I actually prefer it, lots of times, especially if I'm going somewhere with hiking. I like to be able to walk at my own pace, stop and look at things on the ground, and think without having to chat. I've never been nervous about being on my own, except after hiking through the Redwood Forest and being told by friends that there are lots of pot farms/meth houses that one can wander across and get messed up over. Oh, and after coming across some bear scat.

I've taken hundreds of trips by myself, both for business and pleasure. By far the least fatiguing, most interesting way of traveling. You simply have options for food, lodging and transport that don't exist in group travel situations, and you can cover more ground with far less effort than you ever can with the added overhead of group management. In dicey areas, for Americans, it can be safer to travel alone, as you can drop your profile substantially, compared to traveling with others, simply by appropriate clothing, luggage and behavior.

What I absolutely abhor are traveling companions who read me their guidebooks. Close to that special horror, for me, are cruises and bus tours. But they're the bees knees for many people, I guess.

I have taken a number of trips alone, including 3 months in the US and Canada when I was 20 and 3 months in Europe when I was 23 or so. And a whole lot of shorter trips. I love traveling alone, for basically the reasons paulsc mentions. You do what you want without having to confer. And people have different traveling styles. I like to show up in a town and just plunge in, seeing what I find, never consulting a map. Other people like to, you know, plan (although I've become a bit more plan-y as I've gotten older).

The main thing I like about traveling alone is that you meet people a lot easier. People will spontaneously talk to you in restaurants and out and about if you're by yourself. I like that.

I agree with paulsc and gaspode. In fact I hardly ever travel with other people, and when I do -- even when I'm enjoying the company -- I often catch myself in moments of exasperation at how cumbersome it is. Also, I'd like to underline what paulsc said about keeping a low profile in dicey situations, and what gaspode said about meeting people. That's been my experience exactly.

Depends on your personality. I tend to relax more when I'm alone, but I also tend to oversleep, underplan, and could end up spending most of the time in an undiscovered place sitting in the hotel room watching TV. Traveling with friends helps "drive" me to explore. The last time I did 1-week-or-more-long trips, people forced me out of bed every day after only 5 hours of sleep, pulled the plug on the tv, dragged me out of the house, forced me to eat weird stuff, and in the end I was completely drained, but, after getting home, taking a bath, and sleeping 20 hours, it was very rewarding in retrospect (Imagine a traveler's version of "running-high").

Just like running will make you feel good afterwards if you're currently just sitting at home and watching TV, travelling with hyperactive people will be great if your life is too slow or boring. On the other hand, if you're really stressed, tired, or overwhelmed, that's as good an idea as going out for a run after you've been hit by a truck.

The main thing I like about traveling alone is that you meet people a lot easier. People will spontaneously talk to you in restaurants and out and about if you're by yourself. I like that.

Specially true if you're a 20/23 year old female traveling alone... :)

I have never traveled alone, but I'd like to try it.

Yes, yes, and yes.

I prefer travelling alone, and usually do so. Two years ago I went on a planned trip to Canada and the States, 140 of us, and the actual travel part, which involved many stops (London/Toronto/Niagara/Ohio/Toronto/London) was absolute hell on earth with so many people. Once we got there, I went off and did my own thing most of the time.

It's the only way I do....nthing paulsc and gaspode--though lately on my US trips I plan in advance how long I want to be in an area since I no longer have a car. On my last two European trips I should have factored in more time for jet lag. Mostly I don't mind being by myself, but I did at Ayers Rock.

I can only remember about five trips that I took with other people. Most of the trips I've taken have been on my own. I freaking love traveling solo.

Both - for professional reasons and personal, although the latter not so much since the kids came along.
It was sometimes a little nerve-wracking to be a woman on her own in Rio, Taipei, Beijing, never a problem in Europe but that's only a question of familiarity. But there's an amazing sense of achievement once you've done it, it is also very peaceful that you can do things at your own pace and whatever tiny thing takes your interest you can pursue. The reactions of people to a woman travelling alone are also very "educational" and teach you a lot about your fellow Man. The only thing I disliked about it was that sometimes you have an amazing experience and my automatic response is to want to share it with a loved one. But the advantages far, far outweighed the cons.

I went to the US on my own - stayed with a friend for a few days in Princeton (she was already there) and then a week in NYC, completely alone. This was great during the day, but not so great in the evenings. I'm very bad at meeting people randomly, striking up conversations in bars, etc. (I'm a bit shy and I think I emit 'don't-talk-to-me' vibes without meaning to) so for me I think it would have been better to have someone with me.

Actual journeys - train, plane, bus, car - I love making those on my own. Sometimes it's the only proper thinking time I get, with the added bonus of being away from the usual concerns of home.

Five years ago, I went to Las Vegas alone for my 25th birthday. I had a blast, but spent way too much, and did find myself with a lot of hours to spend at the bar in th e middle of the day or whatever. I did have a one-night stand with a guy I picked up in the elevator, too, which is something you can't do when you're traveling with other people.

The actual travel part of traveling alone is fun, too. I've taken solo trips to Canada, Baltimore, Texas, and whenever I go see my parents, I travel alone. I like drinking in airport bars, striking up conversations with fellow travelers. I recall sharing a nice meal with a couple on a train trip to San Francisco, a few drinks on a layover in Minneapolis, commiserating with fellow travelers who were stranded in Houston after brush fires in California delayed the plane... I have shot glasses from airports in Tennessee, Arizona, Minnesota, Arkansas, and other plane-switching destinations.

This year, for my 30th birthday, I'm going to be meeting friends in Las Vegas (already booked my flight!) but I'm going to be traveling there alone again, this time first class (thank you, frequent flyer miles). I cannot wait to set foot on that plane.

