13 Reasons Why Solo Travel in Your 50s Is Better Than Any Trip in Your 20s

Hitting the open road, or hopping on a plane, solo is magical, but doing it in your 50s is a whole new layer of joy and discovery. Yes, there’s a lot of appeal to traveling in your 20s, spontaneity, excitement, and new experiences. When you travel alone in your 50s you bring wisdom, patience and a whole lot more appreciation for the journey. At this stage of life, solo travel can feel deeper, richer, and dare I say, more rewarding, than anything you’d have ever travelled on in your younger days.

By the time you’re 50 or older, you’ve probably shed some of the insecurities and uncertainties that might have kept you from accomplishing what you want in your 20s. You are now able to go at your own pace, within your own terms. Plus, you’re not just crossing off your bucket list anymore; you’re enjoying them, taking it all in. I want to explore why solo travel in your 50s is a million times better than anything you could have experienced in your 20s.

You Know What You Like

There’s half the time you’re in your 20s still figuring out who you are and what you like. You’re tagging along with friends or doing what’s popular instead of what you really want to do. When you’re in your 50s, you’ve figured out what you like, be it art, nature, history or good food. You can now create a trip exactly to your liking without having to cater to anyone except yourself.

You Love the Journey, Not Just the Destination

Rushing through life experiences is something you do when young because you’ve got so much to see, and so many places to be. By the time you’re in your 50s, you’ve found out that the journey itself is valuable. You’re more likely to sit back, breathe in the moment, and enjoy the scenic route than to race to check things off a list. The slow train ride through the mountains, and the quiet sunrise by the beach, none of which are any less important than the destination.

You’re Not Worried About What Other People Think

There’s a pressure in your 20s to look cool, or to fit in. It can make you anxious and cloud your experiences or stop you from trying new things. You’ve let go of a lot of that by your 50s. You feel more comfortable in your body and are more open to taking a chance, whether it’s dancing at a local festival or ordering something you can’t even pronounce. Not caring what others think; that freedom. Priceless.

You Have It in You to Travel in Comfort

Back in the 20s, backpacking might have meant cheap hostels, those brutally long bus rides you had to take, and eating on the streets. There’s charm in that, but solo travel in your 50s is a bit more luxurious. When you want, you can afford a cozy hotel or a nice meal. Without breaking the bank, you’ve earned the right to enjoy your trip in style.

You Savor New Experiences

If you’re in your 20s, it’s easy to go through experiences fast without really remembering them. As you’re older, you have the patience and maturity to appreciate the details: a glass of local wine, a few moments with a museum, or even a chat with a shopkeeper. You are in the ability to capture and contemplate each experience; that they all make the trip richer.

You’re More Confident

When you’re in your 50s and traveling solo, you’ve got a lot more life experience under your belt. You’ve had experience solving a travel hiccup, working with a language barrier, quick decision making, you know what I mean. That confidence means that you’re ready to take on whatever the trip throws at you without the panic that would’ve happened in your younger days.

You Are Not Trying to Do It All

In your 20s it’s pretty much this idea that you have to do everything and see everything in one go. When you’re 50, you realize that travel doesn’t have to be a race. If you don’t hit every single landmark, you can take your time and enjoy the experience as if you didn’t miss anything. There are the quiet café, or the unexpected conversation, that gets to be the high point of your trip.

You Can Be More Spontaneous

Surprisingly, traveling solo in your 50s will actually make you more open to spontaneity than you were as a younger person. You don’t have to stick to a strict itinerary or follow the crowd, you can go off script. You don’t need to obsess over others’ schedules if you want to take a detour to a village that no one has heard of, or stay another day in a city you love.

You Care More About Connections

Connections made when you travel in your 50s are more meaningful and deeper than most other times. You don’t want to party with strangers, you want to have real conversations, learn about local cultures, or share a meal with someone you just met. Your connections to these things can last a long time and often leave something that will be some of your most memorable trip moments.

You Know the Power of Solitude

In your 20’s being alone could have been scary or isolating. In your 50s, solitude can be a powerful and restorative part of solo travel, but in your 20s it’s something to avoid. You’ve been enjoying your own peace, sitting in a park surrounded by silence or drinking a cup of tea of your adventures in a cozy café. You’re more comfortable with your own company and that can make your trip all the more enriching.

You’re Better at Being Present

An aging gift is learning to stay in the moment. In your 50s, it’s more likely that when you travel you’ll put down your phone, take a look around and start to really engage with the world around you. You’ve realized that life, and travel, aren’t just about taking the perfect photo, but about being fully present and fully presenting with all your senses.

You Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

When you were younger, small inconveniences, like a delayed flight, or a misplaced booking, would have felt like the end of the world. By 50, you’ve learned to roll with the punches. You’re more adaptable and you know that traveling is full of surprises, good and bad. You don’t stress over the little things but just take it all in stride and enjoy the adventure.

You Travel for Yourself, Not for Anyone Else

Solo travel in your 50s: one of the best parts? You’re doing it for you. You’re not trying to impress anyone, live to someone else’s expectations or chasing after Instagram worthy moments. You’re traveling because you want to, because it’s what you need, because there’s still so much of the world to see. That kind of freedom is so much more rewarding than you’d ever had in your 20s.

Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.

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