Travelling alone after a difficult period of your life can give you the time to reflect, analyse, and explore your possibilities without the influence of others. It can also help build self-confidence and give you the opportunity to meet new people.
Nevertheless, travelling on your own especially for the first time can be a very daunting experience. But just think of the options. Everything from short breaks exploring the classic cities of Italy to discovering the Wonders of India, you can experience fascinating cultures, delicious local cuisine, and fabulous sights in the company of fellow solo travellers who share your passion for discovering the World.
Sounds good but …
Lone travel is often associated with university gap years or career breaks but that just isn’t so. In fact solo travel for the over 50 is one of the hottest travel demographics. So no matter how old you are travelling alone should definitely be considered. And you don’t have to spend hours trawling the internet. There are lots of travel businesses aimed at making solo travel a brilliant experience and my first choice of Tour Operator for a solo traveller would be ‘Just You Holidays’. They’ve designed a whole programme of holidays suited for individuals.
Go where your imagination takes you.
When I’m on the radio, or doing numerous talks around the South West, many solo travellers ask me about where is the best place to travel. Not the easiest question as this is as individual as the person booking the trip. The destination can be suited to your budget or your interests. You can be lazy and have a normal beach holiday or do a tour and tick a few boxes on your bucket list.
Shop around to avoid supplements
Travel companies like ‘Just You’ do not have any supplements in their brochure, the price you see is the price you pay. Unfortunately, with other Operators, and especially Cruise lines, these supplements can be as much as double the cost of the holiday. So read the small print.
Five benefits of solo travel
- Feel free. Travelling solo allows you to do what you want when you want. It’s a rare opportunity.
- Developing talents and discovering new ones. Take a painting course. Go hiking. Discover a new skill or talent.
- Build confidence. There are times in life when we all feel more than a little shaky. Solo travel will help you through those times.
- Reduce stress. Stress is a major contributor to health problems. By relaxing and traveling on your own schedule you’ll settle the stress down.
- Building relationships Return to your relationships, friendships, colleagues with new ideas, experiences and dreams. Sometimes being on autopilot means we run out of stories travelling can bring experiences (good and bad) that you will want to retell.
I feel it important to stress that I understand how daunting your first holiday away on your own can be. Booking with Operators with the same ethos will make this initial jump into the unknown very straight forward, and very enjoyable. I’m sure it will be the start of many years of travelling that you thought would never be possible.
Anthony Goord is a partner at Plymouth based independent travel agency Peter Goord Travel. They provide high quality and competitively priced holidays for clients across the South West http://www.petergoordtravel.co.uk/ .