Thinking About Traveling Solo for Your Internship Abroad?

Why Solo Travel Can Be the Best Choice

If you’ve ever thought about taking your internship abroad on your own, now might be the perfect time. Traveling solo gives you total freedom to design your journey exactly how you want it. No compromises, no endless back-and-forth with friends about where to go or what to do.

Social media is full of snapshots of friends studying, working, or exploring abroad. Why not create your own story. On your own terms?

Do Whatever You Want, Whenever You Want

When you travel solo, every choice is yours. Want to wake up before sunrise to explore the city or hike to a lookout point? You can. Prefer to take a slow afternoon at a café journaling about your placement? No one will be rushing you along.

This freedom doesn’t just apply to sightseeing. It carries into your internship experience too. You can tailor your learning, pursue specific departments or specialties, and choose exactly how much you want to immerse yourself.

Learn More About Yourself

Traveling alone gives you the mental space to reflect. Away from the daily routines and expectations at home, you can explore not just a new country but also new parts of yourself. Many students return from solo placements saying they discovered resilience, independence, and a clearer vision of what they want for their future in healthcare.

Build Confidence

Every time you step into a new hospital ward, navigate a local market, or try something unfamiliar, your confidence grows. Think of it like training a muscle. The more you push yourself outside your comfort zone, the stronger you get.

And while traveling with friends can also be rewarding, doing it on your own signals something powerful to future employers: you’re resourceful, adaptable, and ready to take initiative.

Make New Friends Around the World

Solo doesn’t mean lonely. On a Go-Elective internship, you’ll live in a shared house with students from across the globe. Medicine, nursing, dentistry, physician assistants, and more. Days are spent on placement, but evenings and weekends often turn into shared meals, spontaneous outings, and planned adventures.

Many students find lifelong friends this way. One weekend you might choose to go off on your own adventure, sampling local cuisines, arts, or music. Next, you could be traveling with a new group of housemates to a safari, a coastal town, or a cultural festival.

A Real Student’s Perspective

“I was nervous about going alone, but it turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made. I met students from the U.S., U.K., and Germany, and even though we were all in different disciplines, we bonded quickly. By the end of my placement, I had not only grown as a nurse but also built friendships I still keep today.” — Maya, University of California

Your Next Step

If you’ve been waiting for the “right time” to travel solo, this is it. With Go-Elective, placements run year-round and can be fully tailored to your goals. Whether you want to spend your summer in Tanzania, your winter break in Kenya, or any time in between, you’ll have the flexibility to make it work.

Solo travel can feel daunting, but that nervous energy is usually the sign you’re about to do something transformative.

Explore our nursing electives, Pre-PA & PA rotations,  medical internships, dental electives and global placements to start your journey.

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Recent Articles , Pre-health, Medical Electives, Dental Internships, Nursing Internships, PA Internships,

Author: Go-Elective Abroad

Date Published: Sep 20, 2025