“To do it Alone or Together?”
Through our web site you probably have seen that I started my overlanding adventure before I met Rochelle and I was lucky that my partner in life was also a keen overlander. (wich is not always the case), so hear I am trying to give suggestions on both types of Overlanding. Remember this refers to long term overland travels to a general area or a geographic region based out of a vehicle and not to short term vacations. Traveling alone is considered by many a great way to travel. There are though some advantages and disadvantages to it. Let me outline the advantages I could find in an overlanders solo trip. You are totally free to make your own decisions, make your own planning, choose how long or how far you want to travel and finally, venturing on your own, you get to meet 
different people every day. There are no restrictions of any sort and most importantly you have the chance to discover things about you, learn from your mistakes, be accountable for your actions and build up your knowledge and your appreciation. The downsides are that first of all you are always alone. Yes, it is a great thing to be free to choose where and how, but at some point you need someone to share all those moments, someone to talk to. You will meet a lot of interesting people, locals and travelers alike, but there will be days that you will wander around completely by yourself. The truth is that it is a whole different story to have someone always with you than interact with complete strangers. During my personal traveling time, I can guarantee you that more than once I wished to have somebody to share a stunning sunset or just to enjoy a simple glass of wine at the end of a long day.
Out of all the people we have come across during long term overlanding, they were mostly couples that were both fed up with their everyday life, sick of their 9-5 jobs and eager to step out of their comfort zone. We have met CEO’s and high positioned managers that made the 
decision to drop everything just to share their dream and travel together with their partner around the globe. When you travel with your partner, you have all the above mentioned benefits that people who travel solo don’t. You are never alone, you share every difficult or easy moment with someone you care about and mostly you have someone to stand by you. On the other hand, being together with someone 24/7 does not come without drawbacks. Personally speaking, in our first trip that was early in our relationship with Rochelle we both had our doubts. How we would cope with each other, with the tension from the daily routine on the road or just with the simple fact that we would have no time to ourselves. How did we deal with it? We found out when it is the right time to remain silent, when to give space to your other half and when you need to give each other a big hug. It does not take too much time or a lot of effort to see that your arguments are mostly over stupid and minor things. Last but not least, take your time and use the daily routine and the challenges that come as an amazing way to learn about each other and see how your other half acts and reacts. When you find that right balance, then you can enjoy all the advantages that come by enjoying stunning, unique moments together.
If travelling alone makes you smarter, stronger, flexible and confident, traveling with a partner means that someone is always around to help you. There is nothing better than sharing things and moments with someone you love. The making of history creates a great bond and foundation for all your future years together. Those memories are invaluable and mean more when shared.
P.S. The Inspiration as well as some of the information for the above came from the book “Traveling a romantic practical guide”of the good friend and fellow overlander Niko from the Pin Project .[:]
