There comes a point in almost every friendship group where the holiday chat starts to die.
Someone can’t get leave. Someone is saving money. Someone says they’ll book next payday. Someone gets into a relationship and disappears. Another friend is keen right up until the second you send the flight link.
And suddenly the trip you all talked about for six months just… disappears.
If you keep finding yourself saying, “I want to travel but none of my friends can come,” the answer is probably not to keep waiting.
You can still go.
That does not mean you have to backpack through Europe alone, eat every meal by yourself and pretend you are having a spiritual awakening in an airport lounge.
It can simply mean booking the trip you want and meeting the people there.
That is basically why AWAKE Tours exists.
We run group trips for 18 to 39-year-olds who want the big trip even when their friends can’t make it. Ibiza, Croatia, Thailand, Coachella, Vegas, Spring Break, Greek islands and other ridiculous bucket-list experiences that are usually sitting in the group chat for years before anyone actually books them.
A lot of our travellers come alone.
Around 65% of them, actually.
Some had friends pull out. Some could not get anyone to commit. Some didn’t even ask because they already knew how the conversation was going to go.
They just booked.
And once the trip starts, nobody really cares who came with who.
You meet everyone there.
That is the part people get nervous about before they come and then laugh about afterwards.
There is always the same fear.
What if everyone already knows each other?
What if I am the only one by myself?
What if it is awkward?
What if I do not click with anyone?
In reality, most people are much more open when they arrive alone because they have come specifically to meet people.
Our groups are made up of solo travellers, pairs, couples and little groups of mates, so it never feels like you have walked into somebody else’s holiday.
The group is the holiday.
That is also why trips like Ibiza, Croatia sailing, festivals and island hopping work so well for solo travellers.
They are naturally social.
You are not trying to make friends over a silent museum tour.
You are getting ready together, going out together, sitting around the pool, jumping on boats, heading to festivals and spending enough time together that everyone gets close very quickly.
Some of our best AWAKE friendships started because somebody decided they were sick of waiting for their friends.
Then they met a whole new group on the trip anyway.
There is also something to be said for travelling without your normal people.
Your best friend might be amazing at home and terrible to travel with.
One mate wants to party. One wants to be asleep by ten. One wants luxury. One wants the cheapest possible room. One wants to plan every second. One refuses to plan anything.
Sometimes the reason a trip never happens is because everyone is trying to force the same holiday out of completely different people.
Joining a group means you already know everyone chose the same experience.
If you booked Croatia Yacht Week, everyone wanted Croatia Yacht Week.
If you booked Ibiza, everyone wanted Ibiza.
You are starting with something in common before you even meet.
And no, you do not have to come completely alone either.
Bring one friend if one is keen.
Come with your partner.
Bring a couple of mates.
It does not matter.
The point is that your entire trip is not depending on eight people at home finally getting organised.
That is a dangerous game.
We have seen way too many people wait a year, then another year, because someone keeps saying, “Next summer for sure.”
Go next summer with them if they finally book.
But do not miss this summer because they didn’t.
Not at all.
It is actually incredibly normal.
People reach different stages of life at different times. Money changes. Jobs change. Relationships change. Some people get married. Some have kids. Some buy houses. Some suddenly decide they hate flying.
That does not mean your travel plans have to stop too.
Going without your existing friends does not mean you are leaving them behind.
It just means you are not letting somebody else’s calendar decide your life.
This is probably the question we get most.
And the answer is no, not in the way people imagine.
Yes, there is always that first moment where everyone is meeting each other.
But that lasts about five minutes.
Our tour crew are there to bring the group together properly from the start, and because so many people arrive solo, nobody is standing around thinking, “Why is that person here alone?”
Half the room is alone.
Then suddenly nobody is.
You are fine.
AWAKE trips are for ages 18 to 39 and we get plenty of travellers in their late 20s and 30s.
You do not have to be 21 to decide you still want to travel, meet people, go to festivals or have a massive week overseas.
If anything, doing it in your 30s is sometimes better because you actually know what kind of trip you want.
And hopefully you can afford a nicer hotel than you could at 20.
Maybe.
Some people absolutely love fully solo travel.
If you like planning everything yourself, changing your mind constantly and meeting people along the way, go for it.
But if you know you want the social part too, a group trip gives you a nice middle ground.
You still made the decision yourself.
You still chose the destination.
You are just not landing there with no plans and hoping for the best.
For festival weeks, party destinations, yacht trips and big event travel, that can make a huge difference.
Do not book a trip because somebody is pressuring you.
Do not book something you cannot afford.
Do not force yourself into a destination you do not care about just because you want to say you travelled solo.
But if there is somewhere you genuinely want to go and the only thing stopping you is that your friends cannot come, that is probably not a good enough reason to miss it.
Book the trip.
Let them catch the next one.
You might arrive alone.
You probably will not leave feeling like you did.
Your ticket to the biggest week of your life.
