From navigating unfamiliar cities to saying yes to experiences I might have otherwise talked myself out of, here’s what I learnt about the difference having a group of girls around you can make.
There’s something so exciting about travelling Europe. New countries, beautiful beaches, little streets you could wander down for hours and experiences you might have been dreaming about for years.
Having experienced both solo travel and group travel, I’ve realised just how much of a difference having people around you can make. It’s not that travelling alone is a bad thing. In fact, it can be an incredible experience. But travelling with a group, especially when you’re exploring somewhere completely unfamiliar, can take away a lot of the stress and give you more freedom to actually enjoy where you are.
Here are seven things group travel saved me from while travelling Europe.
1. The stress of navigating a country where you don’t speak the language
Getting from A to B sounds simple enough until you’re in a country where you don’t speak the language, the streets look completely unfamiliar and your map isn’t making much sense.
When you’re travelling alone, you’re responsible for figuring everything out. You’re checking directions, making sure you’re heading the right way and hoping you haven’t accidentally booked a taxi to the wrong location. And when you’re already somewhere unfamiliar, even a small mistake can feel like a big deal.
Having another person there to double-check directions, work through the confusion or help you find your way makes such a difference. And when you’re travelling with an experienced tour guide, there’s an added level of reassurance knowing someone familiar with the destination is helping you along the way.
Instead of spending your energy worrying about whether you’re going the right way, you can focus on actually experiencing the place you’re visiting.
2. Constantly watching the clock instead of enjoying your holiday
Between getting from one place to another, finding transport, checking into accommodation and making it to your next activity, it’s easy to spend your entire day thinking about what you need to do next.
One thing I’ve really appreciated about group travel is having an itinerary that’s already been thought through. Someone has considered the travel times, the activities and how much you can realistically fit into a day.
You’re not constantly trying to work out when you need to leave, whether you have enough time for lunch or how you’re going to get to your next destination.
Of course, you’ll still have plans to follow, but so much of the organising has already been taken care of. It gives you the chance to be present, enjoy the experience and take in your surroundings without feeling like you’re constantly racing against the clock.
3. Talking yourself out of experiences because you’re travelling alone
This is probably one of the biggest differences I’ve noticed between solo travel and group travel.
There are so many incredible experiences you can have while travelling Europe, from boat trips and cooking classes to excursions that take you somewhere you’d never discover on your own.
But sometimes, the thought of doing those things alone can be enough to make you hesitate.
You might wonder who you’ll talk to, whether everyone else will already know each other or whether you’ll feel awkward turning up by yourself. Even if the experience looks amazing, putting yourself out there can take a lot of confidence.
When you're travelling with a group of girls, most people are in the same boat as you, arriving solo and hoping to meet new people along the way. Everyone is there for a similar reason: to experience an incredible trip, try new things and make connections.
There's less of that feeling of wondering whether you're intruding on an existing friendship group or whether people are open to making new friends, because everyone is there to have that shared experience.
You only have one initial round of introductions to get through, then you get to spend the rest of the week making memories together. And as you spend more time together, those initial nerves start to fade and connecting with people becomes a lot more natural.
For example, when I was in Corfu, I really wanted to do a day trip to Paxos and Antipaxos. But because it was just a day excursion, I found myself hesitating over whether I wanted to turn up alone and spend the day around people I didn't know. But when it came to jumping on a pirate ship with the girls in Paros and heading out to a blue lagoon, there was zero hesitation. I already knew the girls, we were all excited to do it together, and it just felt easy to say yes.
4. Having to figure everything out when things go wrong
You can plan your trip down to the smallest detail, but travelling always comes with the possibility that something unexpected will happen.
Flights get delayed, transport changes, bookings go wrong and sometimes things happen that are completely out of your control.
When I was travelling in Croatia, our airport unexpectedly shut down for hours, and all we were told was that our flight had been diverted. We had no idea what was happening or when we'd be able to leave.
We were sitting there trying to figure out what this meant for us. Was our flight going to be cancelled completely? Would we need to find somewhere to stay for the night? What if we couldn't get another flight until the next day?
It was one of those situations where everything suddenly felt up in the air. You're already tired from travelling, you don't know how long you're going to be stuck there, and you're trying to make decisions without having any of the information you need.
Having the girls around me made a real difference. Instead of being on my own trying to process everything, there were other people to talk to, share the stress with and figure things out alongside.
Group travel doesn’t mean everything will always go perfectly. Unexpected situations are part of travelling, no matter how you choose to do it.
But having people around you can make those moments feel much more manageable. You have someone to lean on, someone to help you problem-solve and people who understand exactly what you’re going through because they’re experiencing it with you.
Sometimes, that support is just as valuable as all the exciting experiences you planned your trip around.
5. Planning an itinerary that leaves you exhausted instead of excited
I’m a big fan of having a plan when I travel. I love researching places, saving recommendations and making a list of all the things I want to see and do.
But I’ve also learnt that there’s a difference between creating an itinerary that looks incredible and creating one that’s actually realistic.
When you’re planning everything yourself, it’s easy to underestimate how long activities take, how much time you’ll spend travelling between locations and how tiring a full day of exploring can be.
You end up trying to squeeze in one more beach, one more restaurant or one more sightseeing spot because you don’t want to miss out.
And when you inevitably can’t fit everything in, it can leave you feeling disappointed that you didn’t get to do everything you had planned.
One thing I appreciate about a thoughtfully planned group itinerary is that the balance has already been considered. There’s time to experience the destination, take part in activities and enjoy those spontaneous moments, without trying to cram absolutely everything into every single day.
You’re still getting to see so much, but there’s less pressure to make every moment productive.
So, is group travel better than solo travel?
I don’t think there’s one right way to travel. Solo travel can teach you so much about yourself, give you independence and push you outside your comfort zone in ways you might never have expected.
But I also think there’s something really special about experiencing a new place with other people.
For me, group travel has meant less time worrying about logistics, more confidence to try new experiences and the reassurance of knowing I have people around me when things don’t go to plan.
It’s also given me the opportunity to make memories with girls I might never have met otherwise.
And if you’re someone who dreams of travelling but feels nervous about going alone, I want you to know that you don’t have to choose between waiting for your friends to be available and taking the leap entirely by yourself.
You can arrive solo and still have a group of girls to experience it all with.
Because sometimes, the best part of travelling isn’t just the places you visit. It’s the people you meet, the experiences you share and the memories you take home with you.
Your next adventure could be the one that brings you your people.