I love travelling solo. My first big experience was in 1976, touring the UK alone on a rail pass. I was really nervous, but it was great and I was hooked. I cycled around Connemara a few years later, walked the Cornish cliff paths too. Always had a better time than when travelling with someone else. The peak was probably a few weeks in Kenya, using local buses and trains. Last year I had a week in Tokyo, brilliant visit.

What I like best is being able to change my plans depending on mood, weather etc without consulting anyone. I also meet more people - I’m no longer shy about striking up a convo, or practising my terrible language skills.

Yeah I’ve done it a few times mostly just doing rail travel across Europe and it’s an absolute joy.

It gives you the opportunity to have a pretty much perfect itinerary for yourseof getting to see exactly what you want where you want.

I’ve often found it can get a little lonely feeling in longer journeys so I’ve often made plans to left up with friends who are on holiday too or live near where I’m going and that’s always nice.

Some time has to be the first time, you’ll do fine, nervous, but fine. Do you have anything you want to see or do is a better question? Not much point going somewhere unless you want to do that.

I usually travel alone, and I prefer it that way. I can spend as much or as little time as I want on various places and sights, and I have nobody to worry about but myself.

… I almost never travel not solo, so apologies if I don’t know what the other side of the coin is like

I think the biggest advantage is the absolutely ridiculous amount of freedom, because you can cater to 100% of your own needs, and your own needs alone. Want trip to be cheap? Youth hostels and 10-hour Flix/Blablacar buses exist. Want to do nerdy things only you are interested in? No need to care for travel companions for “wasting” 10-hours in a modern arts museum or anything like that

I did hear that some people find traveling alone a bit lonely though… so maybe it is not for everyone. Oh and maybe booking restaurants can get a tad awkward depending on the place I travel to

I’m a man so obviously YMMV but I went away for a year solo and it was quite literally the best thing I ever did.

I spent six weeks in Argentina by myself, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I just went wherever I felt like as I felt like it.

Hopping on a train alone for a couple of hours has been my default mode of transportation since long before I was 18. Mostly to visit friends so I didn’t have to worry about a place to stay overnight so if you don’t have that, maybe start out with a day trip.

It’s a great experience! I did a lot of solo travelling by train, bike or even hiking as a girl of 17-25 years old in europe. In my experience 99% of people are super nice and helpful and most people that weren’t had an issue with me not speaking the local language or were drunk at the time (daydrinkers, I did not go out to clubs or cafes at night on my own). Italy was the only place where I constantly felt unsafe as a woman, and they unfortunately have a bad record. Other countries I visited include czech republic, romania, hungary, austria, france, spain, belgium, germany and the uk, with no issues (I’m dutch).

Some considerations: While travelling you have noone to watch your bags, so make sure your luggage fits with you in a toilet stall and that you can store your bags somewhere the moment you get someplace. Travelling as light as possible improves the whole experience. There will be a lot of lonely time especially while travelling between places/hostels, so bring a good book or podcast, but also be prepared to enter into random conversations with strangers. With stuff like train delays that are only announced in the native language, it’s good if you have the confidence to ask around for help.

Yes it is great.

Another thing is that it doesn’t have to be all or nothing: you could plan a trip where you visit some places where you know no one and some where you might have a friend or acquaintance (if you have friends living outside of where you live, of course). I’ve found that makes a nice balance.

Yeah it’s a good way to force yourself to be more social and talk to strangers with low stakes (you won’t see them again). Also great for practicing a foreign language.

Switzerland is a very good starting position for trips as you can get to many countries by train. I’d totally take this opportunity and you can even do 2-3 day trips if you’re not comfortable with something longer.

Yes. It was the same as any traveling, just quieter because didn’t have another person to talk to.

But it was liberating just being able to do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted without having to worry about someone else’s schedule or desires.

The only boring part was probably having to eat and be in a hotel alone.

I once drove cross country in the US from my home in the Ohio valley to the California coast. I have never been on an airplane and had only traveled to the biomes of Appalachia, Great Lakes, or Floridian beach.

I had a wonderful (spiritual?) experience driving through the New Mexico desert. I had never seen so much LAND visible from my point of view, and I got lucky to see this while driving westward at sunrise. Even after seeing the Grand Canyon on this same trip, I wasn’t as affected as I was when I saw the expansive desert.

I am a tall Caucasian male though, so I had a built-in sense of security. It can be a tenuous plan for plucky youngsters, especially young women, safety-wise.

Most of the time, yes. Sometimes visiting friends, sometimes going somewhere for an event (and staying in a hotel/hostel), and occasionally just going on a trip, visiting/exploring a few places.

If you’re in Europe, Interrail is your friend. Get a pass, catch some trains and explore.