When we travel, we often tend to take the road most travelled, to stay on the beaten path. And there is a good reason for that: familiarity breeds a sense of security, which some people need whilst away from home. But heavily beaten paths come with their own setbacks. Why spend your hard-earned money to go somewhere you’ve been before when you could try somewhere new? Why travel thousands of miles to a place whose landmarks – eg, the Eiffel Tower, the Leaning tower of Pisa – you could draw from memory? Can you really have an adventure in such a place? Do you really want to tangle with the rest of the tourists? These are all valid questions.

Travelling solo is a rewarding experience that can push you outside of your comfort zone. It encourages you to meet new people and allows you to explore a culture at the pace that suits you. But not everyone’s priorities will be the same. For some, a solo trip is a chance to reset and relax. For others, it’s an opportunity to make friends or pick up a new skill. Whatever your motivation for going it alone out there in the big wide world, we’ve picked out seven alternative solo trips to get you started on the right foot.

At night, sitting naked in the onsen baths of the Arai Ryokan, you can see the koi fish sleeping. As you sink into its mineral-rich waters, the plump, iridescent bodies of the fish, all silver and citrus orange, flock to the light piercing through the natural murk of the pond via a floor-height window. Here, in lieu of pan-flute relaxation music, there’s something more serene: near silence. Just the rippling water and the rare patter of bare feet, as other patrons, every so often, pace the corridors outside.

Back in 2010, when I was at university, a video went viral on YouTube called Gap Yah. It depicted a caricature of an insufferably posh man talking on the phone about his travel experiences in various exotic locations. The punchline (so you don’t have to watch it): whenever he is on the cusp of having a meaningful cultural experience, he ruins it by getting drunk and “chundering everywhere”. In 2023, I imagine young people use time out before or after university to work for a charity. When I was 18, gap years were for living in 20-bed hostel dormitories in countries that facilitated the daily cheap consumption of alcohol in deep-sided bowls

When we travel, we often tend to take the road most travelled, to stay on the beaten path. And there is a good reason for that: familiarity breeds a sense of security, which some people need whilst away from home. But heavily beaten paths come with their own setbacks. Why spend your hard-earned money to go somewhere you’ve been before when you could try somewhere new? Why travel thousands of miles to a place whose landmarks – eg, the Eiffel Tower, the Leaning tower of Pisa – you could draw from memory? Can you really have an adventure in such a place? Do you really want to tangle with the rest of the tourists? These are all valid questions.

Travelling solo is a rewarding experience that can push you outside of your comfort zone. It encourages you to meet new people and allows you to explore a culture at the pace that suits you. But not everyone’s priorities will be the same. For some, a solo trip is a chance to reset and relax. For others, it’s an opportunity to make friends or pick up a new skill. Whatever your motivation for going it alone out there in the big wide world, we’ve picked out seven alternative solo trips to get you started on the right foot.