Travel is a wonderful thing. It allows us to stretch our legs, broaden our horizons, and see parts of the world that our ancestors would never have gotten the chance to visit. For most people, the appeal of a holiday is obvious – but what might not be so obvious is the choice of company.
Seasoned travellers might prefer to head out alone, and pick up friends along the way. But is this right for everyone?
Travelling with Company
If you’re travelling with close friends and family, then you’ll have someone with whom to share the experience. This might make it that little bit more powerful and memorable.
Travelling with a group will also make things a little bit safer, since you’ll constantly have other people to check on you, and to raise the alarm in the event that things should go wrong. This applies especially if you’re heading out into the remote countryside to do potentially dangerous activities like canyoning. While there are things you can do to make things safer when you’re solo, group travel is better.
Travelling in a group will also allow you to split the costs. It tends to be cheaper to book a villa for eight people, per head, than it does to book a hotel room for just one. By the same token, you might find that there are bulk discounts for things like transport and activities. Certain countries offer more of this sort of thing than others. If you’re looking for holidays in Greece, for example, you’ll find plenty of opportunities for savings.
There’s also a less obvious advantage of travelling with a group: you might end up roped into seeing and doing things that you might otherwise have overlooked. This might help you to get out of your comfort zone, which is part of the appeal of travel in general.
Travelling Alone
Despite all of this, there are a couple of definite upsides to travelling on your own.
The first of these is that you’ll have ultimate control of how you spend your time and money. This means that you’ll be able to choose your activities, and when and where you eat. If you decide midway through lunch that you’d like to get up and do something else, then you can do it – and you won’t need to waste any time getting everyone together to decide what to do next. Given this, you might find that you’re able to reclaim a significant amount of time over the course of a holiday.
Solo travel will also push you toward making new friends and meeting new people. It can therefore make a great match for people who are naturally extroverted, and comfortable with the unfamiliar. As a side benefit, this might also force you into learning the local language and customs, which is great if you’re looking to return to the part of the world you’re visiting.
