Anyone do any solo travelling? What's it like?

[Dyle]

for people saying planning is necessary what do you mean?

I get for like catching a plane or train. but my daily itinerary? I'd have a rough idea but if I saw a cool museum or hike, I liked the freedom not to have firm plans, and could just do what I wanted and make the decision then and there

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If I don't plan every day I'm traveling by myself I'm just as likely to end up spending the majority of my time of my time sulking in my hotel room as I am to do anything of any interest. Jet lag, culture shock, and any other travel anxiety are amplified tenfold when you're alone

 

[SP.]

for people saying planning is necessary what do you mean?

I get for like catching a plane or train. but my daily itinerary? I'd have a rough idea but if I saw a cool museum or hike, I liked the freedom not to have firm plans, and could just do what I wanted and make the decision then and there

Click to shrink...

The best approach for me is to plan a detailed itinerary for the first day or two so that you spend that time familiarizing yourself with the area. And during that you aren't wandering aimlessly and wasting time. From that point on you'll have a decent idea about what you want to do for the remaining time.

Also depending on where you're going a lot of activities need to be booked in advance.

 

[StarStorm]

I've done it when I went to Japan. I winged it everyday, didn't really have an itinerary, so whatever place I felt like visiting. The downside is you're all alone in another country and you don't speak their language. At least most of the tourist friendly spots had people speaking English. Would definitely do it again if it wasn't for the Rona. I'm introverted as well, but I wasn't gonna let this opportunity go to waste. I did airbnb for Tokyo and a hotel for Kyoto on Booking.com. Took my first ever bullet train. Slept part of the way there on the 2.5 hour trip. When I still had facebook, I would share pictures of the sites I visited, but communication was delayed due to the time difference. It was a culture shock at each new place. I was stared at a restaurant due to lacking the correct etiquette to get the attention of the waiter. I was hungry and he didn't come back until I started waving at him.

I knew others who took hostels, so you're not alone if you want human interaction talking with other tourists.

Would like to do a road trip here in the US too. Just drive across to the east coast with a bunch of breaks along the way.

I would definitely do it OP.

 

[bionic77]

I've done it but only to Disney parks (both Land and World). It's pretty great. I'll likely be doing a semi-solo trip to Japan once this whole everything going right now goes back to normal.

Low-key the best thing about solo traveling is if you're in a bad mood or having a bad day you can just… not tell anyone.

The worst thing is that there are certain experiences which just feel kinda awkward doing solo. Luckily those experiences are generally the more expensive ones so you save some money avoiding them.

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That interesting.

I would have assumed a theme park would not be as much fun by yourself but then again I never tried it either.

I have been married a long time and was with my wife for awhile before that but I did take two solo trips. One involved a lot of driving and I have to say that was not great going solo (at least for me). Otherwise it was a lot of fun being by yourself if you are in the right mindset. I enjoyed just walking around and seeing things. When I was younger the only awkward part was eating by myself but its not that hard to get over it either.

 

[Senator Toadstool]

The best approach for me is to plan a detailed itinerary for the first day or two so that you spend that time familiarizing yourself with the area. And during that you aren't wandering aimlessly and wasting time. From that point on you'll have a decent idea about what you want to do for the remaining time.

Also depending on where you're going a lot of activities need to be booked in advance.

Click to shrink...

I usually do a walking tour, especially in Europe. They tend to point things out.

I have a really good sense of direction so I just look at the map ahead of time.

 

[oni_saru]

I've done it multiple times. It's fun for me but then again I tend to be comfortable being on my own.

I like to go on hikes and what's great about doing it solo is that I do it on my own pace. So don't have to worry about catching up or feeling bad that I don't have the best endurance.

Also I plan what I want to do. Solo trips are great!

 

[Leeness]

Solo travel is the only way for me. I love going wherever I want, whenever.

I've been to France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal on my own.

As a solo traveling lady, I do make sure I know where I'm checking in at night, and I check in with my family every couple days. Other than that, it's all good.

 

[fulltimepanda]

Favourite way to travel to be honest. I've done Japan, Korea and South America solo. Was planning to South Africa and Spain/Portugal solo before covid hit too.

Hostel's are super comfy ways to meet people, there's always events on and there's always other solo travelers if you're looking for people to explore with. Otherwise there's no pressure at all if you just want to do stuff on your own.

