You want to travel. You think about it, you research it, you imagine it. But somewhere along the way the familiar problem begins. Your friends might want to as well, but it’s hard to make everything line up. One can’t do the dates; another doesn’t have the same budget. One says ‘I’m in’ and a few days before the trip backs out.
And somehow, a trip you genuinely want starts to depend on others. You wait for the right company, the right moment, the right conditions. Except that, many times, they never come. That’s when the real dilemma is born. Do you keep waiting? Do you go alone? Or do you look for another way to travel?
Why is it so hard to find travel company?
The hard part isn’t that people don’t want to travel. The hard part is that people rarely want the same trip, at the same time, in the same way. One is looking for rest; another wants to see more, to have experiences and full days. One can get away easily and another can’t.
Even in the closest groups of friends, a trip often gets stuck on the details. The time off doesn’t work out, the money doesn’t match. There isn’t always a shared mood. And many times the ‘yes, let’s go!’ just stays a nice idea that never becomes reality. As often happens with the excuses we tell ourselves before a trip.
That’s the most frustrating part. It’s not the desire to leave that you lack. It’s the conditions that would make it happen. And so, many people don’t get left behind because they don’t love travelling, but because they can’t easily find the right person or the right company to share it with.
Should I wait for the right company, or just go anyway?
If you wait every time for everything to line up perfectly, you might end up never leaving. Not because you don’t want to. But because for a trip to happen, people, schedules and conditions all have to match.
That doesn’t mean the solution is necessarily to go straight off on your own. For many, that’s neither easy nor obvious. But it does mean it might be worth no longer waiting for the perfect conditions and looking at the options you really have.
Should I travel solo or with a group?
There’s no single right answer for everyone. For some, solo travel is the most liberating thing there is. For others, a group trip is the easiest and most comfortable way to get away. The point isn’t what’s ‘better’ in general. The point is what suits you most at the stage you’re in.
What a solo trip offers you
A solo trip gives you something very powerful: freedom. You don’t have to coordinate with anyone. You move at your own pace. You change plans whenever you want and experience the destination however it comes to you. For many, that’s the most beautiful part. They feel more independent, more present and closer to themselves.
What can make a solo trip difficult
That doesn’t mean solo travel is easy for everyone. For some, it’s a big step. You need to feel somewhat ready, and being alone needs to come more naturally to you. If you’ve never done it, it may feel outside your comfort zone. And as lovely as it is, there are moments when you might feel lonely without your usual company. Or wish you had someone beside you to share what you’re experiencing.
What a group trip offers you
A group trip gives you security and eases you into the experience more smoothly. You don’t have to shoulder all the organising yourself. You know there’s a structure and a team around you. For a lot of people, that makes the trip easier. Especially if you don’t feel ready to leave completely alone.
What might not suit you in a big, classic group trip
On the other hand, the bigger a group gets, the easier it is to lose that sense of togetherness. You might meet plenty of people but end up bonding with only a few. You might be part of the group but not really feel inside it. And somewhere there, the trip becomes more organised, yes, but also a little more impersonal.
And what if I don’t want to wait for my friends or go completely alone?
For a lot of people, this is the real dilemma. Not whether solo travel is better than group travel. But that you don’t want to keep falling behind, waiting for when the others can. And at the same time you don’t feel ready to leave completely alone.
Somewhere here another option starts to appear. The small group. Not in the sense of the impersonal, classic group, but with people who also come on their own, each for their own reason, looking for something similar.
For many, this is the most natural middle ground. You no longer wait for the perfect company. You don’t push yourself to do a completely solo trip straight away. But you still travel and meet people. And you step into an experience that takes you out of your comfort zone more gently.
How the ice breaks before and at the start of a trip like this
The most interesting thing is that the ice often doesn’t break the day the trip begins, but a little earlier. From the first contact, from the first messages. From that little anticipation that starts building as departure approaches. For some there may be a first awkwardness, yes. But it usually fades faster than you’d imagine. A little humour, a little conversation, plenty of excitement. And you realise something beautiful has already begun.
And when the time comes to meet in person, things are usually much more natural than you’d imagined. The first meeting at the airport doesn’t have that awkwardness you might expect. Instead, it has anticipation, energy and the sense that you’re all there for the same reason. In theory, you’re meeting for the first time. In practice, though, a first familiarity has already formed. And that makes the start much more comfortable.
Why a small roadtrip group works differently
The big difference is that here you don’t just join a schedule. You join a small group of people who share the same route, the same time and, ultimately, many of the same moments. When you’re not among forty people but a member of a small crew, it’s much easier for everyone to talk to everyone. To laugh, to get tired together, to share music, stops and sights. In other words, all those little things that make a trip bond differently.
And somewhere there the difference of a roadtrip starts to show. It’s not just that you move from place to place. It’s that the journey itself becomes part of the experience. You don’t just spend a few hours with other people. You live the whole trip with them. That makes the group bond more naturally, without pressure and without anyone forcing it.
That’s why, in the end, what often stays with you isn’t only the landscapes or the photos. It’s the people, the conversations, the jokes, the moments that weren’t planned. And that’s what makes a small roadtrip group work differently. You don’t just travel alongside others. You travel as a crew.
It’s not just the places you see, but what you experience along the way
Yes, on a trip the places matter. The landscapes, the routes, the food, the stops, everything you want to see and experience in a destination matters. Those are what make you want to leave. Very often, though, they’re not what stays with you most vividly when you get back.
What stays deeper is usually something simpler and more human. A conversation you didn’t expect. An evening that turned out better than you’d imagined. It’s the people you met, the stories you heard, a chance encounter with locals, a moment that wasn’t on the schedule but ended up being one of the most alive of the trip.
And somehow you realise that a lovely trip isn’t only about the destination. It’s also about the experience. It’s all those small, spontaneous things that happen along the way, sometimes more than the places themselves.
There’s no single right choice for everyone. The point is to find what suits you most, so you don’t fall behind waiting for the ideal conditions.
What matters in the end is that you travel
Some trips you remember for the places. Others, though, you remember because they changed something in you. Because they pulled you out of your routine. Because they gave you images, people and moments you wouldn’t have lived if you’d waited for everything to be perfect.
That’s why, in the end, what matters isn’t finding the perfect company or the perfect moment. It’s not falling behind. Not constantly pushing the trip to later; making room for experiences, for new images, for new people. Opening up your circle and reminding yourself that life is out there, where you decide to live it. Give yourself reasons to remember, to smile and to want to leave again.
And if you feel you don’t want to wait any longer, but going completely alone isn’t quite for you, this is exactly the thinking behind Altervan’s roadtrips. To be able to take that step more easily, more naturally and more humanly. To travel, to meet people and to live the present a little more truly.
With love for travel, roadtrips and adventure.
The Altervan team
