I’m talking solo travel folks … get your head out of the gutter people.

nolan, over on the TravBuddy forums, is curious as to what age others experienced their first solo trips and how the trip went/affected them.

I took a flight out of Boston to Frankfort,I was 18.Spent 4 or 5 months there and was free for life.Can’t explain it but somehow my brain got rewired.Honestly,if I never ran out of money I’d never return. ~clamdigger53

my first real solo trip was Spain, the summer after I turned 19. … I had nowhere to stay, ended up losing a hostel booking because the train was really late an they thought I wasn’t coming, in a city full up for a fiesta, found a strange room somewhere random, fainted at the fireworks from dehydration and skipping dinner to find a room. But also I met interesting people, drank alone and are alone for the first time, set my own schedule and discovered a life long love of art galleries. ~sarahelaine

My first solo trip I did when I was 19. I was living in Monterey, California and I made a weekend trip to San Francisco. I rode on the Greyhound, stayed in a hostel, and ate alone. It was wonderful! Since then, I have visited many locations outside of my home country on my own. I love to travel alone, and I’m glad I took that first step when I was 19. ~cynthiasmiller

I was 26 when I travelled solo first time. … I decided to go, cause all my friends didn’t want to go, or they did want to go, but saving was too hard for them, so I went by myself. After that, when I did realize that it’s not that big a deal, I have been all over the world all by myself and keep on doing that cause my friends are still saving for their travels. ~janniina

i was 21 when i had my very first solo trip to korea on 2014 july .
i was there for 25 days and its awesome , i never felt lonely because i met people from all over the world, its fun to get lost and walk without a clear destination. ~tisuying

My first solo trip was a cross-country drive from Florida to Colorado when I was 20. I was moving, but I didn’t have a set date that I had to be in Colorado so I took my time – or at least as much time as my traveler’s checks that I purchased pre-trip would allow, because that’s how we rolled back then.

I will never forget the excitement of finding and checking into shabby road-side motels; the terror I felt when a tire went flat in Chattanooga, TN on a Sunday; the beauty of an oncoming thunderstorm as I crossed Kansas; the songs on my cassette; and most of all the sheer sense of freedom.

What about you? What was your first time by yourself like?

Read the thread in its entirety: Traveling solo – when and how you first did it