There’s something intrepid about the idea of holidaying alone. You are Jeanne Baret, the first woman circumnavigating the globe (in 1766, although she did so disguised as a man). You are Lady Hester Stanhope, exploring the deserts of the Middle East in the early 19th Century, carrying a sword atop an Arab stallion.
When summer comes around, however, the reality can present itself somewhat differently. Holidaying as a single person when many friends have settled down can often mean sacrificing what you really want to do to please a companion. If you travel solo, a relaxed beach holiday can feel decidedly less chilled when you’re contemplating where to go for dinner toute-seule at the end of the day or burning up the hotel’s dance floor solo. Holidaying alone is also, often, expensive.
These are common issues, says Radha Vyas, co-founder of solo travel specialists Flash Pack, but she believes that holidaying by yourself doesn’t have to mean holidaying alone.
“There’s certainly a dread about holidaying on your own,” she says. “Lots of people end up sacrificing the holiday they really want to have to accompany someone else on their trip, simply so they don’t have to travel by themselves. But annual leave is precious, there’s no way you should be spending it doing things you don’t want to do.”
Flash Pack specialise in organising group trips – from weekends away to epic treks through Patagonia – for solo travellers in their thirties and forties. “All our clients are at the same life stage,” she says. “They’re dynamic professionals who want a holiday where they can experience different things, but still wind up in a luxury boutique hotel at the end of the day. Holidaying alone is not only a great way to see the world, but also to extend your social group and meet new people. Our trips are 12 people, max, so it feels like holidaying with a gang of friends.”
So what are Radha’s golden rules for travelling solo?
1.) “Ask yourself if you can you find the balance between trusting people you’ve never met before and being street-smart. You need to be able to do both if you are holidaying solo.”
2.) “Be willing to share aspects of your life with other people. If you can’t do this, travelling alone can become a lonely experience.”
3.) “Think about how you’re going to meet others. Teenagers and twenty-somethings tend to stay in hostels where making friends is easy. It’s not so easy when you're staying in a hotel. Think about safe ways to meet like-minded people, perhaps by signing up for activities or excursions.
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