The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
My main fear of travelling solo was loneliness
An unaccompanied trip to Lisbon provided Katie Russell with historical sights, new friends – and a confidence boost
Ifound myself speeding down the street, my bottom flying up in the air as I grabbed the back of my seat and screamed. There were no seat belts or doors and I couldn’t help but laugh and feel a heady sense of adventure at each hairpin bend we took at alarming speed.
Then it hit me. A man I had just met was taking me for a private tour in his tuk tuk, miles away from Sintra’s town centre – he could have been taking me anywhere. He said we were doing a tour of the castle and palace, but as we sped through narrow avenues, I felt a mounting sense of panic.
Thankfully, the tour was legitimate and my concern was ill-founded, but this encounter wasn’t the only stressful moment I’d had during my first ever solo trip. There were Covidrelated fears, for starters. More than anything, though, I was worried I would be terribly lonely.
I don’t particularly love being on my own for large amounts of time, but I decided to go on a solo trip to embrace something new and try to understand why the phenomenon is currently booming. Google searches for “solo travel” peaked in September this year and the term “solo travel for women” has seen a 70 per cent increase in searches over the past 12 months.
This post-pandemic boom in solo travel across all age groups is something life coach Chloe Gosiewski has also noticed. “Travel is one of the best ways to rediscover yourself after a period of living in isolation and fear,” she told me. “And those who have been locked down with lots of people, in constant close proximity, have perhaps craved the freedom and space that they have been denied.”
This may be true; I’m sure I’m not the only one who has fantasised about jumping on a plane over the past 18 months. For my first foray into solo travel I booked three nights in Lisbon. The Covid bureaucracy was admittedly a bit of a headache, but once I had left the tarmac, with the sky looking like an elaborate bubble bath, I began to feel excited. That excitement continued when I felt the slap of warm air as I disembarked and took a taxi to the Fontecruz Lisboa. Stepping into the hotel’s chic lobby, I felt like a glamorous traveller – like Julia Roberts flying solo post-makeover in Pretty Woman. My stunning room on the sixth floor boasted panoramic views of the surrounding terracotta roofs.
As soon as I dumped my suitcase on the floor, I went for a stroll around the city. For the first time on holiday, I didn’t need to abide by anyone else’s schedule. I could take my time, get lost, stop off at a café for a cerveja and spend an hour searching in vain for Tram 28.
In the evening, I decided to try to meet people. I went to the hotel bar, which was relatively empty at 8pm, and began to speak to the woman next to me – she turned out to be a monosyllabic influencer. As her boyfriend arrived and whisked her away to take yet more photos, I felt a tiny pang of loneliness.
On my second day, I signed up for a free walking tour around Alfama, the city’s oldest neighbourhood. Everyone in the group was in their 20s, and I made my first two travel buddies, both travelling on their own: a young woman from Germany and a chap from London. After the insightful two-hour tour around graffitied walls, old tile-covered buildings and sun-baked terraces with views over the city, the three of us signed up for a pub crawl that evening, organised by the same company.
Before meeting up later, we went our separate ways, indulging our own interests. I stood under the umbrellas on Pink Street in the Cais do Sodre district and snapped endless photos of the trees in the botanical gardens. While I thought I would get bored of my own company, I found I enjoyed the silence. I felt present and – excuse my therapy talk – grounded in the moment. It was comforting, though, to know there were many others tackling the city solo. On the pub crawl I met dozens of lone wanderers in their 20s from America, the Netherlands, Germany, Canada, Saudi Arabia and the UK. They said they were travelling solo because either their friends’ schedules didn’t align, they “needed to get away”, or were just looking for adventure.
On my final day, I took a trip to the nearby Unesco-listed town of Sintra – scene of my tuk tuk ride – and took my time to explore its colourful historic buildings, winding roads, lush foliage and distinctive yellow and red Pena Palace. But I yearned for some company, so WhatsApped my new travel friends and organised dinner at a Fado restaurant. The food took more than an hour to arrive and, when it did, my steak was bone-dry and impossible to cut with the butter knife provided – but we were all so deliriously tired and hungry that we couldn’t stop laughing.
While I was only in Lisbon for three nights, my time there gave me a huge confidence boost as it forced me to come out of my shell. Yes, there were moments I would rather forget: the man who called out obscenities from his car; the multiple occasions on public transport when the gentleman opposite would stare openly at my chest; the moment I found myself wandering along a motorway, looking for a bus stop to take me to Sintra, and the only person nearby was a man who called me over just to stare at my legs.
There were also moments of loneliness and more than a few instances of panic. But for the sense of adventure – exploring a new city, making new friends and having the freedom to do whatever you want – my first solo trip was everything I wanted it to be. Even if there were a few bumps in the road.
I thought I would get bored of my own company, but I found I enjoyed the silence
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