Travelling alone in your 50s is to be embraced, not feared. In this article, I share my thoughts and experiences as a solo traveller over 50.
I can pinpoint the first time I felt like the oldest traveller in town.
Waiting to board a ferry on my first time travelling alone in Malaysia, the still, humid air was filled with the animated conversation of a group of young backpackers. Bursting with the optimism of new friendships and travel adventures yet to come, they simultaneously chatted and scanned their social media feeds, luggage discarded at their feet.
Heck – and I know that this is a travel cliché – there was even a dude with a guitar.
I’ll level with you. I am in my 50s and there have been times when I have felt that travelling is a younger person’s game.
Therefore, I understand if, like me, you are a mature traveller who is not comfortable with the prospect of your first solo adventure.
As I went from my 30s into my 40s, increasingly I felt I was in a travel tribe of one. I rarely came across those in my age group. The dominant travel posse was the gap-year-and-beyond crowd.
These were travellers in their 20s and 30s, setting out on adventures large and small, collecting friends and Instagram likes in equal measure. And when I did come across other midlife travellers these were rarely solo travellers.
But the tide is turning. The rise of the mature solo traveller is one of the key travel trends.
So why do people travel solo in their 50s?
For me, it was simply down to a lack of like-minded friends to travel with; solo travel or not travel, that was my choice. But what about you?
Perhaps you have lost your travelling companion and find yourself unexpectedly single, either through divorce or bereavement. It could be that you are in a long-term relationship that has lost its fizz, or your partner is uninterested in travelling.
Or maybe empty-nest syndrome has hit, and a different kind of loss smacks you across the face?
Like me, you may be faced with one simple choice: travel alone or don’t travel at all. And this isn’t an easy decision to make.
No one likes to be the odd one out, and, for a while, the fear of being a travel oddity, the ghost of travel past, held me back. But slowly, I overcame these midlife travel jitters and realised that this wasn’t an issue.
Travelling alone in your 50s doesn’t mean that means that you can’t relate to younger backpackers.
Although older, you will find similarities in lifestyle. For instance, it is likely that you will both be balancing a working life with travel.
But one central value unites all travel tribes: a passion for exploration and discovery. In that, you have a topic of conversation that transcends generational divides.
However, the fear of being a solo traveller over 50 may go a little deeper than being in a travel tribe of one.
Travelling alone isn’t always easy. Solo travel safety concerns, loneliness and eating alone are just some of the barriers that solo travellers have to overcome.
But older female solo travellers have a few aces up their sleeves.
Life experiences and dealing with past travel calamities make you more resourceful. I could fill a book with my travel disasters, from petty theft to surviving an emergency plane landing.
As you get older, you become more comfortable in your own skin and don’t crave the company or validation of other people. I’m not saying that the travel blues will not occasionally bite, but there are strategies you can adopt to prevent solo travel loneliness.
And if it is company that you are craving, it is easy to meet people as a solo traveller.
Eating and drinking alone is not such a big deal. Although people in some countries may be baffled at a middle-aged woman travelling alone, nearly everywhere you go, you are treated with respect.
Once you pass the age of 40, and especially beyond 50, as a woman, you tend to feel invisible much of the time. However, this can work to your advantage if you don’t wish to attract unwanted attention when travelling.
But if the thought of travelling alone in your 50s still fills you with trepidation, take age out of the equation and focus on the advantages of solo travel. Whatever your age, solo travel is a liberating and potentially transformational experience and, in many respects, travelling alone in midlife is easier.
Finally, don’t let the fear of being the oldest traveller in town put you off solo travel. Whilst you are likely to be outnumbered by younger people, travellers tend to be an inclusive and open-minded bunch, whatever their age, united by a desire to explore our wonderful world.
Embrace this.
>>> Be inspired to take your first solo trip with this collection of dreamy quotes about travelling alone or these superb books about solo travel
About Bridget
Bridget Coleman has been a passionate traveller for more than 30 years. She has visited 70+ countries, most as a solo traveller.
Articles on this site reflect her first-hand experiences.
To get in touch, email her at hello@theflashpacker.net or follow her on social media.
Outstanding information! I started traveling Solo at age 54 after bitter divorce and the information provided is spot on. As a US Navy veteran I had traveled during my 20’s and was apprehensive to do so at 54. But it has been tremendously rewarding. As mentioned above, I have met interesting travelers 30 years younger than me, but you have that common thread, backpacking / traveling. Good luck to everyone and feel free to shoot me an email for any questions.
Hi Tim. Thank you so much for sharing these words of encouragement with would-be solo travellers. Bridget.
I am interested my age is 37
Indeed…travelling when 50s. I think..in that age, my children getting grow up. And we give myself with #prize for traveling solo. But in my common, ussually my hubby not give me permit….tooo sad.
Hello! Thanks for stopping by and for commenting. Solo travel has been transformative for me and I hope that you have the opportunity to go it alone in the future.