How do you like travelling by yourself? (cruise, cost, hotel)

[botticelli]

Although many people do travel solo, I believe the vast majority travel in groups, with family or friends, or in some cases total strangers.

Traveling alone, while could be lonely because you don't have a partner to share feelings with, let it be amazement or frustration (and no one takes photo of you), does provide a lot more personalized flexibility. For example, it is totally up to you where to go, how long to stay, whether you just want a sandwich or a fancy dinner (sometimes it is a big deal), how much money you want to spend, what activities to do.

I normally travel with friends, but I did a couple of solo trips recently and find it not scary as I thought at all. However, I think solo trips is best for city tours. In the vast nature, it could be extremely boring if you are completely alone. The worse part of traveling alone is you have nobody to eat with. I much enjoy the time having a nice meal with friends on the trip, rather than having a lonely meal, simple or expensive.

Sometimes having a travel partner could be annoying too. On many occasions I saw people fighting, for example, husband wants to do something extra, wife is bored and think it is a waste of time and refuses to move. It is really hard to find a right partner, and sometimes it requires a lot of compromise such as going to somewhere you have absolutely no interest in, or giving up somewhere you want to see.

Now I mostly travel with friends, but do occasionally take short and solo trips (all urban ones).

[2nd trick op]

I did a lot of it in the 1980's, mostly on unlimited-use. pay-one-price Greyhound passes (which, I believe, are no longer available).

For whatever reason, I've always been a fairly solitary person, although both the number and strength of my personal attachments have slowly improved with age. But at the time, I was juggling both a full-time job and a seasonal income-tax sideline. So when that once-a year prospect of a week or two without commitments showed up, I made the most of it.

One of the best parts of those "expeditions" was when I would encounter someone else making a long journey solo, particularly if that someone was a younger person, or someone from a completely different background, or another part of the world, And since much of my own working life was in transportation, I would occasionally find myself on a long stretch where I was the only passenger; officially, you aren't supposed to engage the driver in conversation, but that policy tends to be overlooked if the two of you are "cut from the same cloth".

Personally, I'd encourage just about every uncommitted and unencumbered adult, but especially those who've recently finished their education, to make at least one long journey alone. It will round you out, and help you to discover, and fine-tune your own strengths and weak spots.

"And all our knowledge is -- ourselves to know." (Alexander Pope)

[ipaper]

I have made many trips, long and short solo. Serving in the military, I had to get use to it and enjoyed everyone of them. I have also traveled with family and friends and that can be fun also. I make much better time traveling solo and when I used to take my cousin along, the guy would be sleep already before we even get out of state.

[foadi]

I find travelling with others to be far too restricting - it's almost like prison in that you're at the mercy of someone elses whims. So I prefer travelling alone. Although I tend to go to the same places over and over again, and have plenty of friends who live in these cities, so even if I am travelling solo I still have people I can meet up with. I occasionally travel with others on my short (1-3 week) trips but all my long (3+ month) trips are solo.

[prospectheightsresident]

I travel most of the time by myself and will be doing so on my next international trip to Oslo and London later this month. The way I see it, there are clear pros and cons to this option, namely:

Pros:

1) don't have to depend on others to get their crap together, which can often lead to trips being canceled, etc. (I nearly had to cancel my trip to Beijing in 2008 after my travel buddy couldn't make it, thus making the trip more expensive for me going it alone.)

2) can work on your own schedule without having to worry about what others want to do and where they want to go once on the ground. In essence, no nagging!

Cons:

1) not having a loved one/friend to share memories with.

2) not being able to split the cost of trip.

Balancing the pros and cons, I definitely prefer to travel solo where possible just due to greater freedom, though I definitely wish I had a buddy at times! As others have mentioned, though, traveling solo is not so bad when you know people on the other end.

[reneeh63]

Traveling alone can be okay, getting to make all your own decisions and doing it on your own timetable. It also allows me to get lost, and find my way again without someone being impatient with me! I like to walk a lot and usually when I travel with someone they don't want to be as active so I feel like I miss the "details" and the photo opportunities if I'm always in a cab, for example.

