In my opinion, I think it is so much better to travel alone. Yes, sometimes I do want a friend to experience what I am experiencing. Although, you have to worry so much if it is what they want to do, where they want to go, and what they want to eat.
Even if you alternate days. Like if you are gone for four days. One day is all what you want to do and the second day is all what your travel companion wants to do, so on and so forth. What do you do if you only go for one day, and you want to do so much?
I've tried to bring friends along, like I said. Especially this holiday weekend, I've found out that bring a friend alone can be horrendous. I've pet sat for a professor for some extra cash and asked a friend along.
Well, the professor's house turned out to be horrible and smelly and filthy. All the while, my friend has groaned about it all and there is absolutely nothing I can do about the situation; it just makes me feel worse for asking her along.
If I was just alone, yes I would suffer, but I wouldn't have someone else to constantly please. I'm one of those people who like to make other happy, and when someone I care about complains about a situation I cannot help... it hurts me a lot.
However, back in early June I traveled to San Diego alone. I was over 2500 miles away from home. It was probably the best time I ever had. Waking up whenever... smelling the white oleander before the sun rises. Going to Mission Beach and seeing dolphins. Going wherever I wanted when I wanted.
This summer, I plan on going to Sweden by myself as well.
So, what is your opinion on traveling alone?
Comments (14)
it can be really scary, but i understand about not needing to drag along people who don't want to do the same things as you do. my friends stayed at the hotel while i explored krakow by myself. best part of my recent trip. being alone.
I would like the freedom, but the security of travelling in numbers is a good thing as well.
I just came back from a European adventure: Greece, Italy, France, Ireland, Scotland, France then back home (SF bay area) and I went alone. I was 24, female, and had the time of my life!! The best part of being alone is getting to do exactly what you want to do, whenever you want to, however you want to. Also, it was SO easy to meet people along the way, which I did. In fact, i met a great Australian friend and we stuck together in France and Ireland, but we would go out exploring alone many days. Being alone makes you much more approachable by other travelers and you end up learning alot about different cultures.. etc. I think it's a wonderful thing. Makes you stronger as a person too. Sometimes I wished I had a certain friend with me just so she and I could experience parts of the trip together, but overall, I'm so glad I did it alone.
i went on a roadtrip alone when i was 19 and had a great time because i had a plan of where I wanted to go and when and had people I could meet up with along the way to hang out with. You have to be really careful of who you choose to bring along on a trip b/c while you may go with the flow, the other person may be whiny and more needy. Make sure you bring a friend you are sure you won't hate by the end of the trip :p.
I was considering going on a trip by myself this winter break, but I'm really really scared to go by myself. But the whole idea of going by myself is to get over that fear =P, so I hope I can manage to get everything together in time to go on that trip.
you just need to travel with people who share your interests! i just came back from a trip with my boyfriend to the caribbean, and it worked out great because we both love scuba diving and are certified divers, and we both like trying out new watersports, and we both like photography, so that's what we did on our trip.
Haha I like travelling alone too, but I make sure I look like a hoodlum when I'm outside at night. (Black hoodie, baggy jeans, dirty sneakers, hood pulled up.. maybe sunglasses for good measure... and tying my hair up LOLOLOL). Just to be safe. :D
Depends - I've done both, and it's definitely true that it depends on the person/people you're with! I went to France with 2 people who acted like the stereotypical rude Americans, so I ditched them and explored by myself. I explored much of Spain, England, and Portugal by myself, which was a blast, although it can get lonely... especially when you have no one else in your pictures.
On the other hand, I went to Italy with one of my best friends and to Japan with my brother, and since we're very similar in attitude and interests (or at least, we know how to deal with each other!), it was a blast! Ultimately, while the freedom of traveling alone was awesome (and you do get to make lots of friends sometimes, depending on certain factors), I prefer to travel with someone that I'm travel-compatible with.
I'd rather go with a friend than go alone
having nobody to talk to is rather.. excruciating sometimes.
and meal-for-one..
I can barely stand eating in the dinning hall by myself, I get so bored and tend to eat faster. Imagine me traveling alone, I would speed past anything interesting. Though traveling with ppl who have completely different interest then you really sucks. I get lonely easily.
When I went to Greece, most of friends wanted to only shop while me a few others wanted to do more, like go to a museum especially since I really like hearing about Greek mythology in relations to artwork. We ended up speeding through since we didn't have time to really enjoy it. The same happened to me in NYC.
i think traveling alone can be great, but traveling with a companion can be just as fun too, if not better. sounds to me like the friend you did bring along to your profs house was just a really pessimistic friend. if you had brought a friend who likes to look at things in a "glass half full" perspective, i'm sure that they would have tried to look at the smelly house in a positive light and perhaps they could have even offered to help you and etc.
i think it's all about bringing the right type of person. someone you mesh well with, someone that can be there for you when things arent going exactly as planned.
I traveled alone to see my boyfriend. I didn't like it at first...but I got used to it.
traveling alone is a great idea! its just like you said, you get to do WHATEVER YOU WANT TO DO!! moreover, you really get a chance to see "what you're really made of". I never thought i could travel to other countries alone and be alone (eat alone, etc etc) for 24 hours a day! but it actually isn't that bad because you get to do/see/eat/shop at your own pace. You don't have anyone's expectation to fill.
but there are times when i traveled i wish i had just one other person to hang out with. the most being at meal time. Also, when traveling alone, NEVER EVER MENTION THAT YOU ARE TRAVELING ALONE. if anyone asks, just tell them your friend/family is at work and you are exploring the city yourself first, then will meet them later for lunch or dinner. safe travels!