Why Solo Travel Helps You Heal After a Breakup

When You’re Heartbroken, Staying Still Hurts More

So, if you’ve ever gone through a devastating breakup to make you question everything, first of all I am so sorry for what you’re going through. Whether you saw it coming, were shocked by it, or obsessed in circles about whether it was preventable, it still sucks. One day, you’re planning the future together, and the next, you’re in pajamas with some red wine, gorging yourself on potato chips, listening to sad songs on repeat, and avoiding your friends because you don’t want to burden them every day with another crying message into the phone.

Or maybe you’re telling your friends you’re “fine” while you quietly unravel inside even though you’re over-functioning and working your ass off and staying busy to avoid thinking about it. Some of us cope by bedrotting, curling up under a blanket and marathoning Netflix until we forget what day it is. Others sprint straight into a rebound, convincing ourselves that a new distraction is the answer.

Either way, heartbreak makes our world feel small, very dark, very lonely, and broken (at least that’s how it felt for me).

When my ex of 8 years and I broke up, it happened while I was still traveling through South America. I ended up staying a few more months trying to sort through (run away from?) my feelings. I hiked Machu Picchu, danced tango in Buenos Aires, watched World Cup matches in hostels with new friends, mountain biked Bolivia’s infamous “most dangerous road in the world.” Every new adventure brought a little joy back, a temporary relief from the gaping emotional hole in my chest. At least I got a bit more clarity and experience.

But when I came back home to Georgia, everything crashed.

Two months later, I was sitting in the same room we’d spent years in together, surrounded by all our old stuff, and I completely fell apart. I stayed up too late, replaying every sad song ever written, and my life felt like one long breakup montage. There was no Instagram feed to stalk back then, but I still found plenty of ways to torture myself.

That’s when I realized that I couldn’t heal in the same place where I’d completely fallen apart.

I was on a very dark and crappy spiral I couldn’t seem to get out of surrounded by reminders and memories. So, I did something drastic: I packed my bags and moved to China. Not because I thought a plane ticket would magically fix my heart, but because I knew staying where everything reminded me of him was slowly suffocating me.

​​​“Every time your heart is broken, a doorway cracks open to a world full of new beginnings, new opportunities.” — Patti Roberts

Now, before you roll your eyes, yes maybe that was a bit excessive or dramatic but it’s where I was at the time. And we all do the best with the emotional tools we have at the time. And no, you don’t need to move halfway across the world to get over your ex. But this blog is for those people out there who’ve maybe always wanted to do it and are thinking about taking the leap. So why not take a trip that helps you remember who you are? Because solo travel, especially after heartbreak, is one of the most powerful forms of therapy there is in my opinion.

Let’s talk about why...

Reason # 1. Novelty Is Emotional Medicine

Heartbreak traps you in routine. You wake up, relive the same memories, walk the same streets, sit in the same cafés, and your brain just loops: Why did this happen? What did I do wrong?  What am I going to do now?

Travel breaks that loop. There’s actual science behind it. New experiences trigger dopamine, which is the “feel-good” chemical that helps you feel motivated, curious, and alive again. Novelty wakes up your senses and shifts your perspective. You literally start to see life differently because you’re looking at something new.

​“We too, like trees can shake off our dead leaves and begin again.” ― A.Y. Greyson

When you’re standing in a crowded market in Peru, watching a sunset in Buenos Aires, or laughing with new friends at a hostel in Hangzhou, your heart starts to loosen its grip on the past. Those moments don’t erase pain but they can give you perspective and dilute it.

When I first started exploring Beijing, I got lost constantly in the hutongs (maze-like traditional Beijing neighborhood alleyways filled with life, smells, and noise). Back then, there was no Google Maps, no Booking.com, no Hostelworld. Just me, my Let’s Go China guidebook, and a very questionable sense of direction.

Now? You have everything — Lonely Planet online, Booking.com for last-minute stays, Hostelworld for community, TripAdvisor for recommendations, Sandeman’s free walking tours to meet people, and translation apps that save you from ordering chicken claw soup instead of dumplings by accident.

If I could do it with paper maps and hand gestures before mobile phones, you can absolutely do it with Wi-Fi and Google Translate.

And the best part? Every time you step into a new place, you give your heart something else to focus on other than the loss. New sights, new sounds, new faces all mean the same thing: life goes on, and so do you.