I usually pick out a few things I'm interested in an area, book the stuff I figure is must do and that's about it. The spontaneity of hostel groups can be something else.

 

[Yunyo]

It's fun in that you are on your own terms; what lengths you're willing to go to see things, how much annoyance you want to put up with, the scheduling, etc.

Downside is, not having more pairs of eyes and ears around means you could miss out on something really cool without realizing it.

 

[EggmaniMN]

I just did a solo trip to Chicago for the weekend and it was totally fine. Left when I wanted, went to the food places I wanted, woke up when I wanted, went to all the things I wanted to do, didn't need to wait for other people to get ready, or listen to them be indecisive about eating, just boom let's go. I had places I wanted to see and I just went there at my own leisure.

 

[entremet]

I plan on the plane and taxi rides lol. Not that hard in the age of the smartphone.

Simple rule. One or two big sights and day. And something fun at night--restaurant, bar, concert, , downtown trek, club, etc.

I also triage if I need to. Be flexible.

No need to overcomplicate things.

 

[UraMallas]

I've done it and loved it. Last time I went to watch my favorite baseball team play a full series. I bought a hotel room right across from the park, bought two tickets for each game so I'd have extra space, and just walked back and forth from the park to the hotel. There were restaurants, bars, and shopping centers around the stadium so I always had fun stuff to do and look at. I didn't talk to anybody that I knew at all for 4 days. It felt incredibly liberating.

Would recommend.

 

[Parisi]

I've never been much of a traveller but recently got the travel bug and want to try it. Unfortunately my income is a lot higher than most of my friends, so I'm unable to do it much with them. I was opposses at first, but have gotten increasingly more curious about it. Anyone have any experience doing this? I want to start domestically, with visiting other parts of the US first, but also want to eventually try it internationally as well.

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I pretty much travel solo. I love it. I can do whatever I want and not have to worry about what others want to or not want to do...

Back in 2019, I traveled to London/Amsterdam/Paris by myself and it was great. I set my own schedules, didn't have to run it by anyone to see if they wanted to do the same thing or not. It's great. I highly recommend it!

 

[br0ken_shad0w]

I still prefer traveling with friends, but if there's a goal in mind, I'll definitely go by myself. In fact I'm doing a solo trip right now because I wanted to experience a crosscountry Amtrak train ride (Seattle -> Chicago) and all my friends are hesitant of being stuck in a train for 50 hours (and the sleeper cabin I got totally would not have worked with 2 people). That being said, that Amtrak ride was totally worth it.

 

[Eye for an Eye]

I always wanted to do it as well. I just fear that it'll be a lonely experience as I'm not the most extroverted person.

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I'm not a people person either, but when you travel you create stories. As you meet new people you have a story to share with them. The more stories you have, the easier it is to connect with people.

I did two solo trips to Texas and back. I loved it the whole way. I saw what I wanted. I stopped when I wanted. I ate what I wanted. I spent as much as I wanted. Having sole discretion over everything was great. But I also love traveling, exploring, and visiting places with others too. So you can always ask a friend along and let them know you'll cover the major expenses like gas or hotel because you were going to have to pay for it anyways. Then, just randomly say you've got the tab for the meal or whatever.

 

[Pedrito]

Pros
-Your companions won't "hold you back". No need to constantly stop to rest, eat, heal achy feet, etc. And on the other hand, you don't have to worry about holding back your companions.
-No constant arguments about where to go next, where to eat, wake up time, etc.
-You can be as frugal or spend as much money as you want
-More likely to strike conversations with strangers/locals
-Once you've done it once, it open a world of possibilities. You no longer need to wait for people to be available or agree to go to a specific place.

Cons
-No matter what peoples say, eating alone in restaurants sucks. One great thing about travelling is sharing a nice meal at the end of the day and discussing what you've seen and what you're gonna do the next day. I really miss that when I travel alone. I usually end up ordering take out and eat in my room, or go to a food court for a quick bite.
-Can be a little bit more expensive as you can't split expenses like taxi rides, rooms, food, etc.
-I really enjoy visiting archaeological sites or museums alone, but not theme parks or amusement parks.
-Doing certain activities alone can be risky (like hiking)
-When something bad or unexpected happens, like getting injured/sick, getting robbed, missing a flight, etc., being alone makes it that much more stressful.

