Love or Loathe: Travelling Solo

Last month’s poll told a tale of travel-savvy women in favour of budget airlines and their cheap, frill-free flights, but what about boarding that plane on your own and setting off on a solo voyage?

I’ve made many plans to travel alone, usually because there was no one available (or willing!) to go with me, but to date I’ve yet to make a solo voyage. At the eleventh hour, someone always seemed to step forward and volunteer themselves as a contender for travel companion of the year, convincing me that travelling with them would be much more fun than going by myself.

Family and friends were usually relieved, telling me that they wouldn’t have to worry about me so much. As it turned out, my companions would cause me far more worry than any aspect of travelling alone ever could. Friends I’d known for years suddenly metamorphosed into hideous creatures that I never imagined were lurking beneath their amiable exteriors.

B7C4CC53A8AC1EDEDC3F86B4139D6[1] — Is it better to travel alone? Photo from travel.msn.ca.

Travelling can be stressful at times, and if you’ve never been in a stressful situation with your current travel buddy before, then you may not be prepared for the way in which they react to it. If you think that sulking and throwing temper tantrums in the middle of supermarkets are actions reserved for small children, then think again!

8DFE5E813D7AC2F26065939A19E[1] — Photo from travel.msn.ca.

I often look back and wonder what my time in each place would have been like if I’d gone there alone. I certainly would have had more freedom to go where I wanted to, and I’m sure I would have met more fellow travellers too, as being with someone who could make Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street look like an adorable house pet doesn’t exactly encourage others to approach you!

So, would a solo voyage be exciting for you? Perhaps you’re a well seasoned solo traveller that loves the freedom it gives you and you wouldn’t travel any other way. Or maybe you’d be lost with nobody to share the sights and sounds with, and find the thought of going it alone simply too frightening!

Tell us what you think about travelling on your lonesome, by voting in our Facebook poll:

Love it – Travel partners bring nothing but trouble. With only myself to answer to, I can concentrate on having a real adventure!

Loathe it – There’s no fun in travelling alone. The best adventures are shared ones!

Kate Blanchard

Kate is an English woman currently living in rural Morocco with her husband, Ben, and their mischievous mongrel, Douglas. They moved out there three years ago after Ben was offered employment as the manager of a large fruit farm, and although life can often be challenging for them both with cultural differences and language barriers, they see this as more of a reason to stay, than a reason to admit defeat and leave. Kate tries to find humour wherever possible in life, and finds herself blessed (or as her husband would say, ‘cursed’) with an irrepressible desire to see the beauty and the positivity in what others may see to be ugly and negative. Most of all though, she has a zest for travel and exploration and finds it incredibly satisfying to share her stories of adventure with others, even if it does nothing more than transport the reader to a distant land for a few minutes.