3 hours ago
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We’ve all said it, thought it, or felt it: that familiar feeling of needing a holiday after your holiday. Many of us travel to step outside of our comfort zones or escape the stressors of our daily routines, though travelling itself can also bring on blunders, blisters and burdens that break even the bravest of travellers. From misplaced passports to missed planes – we’ve all been there.
When it comes to solo travel, those holiday bumps can be doubly bruising. While solo travel is on the rise, predicted by experts to be one of the top trends for Aussie travellers in 2026, the severity of vacation setbacks can spiral when there is no one else to share in the saga.
In October 2025, I had been away from home, travelling solo and on the go for six months – a sabbatical of sorts. Among all the adventure and carefully curated Instagram highlights, there was an unspoken side to the solo travel experience: loss, from saying farewell to new friends over and over again; loneliness, when you find yourself yet again on your own; and above all, an overwhelming exhaustion driven by decision fatigue. After six months, the weight of planning almost everything alone had taken its toll.
I decided that I needed a break – a holiday from my holiday. Cue the guided group tour.
As an avid solo travel enthusiast, I never imagined that a group trip would be precisely what I needed to reignite my love of travel and save me from a solo travel slump, but Canadian tour operator, G Adventures, helped to do exactly that. Here’s why it worked.
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Holiday-mode activated
On day one during our orientation meeting, our trip CEO (chief “experience” officer), Lorenzo, asked all 15 members of our tour group to share which part of the itinerary they were most excited about. We had booked the Volcano Trail: Waves & Local Ways tour, visiting five countries across 17 days in Central America and jam packed with adventure.
Despite this, I confidently admitted that what I was most looking forward to was 17 days of not needing to navigate, organise, or book a single thing, of not having the mental load of travel and being led by someone else.
A guided tour meant less flexibility, but not less freedom. I could still opt in or out of add-on activities, while everything else on the itinerary was handled seamlessly. Lorenzo made the reservations and managed the transport, and shared local recommendations for those in the group who preferred to explore on their own.
It was the perfect balance between someone else’s planning and my independence, between structure and autonomy. Holiday-mode, activated.
Living in the present
With my mind well and truly in flight mode, I found myself more present than I’d been in months, because I was blatantly, blissfully unaware of tomorrow’s itinerary plans. Frequently asked questions – where we were staying tonight, what we were doing tomorrow – melted away and having someone else take the lead for me to follow along was liberating.
My screen time went down, my time spent in the Central American sun went up
and for the first time in over six months of solo travel, getting from A to B wasn’t up to me. I could instead fully focus on enjoying the moment of each experience.
Constant travel buddies
When it came to making friends, I’d forgotten how natural, how normal it was to not rely on the same scripted sentences to introduce myself to new people every few days: “what’s your name, where are you from, how long are you travelling for?”
Between hostels, homestays, day trips and dance parties, I had been fortunate to meet so many new people, but the friendships were fleeting. Having constant travel buddies by my side for 17 sweet days meant that conversations and connections could develop beyond that initial awkward speed-dating phase.
G Adventures’ range of itineraries includes specific tours for “18-to-30 somethings” , meaning that everyone in my group was of a similar age, and remarkably, most were also travelling solo.
Conversations flowed between beachfront beverages and bus rides, and connections flourished alongside shared experiences – from attempts to speak Spanish to surfing lessons and volcano sledding.
Double rooms and multi-share accommodation meant sleepovers every night with at least one of the other girls on the tour, and a group chat that has, since returning from our trip, gone global. I was no longer a lonely solo traveller, I’d made friendships for life.
Safety in numbers
Shared experiences and lifelong friendships aren’t the only benefits of group travel, there’s also the support that comes from safety in numbers which is a welcome relief for solo travellers. Navigating new countries, customs and cultural norms with other travellers by your side, plus a dedicated guide, makes the experience safer, smoother and far more enjoyable.
Alone, I would never learn to salsa with locals at a nightclub or walk through a rainforest, tarantulas and all, at night. But with a group of friends? I’m in. Your guide will also be able to assist with any pesky holiday hiccups should they arise – and we know they do.
Responsibly giving back
It’s 2026 and sustainable tourism is no longer a niche concern but a defining priority for today’s informed traveller. A winner of the 2025 Traveller Awards for Innovation, G Adventures has woven sustainability and community benefit into the fabric of its journeys – a perfect fit for fellow Earthophiles.
Through its responsible tourism philosophy and partnership with leading non-profit, Planeterra, traditions are celebrated and natural and cultural heritage protected.
On my tour, this meant spending two nights living with and learning from local families at Puesta del Sol, a female-founded, rural community homestay on Ometepe Island in Nicaragua.
And so, who knew that this seasoned solo traveller could be rescued from a travel slump by a group of strangers and a structured, shared itinerary?
As for after the tour, I suppose 17 days of overland travel, crammed into a bus with the same 15 faces was enough of an adventure for this introvert. I returned to the solo travel world, fresh faced and doe-eyed, and thankful for my alone time more than ever.
THE DETAILS
TOUR
G Adventures’ 17-day Volcano Trail: Waves & Local Ways tour starts in Guatemala and finishes in Costa Rica and runs year round. The best time to travel is from November to April. This introduction to five Central American countries is best suited to an 18-to-39 age bracket, however the Central America Escape: Guatemala to Costa Rica tour is the same itinerary and designed for all age groups. From $1799 a traveller. See gadventures.com.
FLY
A journey from Australia to Guatemala requires at least one stopover often through North American hubs. See qantas.com, americanairlines.com, united.com, aircanada.com, fijiairways.com
The writer travelled at her own expense.