Reason # 2. Solo Travel Rebuilds Trust in Yourself

Breakups can wreck your confidence. Whether you feel rejected, abandoned, questioning yourself, or the person didn’t appreciate you or didn’t treat you well, suddenly, you’re questioning everything: your worth, your intuition, your judgment. It’s like your inner GPS stopped working. Solo travel helps you recalibrate it.

When you’re traveling alone, you have no choice but to rely on yourself and it makes you feel incredibly independent. You’re the one who decides where to go, how to get there, and what to do when things go sideways (and they will, at least once). Each of those moments becomes a small but powerful reminder that you can trust yourself again.

For example, the first time I navigated buses in Rome, Italy on my own?  I was sure I’d mess it up. I did. Twice. Ended up on the other end of town since I didn’t know you had to ring the bell to get off and the bus doesn’t stop if no one does that. But I still made it back and I figured it out. Did the same in London, too ended up an hour away from Bromely South where I was doing volunteer work. Same with figuring out long-distance trains in China when I still wasn’t very assertive and my Chinese wasn’t very good. Every challenge turned into proof that I could handle life on my own terms.

And that’s what heartbreak takes from us: the doubt that we’re capable of doing life solo and that we’ll be ok.

"Travel far enough, you meet yourself," David Mitchell

Travel gives that belief back, one decision at a time. When you order dinner alone in a busy restaurant and realize you’re not awkward, you’re independent. I know many people who have told me that’s one of the reasons they don’t feel comfortable traveling alone, because they’re afraid of looking stupid. I’m here to tell you: nobody cares. I used to work in restaurants so for me, this was pretty normal because you always had to eat alone at a table on your break. My fears were usually around screwing it up. Taking the wrong train. Missing my flight, etc.

But when you sit in a hostel bar and laugh with strangers from 10 different countries and realize you’re interesting, capable, and fun, you start to remember the woman you were before the heartbreak. Confidence isn’t something you think your way into. It’s something you build through experience. Solo travel is a crash course in remembering your own power. And that’s what I love about it.

Reason # 3. Motion Heals What Stagnation Keeps Stuck

Heartbreak lives in the body in the tight chest, provoking restlessness, and fatigue. Staying still often means staying stuck in those sensations. Travel, quite literally, gets things moving again. When you’re climbing the steps of Machu Picchu, biking through Bolivia, or wandering a street market in Germany, your body releases stress and your energy starts to shift. Motion helps your nervous system regulate.

You can’t cry about your ex and panic about missing your train at the same time. Multitasking has limits.

And that’s why travel works — it demands presence. You have to pay attention. You’re too busy figuring out where to go, what to eat, or how to say “thank you” in another language to ruminate over your past.

For me, that movement was everything. It wasn’t about running away from pain — it was about moving through it. Years later, when I learned EFT Tapping, it all clicked. Both are forms of energetic release — travel moves your body, tapping moves your emotions. Together, they help you find flow again.

If you’re traveling solo to heal, build in grounding rituals that keep you connected to yourself.

Each morning, find a café and journal about how you want to feel that day. Take gratitude walks at sunset and name three things you love about where you are. If anxiety creeps in, tap through it — a quick EFT round in your hotel room can work wonders.

Healing doesn’t have to mean sitting still. Sometimes it’s found in motion, in sweaty raves on the Great Wall of China where it meets the sea, in new air sitting at a cliff bar in Dubrovnik, and morning light at the Foro Romano in Italy.

Reason # 4. You’re Not Running Away — You’re Coming Home to Yourself

And I should be honest, many people are not gonna think it’s a good idea. People try to dissuade you from going out into the world. In the US, I can’t tell you how many people told me not to go because it’s too dangerous to go alone. However, the US is not exactly safe, considering how many gun deaths there are every year and I feel safer in Europe or Asia than I do walking around many US cities at night.

Another thing is that people love to call travel “escapism.” And maybe it is. But here’s the thing: sometimes escape is exactly what you need to get a fresh perspective on life, yourself, and the relationship. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but here’s the way I see it: you’re not running away from your healing when you travel; you’re giving yourself the space to actually do it.

Not everyone finds clarity and peace while surrounded by all the things that broke them. Sometimes it comes in the form of the silence of a sunrise, in the laughter of strangers who don’t know your story, in the freedom of knowing no one expects anything from you except to show up.

