I am absolutely in love with solo travel.

And I never thought I’d say that.

I always pictured solo travel being very introverted, maybe a lot of time for reflection, but all around… lonely. I had come to accept that some of our adventures in life we have to experience alone.

But I was so wrong.

I just finished my first solo trip to Miami, which side-note was the best experience of my life. And now I am never going back (to Miami, yes, back to fearing traveling alone, no.)

I actually think extroverts might be more cut out for solo travel than even introverts are. See the thing is… there are people all around, and I made more friends in a weekend in Miami than I did in a month in my hometown, probably more.

This is why extroverts can love solo travel:

1. You meet more people when you are alone

There are people all around, but when we travel with others we aren’t looking. There are people next to you on the street, next to you in the restaurant, next to you on the beach. When you’re by yourself, people are magnetically more open to you, especially those who are also alone. My waiters and waitresses were so much more open and talkative with me because I was eating alone, so I basically got to eat with them because they kept stopping by to chat. When I’m with others, I don’t even realize the people around me.

2. You get to determine the pace every step of the way

You wanna see everything in a day? Go for it. Nap? Go for it. Meet new people? Get on the Couchsurfer app. Not digging the crowd? Leave. You are completely unattached and get to spend every second of the day the way you want, which can be one of the most energizing things in the world.

3. As soon as you’re lonely, you can find people

For me, I love to spend the day adventuring alone and seeing things the way I like to, but at the end of the day, I like to be with people. I don’t have to try as hard, I don’t get as lost in my thoughts, I can just kick back and laugh and enjoy the company of others. So for me as the sun starts to set and I’m starting to think about dinner, I get on the Couchsurfer app and meet up with other local travelers. I was skeptical but had the greatest experience and met some genuinely great people who are now new friends through using this app.

4. You can make friends for life all over the world

I have friends from Miami, New York City, Spain, and the list goes on. It is so refreshing to meet people who view the world like you do and have similar interests like traveling.

Here are some tips as to how to meet people while traveling alone.

What have you found to be the perks of traveling alone?