I first planned a trip alone because most of my friends don’t have the same desire or budget to travel. They’re mostly homebodies, which was fine when we were growing up, but not as much when I’m telling them stories from my trip to Thailand and am met with blank stares. I didn’t have a job or boyfriend to hold me down, so I just decided to go for it. Sure, I was worried I wouldn’t make friends, but I thought it would be liberating if nothing else. When I arrived at my hostel in Split, I met my two British boy roommates who I hung out with for the two days before they left for Serbia and I left for a cruise around the islands. They were my temporary friends, taking me to the beach, to dinner, and on the deadly Split Pub Crawl. Once I had made friends, I figured I could do it again, but when I got on the boat, full of friends and couples, all Australians with more in common, I was back to square one. And then I met him. The one who turned my solo travel plans on their head. He was also traveling alone, so we already had that in common. It didn’t hurt that he was also one of two single guys on the boat. I definitely thought he was cute, but I told myself this trip was all about me. I didn’t need any more boy drama. But in true Caroline fashion, within a few days, I was crazy about him and we had spent every waking moment together. It was no longer my trip. It was ours. I’m not going to say I’m not glad I met him because the truth is, I am still crazy about him even though the vacation buzz has worn off. But I would hardly say I traveled alone. I only had one day on my own, even before the cruise, and that was spent sitting on a bus, devastated that my boy had left. I still have the desire to travel alone, even though I love traveling with other people. But I will always be stubborn and independent. So don’t travel alone because you don’t have a boyfriend or a girlfriend or a group of friends who are as crazy about seeing different cultures as you are. Do it for yourself. It’s the one time in your life you can be completely selfish.
Solo traveling is the BEST way to learn about yourself and to grow as a person, however having said that, when a love comes along you can't ignore it! Especially if they have a cute Aussie accent. ;-)Fingers crossed you 2 are able to meet up again!!!
i am not a homebody! but i guess i have a job that holds me down. and just cause you made friends doesn't mean that you didn't travel alone. you still went in alone and had to meet people. and besides how much fun would going to a bar be all alone?
Caroline, thank you so much for the plug. I love this post because it's a perfect example of what happens when you travel solo. You don't always meet a romantic interest, but you generally meet other interesting people to hang out with. So you're not really alone. (But you can be if you want to be!)
I like traveling with my friends but I'd never want to go for more than a week with any of them. Our traveling tastes are just too different. The more I travel solo the more I find myself not wanting to travel with anyone. It might be selfish but I never have to worry about doing something I don't want to, or having a spat over some trivial thing like what can happen when traveling with others.
Traveling alone is definitely a time when I learned the most about myself. What I am especially drawn to, how much time I need or what in a museum, what I want to eat… and how I felt the first time I was actually lost, etc. Traveling with people is always fun, but depending on different travel styles can be frustrating and difficult.I agree though, solo travel should be done, at least once.
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