The Solo Traveller
Your independence, passion, and lifelong memories.
Inspirations
Not every solo journey needs to be epic. In 2026, travellers are embracing long weekends and brief escapes as meaningful pauses within our busy lives. These journeys offer space to breathe, reflect, and reconnect without the pressure of big plans, bigger budgets, or long absences.
By Emily Clarke | 25 January 2026
When Jillian Schedneck takes up a position teaching English in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, she is young, idealistic, in love, and ready to take on the world. But it is not exactly what she anticipated: her mostly female students are only attending university as a token distraction from what will become a life spent attending to domestic duties, and Jillian struggles with the limitations to their futures that they seem to so readily accept.
Published 24 October 2025
Long-haul flights can feel like a test of endurance but knowing what’s really happening to your body and mind, and why, can change the experience. Understanding the manufactured environment in which we fly, and the effect it is having on us, is key to ensuring the experience of a long-haul flight isn’t the mind-bending ordeal it can be.