About Ben On The Run
Travel alone. Travel slowly. Pay attention.
Hi, I’m Ben.
Welcome to Ben On The Run, a travel blog about the realities, rewards, and small surprises of traveling on your own.
I started this site because solo travel is often presented in one of two ways: as an endlessly glamorous adventure, or as something intimidating that requires a perfectly planned itinerary.
My experience has been much more ordinary — and much more interesting.
Traveling alone means figuring out where to eat when you don’t have anyone to ask, navigating unfamiliar streets after dark, changing plans when the weather turns, spending an unexpected afternoon in a small café, and sometimes simply sitting somewhere new with nowhere else you need to be.
Those are the moments that made me want to write.
Why I Travel Alone
I didn’t start traveling alone because I wanted to become an expert traveler.
I started because I wanted to experience places at my own pace.
When you travel with other people, every decision becomes a compromise. Where to go, when to leave, what to eat, how long to stay — even small choices become group decisions.
Traveling alone is different.
You can wake up early because you feel like it. You can spend three hours walking without a destination. You can change your entire plan because someone recommended a neighborhood you had never heard of.
And sometimes, you can do absolutely nothing.
I’ve come to appreciate that freedom more than checking another destination off a list.
What You’ll Find Here
Ben On The Run focuses on solo travel, particularly the practical side of making independent travel easier and more enjoyable.
You’ll find guides covering:
- Planning your first solo trip
- Choosing destinations for solo travelers
- Traveling safely on your own
- Budgeting for independent travel
- Packing and preparing for a trip
- Meeting people while traveling alone
- Dealing with loneliness and uncertainty
- Eating alone without feeling awkward
- Slow and intentional travel
- Making the most of time away from home
- Lessons learned from being on the road
I also write about something that doesn’t always get much attention in travel guides:
what it actually feels like to travel alone.
Because knowing how to get from the airport to your hotel is useful.
Knowing what to do when you suddenly realize you’re completely on your own in an unfamiliar city is useful too.
Travel Without Rushing
One idea you’ll see throughout this site is slow travel.
I’m not interested in collecting destinations simply for the sake of saying I’ve been there.
Sometimes the most memorable part of a trip isn’t the famous landmark.
It’s the bakery you found by accident.
The train ride you almost skipped.
The conversation with someone you met for twenty minutes.
The neighborhood you walked through without looking at a map.
Or the afternoon when you realized you weren’t in a hurry anymore.
That’s the kind of travel I want to explore here.
Not perfect travel.
Meaningful travel.
What Makes This Blog Different?
There are plenty of excellent travel websites that can tell you:
Where to go.
What to see.
Where to stay.
What to book.
Those things matter.
But I also want to talk about the decisions and experiences between those points.
Should you really change hotels every two nights?
Is a packed itinerary actually better?
How do you make friends when you’re traveling alone?
What happens when you don’t feel like sightseeing?
How do you enjoy a destination when you’re tired, uncomfortable, or simply having an ordinary day?
These are the questions I’m interested in.
My goal isn’t to tell you how you should travel.
It’s to give you useful information, practical ideas, and another perspective so you can decide what works for you.
A Practical Approach
I’m a big believer in doing the research before leaving home.
Safety, transportation, local customs, costs, weather, accommodation, and logistics can make a huge difference to a trip.
But planning doesn’t mean planning every minute.
I prefer to have enough information to feel prepared while leaving enough room for the unexpected.
That’s the balance I’m trying to bring to this website:
Practical enough to be useful.
Personal enough to feel human.
Flexible enough to leave room for adventure.
A Note About the Advice Here
Travel advice isn’t universal.
A destination that feels perfect for one traveler may feel completely wrong for another. Budgets vary. Comfort levels vary. Priorities vary.
Whenever I share recommendations, I try to explain why something may be useful rather than simply declaring that it’s the “best.”
Where information can change — such as transportation, entry requirements, prices, opening hours, or local regulations — always check current information with the relevant official source before making a trip.
This site is meant to help you research and think through your trip, not replace your own judgment.
Why I Keep Writing
The longer I travel, the less interested I become in seeing everything.
I’m more interested in noticing things.
A different way of living.
A quiet street.
A conversation with a stranger.
A meal eaten alone.
A place that makes you want to stay another day.
And sometimes, simply discovering that you are perfectly capable of figuring things out on your own.
That’s why I created Ben On The Run.
If you’re planning your first solo trip, already spend a lot of time traveling alone, or simply enjoy exploring places at your own pace, I hope you’ll find something here that makes your next journey a little easier — or a little more interesting.
Currently Exploring
New destinations, better ways to travel alone, and the simple question of how to make more room for curiosity when we’re away from home.
Thanks for stopping by.
— Ben
Ben On The Run · Solo Travel, Slow Travel & Life on the Road