The Worst Parts of Solo Travel
Thursday, 12 October 2017
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I have spoken a lot about solo travel on my blog, I promote it in fact as I truly believe the fact you don't have someone to go with shouldn't mean that you don't go at all. I love this post that I wrote here, all about Ways Solo Travel Changed me- go have a read and hopefully you'll be inspired. However in this post, I am covering the negatives of solo travel, because as with everything there are some. I feel its better to prepared and aware of them, rather than letting them shock you as they begin to happen. I still think that the positives outweigh the negatives, so do not let this put you off!
1. Photos.
Photos as a solo traveller are tricker than when you travelling with others, however not in any stretch of the imagination impossible. Sometimes its nice to have photos featuring yourself, rather than endless landscape, food and building photos as nice as they may be. The obviously solution is to ask a stranger, invest in a selfie stick or tripod depending on how serious you are. People are usually very willing to help.
Top Tip: If your in a particular busy area where you have lots of people to choose from, wait till you spot someone who appears to know what they are doing- higher chance of a nicer photo for yourself!
2. Eating Alone.
Eating alone is a skill which everyone has to master, and it isn't that bad. Nobody cares about what you are doing, they are too busy worrying about their own food. But asking for a table for one can be daunting, but people do it all the time and you won't be the first or the last. It may be daunting, but do it with confidence and no one will bat an eyelid.
Top Tip: Take a kindle, or a book with you for some entertainment when your eating and waiting. I love sitting outside when I am on my own, watching the world go by. Or keep an eye out for places with communal eating, or big tables where you don't feel at all out place eating on your own.
3. Added Cost.
As much as you may be on a budget, travelling solo is a little bit more expensive. You can't split the costs of things such as transport, accommodation if your staying in Air B&B's, food. Often travel companies offer deals for groups or pairs which you may miss out on, these costs may be small but it is a disadvantage.
Top Tip: In terms of tours, ask around if anyone else is solo and see if you can pair up and grab the deals.
4. Memories.
You have no one to share those memories with, to look back on. As much as friends and family are interested, it is nice to be able to share something with someone who really understands because they were really there. Take loads of photos, write a diary, make sure you keep them so you can enjoy them yourself.
5.Lonliness.
Maybe the most obvious one, but you do get lonely even when surrounded by people. When everyone begins as a stranger, and you just want some familiarity you do feel lonely. Something which is hard to avoid but inevitable so be prepared for it.
6. It's you and only you.
When things are going great, it was you alone which is the best feeling. When things aren't going quite as well, it is also you and only you who is going to have to handle it, solve it and deal with it. When your feeling rubbish, things aren't going as planned and theres no one there to help you out, or even just as a friendly face it just makes it that much worse. However times like this are rare, things go wrong, you deal with it and believe me you will solve the problem and then you can see just how much you can achieve.
Overall, these are small things to be aware of but don't let them put you off. There are way more reasons why I love solo travel, I strongly encourage everyone to do it and plan to continue my solo travel adventures. The point of this post wasn't to stop anyone from solo travelling, but purely to make you aware of the downsides so they aren't unexpected and you can prepare yourself for them, think of solutions and not let anything throw you off.