Yes. The 1st time I ever went out of the country, I went alone to a small island in the French West Indies. It was fun! I talked to an older English couple who did the cruise thing just b/c it was cheap and did everything by themselves. I learned about using different currency and the difference between immigration and customs. I never did figure out how the phones worked so I was cut off from everyone I knew for a week, but it was very cool.

A year later I went solo to Amsterdam, Brussels and London on a business trip. Most of my solo trips have been business. mrs chewie is about the only person I'll travel with b/c we like the same things and are cool if one of us wants to buzz out somewhere solo for a few hours.

Also nth-ing what gaspy and paulsc said about ultra flexibility to do what you want when you want.

Sorry, I've been concentrating on work & leaving town so I didn't see this until now. I've traveled more on my own than otherwise. 23 countries so far, although I'm rarely truly alone when traveling. I spend FAR more time alone in my normal life when I'm in my studio sitting at a computer designing junk.

There are pros & cons to traveling alone. The reason I've done it is that other people don't have the time or the same interests. Or because I'm visiting friends as I go from place to place. If I don't go by myself, I just won't go. I've also realized that there is nothing worse than traveling with people who are driving me NUTS.

In 1998 I went to Bali with 5 other people. I still feel like I never really saw Bali. I spent a lot of time playing cards with people & watching them drink beer, but I wanted to explore. To meet the local people, to see everything there was. Instead we sat around a lot, which is ok for a day or two but not for a month. I was MISERABLE, I felt like I was being held hostage. Honestly. I tried escaping on my own a few times, and they didn't like it much. They said I was being antisocial. Maybe I was. I was so bored on their vacation, though. I'd tell them about the cool stuff I saw when I was exploring and they didn't really care, they just wanted to play more cards & drink more beer.

I stopped any major traveling because of my mom for a while. Then last year I went to Egypt, Turkey, Greece, Italy & Austria by myself. I was on the road about 2 months. I did a private tour in Egypt, budge traveled from Egypt to Italy & then stayed with my best friend in Austria at the end. Yeah, there were definitely ups and downs during the trip. All long trips have them, no matter who is with you. But going alone, I was invited into people's homes. I was able to bond with others. I was able to experience things that I would never have been able to do in a group. In Egypt, I watched all of the groups of tourists standing around the tombs & temples. As they stood around in queues looking bored, I just walked around them and viewed everything at my leisure. They filed back onto their buses and I went into the local restaurants with my guide. Met families. Was introduced to culture. I'm still friends with people I met. I met my friend Lisa on a greek ferry and ended up going to her wedding in Oklahoma 2 months ago. She's meeting me in San Diego this weekend to hang out.

When you travel with other people, I find you mostly just talk to eachother. Sometimes that's what you want. But opening up to strangers when you travel can be an amazing life-changing thing.

On the bad side, sometimes you get lonely and want to share things with people. But this last trip I found that travelblogging solved a lot of that. If anything, it made me feel more of a purpose when I traveled. I always felt like I had hundreds of people were traveling with me. I felt like I needed to take photos and to remember what I was seeing so that I could share it with people that would never see it for themselves. It was really cool. When I met people, I felt like I had even more of a reason to ask questions and try to understand their culture, because I wanted to share it with the people reading my blog. Then when I got home, it was like everyone had been traveling with me and we talked about it as if they were there. It was very cool.

I worded something wrong... "if I don't go alone, I won't go." I didn't mean I won't travel with other people. I meant that if other people can't go then I'd rather go alone than not go.

BTW, the last trip I took not alone was meeting a friend in Vegas for my birthday. She ended up getting so drunk that I had to carry her around. I spent an hour laying on the bed watching King of Queens while she barfed in the hotel bathroom & ended up getting free tickets to a show but had to go to the damn thing by myself while she slept off her cheap white wine. Happy freaking birthday, huh?

On that trip I realized that traveling alone would've been very similar, but unfortunately it would probably been more fun.

I traveled alone at 22, stayed in hostels and pensiones, met lots of fun people to travel with for a bit. Mad fun, highly recommended. I just went to Italy and spent part of the trip on my own. The only drawback was dinner; I don't like to eat dinner in restaurants alone. So I had my bigger meal at lunch, and had a light dinner on my balcony overlooking the ocean. Then I met up with friends, and was reminded that some travel companions are very high maintenance. If you stay flexible and go with the flow, either way works. As a woman traveling alone, safety is an issue; just use common sense.

I'm from Tampa and I feel a lot of pressure to not travel alone. If I tell people at work, for instance, that I'm going to go off for a couple of weeks to someplace by myself, they will tell me it's not possible. It's not safe, I'll be miserable, something really bad will happen, or my favorite, "Well, that's a nice idea, but you can't actually do that." I've never been sure why they always seem to think it's completely impossible. But I do it all the time anyway. A weekend camping outside the city, a week to Barcelona, three months in Eastern Europe, a year in Mexico. All of them have been awesome experiences, I got to see/do things that I really wanted to see/do, I was not nearly as stressed out as I would have been if I had had to take care of someone else and their needs and wants. It was my vacation.

Also, Lori, where in FLA are you from? I've been in Portland and just woke up after the Anniversary Party and now have a desire to have a Florida meetup. You're in West Central, right?

mosessis, I am in East Central Florida (Daytona Beach area). Tampa isn't too far away. I'd love to have a Florida meetup.

Thanks for all of the great comments. I've enjoyed reading them. I've been thinking of taking a four day trip alone. I don't think I would be lonely, and I know I wouldn't be bored - there is no shortage of things to do. I like to do my own thing, and don't mind being by myself, but have never traveled alone.