The Best Travelling Companion?

Me!  Just me all on my own.  I have recently returned from a trip out west.  I did a tour because I did not want to drive in the mountains.  I did travel without a companion on a tour bus with 36 other adults, most of them retired.  It was heaven as seen in this photo taken in Arches National Park in Utah.

But the trip produced questions by fellow travellers that I have never encountered before.  Mainly, 'Did I enjoy travelling alone?'  Well, of course.

I have gone on trips on my own before.  Sometimes I drove, other times I flew to a destination, and I have taken organized tours.  I have never hesitated to make a trip strictly alone as long as I could speak the language and read a map.  On this trip, I was the only solo traveler aboard.

And that brings up the issue of having a partner who does not want to travel.  I have met several women over the years who had husbands or boyfriends who did not want to travel.  My ex-husband never wanted to travel to Europe though we drove around most of the USA and made several trips to Canada. 

One woman told me that all the men she meets only want to sit home and watch sports on TV, which is how she ended up in Germany on her own.  She had a bucket list and was working her way through it.  I've known more than one widow who went travelling once the husband was gone, something she did not get to do when married.

But on this trip, I was approached by a man who wanted to know if I enjoyed travelling on my own and what suggestions did I have.  Turns out he has been wanting to take a river cruise but his wife refuses because she is afraid of getting motion sickness (which she was suffering from on the mountain roads).  The guy was at least in his late 60's so his window for travelling is shortening up, though one man on the tour was 87.  Yay for him!

Another woman lamented that she really wants to see Europe, but her husband used to travel there on business and has no interest in returning.  From what she told me she had to be older than me, about mid-70's.

Of all the things young folks are told to consider before settling on a life partner, I do not think that travel is one of them.  Yet, the older I get, the more I hear people bemoaning all the places they did not get to see.  So, if this is you, go on your own!  Be aware that there is a single supplement for solo travel.  On a cruise, you usually have to double the cost unless you can score a last minute deal. 

There is so much of the world to see and so much to learn about it.  What are you waiting for?  More about this trip in the future.