9 Reasons Why Travelling Alone Sucks

Let’s be honest: travelling alone sucks.

We must have seen about 100 articles about “solo travel” and the benefits of going by yourself, but hardly anyone talks about the advantages of travelling as a couple.

Now don’t get us wrong, solo travel has its benefits. But after years of travelling the world as a couple, we think this is by far the best way to do it.

Here are 9 reasons travelling as a couple is better than travelling solo

Jump to:

• 1. You have no one to share your memories with
• 2. Mealtimes are not as fun
• 3. Selfies, selfies and more selfies…
• 4. Making friends is not actually that easy
• 5. Solo travelling can be boring
• 6. Why am I even doing this? Where am I going with my life?
• 7. You carry your own little laughs and small memories
• 8. Travelling alone can be more risky
• 9. Travelling alone is expensive

1. You have no one to share your memories with

We don’t know about you, but there is nothing better than reminiscing about that time you got totally drunk and fell off a balcony, or that time you got food poisoning.

Coming home after travelling alone can feel almost empty a few months later.

Sure, you had the time of your life, but five years from now you will still be the only person with that memory.

Okay, we’re not trying to get all deep and cynical here, but you get where we are coming from.

2. Mealtimes are not as fun

Of course, when you travel alone you should “technically” make friends and have people to eat with.

But there is nothing worse than a waiter asking, a bit awkwardly:

“Table for… one?” *while awkwardly smiling at you*

Fast food places aren’t too bad, but if you are on an island somewhere, or on a long journey to a new place, those meals can be very dreary.

Let’s face it, no one likes to eat alone.

3. Selfies, selfies and more selfies…

You are travelling alone and you get to see one of the most incredible sunsets, viewpoints or views of your life… so you quickly take a selfie or post it to your Instagram story.

Guess I’ll just take it myself then!

After a few months this gets a bit annoying. You probably have lots of “group” photos, but you’re still travelling by yourself.

Asking a stranger to take a picture of just “you” also gets a bit demoralising after a while.

4. Making friends is not actually that easy

Okay, sure, you get a whole lot of confidence when you first start travelling alone, and you end up talking to just about everyone.

But walking up to a group of people and saying “heeeey!” is just easier with two of you.

And if it ends up being extremely awkward, or the group completely ignores you, at least as a couple you can laugh about it later.

By yourself, you just erase it from your memory, or chuckle to yourself about it a few months later.

Of course, you will meet other solo travellers, but they will probably be like you: on to the next destination and trying not to get too attached.

5. Solo travelling can be boring

This depends on where in the world you are, but going on group tours by yourself can be boring!

Some of you will disagree, but there is nothing worse than being the one person on the tour bus on their own, just smiling and trying to blend in.

Snorkelling, surfing, cycling and almost every other activity you can do while travelling is WAY more fun as a couple.

“Remember that time you saw that giant stingray and it swam right up close to me?!” *said the solo traveller to himself*

6. Why am I even doing this? Where am I going with my life?

Solo travel is not all negative, and some alone time is fantastic for you. But at a certain stage, normally around the three-week mark, you start to think about other things.

Those things lead to other things, and before long you are living in the past, thinking about old times and realising that any good times you have now will only be yours.

Small things, like having a sunset beer by yourself and seeing a couple much happier than you, can trigger a rollercoaster of thoughts.

Questions like “Why the hell am I doing this?” or “Should I have stayed in that job?” can turn a happy solo traveller into an unhappy one very fast.

Again, we are not saying alone time is wrong or bad. There just comes a point.

Too much of anything is never good.

7. You carry your own little laughs and small memories

Solo travellers meet loads of people, and normally something hilarious happens along the way.

Like someone getting scammed at an ATM, or someone having the worst diarrhoea ever.

These things are great, but then you move on to your next destination, make new friends and say something like:

“Remember that time Sean had diarrhoea, haha?!

Oh wait, sorry, you weren’t there.” It gets a bit depressing.

Not to mention that a new bunch of people have no idea what you have been through.

8. Travelling alone can be more risky

When you travel alone, there is no one to double-check with to make sure you are making the best decision.

You have no one to fall back on.

When you are stuck on the toilet with food poisoning on the Gili Islands and have no one to call or get help, you can put yourself at risk.

If you do go solo, share your plans and live location with someone at home, and make sure your travel insurance is sorted before you go.

9. Travelling alone is expensive

Any solo traveller reading this is probably gasping. But as a couple, things like accommodation, taxis, car or scooter hire and plenty of other travel costs can be split in two.

Run out of money? In most cases you can rely on your partner to help you out of a sticky situation.

Sure, a bed in a 16-bed dorm is cheap, but a nice double room with an en suite split between two is often not much more per person, and sometimes it is cheaper.

Plus, a lot of tour companies still charge a “single supplement” just because you are on your own.

Travelling alone is not all bad

Before you start shouting at the screen and calling us stupid, take a moment to look at it from a couple’s perspective, reading yet another article about how great solo travel is.

You might disagree entirely with this article, but hey, it is just our experience. Are you a couple traveller or a solo traveller?

Feel free to share it with any solo travellers you know. We’re sure they will enjoy it, haha.

Posting your couple travel photos? Grab one of our 200+ couple captions for Instagram.

Steve and Sabina

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Heading off on your own? Grab a line from our 100+ solo travel captions.

If safety is on your mind before your first solo trip, see the safest countries in the world according to the Global Peace Index.