[Weighty]

Has anyone experienced feelings of loneliness while traveling alone or even with others?

I travel quite a bit for work and for pleasure, and while I love it and have a great time, as I've gotten older, I feel more and more the pangs of loneliness.

Not for the sake of being alone, but because the experiences are so wonderful and meaningful and yet I am not sharing them with anyone.

While in awe and wonder on my travels to exotic locales or mundane destinations that still provide some fun and adventure, I find myself feeling the effects of time and knowing that life is short, time is not promised and the days of being able to travel won't always be there.

It makes that feeling be even more urgent to want to share those experiences with a loved one, friend, partner or someone that you get along with.

I love traveling alone don't get me wrong -- the experience of being able to do what I want, when I want and how I want is very valuable and freeing, yet there are also times when I'd give up some of that freedom and flexibility for someone in the car next to me seeing the same things I'm seeing.

You can even feel this when traveling with a group of family or friends if you don't share a connection or value the same things, so that might even be worse -- you don't get to do it your way, AND giving that up is not well received.

[SummerDay]

I've never really traveled alone, at least not for very long stretches like a vacation or something. A couple days here or there, yes. But I'm also pretty okay with that. I enjoy my own company and probably am a little too used to doing my own thing.

I get what you mean, though, about not having someone to share the really amazing moments with. Even just going to dinner at a nice restaurant with fabulous food, let alone a boating trip or sight-seeing. It's like if you see a whale while you're out on the boat (which has happened to me) and you want to point and say "Do you see that?!" and there's no one to say that to.

I feel that for sure.

[Birdie_94]

I am a full-time solo female traveler, and while I do connect with communities on the road, most of my time is spent alone.

There have been quite a few instances over the past few years where I've felt pretty lonely, and that loneliness genuinely started turning into panic because it became so intense. But I've found a few tips and tricks that help significantly.

First, I'm part of several group chats. The two main ones are my sibling group chat and a group of other nomadic friends. I share photos, updates, and stories with them almost daily, and they do the same. This has made a huge difference in my mental health on the road and helps mitigate the feeling that travel is less meaningful when it's not shared, because I have a community that looks forward to my photos and updates.

But another big tip is to remember that you are the main character in your story. It took me some time, but I noticed that traveling alone made me naturally take up less space. I cooked simple meals instead of extravagant ones to share, I watched shows on my phone in bed instead of setting up the projector and making popcorn outside, and instead of jumping into a body of water when I felt like it, I'd just stick my feet in.

It almost feels silly and over the top to do these things alone, but romanticizing my life and being more extravagant always puts me in a good mood and reminds me that I am worthy of the extra effort, even when it's just me.