Oh no, travelling alone! But what about all those dangers which are ready to injure or kill you? Calm down, travelling alone gets a lot of bad press. The media blows the occasional negative story out of proportion and we start to believe that going it alone is wrong. What many of these stories fail to mention is whether the people in question were being responsible or not.
As long as you’re responsible, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t travel in Costa Rica on your own. Here are a few of the reasons why we think coming to this country without the support of someone else is a positive experience for you.
Come Out of Your Shell
With a friend it’s easy to interact with them and only them. Ticos are naturally social and are always willing to speak to tourists and have fun with them. If you’re joined at the hip with someone else, you won’t have the courage to go out to a bar and start speaking with the locals. You won’t find out about all those local myths and fables.
Travelling alone forces you to come out your shell. It improves your confidence and it makes it more likely you’ll want to do something like this again in the future.
Do What You Want
Sadly, travelling with someone else is a story of compromise and negotiation. You each have different tastes and you can’t fit everything in. Sometimes you’ll have to do things you don’t want to do. If you’re alone, this is a trip for you and only you. If you don’t find the prospect of hiking into the mountains fun, which would be a surprise, you can hang out by the beach. You have full control over what happens and when.
Filtering the Experience
We firmly believe everyone experiences the world slightly differently. No matter how much you identify with your best friend, your perspective is partly shaped by their perspectives, and vice-versa. The experience isn’t pure. When you get to a high place and gaze over the magnificent Central Valley it’s difficult to reflect on yourself and view your life in the way you want to view it.
It’s not their fault. They’re only human and it happens regardless of who decides to travel in Costa Rica with you. Every trip with your friend will be slightly different. Now if you repeated this trip alone things would be much more different.
We understand how travelling alone is intimidating, but it changes people. Come to the Nicoya Peninsula and see a stunning part of the world for yourself. It will leave you more confident, better able to confront problems, and you might even catch the travel bug and find yourself coming back to Central America again and again.
Of course, as soon as you arrive at Shaka you will find yourself already amongst friends!
