I've decided to have like a traveller's tips section in my blog, just another way of sharing my experiences and perhaps giving some suggestions to pple who might be interested in doing the whole 3 month European adventure thing and am considering the options available. So the first topic of this series is to whether you should travel alone or in a group.
So this is always a tough question to answer, and there is no right or wrong in this. There are pros and cons to both. Personally, travelling alone has the slight advantage for me, but travelling with friends does have its benefits too. Let's start with travelling with friends (E.g in a group of 3-4).
Pros:
1. Travelling is friends can be easy. If you're the kind of person who's awful with maps that kind of thing, friends can be handy when travelling. Odds should be rather high that one person in the group is very good with navigation and will be able to get you to places in the quickest time, which makes a difference when you're lugging a big backpack all around Europe. Friends also help to organize trips, and if you're lucky, all you have to do is just sit back and pay up when needed.
2. Travel support. Being alone in a foreign country for the first time and not speaking the language can be initimidating for anybody. So having someone by your side does makes things a little easier even if everyone is stunned to begin with. Furthermore, you don't have to worry too much about drinking alone at the bar with travel company and can often be sure of a good time. Lastly, you can always ensure that you'll be in the pictures you take during your travels.... (one big major disadvantage for single travellors).
3. Travel group discounts.
Travelling is always cheaper in groups, especially if you do stuff like tours and train rides. It also does help sometimes if you are kiasu a bit and book in advance. So in groups, you do save money which can be useful especially when you're on a limited budget compared to your peers. Furthermre, don't forget that when eating out, you can always share portions and split the costs between the group, so that definitely helps too.
Cons:
1. Different budgets/interests: The bigger the group, the harder it can be sometimes to do the sightseeing that everyone wants to do. You may have some friends who are just interested in drinking and sleeping in during the day, or friends who are less interested in getting hungover but more interested in exploring the city. Stuff like that. The truth is that, you never really find out whether your group has the same interests as you till you go on the journey itself. It may help to have a discussion prior to the trip, but anything can happen and mindsets can change. Budgets is an especially sensitive topic that can potentially ruin a trip. If someone opts out of doing something because they do not have the cash for it, it can sometimes split the group apart and provides the impetus for people to start arguing among one another, thus causing discontent among the group. Wastes a lot of time, and worse scenario is that nothing gets done in the end.
2. The more the merrier may not always be good: It's easy to nod your head and agree when more and more people start joining your group. But sometimes you may find that in the midst of the trip, people have suddenly split into clicks and suddenly you're left alone by yourself even though you're supposedly travelling with "friends". There are many ways this could happen.... your friend suddenly meets up with an old friend or your friend meets a new person on the trip...
3. You may end up doing things you're not too interested in just because of peer pressure: In a way, this point is linked to point 1. If you're the peacemaker in the group, and generally prefer to prevent conflicts, you may sometimes find yourself tagging along on outings that you are not really interested in... If you have a big budget to spare, that is perfect, but if you're on a limited budget, it may cause a problem, and everyone knows that money is all so important for travel...
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Conclusion: So when deciding, it would be useful to think through these points and weigh the advantages and disadvantages for travelling in a group. It is hard to do, but it would probably make life easier if you tried to get a sense of budget issues for everyone whom you're going to be travelling with on the trip. If you wanna make sure that you don't run over budget, either decide before the trip ( so you'd have to do some research first) on the sights you wanna see and maybe and don't wanna see), or just make sure your budget is bigger than the others... So people always say that when travelling in groups, you either strengthen or lose your friendships... so be prepared. I'm not saying that the worse will happen to everyone. But if you do find yourself in a position whereby you're with 2/3 others, and you know that 2/3 other friends are closer to one another than compared to the rest, be prepared to get left out of conversations, or maybe lose the majority vote when there is a conflict of interests on what to see. My advice, don't get mad about it, because it's like a natural evolution thingy and if positions were reversed, you'd most likely behave the same way as well. Just be aware, and maybe be prepared to start doing things on your own if you find that the group is becoming too clicky for you to enjoy their company anymore. But on the other hand, friends are great people to have a good time with. You kinda know that even if you're raving drunk, there's always someone looking out for you somewhere....
Ok, now the other side of the coin: Travelling alone
Pros:
1. Total control of your trip: you choose where you stay/eat/drink/visit/see etc etc. You see what you wanna see and you don't see what you don't wanna see. Budget and organization is all done by you. Your choice. And you don't waste time.
