The Unexpected Benefits of Travelling Solo with a Chronic Health Condition

Does having a chronic health condition mean you can’t travel solo? Absolutely not.

In fact, for many midlife women, travelling solo with a chronic health condition can become a powerful way to rebuild confidence, reconnect with yourself and rediscover freedom — but it may look different from the way you travelled before.

In this post, I want to share some of the unexpected gifts I’ve discovered through travelling solo with a chronic condition.

The Hidden Power of Solo Travel with a Chronic Illness

Reclaim your freedom

At first glance, the idea of travelling solo with a chronic illness might feel daunting – or even unwise. But, for many, it can be profoundly rewarding.

When you set off on your own, taking your health into account every step of the way, you’re doing something powerful: reclaiming your freedom on your own terms. And within that freedom, something shifts—physically, mentally and emotionally.

Shaping Travel Around Your Health – Not Despite It

there are no rules

One of the most important mindset shifts I’ve had to make is this: you don’t need to travel like everyone else to travel well.

Your health doesn’t have to be a barrier – it can actually become your guide. When you stop trying to “push through” and instead shape your travel around your own needs, you create a more enjoyable, sustainable, and enriching experience.

You don’t have to do everything the guidebooks say, there are no rules – travelling is whatever you want it to be.

Solo travel with a chronic illness might sound intimidating – but it can also be one of the most freeing and empowering things you ever do. The key isn’t to ignore your condition or push through discomfort. It’s to honour your health and design your travel around your needs so that you feel safe, grounded, and able to enjoy the journey on your own terms.

You don’t have to compromise for anyone else. You get to put your wellbeing first.

My Own Journey of Travelling Solo with a Chronic Health Condition

in search of healing

Three years ago, during one of the most difficult periods of my life, I developed sudden neurological symptoms that affected my ability to walk. After multiple tests and consultations, I was eventually diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND).

Living with unpredictable symptoms has changed the way I travel, but it hasn’t taken travel away from me. Instead, it has taught me to slow down, listen to my body and create journeys that support my health and wellbeing.

➜ Read more about my FND journey here.

Depression: The Silent Companion

Wading through water

Alongside the physical symptoms came a deep emotional struggle. The day my partner unexpectedly ended our relationship was also the day my health crisis began. The combination of heartbreak, uncertainty and suddenly losing trust in my body was one of the most difficult periods of my life.

Losing my sense of physical independence felt like losing part of my identity. I grieved the version of myself who had travelled solo without limits, walked for hours, swam regularly and carried a backpack without thinking twice.

Approaching 50, I felt as though the life I thought I had built had suddenly fallen apart.

My depression was quiet—a slow retreat inward. I felt a deep, never-ending fatigue and a disconnection from the world around me. I moved through the days as if underwater. My world quietly folded in on itself and felt unbearably small.

➜ Read more about my own experience of depression, loss and finding my way back to myself

Why I Chose to Travel Solo Anyway

determination & becoming whole

Being told “there’s nothing wrong” while living with debilitating symptoms was disorienting, to say the least. I struggled to understand how symptoms that felt so real and frightening could exist when tests were coming back normal. Part of me was frightened by the uncertainty of what was happening; another part became determined to find a way forward.

I also knew that staying in the UK, living in fear and making my world smaller, wasn’t going to help me find the answers or sense of wellbeing I was searching for.

Solo travel had always been a huge part of my life. But for the first time, I was genuinely afraid of going out into the world alone: afraid of unfamiliar places, afraid of taking public transport, afraid I might lose the ability to walk again.

I thought my solo travel days were over… at least until I “got better.”

And yet—something in me refused to give up.

I wanted to find spaces that helped me relax, reconnect with myself and slowly rebuild trust in my body.

So I went.

I took long solo trips to Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Morocco. Along the way, I explored traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, hammams, breathwork and meditation. I sought out slow, nourishing experiences that helped my nervous system settle.

I wasn’t always alone—my son and a couple of friends joined me at different points, and I loved and was grateful for those times.

But something unexpected happened: I began to realise that solo travel with a chronic condition wasn’t a risk — it was actually what helped me feel most at ease in my body and mind.

