Thoughts on Solo Travel?

[stlbrah]

I went on a Southeast Asia trip earlier this year with some friends and am not really ready to stop travelling. Unfortunately, my family is not interested in travel, nor are most friends, and my gf doesn't have the generous vacation time that I do.

I feel like waiting on other people is seriously holding me back from what I want to be doing. I have looked for travel groups online, but it was mostly 60+ retired people, and I am 27. I am going to Istanbul for a week next spring (actually did manage to find someone willing to go), but I want to do something sooner and longer. I am an INTP type person, and even when I did travel Asia with some friends, I found myself walking several feet in front of or behind them a lot of the time just to have some quiet. I purposely got lost at Angkor Wat just so I could be alone for a bit, lol. I am however, glad I didn't do that trip alone since it was my first big multiweek trip of my life.

I am sure some others on here have been in this situation, probably most people who world travel have at some point. Lately, particularly after reading the "4 hour work week", my motivation to travel is at an all time high.

I am looking into going to Buenos Aires, Argentina for 2 full weeks, and a side trip to Patagonia. I would like to hear some thoughts from people who just said F' it and went internationally traveling by themselves, and also how hard it is to meet people if you stay in a hostel.

[iamlindoro]

Solo travel is awesome.  I probably won't do too much more in the future since my SO and I now travel together, and do very well together, but you never know.  If you're an outgoing person, it's a snap to meet people at hostels.  Hang out in the reception/bar/cafe/whatever they have area, strike up a conversation, and you will make friends immediately. 

I spent about a year in Europe after grad school (I was early-mid 20s).  I spent most of that year in hostels, and made a ton of great friends.  You may not develop deep relationships since people are always coming and going, but it's very easy to make friends who will go hit the bars, the sites, or whatever else with you.

That year of solo travel is probably as close as I've come to what I dream slow travel in early retirement will be-- each day a new adventure, nobody to be accountable to, drop everything and leave town the next day if you want, or stay a year.  Highly recommend.

[JJNL]

I have travelled alone a lot for the past 15 years (yikes, I'm getting old!), and have always enjoyed myself a lot. In fact, in my experience it's a lot easier to meet other people while you're travelling alone than it is while you're with other people, especially if you're staying in hostels. You'd have to actually do your best to NOT meet other people - and you're going to places where there will be loads of other backpackers, so believe me, you won't have any trouble finding travel buddies / new friends. Of course, you can't count on not EVER being alone on your trip. The only thing I sometimes dislike about travelling alone is eating on my own in a sit down restaurant. So I make sure to bring a book to read to pass the time when that does happen, and I tend to stay in places where I can cook for myself if I don't have a dining companion and don't feel like being 'oh, is it just a party of one?'. So I say: just go for it, you will be fine. Don't let other peoples' lack of vacation time cramp your style.

[Cookie78]

Do it! It's incredibly easy to meet people if you are staying in hostels.

[iamlindoro]

Here's some but I would urge you to consider non-tour travel as it's the most flexible and most fun imho!

Completely agree.  I couldn't be less of a "tour guy."  Travel for me is about engaging with people, food, and culture (to the extent possible), and being in a tour gives you a sanitized, zoo-like experience.  Just not for me.  Of course there will be plenty of defenders of tour travel, and I acknowledge that it might be great for someone else-- just not for me.

[choppingwood]

Even better than meeting people in hostels is that you have a real chance of actually getting to know some people from the place you are visiting.

[stlbrah]

Thanks for the great replies. I have actually been looking around on that Contiki website and I think it would be good to use for Euro trips. However, I will plan to go solo and stay at hostels for Argentina.

[undercover]

I am not personally fit for solo travel. I love the idea of it - but damned if we don't all need daily social interaction. I just can't deal with being in a new place and feeling rushed to find people to talk to. I'm extremely introverted and don't necessarily want to go out as it is - and being out in a new place just makes it worse.

I tried it for a week and was fairly miserable because I was pretty alone. If I stayed longer I'm sure it would of got better though - and I only tried it once. I'm sure there's solo trips in my future.

[johnny847]

I love solo travel! Being able to see/do whatever the hell I want, when I want, is great.