 

[Tuck]

I love solo travelling. i've done 7 solo trips and they've been the best times of my life.

+So much flexibility - I've done trips where I literally planned nothing and made it up as I went. I've also gotten to go off-the-beaten-path so to speak, which is harder to do with someone else.
+You meet lots of new people (pre-covid)

 

[MegaRockEXE]

I think it's fun. I traveled solo to New York in 2019 and had a great time! It was my first time doing so as well. I had set a list of things to do for myself for every day and I got by just fine. It's really liberating because I was able to just do what I wanted and my pace. I never get to do that.

I'm more reserved though and I said very little the entire time I was there. Despite everything I did and saw, I could not share it in real time with anyone. But that's all right because it was very uniquely for me.

 

[shintoki]

I like it. Only advice is stay at hostels.

 

[Senator Toadstool]

That interesting.

I would have assumed a theme park would not be as much fun by yourself but then again I never tried it either.

I have been married a long time and was with my wife for awhile before that but I did take two solo trips. One involved a lot of driving and I have to say that was not great going solo (at least for me). Otherwise it was a lot of fun being by yourself if you are in the right mindset. I enjoyed just walking around and seeing things. When I was younger the only awkward part was eating by myself but its not that hard to get over it either.

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I never traveled but if you like costers and e-ticket rides its fun. I used to work at a theme park and would go in solo on my days off for an hour or two just to ride the coasters a few times

 

[RatskyWatsky]

how do you avoid being murdered tho :(

 

[PrepaidPostage]

I have done an extensive amount of solo travel, and if anyone wants to send me a message I can try to help point them in the right direction.

My steps for international travel are pretty much:

1. Get a good travel credit card
2. Stay at hostels so you can meet people
3. use viator/tripadvisor to find expensive things to do
4. take the 'free walking tour' that every european city offers
5. ask your hostel/hotel what to do and visit
6. use rome2rio or something similar to figure out how to get around if traveling between cities. Use Google Flights to research which places you can fly to easily.
7. put your hotel/hostel on Google maps so you know how to get around
8. assume that everyone in the service industry is going to upsell you by 100% on everything you try to do (taxis, food, etc)
9. Research in advance the "important" travel stuff, for example, Paris catacombs and Macchu Picchu likely need to be booked a month in advance
10. Anticipate looking like an idiot
11. read the travel advisor notes on your government offers. They will tell you about common scams.
12. Carry Dayquil/Nyquil/Advil because you'll get sick eventually on a trip and not know what to do.
13. Tell someone where you are
14. Use an international sim card if you are concerned about being lost or not knowing where to go.
15. Get a travel insurance policy for around $50.
16. Have audiobooks/podcasts for when you are bored.

My steps for domestic Travel are pretty much:

1. Get a travel credit card
2. Use the travel card's booking portal to get all flights, cars, and hotels
3. use viator/tripadvisor to find expensive things to do
4. Use roadtrippers or atlas obscura to find things to do while traveling
5. Visit one city at a time, or rent a car and drive in a "circle" between multiple cities and return to the first city
6. Have audiobooks/podcasts for when you are bored.

 

[Neo C.]

Pre covid, I did mostly solo trips. I honestly prefer it. When you travel with someone, chances are you get annoyed by other people's doings but can't escape. My worst experiences are always with a friend or a family member, never solo.

In solo trips, you own your own wrong decisions, and that's a more mature experience.

 

[Worthintendo]

I've traveled to Japan 3 times, first trip I was there for 3 weeks, 2nd was for 4 weeks and 3rd was 6 weeks and with the exception of a week in Tokyo with a friend on the 2nd trip they have all been solo.

I found it really enjoyable and liberating, could do and eat what I wanted, go where I wanted and not really worry about others think. Granted there were times when it was abit lonely and I did wish I had someone to share the times with, namely places like Disney. I found it helped checking in with friends and family back home, uploading videos to my Facebook and also knowing some people in Japan I could hang out with on certain parts of the trip.

I just found myself way too busy to feel lost and lonely I guess.

