How to Challenge Yourself with a Solo Adventure

For a lot of women, the idea of solo adventure is equal parts thrilling and terrifying. What if you get lost? What if something goes wrong? People might stare. These are all fair questions, and certainly ones I’ve had on more than one occasion. But they’re also the reasons why so many people never go. The unknown can be scary. But here’s the thing: every big adventure starts with a single night away from home. You’ve got to start somewhere. And that’s why I created my free 5-day email challenge to help you take your first overnight solo adventure. Think of it as a permission slip to go anyway.

Why Do I Need a 5-Day Challenge to Take a Trip by Myself?

You don’t need a 5-day challenge to take a trip by yourself. You can just decide you’re going to book a night at a lodge somewhere and go for it. But I’m guessing there’s a reason you haven’t already done that. Maybe you feel guilty about taking time for yourself. Maybe you’re not sure how much is an acceptable amount to spend on something just for you, especially if you’re used to spending money on your family first. No, you don’t need a 5-day challenge to help you get away, but you might need it to talk you into actually doing it.

This five-day challenge is designed to take the guesswork (and the fear) out of planning your first solo overnight trip. It’s not about backpacking across Europe (unless that’s your jam), it’s about getting in your car and spending one intentional night away from your day-to-day life. One night that’s yours. One night where the only agenda is to be alone with yourself and remember that you’re allowed to take up space.

What Do I Know About Solo Travel?

It turns out, I might know a thing or two about traveling, and I certainly know a thing or two about traveling on my own. I’ve traveled over 20,000 kilometres on my own in Canada. I’ve stayed in roadside motels, little cabins in the woods, coastal inns, and bustling cities. And every time, I came back from one of my solo adventures, I was a little different. Not changed in some big dramatic way, but grounded.

I remembered who I was. What I wanted. What mattered. So more than the logistics of planning, saving and booking an overnight solo adventure, this 5-day challenge is going to push you to consider why you’re not making travel a priority when it’s obviously one of your priorities. You’re reading this blog, aren’t you? And this challenge is going to ask you to consider what you want and need. When was the last time you did that?

After I finished recounting my solo cross-country road trip to a relative stranger recently, and was met with another round of “I wish I could do that” comments, I decided to take what I know and I’ve built a challenge around it.

You don’t need a lot of time or money to create a lot of impact in your own life, especially when you can get in the car, drive 2 hours outside of town and enjoy yourself in a new and different place. I want to encourage you to do that. I created this challenge because I believe everyone should feel that sense of independence at least once. And once you do it once, you’ll probably want to do it again.

Every flame starts with a spark. And if my platform does nothing else, it will inspire you to follow those little sparks.

How Does the 5-Day Solo Adventure Series Challenge Work?

When you join the free email challenge to embark on a solo adventure, I’ll send you one email a day for five days. I will guide you through choosing your destination, prepping your gear, planning your meals, and checking in with your mindset. It’s more than a packing list. It’s a gentle nudge to try something new, to see what you’re capable of, and to create a memory that belongs only to you. Every email contains a daily action item that gets you closer to your trip and some bonus journal prompts to help you wrangle the cats that might claw at you when you decide to do this (Think: guilt, fear).

Nothing makes your thoughts louder than spending time on your own so I’m not about to leave you hanging with no way to manage your mind. I’m sending you an email a day over five days to give you time to get excited about this trip, plan for it and budget for it. Maybe the reason you never do these kinds of things is because you feel bad about spending that money on yourself. Or maybe you feel like you can’t ask for an extra day away from work.

Either way, by the time you receive your final email from me on day five you’re going to be itching to hit the road. Plus, there’s no need to try to do everything at once. Give yourself time. There’s no rush.

Feel the Feelings and Go Anyway

Let’s talk about the feelings that come up when you even think about booking that night away. Guilt, for starters. Who am I to take a night for myself? Then there’s fear: Will I be safe? Will people think I’m weird for doing this alone?

Is it weird to go into a restaurant and sit by yourself to enjoy a meal? It’s not as weird as you think it is. And I bet the last time you saw someone eating alone at a restaurant, you thought to yourself, “I wish I could that.” We crave more alone time than we let on only because everyone is doing things in pairs or groups. People are afraid to be alone. But it’s some of the most exciting and freeing time you’ll spend on this earth, especially when you go into a restaurant and order a rack of ribs for your itty bitty self and the waitress says, “you go, girl!”

Going on a solo adventure is only weird until it isn’t. And if you don’t claim time for yourself now, when will you? This 5-day challenge isn’t about getting you to drive across the country by yourself (although I’ve done that and highly recommend it), it’s about getting out of your comfort zone and trying something new.

When was the last time you tried something new?

What’s it Going to be Like to Participate in this Challenge?

Each day in the challenge includes a thoughtful prompt, a bit of encouragement, and one small action to move your plan forward. By the end of the five days, you’ll have everything you need for your first night away, including confidence. And once you’ve done it, the next time will be easier. And the next time after that. You might even find yourself planning weekend retreats and full-blown road trips before long. I’m still putting the finishing touches on my audio course, Go Anyway: The Solo Adventure Kit for Women, but in it, I’m going to teach you about those weekend, week-long and multi-week trips and how to take them by yourself.

First things first, though: you have to start somewhere. So let’s start with one night, shall we?

A Solo Adventure to Change Everything

I tend to apply the same spirit of adventure to my work, especially the creative work I’m sharing here on this platform. Whether I’m painting, writing, or designing courses, the core message is the same: you don’t need permission to begin. You just need a little support, but support can be hard to find sometimes. So I want to give you that support.

Join the 5-Day Solo Adventure Challenge. And then get to work creating something else for yourself. I’ll be here to help.