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One of my favourite ways to travel is solo. It’s so wonderful to be able to make up your own mind about how to spend free time on tour, and be able to take in the surroundings in a very intentional way. I have gone to a show in London’s West End alone (Mamma Mia!) and dined alone, bringing a notebook to jot down cultural and local observations. For me, inspiration to write really strikes when I have a moment to just be and to notice and to ruminate and to move at my own perfect pace.
On a tour there’s this wonderful balance, though, of having a social outlet for when you crave company. During a local demonstration, or shopping for souvenirs – it’s great to share these experiences with others. When I’ve travelled solo, I’ve forged friendships and stayed in touch long after we returned home. And I honestly think it was being on my own that allowed me to truly put in that much more effort in those exchanges and opportunities to mingle and become acquainted.
Going solo can be one way to vacate your comfort zone. Talking to people who you don’t know – finding friendships with strangers – is another way to do it. Both, to me, are wonderful reasons to try travelling on your own. Because if you want to go somewhere, you should go and nothing should hold you back. If your loved ones, partners, friends, children don’t want to go with you… you can still go. And you should. On a tour, there’s a group of people who also wanted to discover that slice of the world. So you’re already in great company, before even that first, “hello.”
As I’ve chatted with other travellers who’ve opted to go it alone on tour, here are their top tips (and reasons) to try it.
Tips for Travelling Solo (Or Reasons to Try Going Solo):
Meet new people. Off the bat, you have things in common (travel, this destination you chose, local experiences) – so you may just meet a great friend on your adventure.
Practice self-care. Do what you want, how you want. This is a great time to focus on yourself. With no one else’s expectations to consider, you can make this trip exactly what you want from the moment it starts until the moment it ends.
Collette will handle the details! On a Collette tour, you can truly focus on creating connections or relishing your independence, because we will take care of getting you to the must-sees. You can feel secure in your independence knowing you are fully supported on tour.
Enjoy the Group. You may be alone, but you’re not alone. There’s comfort in travelling with a group who can join in on so many of the adventures you’ll have. From people to dine with to just those moments when you want to recount your day with someone, you’re in perfect company.
From all of the travellers and colleagues I heard from, the resounding advice was to not let being alone stop you from taking that trip. You deserve it and there are so many wonderful experiences to be gained from taking that leap out into the world. Since Covid started, I’ve been home a lot with my four young kids and I feel like I’m never alone. Those days of travelling on my own feel far away, but I look back on them with pride, so happy that I did that, so happy that I made the time for myself. Because I learned the most about myself experiencing things in my own way on tour. I love travelling with my family but I still carve out time for myself always. And I know that I’ll be finding trips, once again, that I can experience as a solo traveller. Everything right now is for my kids. Those trips are already special. Because they’re just for me.
