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Backpacking: You'll Never Walk Alone?

By Helen Peat

I’m so glad I travelled with a friend on my first trip. It was backpacking in Thailand where the hostel lifestyle just isn’t the same as Australia.

You have your own room (for the same price as a 12-bed dorm in Australia) and generally there isn’t a communal dining area, so most socialising usually happens at the local bar, restaurant or beach. That meant travelling with someone on my first trip was good – I had constant company in a country where I didn’t speak the language.

However, it didn’t all go to plan. We did disagree on things, such as whether to bother with 6am starts to see certain things. By the time we’d argued about it, we had missed what we would have been getting up for.

My next trip was to Australia and I was glad to be alone.

Despite technically being “on my own”, I soon realised I was never actually on my own. It was so easy to meet people that I was never alone – which was good and bad.

On the plus side, it meant I had the flexibility to always do what I wanted. Luckily, the people I met were also happy to go it alone so I didn’t have that guilty feeling when I did or didn’t want to do something. It also meant I could move on at my own pace and basically be selfish with my travels.

Friends of mine have had different experiences however.

One told me about ending up with an “I don’t have any money” friend, whilst travelling around Europe. She refused point blank to go out to local restaurants or visit any of the attractions. One time, when off to see an iconic Italian landmark, she even said: “Can we hurry up and go see that so we can go home.”

She wanted to go to different cities just to tick off a box, but refused to spend any money or soak up any of the culture. How annoying! In this case I’d say go alone!

Not only could you be travelling with someone that might annoy you, but there’s also a chance you could permanently damage your friendship. Only go with someone who shares your passion for travelling, is up for trying new things and, most importantly, is someone you know well enough to say “no” to.

When I go backpacking again, I would probably do it alone.

But if you really need someone else, then go with a really close friend. Somebody who will be happy to try the local cuisine over tomato soup and will want to meet the locals rather than simply head to the nearest English-speaking pub.

The ideal would be travelling with someone happy to do things on their own as well as with you, was relaxed, up for an adventure and to gain similar experiences to you – that’s my perfect partner.

What do you think? Do you prefer travelling solo or with friends? Add your thoughts below.

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