Deciding to travel alone or wait for friends?

leestone

Hi

I'm 28 single (never had a girlfriend)really feel I pissed away a few years of my life when I should have been seeing more of the world. I don't seem to have a circle of firends just a few close friends of varying ages etc and some others from different circles.
Problem is I want to go to different places but have no one willing to go with. Is travelling alone admitting I am better alone ?

tomwaterford

Go alone.....you'll meet plenty doing same as yous

Addle

Just go.

Witchie

Am mid forties and I headed off on my own and found a new life waiting for me in Asia.

Go for it! If it doesn't work out you can come home. Simple.

mojesius

Go alone. I did it at 25 and it was the best year of my life. Going alone, you'll meet more people, step outside the comfort zone and learn a lot about yourself

Snotty

If you feel you've wasted years previously, don't make the same mistake now, just go travelling now, some people say travelling alone is much more enjoyable.

Rubberchikken

Go.
As you spend time waiting for others life is passing. Dont waste a minute.

Travelling alone is great. you don't have to argue with anyone else on what to do or see! loads of people do it

daisy123

If you don't want to go "alone alone", companies like GAdventures and Intrepid do group travel and there's always a high percentage of solo travellers in their groups. GAdventures even have a type of group for 18-39 year olds which are a little cheaper and will have people around your age group.

Don't let anyone else hold you back, whatever way you decide to go! There are plenty of parole out there traveling solo!

SuperSean11

Go on your own you’ll be waiting forever for people to be ready plus you might prefer traveling on your own.

rainbowtrout

If you want to travel, go and do it. You could be a long time waiting for anyone to agree to go travelling and to agree to go to the places you want to go to. I'm single and while I've never done the year travelling around Asia/South America etc, I have been doing short breaks and 2-3 week holidays on my own when it suits over the last 10 years. I wouldn't have seen half the places I've gone to if I was waiting around for friends. You'll be surprised at how many people travel on their own once you do it yourself.

There is great freedom in it, you can plan your itinerary to suit yourself, visit wherever you want, you can budget to suit yourself, and you are not compromising on anything. You can join groups for tours or activities where it suits. I'd also say the reaction that I've had from friends over the years is 'i wouldn't be brave enough to do that'. They would rather stay at home and never go on holiday rather than go somewhere on their own. Incidentally, I'm off on a trip to Greenland on my own in 6 weeks and I can't wait.

Michelle_b

Go for it!! You will be nervous but you won't regret it. A lot of people are booking excursion trips and heading off alone. Memories and new friends to be made. Enjoy!

Tenigate

I've seen a lot of holiday arrangements, from lads' weekends to 1 year working holiday arrangements, fall apart.

Usually a few back out, a few more moan that they would have gone if they weren't messed around so much with dates and people cancelling... And the last guy just goes ahead himself.

Don't try to please people. Figure out where you want to go, set a date, and if people want to join you let them. Def don't put your plans on hold or you might end up missing out.

Ursus Horribilis

If you're unsure, book something short that doesn't involve going too far afield and see how you get on with that. Like the others, you definitely should go. You've got options here, either to go on your own or to book with some of those tours mentioned above. What do you have to lose? If you continue on as you are, you'll not get to see anywhere you'd like to and you'll be no wiser as to how solo travel suits you.

9or10

I agree with everyone else - go. You don't want to look back in 20 years thinking, I wish ...

And if you're looking for inspiration read Witchie's post on AH.

Good Luck.

LegacyUser

OP I wasted a lot of time waiting for things to line up to go traveling and it will never happen so just start planning and go. If people want to come they'll come but going on your own is not an issue. I spent a year going through Africa, Asia and Europe alone but I wasn't alone as I meet people all along the way. I am very introverted and managed it so anyone can do it. Worse case you get to spend time by yourself enjoying amazing cultures, never a bad thing!

coolcat63

Go for it! If you want some structure to your travelling (and to save money on food and accommodation!) check out the volunteering sites - workaway and HelpX. I'm on both and have hosted dozens of single travellers.

smokeyjoe123

Forget about everyone else, most people don't have the balls to travel abroad alone anyway and will live in their own little bubble in their own little corner of the world for the rest of their life. Book those flights now and go! You will have to step out of your comfort zone but you will meet friends for life, fall in love and just live your life. You would be surprised how quickly the time passes while you comtemplate doing it.

zoobizoo

I've travelled alone many times.

It was the making of me as I was pretty shy, suffered from social anxiety and always had relied on friends as crutches.

Definitely do it if that's what you want to do. None of my friends did similar.....

Worst thing about travelling with friends is compromise..... It's like going out to the pub on a Saturday night where you always end up in the **** place as that's where the loudest member of the gang insists on going.

Enjoy the adventure

Kevo

Travelling alone was one of the best decisions I ever made. I was very nervous about going alone and struggled a bit at first but then I learned to make friends along the way and ended up having the trip of a lifetime.

I'd definitely recommend it to anyone. It forces you out of your comfort zone and you learn a lot from it.