Hardships of travelling solo

(...and what the camino quietly teaches you about them)

There is a romantic image attached to solo travel: a backpack, a sunrise, a train window, a road disappearing into the horizon. Freedom. Reinvention. Silence.

But anyone who has walked long enough alone - especially on a camino - knows that solitude is not always poetic.

Sometimes it’s just hard.

Whether you’re walking the Camino or another long hiking route, travelling solo strips away the filters. What remains is you: tired, exposed, and honest.

Here are some of the hardships no one romanticizes enough.

1. Decision fatigue is real

When you travel alone, every decision is yours.

Where to sleep. When to stop. What to eat. Who to trust. Whether to continue in the rain. Which path to choose.

On the Camino, even something simple as choosing an albergue, can become a daily test of mental endurance. There is no shared responsibility. No “What do you think?” Just your internal dialogue, over and over.

Freedom is empowering. It is also exhausting. You can learn some tricks over time to make it easier, what to pay attention to and what to avoid. If you would like help with this and not figure it out by yourself, send me a message through the website.

2. Loneliness hits at unexpected moments

You may walk with people all day and still feel alone at dinner. As a mostly introvert person I know that sometimes it can be hard to engage in a conversation, but if someone approaches you, you can choose to be opened for contact even if you are tired.

There are routes or seasons where there will be fewer people and maybe after enjoying being alone for a while, it becomes a hardship. I have walked the Via de la Plata, and there was a week where I was completely on my own, no pilgrims, no roomates in accommodations, no people in the villages to talk to. When I met an old man on the sixth day who greeted me I hugged him, I was so grateful for this small interaction. Then I found another girl in a facebook group who was one day ahead of me and waited for me, so none of us had to spend at least the evenings alone.

Solo travel loneliness is strange: it doesn’t always come from being physically alone. It comes from not having someone who knows your before.

On the Camino, friendships form quickly and dissolve just as fast. Someone walks faster. Someone takes a rest day. Someone stops early. You learn that connection can be intense and temporary. Of course a few of them will last for more than the camino, but these are rare.

And at night, when the dorm lights go out, the quiet can feel heavier than your pack. You can miss your loved ones, you can feel homesick, and that is all okay.

3. Vulnerability is amplified

When something goes wrong, it’s just you.

A twisted ankle outside a small village. A missed turn in the fog on the way. A storm rolling in on a mountain top.

There’s no built-in safety net.

You become more alert. More aware of your surroundings. More aware of your own limits. Solo travel teaches resilience, but it does so by first showing you how fragile you are. You will also learn how to ask for help, which is one of the hardest things for many people in real life.

4. There is no escape from yourself

This might be the hardest one.

When you walk for hours alone, especially on long stretches of the Camino, you run out of distractions. Your mind circles back to unfinished conversations, regrets, dreams you postponed.

Solo travel removes noise, and sometimes the noise was protecting you. Everyday problems will usually distract you, but being on your own can highlight some things from the back of your mind.

You can change countries. You can change routes. You cannot outrun your thoughts. But that can be positive in a way, that you can come up with new perspective on a problem, you can learn some techniques to quiet your mind, you can find solutions where you didn't expect it from.

5. The illusion of constant empowerment

We’re told solo travel builds confidence and it does, but not every day feels powerful.

Some days feel like doubt:

• Why am I doing this?

• Should I have come?

• Would this be easier with someone else?

There’s a quiet pressure to be brave, grateful, transformed. Yet the Camino rarely offers instant revelation. It offers blisters. Weather. Repetition.

Growth on the Camino is subtle. It hides inside small choices:

• continuing in the rain

• asking for help in broken Spanish

• sitting alone at a café without reaching for your phone

  
  

6. Saying goodbye repeatedly

On solo journeys, especially pilgrimages, you meet people at crossroads, literally and figuratively.

You share stories deeply. Walk together for days. And then, one morning, you don’t.

The road forks.

This constant cycle of connection and separation can be emotionally draining. It teaches you something about impermanence that few other experiences do. You will learn to let go.

And yet…

Despite all of this - or maybe because of it - solo travel changes you.

On the Camino, the hardships become part of the rhythm:

• The ache in your shoulders and feet.

• The silence of a misty morning.

• The unfamiliar language that slowly feels less foreign.

• The shell symbol reminding you that all routes converge.

When you travel alone, you begin to trust something quieter inside yourself. Not a dramatic transformation. Not a cinematic breakthrough.

Just a steadier voice.

And perhaps that is the real gift of travelling solo: not becoming fearless, but learning you can move forward even when you are not.

If you’ve walked a Camino alone, you know: the road doesn’t remove hardship. It reveals it. And then, step by step, it teaches you how to carry it differently.

Hope these stories get you in the mood for your next adventure, and you found some useful information.  If you still need more details or build up confidence and courage for the start of your journey, don't hesitate to contact me or email me, I'm happy to help.

You can also find me on social media with more useful advice and travel pictures at @wander.with.dora name. Contact me for a free call on wanderwithdora@gmail.com

Safe travels everyone.