In My Humble Opinion: Is It Actually Better to Travel Alone?

So there is a new debate sweeping the internet and me being me thought I might as well get involved- to travel alone or travel with someone - which is better?

To be completely honest with you I don't think there is an answer to this question which will make everyone happy; it's completely down to the type of person you are. Having said that I find that most solo travellers are people who love independence and are quite happy to just go with the flow whereas those who travel in groups tend to have lived more sheltered lives and find comfort in having someone they know with them every step of the way. There is nothing wrong with this, it's just a different attitude.

It may just be me but on serval occasions where I haven't travelled with alone I have made vague friends who end up on my Facebook for a while until I delete them as I have no idea who they are, this is because I stuck to my friends - the ones I brought with me, it's human instinct to stick to what you know and we are all guilty of doing it. Don't get me wrong though, sharing an experience with someone who you know will be in your life afterwards is pretty special and not something to be mocked.

On the flip side of this I have had several friendships completely ruined by travelling. Three if we want to be specific. The reason? Travelling technique - if you have a different way of travelling to your companion chances are you will end up arguing at some point or another. It doesn't always matter how well you get on, people are different when travelling, and it's not always something that you can tell until it's too late. I always pick my travelling companions very very carefully for this reason and will happily admit that there are several of my close friends who I would never consider travelling with, it's not worth it.

I know it feels scary travelling on your own, especially if you are new to it - but travelling alone gives you something that you don't get when you travel with others - a sense of who you really are. I honestly can't stress this enough, it's not something you will be able to achieve if you travel with someone, the reason? Compromise. You learn how to talk and approach strangers, to love your own company and you realise that you don't always need someone else there every step of the way. Those things that other people may find weird like having a drink by yourself, going to a restaurant by yourself, or seeing a film solo I'm totally cool with, in fact I do the latter quite often. I put this down to the times where I have had to rely on myself as I haven't had a choice, the times I have spent wondering around cities by myself and the investment I made to be truly happy with who I am. This is the real reason I would tell you that it's better to travel alone, I have met loads of people who travel with people and they haven't got this one thing that solo travellers do: true and uncompromising independence.