2. Get to meet more new people: For me, I have found that travelling alone has sorta forced me to be more sociable with the strangers around me, even if it just means saying hello to people who walk in and out of your hostel room. Don't forget that people are shy too, and sometimes, all, it takes is just a greeting and the ice is broken. And you'll be amazed that amount of conversation that can start flowing once that ice has melted. You share background stories, travel stories, funny backpacker stories, tips for your next place to visit, and sometimes you may have even made a new friend by the end of it too! I find that when I'm alone by myself, I actually meet more new people compared to when I'm with friends, coz I'm in my comfort zone then and am not forced to talk to new people.
Cons:
1. Safety is no 1 priority!
So travelling alone does mean that you have to be more responsible for yourself... no getting drunk at 3am in some random bar in a random city..... you have no one to rely on but yourself... and it would really suck for your trip if you woke up in the morning with no wallet and passport.... Have I mentioned that red tape is a pain in the ass here? So sometimes it might mean restraining yourself, and not going hard out when it is tempting to do so. Or it might also mean avoiding certain areas of the city at night, even though you've heard alot of cool stories about it. For females too, you'd have to be more cautious... men are very forward on this continent here!
2. You would obviously have to do everything yourself, and it can be quite tiring on the person especially when you're lost in a big city trying to find your hostel and carrying your 10kg bag along with you at the same time. Pictures often don't have you in it, and you have to take the risk of asking a stranger to do it for you. Single travellers don't get very good deals as compared to those travelling in a group, so definitely have to budget a bit more for yourself there. And sometimes, the lonely emotion will strike you as well.
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Conclusion: From general observations, most people I know don't really travel alone. I got so much flak from this Mexican guy one time when I told him that I went to London by myself, and he was like ,"why did you do that!!!". It's understandable why most people would be scared of doing it by themselves especially if they're visiting a foreign city and stuff. Even if you ask me to choose now which part of travelling I like distinctly, I wouldn't be able to give an answer, but I reckon that I have probably travelled enough to know the pros and cons of each. And maybe it boils down to personality as well in the end. I am a very organized and kiasu person, so I'm quite good at organizing trips for myself... booking the transport/ accommodation etc. So logistics have never been a problem for me. Sure, sometimes I do get lonely, and I wish that I had a friend who was with me and I could share my feelings and thoughts about the city I was visiting, but on the other hand, I've also gotten the opportunity to meet some really cool people whom i've kept in touch with even after my travels! (I can really appreciate facebook for this point here). So there you go... many points to consider when deciding.....
So this is always a tough question to answer, and there is no right or wrong in this. There are pros and cons to both. Personally, travelling alone has the slight advantage for me, but travelling with friends does have its benefits too. Let's start with travelling with friends (E.g in a group of 3-4).
Pros:
1. Travelling is friends can be easy. If you're the kind of person who's awful with maps that kind of thing, friends can be handy when travelling. Odds should be rather high that one person in the group is very good with navigation and will be able to get you to places in the quickest time, which makes a difference when you're lugging a big backpack all around Europe. Friends also help to organize trips, and if you're lucky, all you have to do is just sit back and pay up when needed.
2. Travel support. Being alone in a foreign country for the first time and not speaking the language can be initimidating for anybody. So having someone by your side does makes things a little easier even if everyone is stunned to begin with. Furthermore, you don't have to worry too much about drinking alone at the bar with travel company and can often be sure of a good time. Lastly, you can always ensure that you'll be in the pictures you take during your travels.... (one big major disadvantage for single travellors).
3. Travel group discounts.
Travelling is always cheaper in groups, especially if you do stuff like tours and train rides. It also does help sometimes if you are kiasu a bit and book in advance. So in groups, you do save money which can be useful especially when you're on a limited budget compared to your peers. Furthermre, don't forget that when eating out, you can always share portions and split the costs between the group, so that definitely helps too.
Cons:
1. Different budgets/interests: The bigger the group, the harder it can be sometimes to do the sightseeing that everyone wants to do. You may have some friends who are just interested in drinking and sleeping in during the day, or friends who are less interested in getting hungover but more interested in exploring the city. Stuff like that. The truth is that, you never really find out whether your group has the same interests as you till you go on the journey itself. It may help to have a discussion prior to the trip, but anything can happen and mindsets can change. Budgets is an especially sensitive topic that can potentially ruin a trip. If someone opts out of doing something because they do not have the cash for it, it can sometimes split the group apart and provides the impetus for people to start arguing among one another, thus causing discontent among the group. Wastes a lot of time, and worse scenario is that nothing gets done in the end.