 

[Ablacious]

It's great. Had a yearly 3 week trip to Japan where all I did was eat and walk and eat. Spots were saved on google maps so daily itinerary was just stringing things together on mood and weather. When I went with some people, it was terrible, but that was my bad not noticing social economic differences beforehand. They viewed trains as a commoner thing, if that makes sense.
Had lived there previously so no real acclimatization issues. Need to do a little more event planning (theater, music) next time as that was a bit hit and miss. (Caught a great punk show last time though. Still pissed I left souvenir t-shirt in room).
After 3 weeks, I get homesick.
So, yeah, I liked the freedom of changes itinerary on mood and not worry about affecting someone else. But had to learn to plan well or else it felt like wasting time. Though, sitting in a coffee shop or in a park is a okay.

 

[squeakywheel]

Do it. It changed me. I am usually shy bordering on antisocial but traveling alone forced me to interact with others as I was as far away from my comfort zone/area as possible. Made some new friends during my monthlong euro trip. I had loads of fun and saw lots of things and experienced so much new food and sights I started to love traveling and made it a point to fly to a foreign country annually until covid hit. You don't need to stay at a hostel but it does help if you get lonely. I preferred talking to people during my walking tours.

 

[CreepingFear]

I didn't technically travel/vacation by myself, but I did drive from Chicago to Southern California seven years ago when I moved here. The stereotype about road trips is the screaming kids or companions that need to stop to eat or go to the bathroom. It's very freeing to be in your own set schedule and not a bunch of other's time tables for things. I saw some beautiful land on my journey and it was good to have all my thoughts to myself.

I would definitely go on a vacation by myself sometime.

 

[fulltimepanda]

how do you avoid being murdered tho :(

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Group up with other people who are also looking to not be murdered.

But for real though, even in cities where petty crime is rampant nothing major tends to happen, locals and governments understand how much money tourism brings. Just keep your wits about you and travel with a bit of sense.

 

[Arjen]

Honestly i didn't like it at all. I came to the conclusion that traveling is more fun if you have someone to share it with. And i hated eating alone in restaurants. I understand the upsides if youre more of an introverted person thought.

 

[Croc Man]

I didn't think it was for me but ended up loving it.
However I don't think it would be the same in covid times. The spontaneous moments I look back on most fondly wouldn't have happened, having to pre-book attractions down to 15 minute slots sucks and the idea of having to isolate in a hostel or expensive quarantine hotel is grim. Plus can't imagine not drinking with ozzies everywhere.

I've done a couple of short domestic trips, but without the social element of a hostel, no pubs and eating alone being even worse it's not the same. Still worthwhile but couldn't do it for long, the freedom and spontaneity are the main appeal to me.

 

[Gawge]

Back in 2015 did a solo trip from the UK to Iceland > Boston > New York and I enjoyed it.

Nice vibes just wandering on your own. Would recommend it.

Also, I would be better at it now. I just had mainly fast food back then (which was an experience in itself, trying American food chains etc...) but I would be way more comfortable (and less tight on money) going into restaurants on my own etc...

Love travelling with my partner and/or friends though, might try it again one day though!

 

[kami_sama]

I almost did it last year, I planned on a full month of Japan but shit hit the fan.
I went to London solo, but that was much less time and in a place I know the language, so I was a bit afraid, but I had already been so I knew my way around.

 

[MisterSnrub]

For those saying more planning is necessary I absolutely dawdled my way around, spent three weeks in Shanghai just getting to know folk, finding favourite local restaurants and exploring as much as I could at an unhurried pace. It was fantastic. You can do it whichever way you please.

 

[GMM]

In 2019 I took a solo trip to South Korea and I had a blast, booked a few things from home and left some days completely open to just explore what I was in to mood for.

I had a blast and it was easily the best vacation I have ever had, but it really depends on what kind of person you are. I like traveling with other people, but it quickly becomes a mess with tight planning and compromising on certain aspects.

 

[ThereAreFourNaan]

I spent a few weeks in Germany and the Netherlands solo. I couldn't escape from other Australians (there are just so many in Europe) but aside from that it was good fun. I would typically pick where I wanted to be in a given day (so I could plan the trains in advance), then see a few things in wherever that was. I allocated 1-2 days in small places and 2-3 days in bigger places like Berlin. Usually I liked to see Museums or old buildings or street art or visit a restaurant or whatever. Some days I decided to just wander, where I'd pick a direction and walk for a while and see what I could find that seemed interesting. Usually in the afternoon I'd find a nice spot like a park or return to the backpacker's place or hostel room (depending on the city) and then do some reading or catch up on some internet stuff for a bit. I met up with some members of the old place and they showed me around their local areas for a few hours which was nice. I met a few other tourists in the places I was staying but nobody I had any realistic expectation of keeping in touch with.