That said, of course you don't get to share the moment, only the pics later...not quite the same! And with two to split the hotel cost your dollar goes a bit further...

[oregonwoodsmoke]

I don't have any problems traveling alone, although strictly speaking, I usually have my dogs with me, so I am not completely alone.

[David223]

Two summers ago I took a cruise by myself and loved it. At dinner I was seated at a table that was all solo travelers. It was great. I actually went to the entertainment show one night with the woman who sat next to me at dinner.

People seem to be friendlier when they cruise so there are people to talk to. I had a better time on my solo cruise than I had on the cruises with my ex. Go figure.

I plan to go on another this summer.

[WannabeCPA]

The only times I really traveled alone was a business trip where I took a few extra days to travel to another city to look at the sights and another time where I spent a night in Hong Kong on my way home from China. All the other times I've been with a traveling companion(s). For someone like myself, who isn't really open to casually socializing with strangers and who is rather introverted, I think the only time I'd like to travel by myself would be to go to a city to sightsee and do the normal tourist things, like going to museums. I actually had fun and it was pretty easy and I wish I could do it more often. I just think that certain personality types (ex. outgoing) are more likely to enjoy solo travel than others. When I hear of people making friends with their fellow travelers or socializing with locals, I just think that it's something I could never do, at least not very easily.

[WouldLoveTo]

I'm an introvert and my best trips have been traveling alone. They were so exhilarating that I was pretty upset with myself for not doing this back in the day of a new car and paid time off. Hell, if I'd done this in my 20s maybe I'd have moved south then. (Damn that's a depressing thought). No city stuff for me, I'm always seeking out remote areas.

I can strike up a conversation with strangers much easier than being "on" all the time with friends. Because my trips have been driving trips, I drive all day to the state I want to visit, stop and spend the night, then the next day I start my adventure which may include hiking, biking, caving. I may or may not drive 100-200 miles a day while doing these things. Sometimes I wander around aimlessly, sometimes I drive straight to a destination I had heard about the day before. Sometimes I end up back in the previous nights hotel, sometimes I find a new one. I never make reservations. I always have a camera with me and I never know what will catch my eye. You should've seen me the first time I saw a power windmill in the distance lol boy did that take me down a path or 3!

I never worry about eating alone, I just get some food and bring it back to my room or car. I carry a folding chair with me and books (now an ipad). I've asked strangers to take a pic of me at a biking center, but you're right candids are pretty tough.

I went away for a few days with my then SO to a place I'd been the year before and while we had fun, it just wasn't the same. He drove the entire time and I'd see something and say hey that'd make...a....great.....pic..... As we sped away never to see it again. I went again with another guy I was dating and it worked out much better.... I thought... But sometimes at night he'd get moody and tell me we didn't do what he wanted to do (note he never offered any suggestions until that point). I'd love to do something with my current SO but we're just not sure how it would work out. I get incredibly carsick and we don't like each other's cars lol

Last year I did something even more unusual for me. I had stumbled on a Facebook page for an interest of mine while researching how the area had fared during the 2012 hurricane. The group had about 50-60 members, mostly female. Turns out many of them made an annual trip to the area and one of them invited me along to share a house. I looked at my calendar and all the moons for my many jobs were aligned and I was able to go without upsetting anyone. I had been there in 2008 alone but this time was going to be completely different. I bit the bullet and went and had a blast! I still did many things on my own but I participated in some of the group activities as well. Plus it was a 9 hour drive so I was able to satisfy my desire for driving long alone and stopping when I wanted to on the way there and back.

I'm the type of person who only stops when the car needs gas and I don't stop to sit down and eat while driving, I just snack. I know that drives some people crazy. And when I'm alone I can sing to my hearts content, repeat a song as much as I want and no one complains that the windows are open.

While I do wish I could share some of these things with someone special, I also realize that what excites me in life is not always what excites someone else. I think my preference is going to be for solo trips but I'd love to try something out with my SO. I am so lucky that he doesn't mind if I do things on my own.