Five reasons to travel solo: #3 Local connections

As a solo traveller not only will you find it easier to meet other travellers, but you'll also be infinitely more approachable to the locals who can easily be intimidated by large groups of foreigners. If you're alone they'll be more inclined to invite you to eat with them, or even to put you up for the night than they ever would if you’re travelling with someone else. I've had some of my best local experiences when I've been by myself: I had dinner with a real Transylvanian Count in his castle in Romania, I celebrated the Orthodox Easter with a local family in the tiny Republic of Moldova, and, I was given a personal tour around Bardia, an isolated town in the far north of Libya, by two elderly men who expected nothing except a heart-felt thank-you in return. I would never have had these opportunities if I had not been alone.