Travelling on your own can be a daunting experience. Even on a group tour, it can be challenging and insecurities may come up. Will I make friends? Will people like me? These concerns are completely normal and understandable. However, so often when we step outside of our comfort zone and try something new, that is when life rewards us in truly unexpected ways.
Sarah Mitchell, 28, is a seasoned solo traveller from New York, USA who recently embarked on her first Expat Explore tour. Sarah wants to encourage others to embark on their dream adventures while conquering their fears and embracing who they are!
We caught up with Sarah after her epic South Africa Escape tour in September 2023 to find out more about why going solo on a group tour can be a truly life-enriching experience.
Read on to discover what makes South Africa an incredible destination for adventure-seekers:
Why did you decide to travel to South Africa?
When I was in college, my best friend and I committed to going to South Africa when we turned 25. Unfortunately, Covid got in the way of our plans and we couldn’t get our travel schedules to sync up after graduation. Fast forward to turning 28, I still had a strong desire to go to South Africa after all the incredible things I heard about it.
Related: Find out what it’s like to explore South Africa with a travel buddy.
What made you decide to choose Expat Explore as your tour operator?
I always read through tour operators’ itineraries in detail to make sure they hit the main spots I’m interested in, but include off-the-beaten-path activities/places, as well. I’m always keen on doing the “big stuff,” but what makes group tours so special to me is that I get to experience things I may not have known about on my own. I want to get a true feel for the local way of life!
What was your favourite destination visited on this tour and why?
That’s like asking a parent who their favourite child is! I truly enjoyed every destination we visited on the tour. If I had to pick one place, I think I’d have to go with Kruger National Park. It was unbelievable seeing all the animals in the wild, and I’ve never experienced anything like that before.
What was the number one highlight of the tour?
There were many, but I’d have to say shark cage diving was up there for me. I consider myself an adrenaline junkie, always open to bungee jumping off bridges or throwing myself out of planes, but I had never done anything like this before and for some reason was pretty scared. Not really about the sharks, but more so about the cage detaching from the boat. I got over my fear and it was such a cool experience!
Another highlight was catching a lioness alone at Kruger National Park. She let out the most unbelievable roar I’ve ever heard in my life – it literally went through your chest – and we all sat there watching her with our jaws on the floor. She came right up to our vehicle and we drove beside her for a while, taking in the special moment.
Related: Discover more uniquely South African experiences!
Will you go on an organised tour again?
Absolutely, my next tour can’t come soon enough!
How did you think the experience would’ve been different if you did not go on an organised tour?
I was incredibly lucky that our tour guide, Matt, was like a walking encyclopaedia. And I’m not exaggerating! He spewed out probably upwards of 100 facts a day and taught us so much about the history of South Africa. I definitely wouldn’t have learned as much as I did if it wasn’t for him.
Related: Keen to learn more about South Africa? Here are some surprising fun facts!
Sarah also shares the ways in which solo travel can change your life for the better:
Would you consider yourself to be an explorer at heart?
Even when I was younger, I was curious about people, places, and things. I would fantasise about teleporting into the worlds I read about in books or wonder about what life was like in places I’d never seen before. I remember growing up thinking, “As soon as I graduate college, I’m going to travel the world,” and that’s exactly what I did!
After I officially got my diploma and finished school, I took my first trip out of the country with an organised group tour to Southeast Asia. We went to Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, and I was immediately bit by the travel bug. I think I’ve always been a traveller at heart, and will continue to explore until I physically can’t!
Have you travelled solo before?
Yes, the majority of the time! I’ve only been on a few trips where I wasn’t travelling solo.
What are the highlights and the challenges of travelling solo?
Highlights: Oftentimes the itinerary gives you multiple excursions or things to do during the day. The nice thing about being in a group as a solo traveller is you almost always have someone up to do what you’re interested in! Another highlight of travelling solo is that you are pushed to make friends and not stick to your comfort zone of only socialising with people you knew coming into the trip. I think there’s also a confidence that you gain from travelling on your own.