​“In the solitude of solo travel, the mind expands, and the spirit dances to the rhythm of the open road.” – Jack Kerouac

For me, traveling through South America gave me perspective. Living in China gave me strength. Later, traveling to Zanzibar, Vietnam, Albania, Bulgaria, Sicily, and Turkey gave me wonder and a sense of freedom. Each place brought me closer to myself.

And somewhere between airports, bus rides, and sunsets, I stopped waiting to feel like “me again” — because I already was. And I’ll be honest here: solo travel doesn’t erase heartbreak (I still cried walking around Buenos Aires in the rain (it was not as poetic as it sounds, trust me); it expands your heart so it has room for more than just the feeling of pain. It reminds you that your life isn’t over, that there’s a new blank space where it’s just unfolding in new directions.

Reason # 5. Your Passport to Healing

You don’t have to move to another country to heal your heart. Sometimes, you just have to move — in any direction that feels alive. Maybe you need a beach vacation to Mexico, or a week in beautiful Sevilla, or to check out the Cliffs of Moher. Or maybe it’s a weekend trip. Maybe it’s a solo brunch. Maybe it’s just a road trip for a day driving around your state or province, listening to music and grabbing lunch but it’s a day for you. Maybe it’s a last-minute getaway flight to a city you’ve always wanted to see.

If you’re US based check Travel Pirates. If you’re UK based, check Holiday Pirates. For Germany, check Urlaubspiraten.

If you want more information on how to travel after a breakup, and where to travel after a breakup, check my blog.  Check this article on 7 helpful safety tips for women who want to travel solo.

​“A woman who is free to roam the world alone is unstoppable.” – Rita Mae Brown

The destination doesn’t matter as much as the intention: to reconnect with yourself. Because sometimes you need to sit with it but sometimes, healing also happens in motion. It’s in the courage it takes to leave the familiar behind, to face new experiences, and to see yourself differently in the process.

Solo travel helps you remember:
You’re capable. You’re brave.
You’re interesting. You’re independent.
You’re resilient. You’re capable.
And you’re so much more than the heartbreak you survived.

So if you want to go, pack your bag. Book the ticket. Go find out what else is waiting for you. Because the best part of travel therapy isn’t the places you visit, it’s who you become along the way. Need help planning? Ask me I do side trip planning services too.

​“I am not the same, having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” – Mary Anne Radmacher

If this resonated with you, check out my upcoming book Wander Woman: How Solo Travel Can Help You Heal a Broken Heart.
It’s filled with stories, travel tips, mindset shifts, and real tools to help you rebuild your confidence, find joy again, and create your own version of travel therapy.

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FAQ: Travel Therapy & Solo Travel After a Breakup

1. Is solo travel good after a breakup?

Absolutely — but not because it magically “fixes” you. Solo travel after a breakup is powerful because it gets you out of the routine that keeps you stuck. When you’re in a new environment, your brain releases dopamine — the feel-good chemical that helps you rediscover curiosity and motivation. You start focusing less on what you’ve lost, and more on what’s in front of you: new people, new experiences, and new energy.

2. Can travel really help me move on emotionally?

Travel doesn’t erase heartbreak — but it moves it. When you change your scenery, you change your perspective. Movement, novelty, and adventure help you process emotions instead of staying trapped in them. You’re not running away from pain — you’re creating space to breathe, reflect, and start living again. That’s what travel therapy is really about.

3. What if I’m scared to travel alone after a breakup?

Totally normal. Most women feel nervous before their first solo trip — especially after a breakup when your confidence takes a hit. Start small. Try a weekend getaway or a nearby city before going abroad. Confidence builds through action, not waiting for fear to disappear. Every little success — from ordering a meal alone to navigating a train — reminds you how capable you are.

4. Do I have to move abroad to get the benefits of travel therapy?

Not at all. You don’t need to move to another country (like I did!) to feel the shift. Healing can happen on a weekend road trip, a solo beach day, or even an afternoon exploring your own city. The magic isn’t in the miles — it’s in the movement. Travel therapy works because it reconnects you to yourself, wherever you are.

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About Andrea Hunt:

I’m an EFT Tapping Empowerment Coach and I help ambitious professional women reach their goals faster by breaking free from fear, self-doubt, and impostor syndrome so they can build confidence like a muscle—one bold step at a time—and finally step outside their comfort zone to create the life they know they deserve.
Curious about EFT Tapping? Download my FREE EFT book and discover how tapping can enhance emotional resilience, improve mindset, and reduce perfectionism and negative self-talk.

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