Why Not Travel Solo?

by BootsnAll

If you spend any time at all on the BootsnAll travel message boards or read the travel stories and travel blogs on the site, you’ll probably think that the only acceptable way to travel is to do it alone. But while many of our members and lots of longtime BootsnAll customers feel like solo travel is the only way they want to go, the truth is that solo travel isn’t for everyone. Knowing whether it’s something you’re going to feel comfortable with is critical before you set out on your trip.

It could be that traveling solo just isn’t your cup of tea – never was, isn’t now, never will be. It could be that you love traveling on your own but for a specific trip you’ve got in mind you just don’t feel like solo is the best idea (whether for safety, finances, or other reasons). It could be that you have dreams of solo travel but want to wait until you’ve gotten your travel feet wet, as it were. What’s important is that you’re traveling in the style that best suits both you and the circumstances for this particular trip.

Here are just a few reasons why you might not want to travel alone:

• You’re not yet comfortable with what it takes to travel independently, without the safety net of a tour group or a travel agent planning everything for you – having a partner to travel with helps alleviate those fears.
• You’re comfortable with travel, but wouldn’t feel as safe without a companion to watch one another’s backs.
• When you’re on your own and not good at meeting new people or making friends with strangers, you can get bored really quickly with the whole me, myself, and I crowd.
• You’re going to be visiting a region where safety is of higher concern, or you know yourself well enough to know that your instincts in potentially unsafe situations aren’t the best.
• Without a travel companion along for the ride, you’ll have no one to share in the immediacy of the experiences and excitement of the trip, or any of the frustrations, either.
• You’re not in a position to be able to afford the entire trip without having the opportunity to split costs – from market meals to car rentals to hotel rooms – with a travel buddy now and then.
• You’ve spent enough alone time to know that your own idiosyncrasies are downright annoying after awhile even to you, but they’re not as bad when there’s someone else around to mix things up a bit.
• Without a trusted travel companion, who’s going to watch your stuff when you go to the loo?

It’s true, solo travel isn’t for everyone and it isn’t ideal for every trip. But we at BootsnAll are big enough fans of solo travel that we hope you’ll give it a try one day. Maybe not this year, maybe not this trip – but after you’ve got a few trips under your belt, you may find that traveling on your own doesn’t seem too challenging… And when you reach that point, we’re ready to help with our list of why you should travel solo, too!