Travelling Alone

Travelling alone can seem a daunting prospect for your gap year if you have never done it before. However, if you are going to be travelling alone you definitely won't always feel like the odd one out. In fact approximately half of all travellers on career breaks with Gap Year for Grown Ups travel alone on their - and travelling alone has distinct advantages over travelling with other people as well.

By travelling alone you actually tend to meet other people far more easily and quickly than you do if you are part of a group or couple. The reason for this is two-fold. Firstly, when you are travelling alone you naturally become more sociable and tend to strike up conversations far more easily then perhaps you would at home. Secondly, if you are travelling alone other travellers tend to view you as far more approachable - so even if you are not feeling especially sociable the chances are that you will soon be chatting to fellow travellers anyhow!

Another major advantage of travelling alone is its flexibility. In other words when you are travelling alone you are answerable to no one but yourself. When you are travelling alone you don't need to take in to account other peoples' opinions when it comes to making everyday decisions (for example whether or not to stay another day or move on to the next place). You call the shots!

If you are nervous about travelling alone it's important to remember that once you have reached your destination there will be other people travelling out on the same programme - many of whom may well be travelling alone themselves.

Career break safety - if you are travelling alone it's important to follow basic common sense when it comes to your personal safety. Particularly if you are going to be on the move quite a bit it's a good idea to keep in regular touch with friends and family at home by email - keeping them up-dated with where you are and what you are up to. However travelling alone on a gap year in many ways is no different from travelling alone at home - as long as you follow all of the usual golden rules about personal safety you are no more likely to come to any harm abroad as you would anywhere else.

If none of the above has convinced you of the merits of travelling alone and you still have reservations then why not chat to one of the Gap Year for Grown Ups travel advisers? For example it might be possible for us to put you in touch with someone else who is travelling alone - particularly if they are going to be travelling on the same programme as you.