Port of Dubrovnik
“You’re going to Croatia? ALONE?!”
I heard this often before I went to Dubrovnik. To some, it sounds crazy to travel to a foreign country without the safety net of a friend. But I decided a few years ago that not having someone to accompany me on vacation was not a reason to stay home and simply dream about the places I wanted to visit. Dubrovnik was not my first solo trip, but it was the first time I realized how much traveling on my own had changed me. And I was only there for a day.
After a friend’s wedding in Malta, I flew to Bari, Italy and took an overnight ferry to Dubrovnik. While waiting to board the ferry, I met Simone from Perth, Australia, and we spent the night talking about travel, and trying not to think about how cold it was on the deck of the ship. After a nine hour journey across the Adriatic Sea, we finally arrived in Dubrovnik, found our hostels, and set out to see the Old Town.
On our way to the Old Town we met Andrew from Melbourne, Australia, and the three of us wandered the cobblestone streets of Dubrovnik for hours. We explored old churches and walked the wall that surrounds the town, constantly stopping to take pictures that could never capture the true beauty of Dubrovnik. For dinner, we decided to have a picnic by the water. We made sandwiches, drank wine, talked and laughed hours after the sun went down. If it weren’t for the cost of changing my flights, I seriously might’ve called in sick to work from Croatia.
A Day in Dubrovnik, Croatia
It wasn’t until I crawled into bed well after midnight that I realized I forgot to arrange for a ride to the airport the next day. I needed to leave at a horribly early hour (especially considering how much wine I drank) and it wasn’t an area where cabs were easy to find. The next morning when everyone else was still sleeping, I had to accept the fact that I might not make my flight – and I surprised myself by laughing about it instead of freaking out. But luckily the proprietor woke up just in time to give me a ride, and I made it to work the next day.
I know I would’ve had a great time traveling with a friend, but traveling solo opened me up to experiences I never would’ve encountered while traveling with someone else. Simone became someone I still keep in touch with, and she even showed me around Perth when I was there recently.
Traveling alone also forced me to become more independent and self-sufficient, and I learned how to be more easy-going and spontaneous. (I also learned that trying to use a squat toilet while slightly intoxicated could result in losing my balance. My shorts may have gotten a little…wet.) I got to see a beautiful part of the world, and I learned a lot about myself. What could be better than that? Why NOT go to Croatia, or anywhere, alone?
