Can 'two' be a crowd? - Travelling companions, yay or nay

I've spent the majority of my travels alone; and my lack of trust in society and in random strangers to seize my camera and take a shot of me means that I have perfected the art of the 'self shot'.

One of the biggest 'wow' reactions that I get from people when I tell them that I'm travelling abroad is when I tell them that I'm backpacking alone. I'll tone it down for them – point out that I'm meeting up with a friend for a week midway, or know someone who I'll stay with for a few days, but it doesn't curb the genuine surprise in their tone. Just a couple of days ago I was telling this fit, pretty, perky girl who works at my gym about my upcoming trip, and she said, “I'd never do that, I'm too scared to even do it with someone, I could never do it alone.”

I've been fortunate among my travel experiences to experience the varying ends of the spectrum – I've met up with a friend from home both trips, spending time being a tourist in a foreign country with someone familiar to me. I've spent days at a time not really conversing with anyone but the hostel staff and shop assistants. I've stayed with friends who live in my destination, being driven around and pampered and cooked for and taken to their favourite restaurants. I've stayed in hostels and in the dorms or the common areas, met some lovely individuals whom we shared common interests and then spent a portion of our time together. I know people who made long term friends from their travels – I haven't been quite so lucky, a few are around on my Facebook but we haven't really kept in contact.

My travels wouldn't have been the same if it wasn't for the lovely people I drank with and picknicked with on the hill in Cesky Krumlov; my fellow James Marsters loving traveller I hung out with in London; the boys I met in Ljubljana and day tripped to Bled with; my fellow Aussie who I went to 'Dracula's' castle with in Bran, Romania; or the lovely Irish girl I spent my last day of my 2008 trip with in Singapore, having a deep and meaningful until late in the evening about how we could ever fit back into ordinary life – and many others, who are in no way less important than those I've noted. Would I have forged these alliances had I been travelling with someone? But at the same time, did I miss out on experiences because I wasn't travelling with someone – did I not go to restaurants I would've liked to due to lack of travel companions, did I avoid staying out a few extra hours after the sun had gone down in a security conscious effort?

Which begs the question – which is better, travelling alone or travelling with companions?

Travelling alone – benefits

• Flexibility – you decide when you want to wake up, what time you eat, where you're going, if you're bored and want to leave somewhere. Your trip is yours – no need to compromise.
• Random encounters – as a solo traveller, I feel as though you place yourself more likely to have random conversations with locals. Sitting on a park bench in Nice, a local gentleman came and sat beside me and started to converse with me in French. After establishing that I spoke English and he did not, he continued to persevere, with a combination of hand gestures and noises. In Los Angeles, California, a local sitting behind me on the bus proceeded to lecture me about the white youth of America not understanding the oppression experienced by he and his fellow African American kind. I politely advised him that I am Australian and I could tell him about the oppression experienced by Indigenous Australians. Had I been sitting with a companion, would I have had these random and memorable encounters?
• Meeting fellow hostellers – reality is that you're more likely to chat and mingle if you're on your own. You'll crave the human interaction and conversation and find yourself asking questions as you sit beside someone at the hostel breakfast, or waiting in line for the bathroom. As a result of people I've met in hostels, I know more about the world, I was given travel hints and tips, I forged companions to spend time with, I heard about other peoples travel adventures, was given recommendations for hostels and destinations.
• The accomplishment – let's face it, you walk away being able to proudly claim that you did it – you went through the experience and you did it by yourself.

Travelling with a companion – benefits

• Financial – there are often better deals when you're travelling with a companion. For example Eurail have group ticket options, if you're staying at a hotel, you can get a twin for the same price as a queen.
• Meals and cooking – dining out is one of the most disconcerting experiences for solo travellers, and cooking for one is sometimes impractical and not always cost effective
• The experience – sometimes, it's just nice to have someone to turn to and say 'wow'. I'm grateful that I was able to share that moment whilst at the top of the Eiffel Tower, or while surrounded by the overwhelming beauty of Bled, Slovenia. I felt that pang of being alone whilst I stood looking at the absolutely astounding Niagara Falls and had no one to share it with.
• Security – travelling alone comes with inherent dangers. Two people means twice the eye to ensure you don't get lost, to research the details, and makes you feel more secure whilst out in the dark.

A lot of the seeming disadvantages of travelling alone can be overcome simply by mingling with other people at the hostel. I met a girl in Manchester who, as I was on my way out the hostel door to go wandering down to the shopping strip, she literally ran behind me, called out to me and introduced herself and invited herself along on my outing. We wound up spending the next day day tripping to Liverpool, then together met some of the other people at the hostel that night, and wound up going out for drinks and dancing. Hostels like The Loft in Budapest and Krumlov House in Cesky Krumlov come with a prestablished family like camaraderie. Hostels like the HI Upper West Side in New York City and Apple Hostels in Philadelphia have organised activities, walking tours and pub crawls. Just because you make the decision to travel alone, does not mean that you will be alone for the entirety of your trip.

If you do decide to travel with a friend or family member, make sure that your goals and travel theories are compatible. If you want to go to every art museum and they want to go to every nightclub, you may not be compatible. If one person has a significantly higher budget than the other, you may not be compatible. Just because someone is an ideal flatmate or your favourite shopping partner, does not mean that they are an ideal travel companion. If you come to the decision that you're on the same page, make sure that you agree to have time apart, to not compromise your own journey, and to take the time to get to know the people around you. Just because you're travelling with someone, does not mean that you need to spend every moment of your travels with them - you're allowed to part ways to ensure that you don't miss out on each of your travel goals.

So when it comes to the question - to travel alone or with a companion - there is no right or wrong answer, and the decision is largely personal. In the end you are the one who has to be comfortable with your trip and the decisions that you've made, so listen to your instinct and you'll likely be pointed in the right direction.