This would probably bore some people to tears but it was basically my ideal holiday. When I was a kid I saw a whole stack of countries with my parents but it was like a mad rush to do checklists of Very Famous Things, so when I finally got to do this on my own, I made sure to under-plan every day, rather than over plan. I'm trying to relax and have a good time, not be in a perpetual state of stress worrying about if I'm fully taking advantage of my holiday or not.

 

[Deleted member 31873]

I love traveling alone. I've been to London, Dublin, Rome, Prague, and Tokyo alone.

The worst part about traveling alone is when you're looking for tips about traveling alone and finding a bunch of idiots who obviously don't like being alone and miss the point by just telling you to stay in hostels and go to bars so you can meet other people.

 

[Gaucho Power]

I have been with friends and solo. Traveling with friends is cool if you are like-minded. I travel without itinerary and some of my friends don't like that, they like to have a plan. Solo travel works well with me. I can go bar hopping and not to make my friends worry if I stay late (or other way around). I can take over night bus to random city in spur of the moment if I want, etc.

But at the same time shared moments are great and some times you wish you had a friend with you to share some awesome experience.

 

[Izzard]

Apart from paying extra for things I found solo travel to be a mainly great. Upside is you have no one but yourself to plan around.

 

[Pellaidh]

I've done it a bunch, and it's perfectly fine. You get to do whatever you want at your own pace. Obviously a lot depends on why exactly you want to travel. If you just to sightsee or immerse yourself in a foreign culture, you can do both of those perfectly fine solo, maybe even better than on a group.

It does have some drawbacks though:
- It's more expensive. For example, you can't split a room or share transportation. Hostels can bring down lodging prices if you're into that, but it sounds like you have way more money than I do so it should be manageable. On the other hand, it's still cheaper than organized tours, because those will rip you off everywhere.
- Speaking of, transport sucks sometimes. If you're in places where the only option is to rent a car, driving solo for long hours isn't very fun (unless you really like driving) or all that safe.
- Some activities you can't really do solo, like more dangerous hikes, or attractions that need multiple people. These are in the minority though, and for things like hikes you can almost always get an organized group.
- It can be overwhelming the first time, especially when you're traveling internationally. Travel isn't that hard, but when things go wrong they can really go wrong, especially in certain places around the world. So you have to be more careful. But with proper planning, I never really felt in more danger than I would at home, especially since most touristy areas are generally pretty safe save for things like pickpockets.

 

[Primal Sage]

I've done it quite a bit. Three trips to Tokyo (three weeks stay), five to London, one to Rome.

While sharing the experience with someone definetely is great I really love the total freedom to do whatever you want when you want without having to talk and agree about it. Want to spend an hour browsing in this interesting shop? Go for it.

Sightseeing is sooo relaxing when you are alone. Everything is done at your interest and energy level. Want to move on? Want to stay longer? You decide.

I usually take one international trip by myself each year. It's absolutely lovely. Can't wait for the world to be normal again.

 

[NullPointerException]

I've never been much of a traveller but recently got the travel bug and want to try it. Unfortunately my income is a lot higher than most of my friends, so I'm unable to do it much with them. I was opposses at first, but have gotten increasingly more curious about it. Anyone have any experience doing this? I want to start domestically, with visiting other parts of the US first, but also want to eventually try it internationally as well.

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Was in the same situation as you a loooong time ago. My income was much higher than my friends after I graduated and immediately started my career. Started domestically too by travelling alone to London for long weekends. Then travelled to Seattle for PAX alone in 2011, LA on my own for E3 in 2012, All over Japan (TGS in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka) alone in 2013 and then to Boston (PAX East) to NYC on my own in 2014 (Travelled from UK to USA alone but did meet an online friend when I was there so that maybe doesn't count). All trips were around 2/3 weeks.

I found it to be fun, liberating and really enjoyable! Met and got acquainted to so many like-minded people. Partied hard. Created fond memories. Part of me also felt that travelling alone made me more extroverted and confident. I was able to rely and depend on myself a lot more. Reflect and enjoy a peaceful holiday at my own pace. Now that I no longer travel alone I do miss the spontaneity of just going wherever I felt like not having to worry about keeping someone waiting.

