Why travelling with like-minded travellers is the new solo travel!
From a passionate solo traveller!
I LOVE solo travel. I really do.
After travelling with family and friends throughout my life, finally taking my first solo travel trip was incredibly powerful.
I not only felt new heights in the sense of freedom that travel gives me, but I also loved the chance to do exactly what I loved and enjoyed – without any compromises.
But recently, I’ve fallen in love with a new style of travel: Group travel.
I’m not talking about that old-style, load everyone onto a big bus and see the sights kind of group travel.
I’m talking about bespoke, curated experiences, both fun and reflective, with likeminded travellers, kind of group travel.
Group travel that brings together a collection of people who truly love to enjoy the same kinds of experiences and thrive on making new connections in a positive and exciting environment.
I’ve jetted off on two of these kinds of trips myself in the past year, and I can tell you, it’s given me those same feelings of liberation, those same boundary-pushing experiences, and the same deep level of fulfilment that solo travel has given me.
So what’s so special about this kind of travel?
Here are my observations.
Solo vs group travel
Deep Connections
One thing that I love about solo travel is both the chance and the choice to connect with exactly who you feel drawn to. When solo-travelling, this usually happens when you find a like-minded soul alongside you on your chosen activity, or maybe you overhear and are drawn into an interesting conversation with another traveller somewhere along your adventure. Of course, there are no guarantees that this will happen.
With group travel, you are already one step ahead, as often those compatible connections are already made for you. Not only do you have the chance to connect with new people, but there’s usually already a high level of alignment between you and other members of the group as you’ve already chosen to enjoy the same activities together. And speaking from experience, the bonds that I’ve made with the people on my last two trips have run way deeper than most new friends that I’ve made from a chance meeting in ‘regular life!’
Stress-free curation
As a Travel Designer professionally (as well as an experienced backpacker and extensive traveller personally), I am used to making all of the plans and have many avenues, patterns, and tricks when it comes to both curating the most fulfilling experiences and investing in the most superior suppliers.
But I know very well about the hours that many spend in the online vortex, looking for ways to cut through the online noise across blog posts, Instagram inspiration, and company marketing messages. And how complicated it can be to piece everything together, unknowing if you can really trust that activity provider that you’ve found online and if the experience will really shape up. And let’s not forget accommodation catfishing!
With a group trip, everything has already been vetted for you. And you know exactly what you are going to get. All of the magical experiences without having to lift a finger! As someone who really loves the planning process but has finally experienced being responsibility-free and following along with somebody else’s trip curation, I can happily tell you that it’s pure bliss! An experience that I’ll certainly be repeating when the next opportunity comes along.
Quality guaranteed
As touched on above, one of the wonderful things about group travel is that everything has been curated and vetted by professionals. No concerns about catfishing, fraud, or ropey experiences; you’re safe in the hands of your curator and the knowledge that they have used to design your trip.
With endless suppliers of travel experiences out there and a lot of clever photography angles, along with a growing number of fraudulent operations, we’re all aware that travel investments can be risky. But when joining a group travel experience (considering you’ve done your due diligence on the provider), you can eliminate these risks and feel a sense of peace that’s only possible with trustworthy investments.
The two trips that I have taken recently were both with my exceptional travel industry partners, so before I headed off, I already had full trust in the experience that they would provide. And throughout our adventures and after returning, even I repeatedly thought how fabulous it was to simply enjoy the experience without any of the stress of organising!
Safety in numbers
One obvious concern with solo travel is the safety aspect. I’ve experienced it myself. Being dropped off in a completely different (and sketchy-looking) part of town in Cuba, despite speaking the language and explaining that it was not the right place. And unfortunately, there are far worse stories out there. This would never put me off solo travel personally (though I definitely recommend a certain level of street sense to do so), but an incredible benefit of group travel is, of course, safety in numbers.
Whether it’s a country where you wouldn’t feel safe travelling solo or the awareness that you’d simply feel more relaxed and comfortable if you were there with a group of people, there’s nothing more important than feeling confident in your safety when travelling around our sometimes crazy world.
Keen to give group trips a try?
I’d love to hear from you!
I’m currently running a survey to help me plan exactly the kind of trips that you’d like to take in 2024-2025.
Whether you’re just curious or already keen to give like-minded adventures a try,
please spare a few minutes to fill out this survey on this link linked here.
