THE SOLO TRAVELLER
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The Loneliness Question – A Health and Wellbeing Series
The Loneliness Question
A Health and Wellbeing Series
To be alone has never meant just one thing. In an era of constant connection, loneliness is now discussed with new urgency – both privately and publicly – and reframed as something that extends beyond individual experience into the fabric of modern life. In the weeks ahead, this series explores that changing conversation through the lens of solo travel – not necessarily as an answer, but as a way of understanding what it means to move, to connect, and to be alone now.
Why this matters to us at The Solo Traveller
It matters because loneliness is no longer confined to private moments or individual circumstances. It is increasingly understood as something shaped by how we live, how we interact, and how we connect. For solo travellers who move between places, people, and periods of solitude by choice, the experience can be both revealing and complex. Exploring this space is not about defining loneliness, but about better understanding the conditions in which it arises, and what it means to navigate them and discover moments of genuine connection along the way.
Loneliness is increasingly being recognised as a global public health concern. This is the first in our series of features exploring the tension between isolation and independence, and what it means to move through that space alone.
By Emily Clarke | 4 April 2026
For 50 years, Road Scholar has combined travel and lifelong learning to create environments where connection happens naturally. As loneliness emerges as a defining issue of modern life, its model offers an effective and widely celebrated response.
By Geoffrey Williams | 4 April 2026
After 20 rewarding years in development for not-for-profit organisations, Rose is dedicating her time to exploring the world, with a special passion for learning through travel. As an enthusiastic Road Scholar participant, she has ventured to various corners of the globe, enriching her understanding of cultures, history, and the world around her.
A Solo Traveller Q&A | 5 April 2026
Loneliness is not always something to overcome, and on a solo journey it can emerge quietly, in moments that are easy to overlook. Here, Dan Auerbach, Clinical Director of Associated Counsellors and Psychologists, Sydney, Australia, reframes loneliness not as failure, but as information – and we explore what it means when the experience of travelling alone might not match the story we expect it to tell.
A conversation with Dan Auerbach | 8 April 2026
In a world obsessed with finding “the one”, Doctor of Psychology and Mindset Coach Dr Marny Lishman is asking two important questions: “What if the most transformative relationship you’ll ever have is the one with yourself? What if being alone isn’t something to fix, but something to embrace?”.
An excerpt from Only You by Dr Marny Lishman | 15 April 2026
Even with the best-laid plans, there are moments in our solo traveller journeys when the noise drops away and what remains is the question of whether to keep going. In our exclusive excerpt from The Elite: Think Like an Athlete, Succeed Like a Champion, author Dr Jo Lukins – who has spent more than 30 years working with elite athletes, leaders and teams – illuminates the quiet truth that even the most solitary paths are rarely walked alone.
An exclusive excerpt from The Elite by Dr Jo Lukins | 18 April 2026
From quiet contentment to unexpected isolation, why do some moments alone feel different and what helps us shift them? We asked those who know it and have lived it to share how they move through loneliness on the road.
22 April 2026
Loneliness doesn’t always come from being alone. Sometimes it shows up in the middle of movement, connection, and full days – when we feel disconnected from ourselves. As our ‘Loneliness Question’ series draws to a close, Briony Montgomery examines the distance between feeling grounded within ourselves and experiencing the world.