When I travelled alone, I could shape each day around how I felt. I didn’t have to explain, apologise or keep up with anyone else. I could rest when I needed to, move slowly and follow my own rhythms.

I began to reclaim something I thought I’d lost: trust in myself.

And from that, a new relationship with my body – flawed, unpredictable, but still mine – started to form. The fog of depression slowly began to lift, not in dramatic moments, but in small quiet acts of self-trust: taking a walk in nature, bathing in the ocean, drinking tea on a terrace in the sun and through therapy, daily meditation/yoga and mind awareness.

My symptoms haven’t miraculously vanished, but I have discovered something equally important: a sense of wholeness and the belief that my life can still be rich, meaningful and full of possibility.

The Surprising Benefits of Solo Travel with a Chronic Condition

Here are some surprising benefits I have discovered through travelling solo with a health condition:

1. Total control over your schedule

When you’re traveling alone, you don’t have to explain why you’re tired, why you need to rest, or why you’re skipping that hike or that guided tour. You set the pace—and change it as needed.

You can:

• sleep in without guilt,
• take breaks when your body says so,
• cancel a plan without disappointing anyone else — and learn to let go of the guilt that can come with putting yourself first.

Freedom is crafting a trip that supports your well-being, not fights it.

2. Deeper self-Awareness and intuition

Solo travel encourages you to listen to your body, and trust it.

You start to:

• tune in to your symptoms earlier,
• get better at predicting your limits,
• recognize what helps you stay grounded and feel safe.

Your body isn’t the enemy, it becomes your travel companion and guide.

3. True autonomy and empowerment

Living with a chronic illness can sometimes feel like your independence is slipping away. This was one of my biggest fears and yet solo travel flips that on its head.

Every time you:

• navigate a foreign city
• figure out a transport system
• handle a symptom flare on your own
• advocate for your needs in a hotel, restaurant or airport…

… you remind yourself: I can do this. I’m capable. I am not my diagnosis.

You don’t have to feel strong every moment to become stronger through the experience.

4. A deeper, more intentional travel experience

Perhaps your body asks you to travel slower (mine certainly does) – and that’s not a negative. When you travel at a slower pace, you often connect more deeply with where you are. You notice the quiet details others miss.

You can:

• rest in parks and watch the world pass by.
• build relationships with locals with a new openness.
• learn to savour, not rush.
• You slow down enough to truly be where you are.

A book that beautifully captures this art of slowing down and savouring solo travel is Alone Time by Stephanie Rosenbloom. I highly recommend it.

Chronic illness can teach presence. Solo travel lets you practice it.

5. Discover new activities and re-define your joy

When you travel solo with a chronic health condition, your usual activities might not always be accessible, but that opens the door to unexpected activities.

You might:

• embrace wellbeing experiences,
• try new physical activities that feel good,
• fall in love with slow, meditative walks instead of hikes,
• enjoy local cultural experiences such as cookery and crafts.

Because you’re listening to your body and your intuition, you often say yes to things you never would’ve considered before and that can lead to entirely new sources of joy.

Redefining adventure on your terms doesn’t limit your experience, it expands it.

6. Connection to Yourself — and Unexpected Connections with Others

Ironically, solo travel often brings you closer to people in quieter, more meaningful ways. Whether it’s a kind stranger offering help, or a shared moment with another traveller, you build spontaneous connections without draining your social battery.

But most importantly: you connect to yourself.

You are able to:

• prove to yourself that your life isn’t on hold.
• build confidence in your ability to adapt, care for yourself, and live fully, even with challenges.

Final thought:

Having a chronic health condition doesn’t disqualify you from solo travel- it can deepen the experience

Solo travel with a chronic illness isn’t about escaping your condition, it’s about learning how to move through the world with it. It can feel like an act of quiet defiance, a declaration that your world does not have to become smaller because your body has changed.

➜ You might like to read this next: Solo Travel with Chronic Illness: How to Reclaim Yourself at Midlife

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I’d Love to Hear From You!

Have you travelled solo with a chronic condition? Or are you thinking about it? Feel free to share your thoughts or experiences in the comment section below.

If this post resonated with you, please consider sharing it with someone who might need this kind of encouragement.

Orchids to Olives

Journeys of self-discovery, wisdom, healing and friendship