Traveling Solo Vs Traveling With Friends

The pros and cons of both types of travel

When I initially set out to travel, I had gone alone. It’s not like I didn’t want to travel with someone, but whenever I planned this with friends, they would always flake and it would be hard to create any concrete plans.

So I made the executive decision to go alone. I figured that if I waited around to go with someone, I might never go. The thought of not going felt even scarier than going alone.

But over the past few years, I have mixed it up and have gone traveling both with friends and alone. They are both such different experiences.

Here are my personal pros and cons of traveling both alone and with company.

Traveling solo

Pros:

Planning for one One of the biggest perks of traveling alone is that you don’t need to worry about pleasing other people or compromising as you get to make all the decisions yourself and this is a freeing experience.

If you want to change your plans last minute or add something new to the agenda there’s no one really to consult other than yourself.

You get to create a schedule according to what you wish to see and how long you wish to take somewhere without external input.

Push yourself out of your comfort zone When you are a solo traveler, you tend to push yourself outside of your comfort zone more to meet new people.

I never thought I could just walk up to a group of people or strike up a conversation with strangers because, well I never had to until I was traveling alone.

But this was such a great experience and putting myself out there allowed me to meet some truly great people.

Self-reliance Traveling alone means that the only person you have to rely on is yourself.

This is a great learning curve as you build up your confidence, resilience, and independence, things that stick with you for life.

Sometimes the journey to self-reliance isn’t always an easy one, but you get to learn so much about yourself in the process.

Cons :

Safety The safety factor is always a more prominent issue when traveling alone. I know that this was the biggest worry for my family, whether I would be safe traveling alone, after all, safety in numbers.

It can feel scary, especially the first time traveling solo as you meet all kinds of characters and you have to be more alert and avoid certain places and situations that feel a bit sketchy.

Higher expenses Another con of traveling solo is that the price of things tends to be higher as you don’t have someone to split the cost with.

So things such as taxis, food, and accommodation end up being more expensive when you have to fork out the cash for it all on your own.

Lack of familiarity Sometimes you get people sick too. No, not sick of people, but you miss close friends and loved ones when you are constantly surrounded by strangers.

Sometimes it is nice to have familiar faces around to share the experience with.

I remember meeting another solo traveler who said that she enjoyed solo travel but wished her loved ones could also experience what she was experiencing, and I understand where she was coming from.

Traveling with friends

Pros:

Companionship When you travel with your friends it means that you won't ever find yourself feeling lonely. You always have company, which can be comforting especially when being somewhere foreign and new.

It also feels easy when you are with a friend as you don’t need to exert effort into getting to know them and can be around them with greater ease.

Cost-effective When you have company it also means that you are able to share the cost of certain things.

So things that I mentioned before such as taxis, food, and accommodation all get split therefore making it a cost-effective option for everyone.

Plus it is also comforting to know that if you are short with money at times there is someone to help you out and vice versa.

Trust Traveling with a friend also means that there is mutual trust between you all and you know that there is someone that has your back.

This is can be really important especially when you are somewhere that is unfamiliar as it can feel daunting being somewhere new, but there is comfort in knowing that even in unfamiliar surroundings you have a familiar support network with you.

Cons:

Restrictive When you are with friends you don’t feel the pressure to go out and meet new people.

Having your friends with you can sometimes make you feel obliged to stick with them and not venture out of your comfort zone to meet others.

This can hold you back from making new connections or having new experiences that you would’ve pushed yourself for had you been alone.

Misalignment It’s inevitable that there will be times when all of your plans and desires don’t align with each other and this can cause tension.

Compromise is always needed when having to also accommodate the needs of others, so when everyone wants such different things it can be difficult to cater to everyone, which can cause issues at times.

Inevitable arguments It is also natural that when you travel with someone, you will grate on each other’s nerves at times. Not always, but it can happen when you spend too much time around the same people for prolonged periods of time.

Arguments and spats are bound to happen.

A friend of mine went traveling with two of her friends and by the 2nd month, they were bickering so much and got so sick of each other’s company that they split off to different countries.

There were definitely times when I was traveling solo that I missed having company, and there were times when I was with friends and would have preferred to be alone.

But I have also had some of the best experiences of traveling both alone and with friends and I am glad to have experienced the best of both worlds.

Which one do you prefer? Do you prefer to travel alone or with friends? I would love to hear your opinions!