"I was so much more aware of everything; my senses were really alive"; "I found myself talking to more, and very different, people"; "It really opened my eyes in so many ways". All these are familiar phrases that I typically hear from people who have taken their first solo trip in the past year or so.
Solo travel is booming post-pandemic, with one Google Trends report in 2021 claiming that searches for the phrase were up 761%. It doesn't come as a surprise, as the trend had been curving upwards for years, and coming out of lockdown has only heightened our desire to get out in the world and live our best travel lives. Yet there is still a lot of ignorance around who the typical solo traveller is, with even the travel industry often using the word 'single' interchangeably with solo.
It never really has been just about young singles. When I took my own first solo trip in my 20s, I felt very adventurous until the day I came across a tiny, white-haired British lady who looked like she should be eating cream teas in Devon rather than hiking through the hills of northern Thailand. It was a wake-up call that solos come in all shapes and sizes, all ages, and can participate in any type of travel.
Most of my trips over the years have been solo, from business travel in my 20s (where I would often add on a couple of days to explore a destination) through to myriad trips for Wanderlust researching articles or attending conferences. I've experienced every type of trip covered in these pages, and what I have found - like the people quoted previously - is that I see more when I'm on my own.
This story is from the August/September 2023 edition of Wanderlust Travel Magazine.
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This story is from the August/September 2023 edition of Wanderlust Travel Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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