pharmawalk

Americans always have to be doing something with someone IMO. Not sure about other countries.

darthbimmer

One could just as easily conclude from OP's sample set that Americans are better at having friends and families than people from other countries are!

javabytes

I won't pretend my anecdotes are anything but exactly that... however my experience matches OP's.

mdkowals

Of course posting on FT you'd find all of the exceptions to the "solo travel" rule. If you're talking about foreign travel I think the following end up hurting Americans.

1) Heavy work culture with limited vacation, with many people having only 2 weeks vacation during their working years you really have to go out of the way to travel abroad.

2) The United States is fairly big as it is, and has plenty of opportunity to travel within.

3) The vast, vast majority of our entertainment is home grown. It is entirely possible (and perhaps probable?) to live your entire life without needing to extend your cultural sphere outside the US. It would be impossible to grow up in Belgium and only watch Belgian movies, Belgian TV, and listen to Belgian music...all of these things exist of course, but not to the volume to consume the entirety of your entertainment.

Analise

If you ever look at the Rick Steves forum, you would see that in spades sadly.

firecracker725

Not scared of solo travel here. I'm a busy mom of three, so I relish any opportunity to walk at my own pace in relative peace and quiet. In fact, I just booked a December solo trip to France.

hotturnip

You have to distinguish what kind of travel.

Any given weekday in an American airport, you'll see tons of solo business travelers. On some flights they're probably most of the passengers.

I think what you're suggesting here is that American leisure travelers don't like to travel alone.

I'm not sure that's restricted to Americans. I think most leisure travelers vacation in groups just because they are parts of families or couples. It's not practical for them to travel alone. There also just aren't that many single people around who might travel alone. (I'm one of them--90% of my travel is solo.)

But I would say there is a kind of culture of social clinginess in the U.S. (it may extend to other countries as well). It's why people can't stop checking their phones for texts, or are constantly talking to people (I know a woman who talked on the phone through an entire Spin class). People seem to take comfort in groups--as if they're a little frightened to be alone, or that the presence of others affirms their existence somehow. I think some people also can't stand to be alone with their thoughts--they need constant distraction, and thus social interaction. Myself, I was raised to be fiercely independent, and resent having to rely on others for anything.

So there's my 2 cents.

kb9522

I like traveling alone. Less hassle.

I've never heard of this stereotype and have a difficult time imagining it to be true.

DutchessPDX

No, I think a lot of American's just fear travelling in general. Half the places I go, and I'm not going to really exotic places, I get met with "Isn't it dangerous there". Like you're not taking your life into your hands walking down half of the urban streets in America. The level of misinformation is astounding.

aquamarinesteph

That's something I also encounter. I will tell people that I am going to [fill in the blank country], and the reaction will be astonishment or two steps backwards as if I am some exotic creature. And I don't go anywhere that exotic by the world's standards. I've heard this when I travel to Europe (Great Britain. Italy. Germany. You get the idea) I've been to Costa Rica which is probably the most 'exotic' place I've had the chance to visit. I've been to Canada. But I've even had people ask me 'why are you going THERE' when talking about a trip to Alaska.

Your experiences may be far different.

humerus

I'm Norwegian so I travel quite a lot in Europe. Most Americans I meet travel alone, but in my experience they're very outgoing and social, so they have an easier time to find temporary travel partners. This especially is true for the young adults that are on their "big European trip".

whimike

How are you noticing this, are they not wearing an American flag shirt?!

Palal

As a rule, it's usually not obvious that solo Americans are in fact Americans

Americans who travel in groups tend to stand out much more

The above statement holds true for pretty much any nation out there.

wolf72

When they open their mouth's to talk?

It's not difficult.

Esp. when they are travelling in groups or pairs.

wolf72

Not really. Mostly american's travel in groups. Or pairs. Rarely solo.