I was chatting with my parents last night, and they said that since we’re stuck in Switzerland and I seem quite bored, and since I’m a legal adult now, why don’t I go on a trip abroad alone? I’m considering it, but I’ve never traveled solo before, so I don’t know.
I have! One of the nice things is that you can do whatever you want without having to round people up or get a consensus on everything, IE: you can just go out and wander about, and if you see a weird restaurant you’re curious about you can just go right in and check it out. In a group it’s always like: that place looks interesting but A isn’t hungry and B is allergic to peanuts and what is there’s no vegan option for C, maybe a couple of us can go tomorrow and have a look and then you never do. The downside is you don’t get to reminisce about it with your friends later on, and any stories that happen don’t really mean anything to anyone else you tell them to.
To get a similar experience in the exact opposite way: travel in a big group. In a group of 30 there’s usually someone who wants to join, and even if not, you don’t have to feel bad about breaking off and doing your own thing for a bit, because no one expects you to do everything together.
You still have the basic structure of the trip to get everyone together for a travel day and discuss your adventures during a long bus ride, so I think it’s really the best of both worlds.