hey i love your blog! it is so inspiring and it makes me so excited to travel. I was wondering if you would recommend travelling alone or if going with friends or family is better. also, how much time would you recommend staying in one place for?
I’m glad I get to inspire people like you!
I would say it depends because each is a unique experience, and it depends on what you want out of the trip.
Travelling with your Family:
Pros:
It obviously feels more homely because you’ve got your fam with you.
These kinds of trips create the best memories and usually help bring family closer together.
Cons:
You probably won’t do any of the crazy partying or anything too wild bc parents tend to like to stick to tourist-y places or other kinds of adventure.
You have to go along with what everyone wants to do and compromise which may result in you not getting to do/see something you wanted to
Trips like these are the best if you haven’t seen your family in a while (bc of college, you moving away, etc) because you get to create unique memories to hold onto until the next time you see them. Also great for small children (not like babies but kids who will actually remember the trip) because it’s always fun to look back on these memories together when they’re older.
Travelling with your Friends:
Pros:
You’ll get to do that notorious partying
You will likely have different adventures than what you’d experience with your family
They’re more likely to be willing to take risks and be spontaneous (which can be good or bad)
Cons:
Once again, you have to go along with what everyone wants to do and compromise which may result in you not getting to do/see something you wanted to
They’re more likely to be willing to take risks and be spontaneous (which can be good or bad)
Trips like these are best if you want to spend time with your friends outside of your daily lives, they’re great for getting to know them better and just generally becoming closer, great memories too!
Travelling Alone:
Pros:
You get to do/see everything you want!
Get to be fully immersed in your surroundings without any distractions
Get to spend as much time as you want doing/seeing things
Cons:
Have to be fully responsible because you’re on your own
Might be harder if there’s a language barrier
No one who shared the memories
It’s a cliche but you really do find out a lot more about yourself when you travel alone, because it’s you taken out of what’s familiar and thrust into this foreign environment.
Again, duration depends on what you want out of it, sometimes you get more in a 12 hour layover than in 2 days but I feel like a week or two gives you ample time to explore and learn about the place without establishing too much of a routine that would stop you from branching out to try new restaurants and things (after all, part of the fun of travelling is sampling local cuisine!).
I personally think you could travel somewhere once with friends, once with your family and once by yourself and see three sides so completely different from the others that they may as well be different places. Each experience is unique, and each one reveals but a single narrative of the millions that make each location what it is, so you could spend a lifetime visiting and exploring the same city, and be met with a completely different one each time.