I mostly travel solo nowadays, but have travelled with groups of different sizes in the past

Pros:

• you get to do whatever you want, whenever you want. No more endless debates about what to do, trying to please everyone and ending up pleasing none
• you can be more spontaneous and not need to plan in advance
• you can enjoy it more if you’re an introvert
• with modern phones it’s incredibly easy to not get lost

Cons:

• it can feel lonely at times
• you might need to spend more time on organizing the trip, compared to being in a group. But if you’re the one organizing the group anyway, you might actually spend less time when you’re solo. It really depends if you like doing this sort of thing
• it’s probably going to be more expensive, since you’re not splitting costs

Yes, it’s the best. You can do whatever you want, whenever you want.

Ditch or change plans if you don’t feel like it.

Fart freely.

Go to the lobster soup place twice in one day. And again the next day.

Wander off into the fog.

Stop on the side of the road to meet the horses.

Travelling with others is fine, but you should definitely experience solo travel too.

I mean, if it’s a vacation, it’s fun. you just have to be ready to make all the decisions and if it’s your first time going on a vacation as an adult, being the one in charge, that can be a lot to process. honestly it’s kind of a rite of passage. my first solo trip was at… 16 i think? go for it.

heyo, I’ve been traveling for ~15 years now, been to ~30 countries so far and it continues to be extremely rewarding and fuuuun.

I’ve had travel partners now and then, though I prefer solo traveling for the absolute wide-open “guess I’ll go walk toward that mountain in the distance for 4 hours” and “guess I’ll try 8 gelato flavors today” type of freedom that is very difficult to attain traveling with others.

I’m traveling solo in Matsuyama, Japan right now. Today I decided on a whim to take a train to Imabari, hung out at a temple, found my favorite yuzu ponzu sauce at a grocery store, spent a couple hours at a public bath, practiced some Japanese, stopped at a random yakitori restaurant on the way back, talked in terrible Japanese with the staff who were very kind and gave me a free shirt I’m wearing now! Pictures of the amazing food here.

I love solo traveling so much I keep doing it and talking about it, nothing else really compares for me. it’s certainly worth looking into and If you have any specific questions or concerns, I and the travel community are here as resources for anyone interested, so feel free to reach out. Apartments, healthcare, jobs, transportation, budgeting, whatever, I’m happy to talk.

I have! One of the nice things is that you can do whatever you want without having to round people up or get a consensus on everything, IE: you can just go out and wander about, and if you see a weird restaurant you’re curious about you can just go right in and check it out. In a group it’s always like: that place looks interesting but A isn’t hungry and B is allergic to peanuts and what is there’s no vegan option for C, maybe a couple of us can go tomorrow and have a look and then you never do. The downside is you don’t get to reminisce about it with your friends later on, and any stories that happen don’t really mean anything to anyone else you tell them to.

Done it a few times. I live in the US and have driven through a large portion of the lower 48 on my own. I’ve been in LA, NYC, DFW, Miami, Houston, Kansas City, Phoenix and the San Francisco Bay Area along other places. I’ve also traveled internationally a bit via ship all around the Caribbean where I often have to get around on my own.

I stayed in Montego Bay Jamaica for a little over two weeks at a hostel and walked around town visiting local stores, restaurants, and beaches. At one point I walked a little over 8K to had over to a dive shop and see some of the island.

On April 1st I’m getting on a plane to Cozumel Mexico for a little over three weeks. I’m staying at a hostel while I’m there and will be walking most everywhere while I’m there. The only time I will have a guide is when I’m diving, the rest of the time I will be own my own.

You have an opportunity to get out there and explore the world a little, meet new and potentially interesting people, and have the chance to try something you may have never expected. You can either take the risk or do the things you already have and pay it safe.

BTW learning to dive could provide you with some college credit. https://www.padi.com/college-credit And you would able to say you not only did that but traveled on your own to an island in a foreign country to learn and experience a new culture.

It depends on your mindset. It could be an extended vacation. It could be poorly planned and a good learning experience. People recommend it a lot because you kinda figure things out as you go. Be aware of your role as a solo foreigner and your race plus language barrier determines your experience with locals.

Experience was I was winging my trip and got burnt out trying to plan destinations last minute. Cost me more money then I’d like and way more stress. It amplified all my procrastinating behaviors but overseas in Europe.

