{"id":7169,"date":"2015-12-07T10:00:09","date_gmt":"2015-12-07T15:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theprofessionalhobo.com\/?p=7169"},"modified":"2024-06-19T07:21:32","modified_gmt":"2024-06-19T11:21:32","slug":"pros-and-cons-of-solocouplefamily-travel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theprofessionalhobo.com\/pros-and-cons-of-solocouplefamily-travel\/","title":{"rendered":"Pros and Cons of Traveling Solo, as a Couple, or a Family"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

No matter how you to travel the world – whether it’s solo, as part of a couple, or a whole family – it comes with pros and cons. This post will outline some of these traveling pros and cons, along with providing resources full of testimonials from professional experts on solo travel, couple’s travel, and family travel.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Myself? I’ve covered the gambit. I know the pros and cons of traveling solo inside and out. I love solo travel, but it does have a shelf life for me. After a while (and by ‘a while’, I mean months to years), without having somebody alongside me to act as a contextual baseline and help me understand and integrate all the new experiences that travel tends to provide, I get what I’ve dubbed to be “motion sickness on the road<\/a>“.  Having said that, I’ve also found my solo travel years to be among the most empowering and freeing, and even socially rewarding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Couple travel? Yeah, I’ve done that too. (Lots). My first three years on the road were with a boyfriend – a relationship that dragged on longer than it should have, held together only by (his) collapsing finances while being on the opposite side of the world. (Read about the real cost of an arbitrary travel budget here<\/a>). I’ve had a few other relationships since then, lasting anywhere from a few months to a few years. Feeling voyeuristic? You can read about all my relationships on the road here<\/a>. There are definitely pros and cons of being a travel couple. But on the whole, I would say that if you and your partner are a good match on the road (and that’s waaaaaay easier said than done<\/em>), for me, couple travel is the most rewarding and easy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is, of course, to say nothing of family travel. I don’t have children, nor have I traveled with a family in tow – at least not the traditional idea of “family” – being parents with wee children. I have, however, traveled with my own family (as in, my parents and their partners) as an adult. While it’s considerably different from hauling diapers around, there are many adjustments to be made when traveling as a family; many of the same adjustments that you would make to travel with friends (except you can’t always talk back to your mum the way you might to a friend!). 

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Pros and Cons of Traveling Solo<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

More than half of the time that I’ve been on the road since 2007, it has been as a solo traveler. I find solo travelling to be incredibly empowering, and not nearly as lonely as I had feared it to be. In fact, it’s actually easier to meet people and have meaningful cultural exchanges on a solo trip rather than as a couple or with a family! (See also: Traveling Alone as a Woman – Tips and Tricks<\/a>)<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are just a few pros and cons of traveling solo:

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Pros of Solo Travel<\/h3>\n\n\n\n