Some people are born solo travellers, where as others prefer to share the journey with someone. There are also people who start out on one side of the fence and cross over because of a very good or very bad travel experience. Very interested in hearing about your preferred way of travelling...
Reply to this I'm going to be akward and put myself in the 'bit of both' category.
I enjoy solo travel, yet some of my best experiences have been while in the company of others. Fortunately, my worst experience was while travelling with family, who helped me out big time. In reply to your comment above Ren, this didn't affect my being comfortable travelling solo.
A good option is to travel with someone to whom you are able to say you want to do your own thing one day, and not have them get offended.
Reply to this I agree Jo - having a travel partner you can be totally honest with is a fantastic option. It's my preferred option, and I've come to this conclusion after both solo and accompanied travels.
The absolute worst travel experience I've had was travelling with someone I considered to be a good friend - it was so bad that it nearly drove me to swear to only ever travel solo again. The second worst experience was when I got quite sick while travelling alone overseas (but managed to drag myself to the closest country with a family member in it)... as a result I would say getting sick would be one of my concerns about solo travel.
Reply to this I would have to say that I am a solo traveler. I like the freedom of being able to do what I want when I want. There have been some days where I just didn't feel up to dealing with going out and sightseeing, so I spent them in the hotel reading. Not sure how that would fly with a traveling partner. I think this is one reason I like to blog, so I can share my stories with my friends and family while I am on the trip.
That's a great point about getting sick and being alone RENandDREW. I buy the traveler's insurance and hope for the best. It will be interesting to see how others weigh in on this.
Reply to this Another timely post..and not all about me this time 😉 I prefer solo every time, I tend to push myself hard while travelling and not many people like 3 planes and a canoe ride and a buffalo ride in a day.
My sister the travel agent and her husband just spent a week in Vietnam and HATED it. They Hated each other. They hated Hue, they hated HCMC, they hated Nha Trang and they Hated Halong Bay because it didnt look like it did in the pictures and there were too many people in vietnam..um, what the hell were they expecting.
My sister organised activities and things to see and do each day and top to bottom of the country in ten days. They havent travelled outside of Bali and go there regularly..ahem. They havent travelled more than one destination in a trip let alone a day. They discovered Vietnam 4 star isnt Aussie 4 star..now they have arrived home and want a divorce..
Classic example of a couple who have totally different styles of holidays. She loves shopping and clubbing - he likes lying on a secluded beach with a small tropical bar...
Think I will stick to travelling alone if possible. Have wasted too many $$ on changing air tickets thanks to a relationship as it is.
Reply to this I love travelling with good friends. Last year my best friend and i travel to Germany. It was great! We were in a small town called Kiel. We stay there during the "Kieler Woche", it´s a very huge sailing festival. Many acts, a lot of people... it was awsome! We had a great time there. Sharing these wonderful days with her has welded us. I don´t know if I would have make the same experiences without her. I´m not shy, but i know that I never would meet so many people, talk to them, make party with them when I am alone.
Sometimes it´s good, being alone. But most of the time I was very glad she squired me.
All in all it´s the best to have somebody you can share your memories with😊
Reply to this Thank you, Jo!
You are right... We love to watch our videos and pictures, talk about the best moments we had
Reply to this I love to travel....alone...with my kids...with friends...as a couple...alone...who cares as long as I travel.
If it's to be in Venise...do it as a couple...I did it alone as a broken student 17 years ago...not the same thing as staying at the Gritti!
But I really was very happy with a good friend in Greenland...sleeping on the ice and sharing the same tent...
And let's be honest...with the kids...their smiles and discoveries beat everything else!
Reply to this To each his own..
I have travelled solo, with one close companion, with large groups and I think travelling with one like-minded best buddy is the best way to travel for extended periods of time.
My best travel mate was with me in some of the more stressful (but incredible) countries like India and Nepal.
Easily the number one best reason is
sharing the experience. You have someone who can tell the stories with you to your friends and family, and you can laugh about the silly moments. Remember the time when.....
Its great to have company when touring around. Someone to share meals with, to share frustrations with, to look after you when you are ill, to drink with in a bar, the list is endless....
Its cheaper in some ways too like sharing hotel rooms, taxi rides, buying food.
It's also safer in a number of ways. One person to watch the bags while the other gets food, goes to the toilet, buys tickets... just so much easier! Two people aren't as easy to rob as one.. Also, if one persons bank card suddenly stops working, you got automatic back up😊
My two cents!
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In response to: Msg #160980
Hi Nigel, many of your points resonate with me. However finding that perfect travel buddy can be a process in itself! It's one of those things where sometimes you can't tell for sure until you hit the road with someone... 😊
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In response to: Msg #161028
Ren, your comment reminded me of this Mark Twain quote;
I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.
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In response to: Msg #161028
Ya that is the trick hehe! Luckily my mates happened to want to do some major travels at the same time as myself!
We've been friends since secondary school(junior high) so like 15 years haha!
Reply to this I love to share my travel experiences, thoughts, comments and joke about situations with a travel companion. I think it can make one's trip so much more enjoyable. Having said that, on occasion I have spent some time on my own as well and it can be just as enjoyable to do your own thing without having to consider or bore another person. So for me it's a 'bit of both' as well.
Reply to this I think i'm with Pierre on this one and i just love to travel. I have had both good and bad experiences by myself and with others but am happy to do either.
I think i prefer the logistical side of it (getting through airports and where you want) by myself as i'm pretty confident and calm and dont mind if i get lost or how i'll get there. I'm also quite fine to go out and eat by myself or wander around and look at things by myself.
But sometimes it is very nice to share that experience with someone else... i remember visiting Sydneys Taronga Zoo by myself and when you are by yourself you sort of look at an animal, think 'yep thats an elephant' and you move on. I managed to walk through the entire zoo in less than 2 hours... i really needed someone else to share the experience with 😊
Now with a hubby and 2 kids in tow its not often i get to travel by myself. For the last few years we take it in turns with one of us looking after the kids and the other doing what they want which is lovely... i can wander around and talk to locals, shop or discover things at my own leisure for a whole 2 hours 😊)
Reply to this Dale & I travel together so I can't really comment on solo travel but we have always loved doing it together and like most people take great pleasure in remembering things we have done at ramdom times and taking a moment to reminisce about it.
Occasionally Dale would want to do something that I didn't.. diving being a main one and then I might want to do something he didn't so we were always up for doing things alone which really worked. You can't always have the same interests!
We frequently travelled with other people.. couples, singles & groups and although we always welcomed the company we always secretly liked it when it was just the two of us again 😱
Reply to this 50% chance to travel alone
50% chance to travel with a companion
it depends on the purpose of the trip.
Reply to this Impossible for me to travel alone. I did it once, 20 years ago, and was so depressed touring Amsterdam and Holland, I couldn't wait to get the ferry back. Since then, always with a companion. I guess you need a certain character to enjoy travelling alone. Being able to strike up a conversation...
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