Just like traveling in a big group, traveling alone has both pros and cons. As someone who has always been very independent and introverted, I’m probably kind of biased and obviously prefer traveling alone, but I will do my best to cover both sides here:
Cons:
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Eating at nicer restaurants alone is very awkward.
Maybe it’s just me that’s awkward, but I definitely think some of the waiters were pitying me.
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Foreign men think that they can just walk up and start talking to you.
I’m sure some of you were genuinely nice people or were honestly asking for my help with directions (God help us), but when you’re a solo traveler your guard always has to be up.
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If anything goes wrong it’s automatically your fault.
Every family or group has that one person they blame when something goes wrong – you get lost, a ticket goes missing, you get the time of an event wrong, etc. When you’re on your own, you’ve got no one to blame but yourself.
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If you want to be in the picture, you have to have very long arms or a selfie stick.
Of course you can always ask a stranger to take the photo for you, but they have to look very, very trustworthy.
Pros:
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It’s cost effective.
It’s no secret that London is an expensive city. I’m just imaging the already significant amount I spent on transportation and food multiplied by 2, 3 or even 4. Yikes.
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You don’t have to share your ice cream/desserts.
Enough said.
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You can nab a really good seat in crowded places.
There’s this unspoken rule between groups and families and couples that you must leave a polite “one chair distance” between each other when sitting in cafes or at attractions. This leaves me, the solo-traveling super heroine, to sweep in, cape-flapping, and grab that prime spot. For example, the picture for this post was taken at the café at the top of the Tate Modern, a tall, looming building over looking Millennium Bridge and St. Paul’s Cathedral. The entire back wall (made up of big picture windows) contains only bar seating, and let me tell you, these are coveted seats. I was there at 2:00 in the afternoon on a Monday and it was packed. But there’s always that one seat in between groups, and so I wasted no time claiming it, which is how I got what is probably my favorite photo from the entire trip.
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You can go wherever you want whenever you want, no questions asked.
It really is a beautiful concept and the most important thing (for me) about traveling alone.
my summer in london 