Challenges: In a group setting, there are always going to be people you gravitate towards and some you might not gel with on the same level. But that’s ok! You don’t need to be best friends with everyone but it’s very rare to meet someone you straight up don’t get along with. As a solo traveller who is more introverted, a challenge for me is that sometimes I feel like my social battery is empty after spending so much time with a group all morning, day and night. My advice to anyone who feels similarly would be to remember that it’s ok if you want to take a few minutes to sit outside alone, skip a drink at the bar, or go for a walk solo. No one will judge you for it and you need to take care of your mental wellbeing first and foremost!
Related: Here are some more expert tips for first-time solo travellers.
What is it like travelling with a group of ‘strangers’?
I absolutely love getting to know people from all different ages, backgrounds, and parts of the world. You may start off as ‘strangers’, but you definitely don’t leave this way! You truly become a little family so quickly, and I’ve made friends for life from group tours.
What did you learn from the other people on your tour?
Where do I even start? I feel like I learn something from every person on every tour I go on. Specifically for this tour, I learned a few things:
- You’re never too “old” to travel. We had one older man in his 70s who had such a profound zest for life, it was contagious. He was from Ireland and was travelling on his own to South Africa and Turkey. I swear he had more energy than the younger people in the group! He was up for everything and anything, and always kept us laughing and entertained. I remember thinking to myself, “When I’m his age, this better be me.”
- Be thankful for friendships. There was a group of three women who were travelling together on this tour. One was from the US, and two were from the UK. They met through work and had been friends for years. Throughout the trip, it was beautiful as an outsider to see the relationship they had with each other. They somehow always knew what the other person needed and had such respect for their boundaries, interests, etc. They were so different from each other on paper but had such an incredible bond that was apparent to everyone around them. It reminded me how friendships should be!
- Never apologise for being you. We had one man on the trip who was a bit quirky, but he was unapologetically himself in the best way possible. I loved how confident he was in himself and he travelled to more places than anyone I know. It reminded me to not care about what people think.
In what ways would you say travel changes people?
I came across a quote recently that answers this question perfectly: “Travelling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta. I can’t tell you how many times travelling has left me without words, whether it was seeing a novel landscape that took my breath away, meeting a beautiful person I’ll never forget, or overcoming a fear I’ll look back on with pride. Travelling may expose you to things you’ve never seen before, but it also exposes you to learning about yourself. How will you handle situations you’ve never been in before?
Travelling makes you a more compassionate, well-rounded, open-minded person, and the world could definitely use more people like that! Whenever I return home after a trip, I’m reminded of what’s really important in life and always have new lessons to remind myself of.
Why are you passionate about travelling?
This is going to sound beyond corny, but nothing makes my spirit happier than travelling. I weirdly feel so at peace when I’m travelling (even if I’m jumping off of bridges or swimming with sharks!). I love experiencing life in different areas of the world, learning about different cultures, exploring stunning landscapes, and meeting new people.
What would you say to someone who’s never travelled before?
My number one piece of advice for new travellers is to be open. Be open to new adventures, new foods, new people, and new ways of life. Immerse yourself entirely in a different culture and forget about what may be custom back at home. Secondly, I’d say don’t be afraid to go outside your comfort zone! You may learn a lot about yourself along the way.
My final tip would be to journal. On all my trips, I’ve journaled every night before going to bed. Even though you may not want to do it and are tired from the day, looking back on the details of what you did, where you went, how you were feeling, etc., brings back so many memories after time goes by and it becomes fuzzy. Especially on group tours, you do and see so much during your fun-filled itinerary, and the little details like where you stopped along the way are easy to forget. I even have people sign my journal at the end of a trip, almost like a little yearbook!
It pulls at my heartstrings whenever I open up a journal and read through the heartfelt, hysterical, and memory-provoking messages from the amazing people I was lucky enough to meet through travelling.
What destinations do you want to see next and why?
Is it a cop-out answer to say everywhere? Sometimes I feel like there are so many places to see, and so little time! I haven’t made it to South America yet, so that is definitely top of my list. I’d love to do a big trip to Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile.
Related: This blog will tell you everything you need to know about preparing for a South America trip!
Has Sarah’s story inspired you to see beautiful South Africa? Have a look at our South Africa tours or explore our upcoming tours and find your next adventure.