3 Introvert Travel Tips

There are 3 introvert travel tips, or key mind sets, that I rely on for introverted bliss while traveling in an extroverted world. After 10 years of working, living and traveling overseas as a text-book introvert with a family, I’ve learned a few things about introverting out here in the world. Now don’t hear me wrong – I know every introvert is different and what works for me isn’t everyone’s cup of tea (or juice or coffee or whatever). But, in the off chance you are an introvert who happens to be travel-curious, I hope you’ll be encouraged to take that leap into traveling after reading some of my introvert travel tips below.

There are 3 introvert travel tips, or key mind sets, that I rely on for introverted bliss while traveling in an extroverted world.

I’ve come by each of them through trial and error, and a little more error. When I first began living and working abroad full time, I was still convinced I was a broken-extrovert and tried my hardest to blend in to the extroverted world around me. But that was only sustainable for so long, and thankfully, I got tired of doing it.

So in true introvert-fashion, I began to over think and hyper analyze the years of faking it as an extrovert while traveling and living abroad. The results?! I came up with three introvert travel tips, or mindset shifts that needed to happen if I was going to have some sense of peace with being a nomadic homebody in the extroverted world of travelers and expats.

Introvert Travel Tip No. 1) Sometimes (ahem… often) I just want to be left alone, and that’s okay.

Traveling, as it’s depicted in social media, television and movies, etc., would suggest that you are with people all.the.time. And yes, traveling often has you in close proximity to other human beings and you can interact with people all.the.time if you choose. But introvert travel tip number 1 is about re-difining “alone.” To feel alone (a feeling I looooove to feel) is actually a lot easier to find when traveling, than you might think.

Anonymity is one of the best side affects to travel.

I can feel as if I’m alone while also soaking up the rich colors, sounds, and smells of a new place. I can sit in cafes around the world and write story after story about the most mundane, or the most profound experiences I’ve had. I can choose to stay anonymous – in my own personal bubble at a cafe table or park. Or I can choose to reach out and get to know someone whose path I would have only crossed by getting out into the world.

I’ve circumnavigated stupas in Nepal in the wee hours of the morning – alone with throngs of Tibetans doing their prostrations. I’ve sat alone in second-story cafes in Vietnam watching the mundane goings ons of the world below. And I’ve ridden alone in the back of tuk tuk’s in Sri Lanka, through monsoon rains watching everyone duck into stalls and shops to wait out the storm.

To be left alone with my thoughts, as the world happens around me, is my favorite place to be. And it’s so very readily available all over the world.

Introvert Travel Tip No. 2) Check your thinking… is this really about safety?

Not every introvert is anxious or highly sensitive… but I’m both, and I know some of you are too. Tell me if you can relate to this: “that doesn’t seem like a good/safe idea. I better not go.”

Well, I know I’m not alone in this train of thought. But the truth is, the more I’ve traveled, the more I’ve come to have faith in my sound judgement and, more importantly, in humanity. Here’s introvert travel tip number 2.

I’ve lived in four countries outside of my own, and traveled through more than a dozen. In three of those countries, I’ve been present during political conflict. Each time, the conflicts were publicized in the news back home with such a heightened level of drama that it was almost laughable. Because on the ground, with the people, I always felt safe and the people I engaged with on a daily basis were kind and thoughtful. They wanted the same things I did and they cared about their families and their countries a much as I do. So often, a national conflict is so much more about the politics than it is about causing pain and suffering to the individuals living and traveling there.

Now, I’m not saying there’s not times when we can walk into bad situations, but what I am saying is that overwhelmingly, people’s experiences traveling and living abroad are safe. It’s helpful to remember that there are more good people in this world than bad. And this simple shift in mindset always helps me keep my over active “safety-dar” in check.

Introvert travel tip No. 3) I’m not a broken extrovert. And extrovert are not broken introverts.

It’s so easy for us to compare ourselves to others; and it is so destructive to our sense of self. When I realized I was an introvert (a mere 2-3 years ago) I still wasn’t convinced that “introvert” didn’t just mean “broken extrovert.” But when I started to be okay with being “the weird girl,” who couldn’t do small talk, and preferred alone time over parties, my shoulders began to relax. I felt more grounded in my choices to not participate in certain activities, and I felt more whole than I ever have. Okay, so maybe this is more than just an introvert travel tip, and more of a all-the-time tip, but it really does help when traveling and living abroad as well.

We are all such unique alloys of various characteristics that there’s no way we can compare who we are to anyone else. It’s like comparing apples to tank tops. And the sooner we become comfortable with who we are, the sooner we can get out into the world, in whatever way we are most comfortable, without feeling a need to apologize to anyone for being ourselves… of course that’s assuming you don’t delight in being a meany-head… in which case you should probably do some apologizing.

“Traveling—it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” ~ Ibn Batuta

It’s so easy to get into our comfort zone and never want to leave. That’s why it’s called our comfort zone, right? But if we can remember that there’s a big world out there eager to inspire and teach us about the value of living – whether it’s in the town next door, or on the other side of the world – we will all be better off for the compassion we will surely gain as a result of stepping outside our comfort zone and meeting people and having experiences that differ from our day to day.

I hope that these unconventional introvert travel tips helps in some small way to encourage you to take that step outside your front door. I think you’ll be surprised how your comfort zone can expand beyond a physical place outside of yourself. Because as you travel and get to know yourself in new and different experiences and places, your comfort zone becomes an internal space that you can take wherever you are in the world.

your comfort zone becomes an internal space that you can take wherever you are in the world.

To be a traveling introvert doesn’t mean giving up a need to think deep thoughts, or have a refuge from the busy world outside, or to even despise small talk. It simply means that we know how to create a space for ourselves no matter where we are or what we experience. And that’s the secret introvert travel tip number four.

Happy trails everyone and remember to be kind to yourself.

Anon Gray