It’s absolutely safe in Europe and Asia. Definitely something I recommend everyone does at some point, preferably earlier on in life. It taught me a lot about being independent and about myself, how I enjoy being alone etc.

Eating in restaurants alone can be a bit awkward to start with but you get over it.

Spent 3 months in New Zealand on my own at 18. Had an absolutely fantastic time. Also came back home much more adult than when I left.

Paging @bitofarambler@crazypeople.online, maybe this is something in your area of expertise? Or maybe a future topic for !travel@crazypeople.online?

It’s a great experience! I did a lot of solo travelling by train, bike or even hiking as a girl of 17-25 years old in europe. In my experience 99% of people are super nice and helpful and most people that weren’t had an issue with me not speaking the local language or were drunk at the time (daydrinkers, I did not go out to clubs or cafes at night on my own). Italy was the only place where I constantly felt unsafe as a woman, and they unfortunately have a bad record. Other countries I visited include czech republic, romania, hungary, austria, france, spain, belgium, germany and the uk, with no issues (I’m dutch).

Some considerations: While travelling you have noone to watch your bags, so make sure your luggage fits with you in a toilet stall and that you can store your bags somewhere the moment you get someplace. Travelling as light as possible improves the whole experience. There will be a lot of lonely time especially while travelling between places/hostels, so bring a good book or podcast, but also be prepared to enter into random conversations with strangers. With stuff like train delays that are only announced in the native language, it’s good if you have the confidence to ask around for help.

I traveled alone by train for the first time when I was about 10 years old, though not abroad.

There are Europe-wide train tickets you can buy, I’d recommend this if you’re curious. Plenty to see.

Some comments mention safety, probably Americans who don’t realize how safe Europe is. Though of course something bad can always happen.

Dinner for one is nice with a book, but it gets old. Going where you want when you want is nice but you’ll want someone to share with. Meeting new people is ok, but not easy and not often.

For the first time I recommend going for 5-7 days. You need to learn how to function alone without stressing too much because you’ll be home soon anyway.

Hostels are an excellent idea. Usually people who congregate there are quite social and willing to interact with strangers. Ot at least that’s how it used to be before Covid. I’m old.

Be ready to do things on your own without friends or without even strangers you met on the trip.

A healthy level of suspicion is needed to avoid scams. If someone wants your money, regardless of the excuse, leave immediately.

they said that since we’re stuck in Switzerland and I seem quite bored, and since I’m a legal adult now, why don’t I go on a trip abroad alone?

Personally, I never traveled abroad alone…

The only “travelling” I’ve done without parents was on school trips… (I remember going to Washington, DC once.)

I think its benefits doesn’t outweight the costs for me.

If I was still in China, maybe I would have more of an incentive… I mean its hard to get information from within the country due to censorship, so I’d probably be more willing to take risks and go abroad… I would probabaly have more willpower to just “tough it out”.

But I already won the “lottery” (metaphorically, China isn’t actually eligible for an actual lottery since there are already too many people trying to leave) of being able to get out as a family… so eh…

The thing is… I felt safe(ish) when I was a kid under my parent’s protection. Every burden of documents and planning is on parents, you get to be stress free and be ignorant to everything…

Idk if I could manage everything solo like visas, going to various appointments for documents… getting place tickets… waiting in an airport, making sure my stuff isn’t being stolen… booking hotels…

and the most important thing… making sure yoi have enough funds…

just thinking about it feels stressful.

Internet here is uncensored afiak so I feel like I have even less of an incentive to do traveling right now…

The US is kinda big… I still haven’t even explored my adoptive country yet… only been to NYC and Philly…

there are still so many places I could go domestically and its less stressful (aside from ICE… but if I go abroad re-entry to the US isn’t exactly gonne be fun either)

I’ve always wanted to go to Canada as a family (minus the toxic brother… haven’t gotten along with him for many years now)… Like it just feels less terrifying to be with family. Never gotten around to doing it… always putting it off and procrastinating (parents had the funds but I think they were busy)… then Covid hit and then the thought of travel sort of went out the window for a while…

Then I got depression…

And then we got a “new sheriff in town”

So now I don’t wanna be crossing borders for 3 more years… 👀

TLDR: Emigrated with family, never really travelled solo, lacking the motivivations + anxiety/depression make it hard to do it solo.