THE SOLO TRAVELLER
Your world. Your way.
Transitions
Taking time to explore beyond the conference venue in Hong Kong. Image courtesy Shane Warren and Associates.
The day after
Shane Warren is a counsellor, coach, consultant, and educator based in Sydney, Australia, who works across Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. His work takes him into boardrooms, conference halls, universities, and community spaces facilitating leadership programs, delivering workshops, speaking at conferences and supporting organisations through change. Shane also travels to his clinic rooms throughout Australia and Singapore, Hong Kong, Taipei and Seoul, where he assists people as they navigate the very human side of work – wellbeing, resilience, culture and what it means to flourish.
How do you balance the demands of work with the opportunities for personal exploration?
I’ve become quite intentional about this. Earlier in my career, travel was all airports, hotel rooms, and conference venues or clients’ offices. These days, I make a conscious effort to arrive early or stay an extra night. I’ve learned that a city reveals itself in the margins – a morning walk before meetings, a quiet coffee shop, a museum, or simply getting delightfully lost. As someone who spends a lot of time travelling alone, I’ve learned not to lean into loneliness but into curiosity. Solo travel can be an invitation to rediscover yourself if you let it.
Are there habits or rituals that keep you grounded, healthy, and well when you’re travelling for work?
Three things: walking, wandering, and writing (with one other essential for the hotel – a swimming pool because I like to start and end my day with a few laps). No matter where I am, I try to walk a city rather than merely visit it. I keep a small journal to capture ideas and reflections, and I always carve out time for an unhurried meal, preferably local and somewhere I can watch the world go by. My favourite ritual is staying one or two extra nights after the work is done. It transforms travel from endurance into renewal and is a great way to grow any ideas or inspiration that has come from my time in a town.
What are the greatest advantages of travelling for work on your own?
Freedom. There’s a certain luxury in following your curiosity. One evening you might end up in a hidden laneway in Hong Kong, and another time you might find yourself in conversation in a lobby bar with someone in Singapore who changes how you think about the world. Travelling alone also teaches self-reliance and reflection. There’s no one else to blame when you board the wrong train, and no one else to credit when you discover something extraordinary.
… and the biggest challenges?
Loneliness can certainly be part of the journey. I do miss my partner and children or a good friend, particularly when you experience something they would also really appreciate. So can fatigue. In the busy seasons, work travel can sometimes compress time into airports, presentations, and emails until you forget where you actually are. The challenge is remembering that travel is not just movement across geography but also an experience of being human. Remember, the journey is a part of the experience, so relax and enjoy it. Sometimes the wisest thing you can do is close the laptop and go for a walk.
Is there a city or destination that surprised you, either personally or professionally?
Many places give me joy and surprise, but when I first read that question I thought “Hong Kong continues to surprise me”. I’ve travelled there many times over the years since first going there as a child in 1984, yet every visit reveals something new. It’s a city that somehow manages to be intensely ambitious and deeply human all at once. Professionally, it has become a place where East and West meet, not just geographically, but in how people think about work, family, wellbeing and success. Yet as I say that, I think Singapore, Taipei and Seoul could each have the same thing said about them, which is why I have chosen to have work bases within those cities.
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Liberty Square (also Freedom Square) is a public plaza covering over 240,000 square metres (2,600,000 sq ft) in the Zhongzheng District of Taipei, Taiwan. Photographer: Sean Pavone Photo | iStock.
What is one item you never travel without?
A notebook. Technology is wonderful, but there’s something powerful about writing by hand. Airports, flights, and hotel rooms have given birth to some of my best ideas. Oh, and enough changes of clothes so that I have choice when I start the next day, which means I always fly with a big suitcase.
How has solo work travel changed your perspective on your personal and professional life?
Travel has taught me that success is not simply about achievement but alignment. When you spend enough time alone in unfamiliar places, you start asking different questions: “What matters? Who matters? What kind of life am I building?”. Ironically, travelling away from home has made me appreciate home more deeply.
What advice would you give to someone just starting to travel solo for work?
Treat work travel as more than logistics. Leave room for serendipity. Stay curious. Be kind to yourself when things go wrong, because they inevitably will. And if you can, add an extra day. The work might pay the airfare, but the experience often lives in the day after.
Have you made friends that you met while travelling that remain in your life?
Absolutely. One of the unexpected gifts of travel is that strangers have a habit of becoming friends. Some of my closest professional colleagues and dear friends today were once people I happened to meet in another city. Travel reminds us that the world is bigger and smaller than we imagine.
Can you share your top 3 tips for solo travelling success?
1. Build rituals, not routines. A morning walk, a simple swim or favourite café can make any city feel familiar.
2. Leave space in your itinerary. Some of the best experiences are unplanned.
3. Don’t just collect destinations but also collect stories, conversations and moments.