I've traveled with before too, and it's fun in its own ways. If my goal is to see as much as possible, I definitely want to go alone. But that's not the goal of all of my trips ;)

[Megma]

I always get lonely when traveling alone, it happens surprisingly fast for me. 2-3 days and I get lonely. Eating alone, seeing groups of other happy people all over the place. I have tacked on days to work trips where it made sense and went to Portugal this year and was alone for about three days before linking with some friends. I don't like it.

However, I would probably choose alone over a tour group!

[MMMaybe]

Solo travel is fine if you are not super social. I've done a lot of it over the years.

It can be a problem as a single lady in some countries though so thats worth considering if any ladies are reading this. I do investigate cultural norms for female travellers in countries before I embark on a trip.

Another suggestion for a tour company that you might enjoy is Intrepid Travel. They do small group tours to interesting places and they try to keep it very real and not terribly structured. Its good for an introvert like me as you can pick and choose your involvement with the group.

[limeandpepper]

These days I have a partner and travelling together works out very well for us. I have only done solo travel for interstate trips that are less than a week, but I think I can do it overseas and for longer, though I'm not sure at what point I might feel the need for a travel companion. I think as long as you're pretty good at occupying your time and not too awkward with socializing you'll be fine. Any type of accommodation where they have a relaxing common area for guests would be helpful for meeting fellow travellers - accommodation reviews can also help you narrow down which ones have a friendly atmosphere.

[RunHappy]

95% of my travel has been solo travel.  I love it!

I get to see and do whatever I want.  I am also a very social person and never had a problem meeting new friends.  Sometimes I would use meetup.com to find a happy hour to attend (overseas look for expat groups) or simply strike up a conversation with someone I did a group tour with (think touring Windsor castle or the Vatican).

When traveling in non western countries, as a single woman I would invest in a cheap wedding band and some pictures on your phone with you and a male friend (aka husband).  It sounds silly but I have learned through experience that pretending to be married lessens some of the stress and stares. 

My tip is be open to new people and experiences but pay attention to your spidey sense.

[wordnerd]

Go! Solo travel is awesome. You get to do exactly what you want, and you'll meet some cool people along the way. I also liked knowing that I could go to a foreign country and deal with everything on my own, even if unexpected things like losing my debit card came up. I was young on my first solo international trip (turned 23 while I was there), so this may be less relevant for you.

[bobechs]

If you would like to read a book about solo travel through a series of very unvisited territories I will recommend Paul Theroux's Happy Isles of Oceania

Yes, it is set in the long-ago and perhaps irrelevant age of 1992, and it's not strictly speaking just about solo travel, but I'll let the blurb speak for itself:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Happy-Isles-Oceania-Paddling/dp/061865898X

[Left]

You will meet backpackers there so not really solo unless you gate yourself off, plus all the locals to meet too.

[stlbrah]

I actually really like the idea of a tour. I am still kind of a newb. But after reading some other message boards, I fear that in the 18-35 ones such as Contiki, it will be a drunken orgy of 20 year olds, kind of like MTV real world.

While that could be appealing to some, I am not a place in life to be interested in that. Has anyone done one of those? I will be 28 by the time I go on my next travel.

[RunHappy]

I actually really like the idea of a tour. I am still kind of a newb. But after reading some other message boards, I fear that in the 18-35 ones such as Contiki, it will be a drunken orgy of 20 year olds, kind of like MTV real world.

While that could be appealing to some, I am not a place in life to be interested in that. Has anyone done one of those? I will be 28 by the time I go on my next travel.

I think it depends on the type of tour you look at and what you are looking to do.  If I'm traveling around just being a tourist, I typically go by myself, occasionally with a friend.  Sometimes I will join a tour for something specific (Taj Mahal) otherwise I will just wander around with my own itinerary.

The only group tours I have done is destination backpacking/camping ones.  That is because I don't want to haul my gear on the airplane and I don't like camping or backpacking by myself.  Those had a wide range of ages and were anything but wild.  I've stayed good friends with the people I met.

Maybe look for activity based tours, like cycling through Europe, Adventure travel, REI (expensive but they have a lot of different activities).  Read reviews.  Check Tripadvisor.com and don't be afraid to ask questions.