure of that, and I intend to end up there.” — Rumi
- “There’s no right or wrong way to travel solo…everyone should try it at least once in their life.” — Susan Moore
Travel solo quotes about the benefits of going alone
If you’re ever feeling down about the fact you’re travelling alone, it can be helpful to remind yourself of all the benefits that come with it.
- “I think one travels more usefully when they travel alone, because they reflect more.” – Thomas Jefferson
- I wondered why it was that places are so much lovelier when one is alone. – Daphne Du Maurier
- “The man who goes alone can start today, but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready.” — Henry David Thoreau
- “The beauty of solo travel is that you have the freedom to follow your heart and let your spirit soar.” – Unknown
- “Solo travel… it forces you to trust yourself, question yourself, and in turn, trust yourself even more.” — Brooke Saward
- “When the traveler goes alone he gets acquainted with himself.” — Liberty Hyde Bailey
- “If companionship is a mandate for all of our experiences, then we will miss out on many of life’s blessings.” — Gina Greenlee
- “There are some places in life where you can only go alone. Embrace the beauty of your solo journey.” — Mandy Hale
- “Solo travel is an opportunity to step out of your routine and embrace new adventures, experiences, and perspectives.” – Unknown
- “Loneliness adds beauty to life. It puts a special burn on sunsets and makes night air smell better.”– Henry Rollins
- “The man who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the crowd. The man who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has ever been before.”- Alan Ashley-Pitt
- “Solo travel is the perfect way to reconnect with nature, with yourself, and with the world around you.” – Unknown
- “Traveling alone makes it easier to be yourself.” – Charles Bukowski
- “The inner journey of travel is intensified by solitude.” – Paul Theroux
- “Traveling alone is an opportunity to discover yourself and find your own way.” – Unknown
- “Solo travel is about finding the beauty in loneliness and learning to enjoy your own company.” – Unknown
- “Solo travel is an opportunity to discover parts of yourself that you never knew existed.” – Stephanie Lee
Long travel solo quotes
- “If you’re twenty-two, physically fit, hungry to learn and be better, I urge you to travel – as far and as widely as possible. Sleep on floors if you have to. Find out how other people live and eat and cook. Learn from them – wherever you go.” — Anthony Bourdain
- “To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” – Bill Bryson
- “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” — Mark Twain
- “It seemed an advantage to be traveling alone. Our responses to the world are crucially molded by the company we keep, for we temper our curiosity to fit in with the expectations of others. Being closely observed by a companion can also inhibit our observation of others; then, too, we may become caught up in adjusting ourselves to the companion’s questions and remarks, or feel the need to make ourselves seem more normal than is good for our curiosity.” — Alain de Botton
- “Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s OK. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.” — Anthony Bourdain
- Great people do things before they’re ready. They do things before they know they can do it. Doing what you’re afraid of, getting out of your comfort zone, taking risks like that — that’s what life is. You might be really good. —Amy Poehler
Travel solo quotes for women
- “Never did the world make a queen of a girl who hides in houses and dreams without travelling.” – Roman Payne, The Wanderess
- “I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass.”
- “The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before.” — Albert Einstein
The benefits of travelling solo
There’s SO many benefits of travelling alone, here’s a few of my favourites:
- You can do things on your schedule – this is my favourite thing about travelling alone. You want to get up really early and explore when there’s no around? No worries. Feeling really tired and you’d prefer to lie in? No worries. Not interested in heading to a bar and you’d prefer to read a book? All good. You can do whatever you want without having to consider another person’s interests.
- There’s no risk of falling out with someone – Travelling with another person, even just for a week, can be tricky. You’re spending all your time together, so you’re bound to get on each other’s nerves at one point. But there’s no worrying about that when you’re on your own.
- You learn so much about yourself – After travelling alone plenty of times, I truly feel that I can do anything. Something that once felt like such a big deal, feels like nothing to me now. You realise that you can do anything you put your mind to. Spending time truly alone is such a good way to understand what you like and dislike, without outside influence.
- You meet new people you might not usually cross paths with – Travelling solo is a great way to have interactions with different people. If you want to make friends, you’ll need to push yourself out of your comfort zone to talk to new people. And in turn you’ll learn more about a new culture, lifestyle, or way of doing things. It’s this interactions that broaden our horizons and change the way we view the world.
How to plan the perfect solo trip
FLIGHTS: Find the cheapest flights using the Skyscanner website.
CAR HIRE: I use Discover Cars whenever I’m hiring a car abroad. They compare lots of different providers and find you the best price.
ACCOMMODATION: Find the most affordable (+ beautiful) hotels on Booking.com.
ACTIVITIES & DAY TRIPS: Book skip-the-line tickets to the best activities with Viator
