How do you prefer to travel?

[roboticanary]

Chatting to a few friends recently reminded me that for so many people travel/going on holiday is something done with a romantic partner. Each of them either went on holiday as a couple or in one case as a family with their kids.

Maybe when they were young they might have travelled with friends a small number of times to party (if they had more cash than I did at that age), but that was rare, and travelling alone was something they just don't do. All the stories are as a couple.

It was only recently, after discovering aromanticism and putting more thought into my identity, that I began to realise my preference for travelling alone was not what people usually want.

So I was wondering, with the diversity of aro relationships there is likely a lot of variety in how we would prefer to travel, maybe you have a love of exploring alone, maybe with a QPR, maybe you travel with friends or family, maybe something else. 

I would love to hear your experiences.

[lovelyleaf]

I like going by myself or with family or friends. I often go on walks by myself.

[SirKnightTheAroAceKnight]

I often travel alone or with my family, and sometimes I go on shorter trips with my friends. 

[96Neko]

I often travel alone since my familiy is a mess like my friends xD

[alto]

I recently took two ten hour long drives with a friend and had a great time!

[merlindfluorite]

Definitely a solo traveller, but I'll go with a friend or two if I get the chance. I will say that I generally try to go by or rent a car, if I go far, because it feels a little safer when I'm on my own. Love a road trip.

I definitely think there's a stigma to travelling alone though, plus the extra cost of paying for whole rooms etc. by yourself. The Aro Life Tax, as it were.

[Nix]

I love going on a holiday on my own, I own a minivan that I can convert to a camper. Technically that means I can camp anywhere but I prefer to go to a campground because I’d rather not be brutally murdered in the night. Traveling solo does raise a few eyebrows here and there, but I am a very approachable person plus my converted camper draws a lot of attention so I tend to make friend really quickly on said campgrounds :)

Last time I went on a holiday with a friend we went to Venice for the Biennale and we stayed in different hotels (he had already booked and when he asked me to come along his hotel was already fully booked) This worked perfectly since we would simply meet up in the morning halfway, spent the day going to all the art exhibits, eat diner together and then go to our separate hotels. 10/10 would do that again. 
 

6 hours ago, merlindfluorite said:

plus the extra cost of paying for whole rooms etc. by yourself. The Aro Life Tax, as it were.

Yeah okay, that does suck.

[Lovebird]

I don't like the idea of me traveling completely on my own due to my disabilities, so I currently travel with a disability service that offers those opportunities, nationally and internationally. 

When I do gain enough independence and I live with my boyfriend, I hope to do some travelling with him in future.  

 

Edited March 23, 2022 by Lovebird

[merlindfluorite]

16 hours ago, Nix said:

I love going on a holiday on my own, I own a minivan that I can convert to a camper. Technically that means I can camp anywhere but I prefer to go to a campground because I’d rather not be brutally murdered in the night. Traveling solo does raise a few eyebrows here and there, but I am a very approachable person plus my converted camper draws a lot of attention so I tend to make friend really quickly on said campgrounds :)

Last time I went on a holiday with a friend we went to Venice for the Biennale and we stayed in different hotels (he had already booked and when he asked me to come along his hotel was already fully booked) This worked perfectly since we would simply meet up in the morning halfway, spent the day going to all the art exhibits, eat diner together and then go to our separate hotels. 10/10 would do that again.

Jealous af. I bet it was amazing. Will you go this year? I haven't had a holiday since before the pandemic and I swear I'm on travel sites every other day.

Also I am fascinated by the minivan camper conversion - was it difficult? Caravan parks & camping grounds are usually pretty friendly in my experience. I always read reviews and all those safety tips. Travelling alone makes you very safety conscious I think.

17 hours ago, Lovebird said:

I don't like the idea of me traveling completely on my own due to my disabilities, so I currently travel with a disability service that offers those opportunities, nationally and internationally. 

When I do gain enough independence and I live with my boyfriend, I hope to do some travelling with him in future.  

 

So many places claim to be accessible or disability friendly & then just fall down, I'm glad you've found a trustworthy service so you can travel. Getting everything organised and planned out can be so stressful, you end up needing double the holiday!

[Nix]

6 hours ago, merlindfluorite said:

Jealous af. I bet it was amazing. Will you go this year? I haven't had a holiday since before the pandemic and I swear I'm on travel sites every other day.

I love it, haven’t made any plans for this year because of the pandemic, but I traveled through my own country last year and that was fun too.

6 hours ago, merlindfluorite said:

Also I am fascinated by the minivan camper conversion - was it difficult?

The best part about the converter is that I can just decide to go on a whim. Only need the help of my neighbour to lift the thing in my car and I’m good. It has bolts that you turn to ‘clamp’ it to the sides of the car:

It has a kitchen and a ‘sitting area’

and it folds out into a bed

 

A tent is included so you have a place to stand. Plus I can close the rear car door and lock myself in the car should I feel safer to do so.

I mainly do that when I leave the campgrounds to explore the area on bike though.