Accommodation cost tends to be the only downside to solo travelling but it's an easy problem to solve if you are flexible. Found that hostels were the best because it was really affordable (as a result more money to spend on food/drink/souvenirs etc.), the host/staff are very knowledgeable with the area so they are really helpful with ideas of things to do, the hostel always have daily cool (and some free) activities to take part in (hiking, tours, movie night, comedy club night, bar crawls etc). Also I found it to be much less lonely at a hostel as it is much easier to meet interesting people and make friends as most hostels tends to be accommodated by like-minded travellers local and abroad. Seattle hostel I was at provided free breakfast which was awesome and I spoke to many nice people who shared their life stories. Only downside to hostels was that is obviously privacy (some hostels have private rooms but they get booked months in advance), cleanliness (Exception: Japanese hostels are insanely clean) and shared bathrooms (gotta wake up early to take a shower etc.)

Hotels are a little more pricy for solo-travellers but the perks are good such as privacy, your own bathroom and TV etc. I did find it pretty lonely staying alone in a hotel since the clientele are a mix of couples/group of friends/business folk/shady people. You ended up just talking to the bar tender. Also some hotels don't have a concierge so it's kinda awkward asking hotel staff for recommendations while they are busy working. Never found the concierge to be helpful anyway. Found they often just recommended/promoted affiliated places rather than dishing out good local recommendations.

US motels tend to be a good middle point between hostel and hotel offering the privacy and perks of a hotel at a decent price but you gotta just do your homework and make sure it's right for you.

Other solo-travelling downside is that all kinds of scammers (dodgy nightclub promoters/religious/CD mixtape), drug dealers, and homeless/drug addict beggars tend to be very social with solo-travellers so that can get inconvenient to deal with but most are harmless and you just keep walking and nicely say "No thanks". Only had one experience of a mentally unstable homeless man randomly shouting/swearing something really loud right into my ear and then walked away in Downtown LA. I later learned that there was a reason by the locals in LA always drove everywhere. Aside from that, I experienced all sorts of friendly/harmless scammers in LA, harmless social homeless beggars in Boston and the odd pushy dodgy nightclub promoters in popular nightspots in Japan.

Anyway, my advice to you is go for it! Just always ALWAYS do your research/homework. Be aware of the dangers. Get a local guide to help you if you're unsure. Safety is key. Be safe and happy. Wet your toes by travelling alone domestically then try travelling to reasonably safe countries like Europe/USA/UK/Canada/Japan/Korea etc as a next step and then finally try places like South America/India/Africa (with a guide/helper) once you are super confident and experienced. I never got that far sadly but many solo-travellers have. Enjoy the world :)

 

[Penny Royal]

I've only ever travelled for extended periods by myself.

Mainly because it gives you as much flexibility as you want in terms of itinerary, but also because it encourages you to talk to people - locals, fellow travellers, a random dude from Cincinnati with whom I redirected my trip around SE Asia & had a top adventure in the Golden Triangle because of it.

 

[Fatoy]

Pre-COVID I travelled solo for work a lot, and I normally book-ended each trip with some downtime in the city I was visiting. I love my family dearly, and I enjoy going on holiday with them, but one of my greatest pleasures in life in stepping out of a hotel in a new city, by myself, and just walking.

I'm currently planning a multi-day solo hike here in the UK, and someday - probably when our kids are older - I fully expect that my wife and I will take separate international trips as well as going to places together. There's plenty that I'd like to do and see that she wouldn't, and vice versa.

I will qualify all that by saying that I'm someone who's generally very happy in their own company for extended periods of time anyway.

 

[Martinski]

I have solo traveled to Boston - NYC for 2 weeks and London for about 1 week. Was great, would do it again in a heartbeat when / if i can.

It's so much more flexible compared to when you travel with your framily or such. The biggest downside is just as living alone is more expensive than sharing costs and rent, traveling alone can be more expensive not sharing ride costs, lodging etc.

 

[ty_hot]

I did it a few times, went to Rome and Greece for a few days. I usually go to sleep around midnight but in those days by 9pm I was dead asleep lol. Being alone means you can do whatever you want all the time, no need to spend time deciding what to do next or waiting for others to do stuff. I won't say it is better, it is just different than traveling with more people.

