Jesse Copeland: The Perks of Travelling Alone

One of the many pluses to studying abroad is that on school breaks, you have the exciting opportunity to explore entirely knew places near by. On my mid semester break in Auckland New Zealand, my travel plans were pushed back so I made an impromptu decision to visit the city of Wellington alone. I would call myself a semi-loner so it’s surprising I had never actually done a trip all by myself where I knew I would most likely be alone he entire time. But I did… and I loved it.

The best thing about traveling alone is that you can do whatever you want. No need to compromise on sights or attractions with a group. I found this to be infinitely rewarding in a city full of museums and galleries, things that i love to do but unfortunately don’t in most cities I visit. I spent two hours in a film archive without boring a friend or family member. I was able to spend long amounts of time on photos, getting the perfect shot. Being in a foreign city all alone taught me a lot about myself too.

I discovered that I am fine being alone, that I should never again miss out on an experience just because I don’t have anyone to go with. The concern that I would be bored went away as soon as I got there. All I need was a tourist pamphlet and a couple suggestions from friends and my trip was already full. I would suggest to visit a new place alone to anyone because it’s a chance to be a true visitor. The opportunity to look at a city with wide eyes, not bringing along any of the people from back home o the reminders that come with them.

I hope I can bring what I learned in my alone time in Wellington back to my temporary home of Auckland. I’m starting to feel the end coming so I don’t want to miss out on anything while I’ve still got time. I guess I’ve started to feel a bit too comfortable here, I’ve stopped acting like as much of a tourist as I did in the beginning. Now that I’m running out of time I want to get back into tourist mode, I don’t want to forget about anything that I wish I would have seen when I’m back home.

I think traveling alone was exactly what I needed at my half-way point abroad. It reinvigorated my need for new experiences and allowed me to re-asses what it is that I’m looking for in my time left here.


Jesse is a second year Bachelor of Motion Picture Arts studying abroad at Unitec Institute of Technology in Auckland, New Zealand.