Yes I painted my car (and my bike) Next car I’m buying is getting a big sticker though, this was a huge pain to do 😅

[eye]

By Aroplane. :)

[roboticanary]

On 3/24/2022 at 8:27 AM, Nix said:

The best part about the converter is that I can just decide to go on a whim. Only need the help of my neighbour to lift the thing in my car and I’m good. It has bolts that you turn to ‘clamp’ it to the sides of the car:

 

wow, that looks absolutely amazing.

I enjoy camping for a similar reason, the ability to just pack up and go is really useful

[merlindfluorite]

On 3/24/2022 at 4:27 AM, Nix said:

I love it, haven’t made any plans for this year because of the pandemic, but I traveled through my own country last year and that was fun too.

The best part about the converter is that I can just decide to go on a whim. Only need the help of my neighbour to lift the thing in my car and I’m good. It has bolts that you turn to ‘clamp’ it to the sides of the car:

A tent is included so you have a place to stand. Plus I can close the rear car door and lock myself in the car should I feel safer to do so.

Yes I painted my car (and my bike) Next car I’m buying is getting a big sticker though, this was a huge pain to do 😅

That is incredible, I love it! Such a clever design, & so much more convenient than a caravan. I love the paint job!

I don't know what travelling this summer will be like, just as covid seems to be coming under control, the war in Ukraine seems to be escalating, it's hard to make any sort of plans. But like @roboticanary said, the ability to just pack up and go is useful, grab the opportunity to go somewhere when you can

[Nessa]

I am definitely a solo traveler too but I don't mind going with a friend when I have the opportunity. The good thing when you travel is that you do exactly what you want, with no plans for the visit, don't have to do things you don't want to like shopping I really don't like shopping... Do with your budget and not have to spend more because she/he wants to go somewhere too expensive for you.... 

I don't drive so I very dependant of public transport and unfortunately I can't always go every where I would like to. I really have to get my driving license.

 

There is so many places in this world that I want to see and I don't mind doing it alone 😁

[merlindfluorite]

15 hours ago, Nessa said:

I don't drive so I very dependant of public transport and unfortunately I can't always go every where I would like to. I really have to get my driving license.

I realise that it's not always possible for everyone, but my driving license changed everything! So much freedom.

[Lovebird]

On 3/24/2022 at 12:42 PM, merlindfluorite said:

So many places claim to be accessible or disability friendly & then just fall down, I'm glad you've found a trustworthy service so you can travel. Getting everything organised and planned out can be so stressful, you end up needing double the holiday!

I just, right now, came back from a trip exploring around Southwest Victoria. It was amazing, and honestly preferable to most international travel. I have also signed up to go to Adelaide in June, fingers crossed I'm in. 🤞🏻 

[Nix]

6 hours ago, Lovebird said:

I just, right now, came back from a trip exploring around Southwest Victoria. It was amazing, and honestly preferable to most international travel. I have also signed up to go to Adelaide in June, fingers crossed I'm in. 🤞🏻 

That is so cool! Glad to hear you had a great time :)

I understand the service you use has a limited amount of spots. How do they determine if you can come if I may ask?

[merlindfluorite]

8 hours ago, Lovebird said:

I just, right now, came back from a trip exploring around Southwest Victoria. It was amazing, and honestly preferable to most international travel. I have also signed up to go to Adelaide in June, fingers crossed I'm in. 🤞🏻 

Australia is bloody huge so I'm sure it'll be a long while before you even start to run out of places to visit 🤣 I have never been but the pictures are incredible

[Lovebird]

4 hours ago, Nix said:

That is so cool! Glad to hear you had a great time :)

I understand the service you use has a limited amount of spots. How do they determine if you can come if I may ask?

The quicker you pick, the more likely you are to get in. Some have certain spot limits (ie. 20 people per trip). It also helps to have plan funding, (The disability service I use is connected to the NDIA - an agency that funds the lives of people with disabilities to be more independent, activities funded include social, mental, physical, and more. Though it's definitely not without flaws) to actually do things, but because of recent underfunding among clients in recent years, some can only do 1-3 trips a year.   

[Nix]

9 hours ago, Lovebird said:

The quicker you pick, the more likely you are to get in. Some have certain spot limits (ie. 20 people per trip). It also helps to have plan funding, (The disability service I use is connected to the NDIA - an agency that funds the lives of people with disabilities to be more independent, activities funded include social, mental, physical, and more. Though it's definitely not without flaws) to actually do things, but because of recent underfunding among clients in recent years, some can only do 1-3 trips a year.   

Ah I see. Sucks that services like that suffer from underfunding. We have similar agencies here in the Netherlands, but I understand from my former neighbour who has a disability that it takes a looooong time to actually get them to fund anything substantial. He finally got to move to a house that is accomodating to his needs but it took 3 years…

I really hope you get a spot for the next trip! ☀️

[Lovebird]

1 hour ago, Nix said:

Ah I see. Sucks that services like that suffer from underfunding. We have similar agencies here in the Netherlands, but I understand from my former neighbour who has a disability that it takes a looooong time to actually get them to fund anything substantial. He finally got to move to a house that is accomodating to his needs but it took 3 years…

I really hope you get a spot for the next trip! ☀️

A lot of people think it's only in America where disabled people are treated poorly, but in Australia, it's not much better. Sure we actually earn some money but it's just as hard to access services and acquire the pension as it's become such strict criteria because of "welfare fraud" fear mongering.