This story was created in partnership with: TruTravels
I always felt out of place in my hometown.
Growing up in a small suburban city, I was expected to follow the same tried-and-tested path: go to school, get a job, start a family.
But while everyone around me was getting married or buying their first house, I was jetting off to places like India and Vietnam, Costa Rica and South Africa. When I returned home from every trip, I’d have to field questions like: “When are you going to stop travelling?” and “Are you ever going to settle down?”
It was frustrating having to constantly defend my reasoning for wanting to travel, for wanting to follow my passion, but worst of all, it was incredibly isolating. I was pursuing a lifestyle that no one around me seemed to understand.
When I was on the road, I never felt like an outsider; I met so many people like me, so many people who lived to travel and shared the same “unconventional” passions and goals. It didn’t matter that we were from different countries or spoke different languages — we always bonded over one commonality: our love of travel.
After a big adventure, we tend to reminisce about everything we saw and did and ate, but it’s really the people we meet — and the sense of community we cultivate — that stays with us long after we’ve returned home.
Travel has a way of bringing people together like few other things can — and that’s why we’re teaming up with TruTravels to highlight all the ways a group tour can help you foster your own sense of community. This atypical tour company puts inclusivity at the forefront of their trips, and they make it remarkably easy to bond with new pals on the road.
So let’s dive right in: here are all the reasons why you’re virtually guaranteed to come away with friends for life on a TruTravels trip.
1. You’ll fit right in with the other adventurers
Are you insatiably curious? Open-minded? Obsessed with adventure? These are the kind of people that gravitate toward TruTravels’ trips.
If you use any of those aforementioned adjectives to describe yourself, you better believe you’re going to fit right in with the people you’ll meet on an adventure in countries like Thailand, Colombia, and Sri Lanka.
That’s the great thing about joining a TruTravels tour: not only will you uncover your dream destination, but you’ll also find your people.
2. You’ll be welcomed into the TruFam with open arms
One thing that makes TruTravels stand out from other tour companies is the emphasis they put on community.
Of course, your tour leaders will make you feel welcome from the moment you touch down in your destination, but TruTravels also focus on this feeling of inclusiveness before your adventure starts and after it ends.
When you book a TruTravels trip, you’re automatically considered a member of the TruFam. You’ll be added to a Facebook group full of past, present, and future travellers, so if you have any questions about your upcoming trip, you can get answers from people who’ve experienced the company’s epic adventures first-hand.
This Facebook group is also a great place to come if you’re keen to find advice or inspiration before you depart, and — best of all — it allows you to get to know the other travellers that will be on your trip.
Once you get back home, you can hop right back onto that Facebook group to share photos and reminisce about all the unforgettable experiences you had on tour.
3. You can bond with other solo female travellers
Okay, so TruTravels’ trips are ideal for every type of traveller, but since I fall into the “solo female traveller” category, I’m going to speak to why they’re so great for us independent gals in particular.
First up, more than half the people who book with TruTravels are female, and a huge portion of the company’s customers are solo travellers (70% to be exact). In other words, you’re virtually guaranteed to meet other solo travellers on your tour.
Secondly, as women, we have a unique set of precautions to think about when we travel. Whether it’s dress codes or determining the safest way to get from point A to point B, there are so many additional things we need to be aware of.
Travelling with a group provides extra peace of mind so you can throw a little more caution to the wind and make the most of every second of your trip.
Lastly, there’s no denying the effect a life-altering trip can have on your female friendships. When I think of my closest friends (many of whom I’ve met while travelling), it’s the adventures we experienced together — temple-hopping in Bangkok, standing in awe of the Taj Mahal, sipping local wine at a vineyard in Cape Town — that solidified our unshakable bond.
As someone who doesn’t have any siblings, I’m eternally grateful for all those friends who now feel more like sisters.
4. You’ll make new friends effortlessly (even if you’re an introvert)
One of my favourite aspects of travelling with a group tour is how easy it is to make friends. When you travel solo and want to make pals, you have to put yourself out there and strike up conversations with strangers, which can certainly be intimidating — especially if you identify as an introvert (hi, that’s me!).
When you travel with a group, on the other hand, you don’t even have to try to make friends — it just happens organically. After all, when your daily schedule consists of unreal activities like white water rafting in Peru or dancing ‘til dawn on the beaches of Thailand, it’s almost impossible not to become fast friends with your tour mates.
5. You can travel solo, but never alone
Toying with the idea of travelling alone for the first time? Joining a TruTravels trip is a great way to dip your toes into the world of solo travel.
Everything is included in their tours — we’re talking accommodation, transportation, activities, and a crew of built-in friends — so you can spend less time worrying about all those nitty-gritty details, and more time focusing on what matters most: having the time of your life!
One word of warning, though: it’s frighteningly easy to get hooked on solo travel!
If you’re ready to embark on an epic adventure, meet new people, and forge lifelong friendships with like-minded travellers, check out TruTravels’ full range of tours and start planning your next trip today!
