A random conversation over a rather large beer on a Toronto patio last summer led to my first real girl’s trip this past May. Actually, it was my first non-solo trip – other than weekend or camping trips – ever. Well, not counting school trips. So of course, I had to write about my experience.
I love solo travel and try to take at least one solo trip each year, but I didn’t realize until we started planning our trip that I’d never really travelled with others for more than a couple of days since I was in university. Sure, I’ve done several weekend trips over the years with friends and dozens of camping trips, including weekend camping trips with the three friends I travelled with recently. But the two week trip to Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland was my first time truly travelling with others for more than a few days.
Well, I did have a trip planned in my mid-20s with two friends but they ended up backing out and I went solo which started my love of solo travel.
Where did we go?
We all traveled individually to Scotland, meeting up in Edinburgh, where we stayed for a few days sightseeing before heading to Glencoe for some lovely day hikes. Next was a visit to the Isle of Islay, after a brief stopover in Glasgow, before heading to Bushmills in Northern Ireland and finally to Dublin and Enniskerry in Ireland. For me, while I’d been to all three countries, the specific places we visited were a mix of ones I’d been to and others I hadn’t, but for my friends, it was all new to them (except one had lived in Dublin years ago) so it was neat seeing it through their eyes.
What did I learn travelling with friends?
Communication is key! Okay, that’s true for pretty much every circumstance and it’s definitely true for travel. It’s important to know what everyone is looking for from the trip, what their budget is, what kind of restaurants they want to visit, what kind of attractions they are interested in, where they want to go/visit, how they want to travel, etc. Of course, many of those questions are pretty self-explanatory but it’s important to get answers. Especially on money and food.
While we did meet and decide where we wanted to go, how we wanted to travel, and what we wanted to see and do, as well as have a rough budget, there were some questions and topics we didn’t cover. It’s also important that everyone is honest with their answers, especially about money, fitness and activity levels, and what they really want to see and do. Questions I recommend you ask include, but aren’t limited to:
- How often do you want to eat out? What’s your specific food budget? What kind of places do you want to eat at?
- How far do you want to walk to accommodations? How far and/or how long can you walk?
- Do you want one or two splurge accommodations as long as it stays within budget? The same question should be asked about restaurants?
- Are rest days important? Is alone time important?
- Do you want to shop? Buy souvenirs?
The more information about travel styles and expectations you gather in the early planning stages, the better. Of course, if you’ve travelled together before, you’ll know some of the answers. We did ask most of the above questions while planning but one thing I didn’t think of beforehand, is that it’s also good to check in with each other periodically throughout the trip to make sure everyone is still on board with plans or if any changes are needed/wanted.
Too busy. We tried to do too much in too many places, at least for me. I like slow travel, either by staying in one or two places and then exploring from those bases so you actually get to see the area and more fully experience it; or by doing long distance walking trips where I walk from place to place and the walk is the point of the trip, which by virtue of being a walk, is slower paced. I don’t like trips when one spends as much time traveling as one does exploring, and one night in a place, and often two nights, is never enough unless it’s just meant to be a stopover. I also need some downtime as an introvert, both quiet time and time without my travel partners to recharge.
Final Thoughts
Don’t get me wrong, it was a mostly fun trip and it was especially neat seeing Scotland, one of my favourite places, through their eyes. I was also thrilled to visit the Isle of Islay as it’s been on my bucket list for ages (I love whisky). But, and this is no reflection on my friends but rather a learning experience about myself and my travel style, I prefer solo, slow travel. So my next trip will be another long distance walk.
Rambles and Walks 