Yikes, my friend backed out! Should I go solo?

Well, I’ll add a different point of view here. Let’s call it a reality check when a solo traveller oddly chooses to travel with a person, a friend, a lover.

I’m sharing my story since I had been proposed a nice trip to Riga and Tallinn last year between Christmas and New Year’s Eve … but I hadn’t actually got, or better, I had not been properly told that I was traveling with a solo traveller.

The solo traveller that I came to know was so selfish and independent … so focused just on himself that the trip almost immediately derailed.

The point is that we saw a lot, we experienced a lot … but, generally, to a solo traveller in solo traveling mode that won’t be enough. He wants monopoly. He doesn’t want to share. It’s either virtually the whole cake or death. You are staining the picture, ruining the painting …

And this is so selfish, so dumb, so close-minded that, strictly speaking of the experience I had with this person in particular, that made me understand how superficial, how immature and how Peter Pan-ish he was.

For sure he traveled solo as a way to escape from everyday life and, in particular, to escape from the expectations that he thought others had on him (whether others actually had those expectations on him is something different …) so the “At home we tend to conform to the expectations of others.” just matches his profile.

Yes, there a little bit of resentment in my words … I’ve traveled solo in the past and did it again after this recounted experience so I think I know not just how to do it but also how to appreciate the nice and right sides of it … I just want to stress “please solo travellers, either come out of your solo travel mode during a joint-trip OR turn the proposal down!”

I suffered so much! =O

I really would like to have your opinion on this … thanks and hugs to you all! =)

i agree with all of these but for me the top 3 have been by far the
reasons I travel solo. I enjoy solo travel and enjoy my company too. I
never get lonely.

Then you may also want to read Solo Travel for Newbies http://solotravelerblog.com/solo-travel-tips-newbies/. There’s lots of how-to advice for free on the blog or you could pick up a copy of The Solo Traveler’s Handbook.

Hmmm, it all depends. If you are comfortable being alone, or are a natural extrovert, then go. Otherwise, think how to personalize your trip before you leave home. Check out social media websites like Meetup.com to see if there are local groups that you can join. Befriend a bartender or hotel concierge/owner. They may know of local athletic or volunteer groups or sporting events that you can participate in. Attend a local church service and go to the coffee hour afterwards. Look for simple classes to take such as cooking/art. Find ways to interact with the locals in their everyday pastimes.
I have had some good and some bad solo trips. Avoid couples oriented, remote resorts and or family oriented countries during the Christmas holidays.
My favorite solo travels have featured some kind of group or activity that I can gravitate to if things get too lonely.