Yesterday I listened to an episode of the Women Who Travel podcast called ‘Remembering How to Solo Travel Again’ and in it they discussed going on a group tour. I have had some great past experiences on group tours but I know that some people are hesitant at the idea of it. This might be because they are worried about having to be around people constantly, or think that too much of it is planned out for you. Here is a post on why I love it so much.
I love solo travel: I think there’s nothing better than waking up in a new place on your own. It’s exciting and daunting but truly liberating. In the podcast, the hosts talked about how group travel can be a way to ease yourself back in to traveling solo in a social-sense as it’s the best of both worlds: you can hang out with the group but also take time by yourself when you need it. I’ve found this to be true. Look for a trip with free time scheduled in for you to explore at your own pace. I’ve really loved the free time to prioritise what it is that I want to see or just have time on my own in my room to nap or journal.
Also, I have met some brilliant people by joining a group. I met Lou in New Orleans, for example, at the hotel bar where we were both staying. I don’t often stray into hotel bars when I am travelling alone (I don’t know why but I just assume they are filled with people on business trips), but I could hear Lou’s Aussie accent from across the room animatedly talking about her travels in America, so I picked the seat next to her, said hi, and we kicked it off from there. We ended up getting martinis and hot dogs, because we had the most sophisticated palates that night.
Y’know that feeling when you just click with someone: you meet them and instantly feel like friends. Any awkwardness is replaced with laughter and your anecdotes somehow link up and involve each other and it feels as though you’ve known each other a long time. Your gut just knows it. Well, travel heightens that feeling: the giddy excitement of meeting a new friend who you feel like you’ve known forever. You pick out places to visit together oh, I think you’ll really like this place, it serves you favourite food, take selfies together, and talk about everything.
It turned out that Lou and I were travelling as part of the same group (run by Intrepid travel), driving across Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi. When the tour started the next day (me, hungover), we met the three other people on our trip and our guide. We had so much fun on that trip: we ate and drank in diners across the South, danced our nights away to country music in honky-tonks in Nashville and bars on Beale street. We hiked in the Great Smoky Mountains, got stuck in traffic in Pigeon Forge (which was actually a lot more fun than it sounds!), visited Graceland, and ate so much bbq!
Catie, who I shared a room with, brought out my creative side. Together we wrote songs (a new for me) and plotted out an entire novel. You learn a lot from the people you meet along the way. Della, who I met in India, had been travelling for years collecting stories and passport stamp. The countries she had seen and the adventures she could tell you about: Peru, Thailand, Vietnam – I would just sit and listen to her advice about where to go and what to pack. I met Anna and Molly when we travelled across Australia from Darwin to Adelaide: they taught me to jump into bodies of water that I would normally avoid (hello, crocodiles) and how to love camping.
Then the tour ends and you go your separate ways. There’s a strange type of loss when the travelling ends and saying goodbye to the people you met only a few days or weeks ago. You know you probably won’t see these people, these good friends, again. Everyone has busy lives and you live on different sides of the globe. Sometimes, I still wonder about reaching out to the girls from Nashville or Australia to see if there is somewhere we could meet. But then, it was perfect the way it went.
There have been some groups where I haven’t connected with the other people as strongly. But that’s ok too, because you can wander off and do your own thing when there’s free time, or ask for other recommendations for places to eat or visit. You’re still somewhere new and exciting and that’s enough in itself.
I’ve sometimes got the impression from others that they think of group tours as a lazy way to travel. It is very easy: you get picked up from your hotel each morning (a hotel that you didn’t have to choose) after breakfast, and then get transported somewhere to see something fabulous. You can eat in places that come recommended by the guide. You can just sit back and relax. For anyone nervous about travelling across foreign countries by themselves because of the logistics of it, group travel is a great way to get you used to doing these things. Also, in these times, it’s probably not a bad thing to have a tour guide to help should travel plans have to change.
I have met some brilliant people and seen some awesome places without having the worry of planning transport and accommodation. So, go on group tours as a solo traveller! Opt to share a room – you never know who you will meet or the impact they will have on you.
Luggage & Scribble 