 

[JustinBB7]

I want to go to Korea and Japan after corona, so hopefully next year October/November/December around there hopefully. I am learning Korean for a while now so hopefully by that time I can speak enough basics to get around.

Don't really have any real life friends in general that would go so I'm going alone, I can be pretty introverted but hopefully I can speak enough Korean by then to make friends there.

There are times where I'm like, I'm not doing it, it's not going to be fun if I can't share it with anybody, but other times I really want to go, it's a weird feeling. I got another year to think about it I suppose.

 

[GokouD]

I think it really depends on your personality. I'm fairly introverted and unsociable so I thought I'd be fine travelling alone. In the early 2000's I bought an Interrail pass and headed out into Europe, I only lasted 3 or 4 days before crushing loneliness and misery sent me home. The next year I did it again, but this time with my now wife, who I'd met at university and it was a blast, just having someone to talk to made all the difference. Perhaps it would be different these days with a smart phone and social media, but back then the only way to contact home was by finding a payphone.

 

[MechaMarmaset]

I used to travel for work a decent amount mostly in the states. Some aspects I prefer, others I don't. I like that I'm only responsible for myself when travelling solo. I get to pick what I do, when I want without having to get everyone else's input. I'm always the guy who has to plan everything for my friends group (otherwise it won't happen), so it's fucking amazing not having to corral a group of people to do everything. If I want to go to the restaurant down the street, I can just go and not have to check if it's wheelchair accessible, or if they have food my friends will like. I can just go to the museum without seeing if it's too expensive for them. One of my favorite things to do is just walk around a town. Meander or sit on a public bench and watch the people traffic. Hard to do that with friends yapping in my ear all day.

The negative side is that when something goes wrong, you're on your own. And it sucks. You get stuck in an airport by yourself with nobody to talk to. It's nice to just have someone around to bitch with when shit happens. Rental car breaks down, well then you're stuck on the highway by yourself. Hope you have a spare battery for your phone. One year I had to go to Saudi Arabia for business and they forced me to check my carry-on because they ran out of space, and then they proceeded to lose said bag which left me without clothing, so I had to have a guide take my giant fat American ass around local markets trying to find a change of clothing in my size, and it fucking sucked because I was basically stuck with a couple hundred dollars, my passport, and a shitty flip phone to make emergency calls on. Having a friend along for that would have been nice. Another time I sprained my ankle really bad in the airport and had to go to the hospital. So I'm alone in random layover city trying to get around on crutches and it's awful. Would have been a lot easier with friends around to help out.

 

[Falchion]

Taking a solo trip to Japan next year if COVID improves.

 

[Rei Toei]

More hit than miss for me. I travelled around Australia and South-East Asia for a couple of months after graduating.

+ As a solo traveller you're just really 'approachable' - most of the time it was really easy meeting other travellers, sometimes combine plans for a couple days. I met a crazy amount of nice people in those months, got invited to stay over at locals/other travellers a couple times, travelled with people for a couple days before parting ways again. Obviously, it's also easier to have a holiday fling happening.
+ Easier to be impulsive/spontaneous. People would tell me about things to do and see and it really elevated the experience and took me fiercely off the beaten track. I did morning yoga with 70 year olds in Bangkok, helped tear down an old monastery barn in the outskirts of Bangkok, picked tea leaves for a bed and food on Bali for a couple days (those basket/scissor combos gave me crazy blisters), helped out a bit in the kitchen of a hostel in Port Campbell, etc etc
+ More random shit happening (see above) - I met this retiree from Michigan that gave me his old Lonely Planet for Indonesia - it was filled with years of scribbles and advice - he didn't need it anymore and asked me to pass it along to someone when I left Indonesia (which I did).
+ Decision making can be swift and simple
+ Just do whatever you want, it's your party - stay longer, leave sooner.

- Sometimes it's easier to make decisions while having someone to discuss them (the book 'the dice man' has a good solution to solving this problem though:);
- It really sucks to get sick and suffer away alone when abroad in a budget hotel;
- Sometimes you might not run into interesting people and experience stuff solo where'd you wish there was someone to share with;
- A lot of stuff is just cheaper when footing the bill with a +1/+2/+3 - tho can be solved meeting people up and aligning plans.