2. The more the merrier may not always be good: It's easy to nod your head and agree when more and more people start joining your group. But sometimes you may find that in the midst of the trip, people have suddenly split into clicks and suddenly you're left alone by yourself even though you're supposedly travelling with "friends". There are many ways this could happen.... your friend suddenly meets up with an old friend or your friend meets a new person on the trip...
3. You may end up doing things you're not too interested in just because of peer pressure: In a way, this point is linked to point 1. If you're the peacemaker in the group, and generally prefer to prevent conflicts, you may sometimes find yourself tagging along on outings that you are not really interested in... If you have a big budget to spare, that is perfect, but if you're on a limited budget, it may cause a problem, and everyone knows that money is all so important for travel...
--------
Conclusion: So when deciding, it would be useful to think through these points and weigh the advantages and disadvantages for travelling in a group. It is hard to do, but it would probably make life easier if you tried to get a sense of budget issues for everyone whom you're going to be travelling with on the trip. If you wanna make sure that you don't run over budget, either decide before the trip ( so you'd have to do some research first) on the sights you wanna see and maybe and don't wanna see), or just make sure your budget is bigger than the others... So people always say that when travelling in groups, you either strengthen or lose your friendships... so be prepared. I'm not saying that the worse will happen to everyone. But if you do find yourself in a position whereby you're with 2/3 others, and you know that 2/3 other friends are closer to one another than compared to the rest, be prepared to get left out of conversations, or maybe lose the majority vote when there is a conflict of interests on what to see. My advice, don't get mad about it, because it's like a natural evolution thingy and if positions were reversed, you'd most likely behave the same way as well. Just be aware, and maybe be prepared to start doing things on your own if you find that the group is becoming too clicky for you to enjoy their company anymore. But on the other hand, friends are great people to have a good time with. You kinda know that even if you're raving drunk, there's always someone looking out for you somewhere....
Ok, now the other side of the coin: Travelling alone
Pros:
1. Total control of your trip: you choose where you stay/eat/drink/visit/see etc etc. You see what you wanna see and you don't see what you don't wanna see. Budget and organization is all done by you. Your choice. And you don't waste time.
2. Get to meet more new people: For me, I have found that travelling alone has sorta forced me to be more sociable with the strangers around me, even if it just means saying hello to people who walk in and out of your hostel room. Don't forget that people are shy too, and sometimes, all, it takes is just a greeting and the ice is broken. And you'll be amazed that amount of conversation that can start flowing once that ice has melted. You share background stories, travel stories, funny backpacker stories, tips for your next place to visit, and sometimes you may have even made a new friend by the end of it too! I find that when I'm alone by myself, I actually meet more new people compared to when I'm with friends, coz I'm in my comfort zone then and am not forced to talk to new people.
Cons:
1. Safety is no 1 priority!
So travelling alone does mean that you have to be more responsible for yourself... no getting drunk at 3am in some random bar in a random city..... you have no one to rely on but yourself... and it would really suck for your trip if you woke up in the morning with no wallet and passport.... Have I mentioned that red tape is a pain in the ass here? So sometimes it might mean restraining yourself, and not going hard out when it is tempting to do so. Or it might also mean avoiding certain areas of the city at night, even though you've heard alot of cool stories about it. For females too, you'd have to be more cautious... men are very forward on this continent here!
2. You would obviously have to do everything yourself, and it can be quite tiring on the person especially when you're lost in a big city trying to find your hostel and carrying your 10kg bag along with you at the same time. Pictures often don't have you in it, and you have to take the risk of asking a stranger to do it for you. Single travellers don't get very good deals as compared to those travelling in a group, so definitely have to budget a bit more for yourself there. And sometimes, the lonely emotion will strike you as well.
---------------
Conclusion: From general observations, most people I know don't really travel alone. I got so much flak from this Mexican guy one time when I told him that I went to London by myself, and he was like ,"why did you do that!!!". It's understandable why most people would be scared of doing it by themselves especially if they're visiting a foreign city and stuff. Even if you ask me to choose now which part of travelling I like distinctly, I wouldn't be able to give an answer, but I reckon that I have probably travelled enough to know the pros and cons of each. And maybe it boils down to personality as well in the end. I am a very organized and kiasu person, so I'm quite good at organizing trips for myself... booking the transport/ accommodation etc. So logistics have never been a problem for me. Sure, sometimes I do get lonely, and I wish that I had a friend who was with me and I could share my feelings and thoughts about the city I was visiting, but on the other hand, I've also gotten the opportunity to meet some really cool people whom i've kept in touch with even after my travels! (I can really appreciate facebook for this point here). So there you go... many points to consider when deciding.....