Friends, Family, your Partner, Group Trips and Solo Travel - Which one is for you?
You could have planned for months and have the perfect itinerary but ultimately, whom you decide to travel with can make or break your trip. Ask yourself two questions.
1.Who do you want to spend all that time with?
2.Who do you want to treasure those precious memories with?
Consider your budget, travel styles, and what you enjoy doing.
1. Travel with your friends
On first thought, this sounds fabulous, I mean, who doesn’t love their friends? After travelling with 3 of my best friends, each brought their own craziness and I’ll cherish the moments I’ve spent with them. However, if you’re new to this, consider have been away with them before? Do you both like going to the beach? Are they into history, museums and culture? Or do they like to party?
An ideal situation was travelling for 8 months with my housemate from university. We had already lived together for 3 years. Therefore, you know this is someone who you can trust, is reliable and you can push each other into new experiences. Also the likelihood is they’ve seen you at your worst and they’ll be prepared if you find yourself in any trouble.
One month into our trip, we landed in Kolkata in India after a night flight, it was 6am, 30+ degrees, we were exhausted. Unfortunately, the taxi driver dropped us off far away from where we were staying. Now, if I had been by myself at this moment, I would have been even more scared and stressed.
Therefore, if you are going to go a little bit afield from the general ‘backpacker routes’, I would probably suggest going with a friend to save yourself all that stress. Also in budget terms, travelling with a friend means that you can split many costs (taxi, hotel room….).
2. Adventure with Family
Luckily, I have had the pleasure of travelling with my sister and three of my cousins. What’s great is you’ve known them your whole life, so you know what to expect. As a big family person, I enjoyed travelling with all of them. It was great to return home after a trip and then talk to all your relatives about what you have done together.
Your parents will love it too because they will have peace of mind about your safety if you’re with your loved ones. Most recently in Australia, I travelled (partied) for a month with my youngest cousin up the East Coast. Despite thinking I was her age again, I had so much respect for her and when we separated and she travelled to Bali, it was very emotional.
3. Partner
Travelling can make or break a relationship. Whether it’s a new relationship, or a relationship from home. The same rules apply. Do you want the same things out of your travels? Do you have similar budget expectations? Remember everyone spends their money differently.
Throughout South-East Asia, I met a lot of couples travelling together from home and some actually broke up. They weren’t used to spending all that time together and just couldn’t hack it.
However, this is NOT the case for everyone and if it does work out then you will definitely come out of your travels a stronger couple. You see each other at their worst but probably at their happiest and freest too. Just think of all the cute couple pics you’ll have in the future and there isn’t an account called ‘Boyfriends of Instagram’ for nothing…
4. Group Organised Travel
Group travel can be so much fun, but the negative is the cost. If you plan and book everything yourself you will find that it is much cheaper. Although, a huge benefit from going on an organised trip is that there is literally NO stress involved at all. Better yet, you don’t have to plan, everything is organised for you, transfers, accommodation and even activities.
This is great for a new traveller, or someone that is just too busy in their everyday life to plan an itinerary. However, from personal experience, it’s not really the true ‘travel experience’. I’m not a pretentious traveller by any means, but a group organised trip can feel more like a holiday.
With that in mind, the one group tour I went on, was one of my favourite experiences. Amazingly, I got to see and do so much and meet incredible people. Through G adventures and STA travel I booked a trip to Costa Rica. Make sure you look at the different tours they offer. Unbelievable.
5. Solo Travel
There is nothing like the liberation of boarding that first flight by yourself and thinking oh shit, I’m actually doing this. Unlike other trips, solo travel enables you to be totally in control. Where do you want to go? How long do you want to stay?
Yes, it can get lonely, but I do believe that it’s easier to make friends. I remember my first ‘alone’ hostel experience. It was in Nice, France. I was 19. I walked into a small, 6 bed mixed dorm to find 4 Aussie boys sat in their underwear. Quickly, I became friends with the only other female in the room. We travelled to Italy by train the next day and spent hours together talking about where we were going next.
Solo travel is great for improving key skills like communication and confidence. Learn how to walk into a room and say hi to people. Sometimes they reject you, so be prepared for that. But other times, before you know it, a quick ‘hi, do you fancy going for a beer?’ turns into 2 weeks of travel with somebody really interesting. Discover things you have in common and add stops to your itinerary because of their suggestions.
Unlike travelling in a group or with people you know. It’s so much easier to drop in and out of travelling with people you meet abroad. And the number 1 thing I always heard solo travellers say is: ‘I actually thought I would spend more time by myself, but I haven’t been alone once’.
Interested in travel? Click here for 10 apps you must download before you go.
Photo Credit: Averagelives.com
