Travel - Prefer alone or with a group?

[Lamb]

When you travel do you prefer to do it alone (or with a spouse) or with a group?

 

[onlyme]

Depends a lot on the purpose of the travel. If it's sightseeing, I like my wife to be with me. Business travel, though I would like her to be with me also, would be more boring for her, I guess.

 

[Ruth]

I never travel but if I did it would be nice to do it with a friend.

 

[psalms 91]

Yes, it would be nice but alone is ok as well

 

[tango]

When you travel do you prefer to do it alone (or with a spouse) or with a group?

Generally alone. Often I like to stop in places most people don't want to stop, and if I want to stick around to take pictures I don't want to be told the coach is leaving in 5 minutes. I also like to be able to go back to a place at different times of day, so if it transpires the one place I found really photogenic is the place we visited for 10 minutes when the light was really hard in the middle of the day I'm going to be endlessly frustrated.

If it's the kind of trip where you go to one place as a group but without any expectation that you'll stay as a group for the entire trip, that works fine. I like to have a group to hang out with but if I can't have my own space and my own schedule for at least some of the time it won't work for me. I have been known to sit on a rock for over an hour waiting for the light I wanted so I could get a picture. My wife has the patience of a saint where that kind of thing is concerned, I suspect most people would have just left me behind...

 

[Forgiven1]

Depends on the travel. When traveling internationally, I prefer with another person or with a group. When traveling here in the US, I will do both. At the moment, I am so ready for a solo trip!!

 

[Biblicist]

I feel that no matter how great a place may be that when we experience this without a wife/husband or even a good friend, that a solo trip can become way too quiet where we lose out on experiencing Creation with another. When we went to Canada and the USA recently, we were more than content to do this on our own but when we go to Europe, as things seem to be going downhill in this region then we will play it safe and go with a tour group, though in the UK we will probably go it alone with a few quick tour groups thrown in for good measure.

Though I'm not all that sure that I will be able to find a tour group in Germany that will allow me to set the tour bus’s cruise control at maximum on their autobahns – so I might have to go it alone on this particular leg and hire a Mercedes or an Audi. This did not impress my wife all that much, so I told her that I would drop her off at the airport in Munich and I will drive to Austria where I will wait for her to arrive at the airport; strangely, she was even less impressed with this!

 

[tango]

I feel that no matter how great a place may be that when we experience this without a wife/husband or even a good friend, that a solo trip can become way too quiet where we lose out on experiencing Creation with another. When we went to Canada and the USA recently, we were more than content to do this on our own but when we go to Europe, as things seem to be going downhill in this region then we will play it safe and go with a tour group, though in the UK we will probably go it alone with a few quick tour groups thrown in for good measure.

I wouldn't say things like "things going downhill in (Europe)" as if it were a huge uniform mass. That would make no more sense than looking at the drought in California and assuming that travel to the US was dangerous because "there's no water in that region", or to assume Australia is dangerous because a few people strayed into the Northern Territory and never came back.

 

[Biblicist]

I wouldn't say things like "things going downhill in (Europe)" as if it were a huge uniform mass. That would make no more sense than looking at the drought in California and assuming that travel to the US was dangerous because "there's no water in that region", or to assume Australia is dangerous because a few people strayed into the Northern Territory and never came back.

You could be right but the current onslaught of refugees from the Middle East seems to be making things a bit dicey for those who might choose to travel by train across Europe. Other than with ever present pick-pockets in the main tourist regions, I would imagine that the refugee crisis would not be a major issue for those who are travelling in a tourist group. For those who are travelling through northern Germany, Poland and the Baltic states then I would presume that the refugees would not be a problem.

 

[tango]

You could be right but the current onslaught of refugees from the Middle East seems to be making things a bit dicey for those who might choose to travel by train across Europe. Other than with ever present pick-pockets in the main tourist regions, I would imagine that the refugee crisis would not be a major issue for those who are travelling in a tourist group. For those who are travelling through northern Germany, Poland and the Baltic states then I would presume that the refugees would not be a problem.

Current onslaught? It's not like Europe is a war zone.

Tourist traps have had criminals for as long as there have been tourist traps. If you were a pickpocket (or a mugger, or rapist, or whatever else) the obvious place to ply your skills would be in an area where there were lots of people with their guard down, no? And the refugee crisis is unlikely to make a lot of difference to anyone travelling, whether alone or in a group. Chances are you'll be in far more danger if you stray into undesirable parts of town than if you stray near to where there are a few refugees. And most major cities have good and bad parts.

 

[Biblicist]

Current onslaught? It's not like Europe is a war zone.

From the many news reports that I am seeing, we now have the UK paying for a massive steel fence at Calais to keep the "refugees" out and Hungary is building a wall with Serbia so that they can keep them out as well. The Syrian crisis, along with the crisis in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya has seen a massive number of refugees trying to get into Western Europe where the various EU States are now reestablishing their border control points to keep out anyone who they deem to be undesirable. The reestablishment of these border posts has become a serious threat to the integrity of the EU where some feel that it might be grounds for its eventual dissolution; though this would undoubtedly never happen.

Tourist traps have had criminals for as long as there have been tourist traps. If you were a pickpocket (or a mugger, or rapist, or whatever else) the obvious place to ply your skills would be in an area where there were lots of people with their guard down, no? And the refugee crisis is unlikely to make a lot of difference to anyone travelling, whether alone or in a group. Chances are you'll be in far more danger if you stray into undesirable parts of town than if you stray near to where there are a few refugees. And most major cities have good and bad parts.

As the "refugees" seem to prefer rail transport from SE Europe into Western Europe, where some countries have even banned certain rail lines from accepting international passangers, at this particular point of time, I do not think that it would be wise for a tourist to choose rail transport at least in the South East region of Europe for the near future, but things could easily change over time.

 

[tango]

From the many news reports that I am seeing, we now have the UK paying for a massive steel fence at Calais to keep the "refugees" out

Refugees trying to get from France to the UK is nothing new. One could reasonably ask whether they really are refugees if they have chosen to cross the whole of Western Europe (which is generally considered a safe haven) to pretty much get to the furthest point. The eternal problem is sorting the genuine refugees from the so-called economic migrants, but that's nothing new either.

and Hungary is building a wall with Serbia so that they can keep them out as well.

Sure, just like the US enforced a border with Mexico in years gone by.

The Syrian crisis, along with the crisis in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya has seen a massive number of refugees trying to get into Western Europe where the various EU States are now reestablishing their border control points to keep out anyone who they deem to be undesirable. The reestablishment of these border posts has become a serious threat to the integrity of the EU where some feel that it might be grounds for its eventual dissolution; though this would undoubtedly never happen.

The Syrian crisis is a new one but it's not as if there hasn't been a steady flow of migrants to Europe spanning many years.

As the "refugees" seem to prefer rail transport from SE Europe into Western Europe, where some countries have even banned certain rail lines from accepting international passangers, at this particular point of time, I do not think that it would be wise for a tourist to choose rail transport at least in the South East region of Europe for the near future, but things could easily change over time.

You could always rent a car. Just remember that the media tends to talk things up so they can sell more of their product and sell more advertising.