Cici Coleman Instagram – I get so many questions on this: why do I do it? When did I start? Do I feel embarrassed eating alone? Do I get lonely? Where is best to go? So I’m gonna answer all of these in one go and take you on my Solo Travel Journey. Let’s start with how much I HATE breakups. I’m terrible at them, and they seem to take me ages to get over. Well, I was having a particularly bad one a few years ago. We were in the depths of winter, and it was Christmas. Gross. So I googled hot holiday destinations in December, and Tenerife was top of the list.  On day 1, I cried and thought I’d made a terrible decision, but once I sat with it the following day, I loved it. I walked and walked and just tried to stay really present. I barely spoke to anyone, but I also didn’t want to because I didn’t wanna explain that I was alone. I wasn’t ready for that yet. I had my head in my phone for the first couple of dinners because I felt like everyone was watching me, but trust me, they weren’t. I did 5 nights, came back with a mega tan and hopped straight on Hinge ;-) I think my second solo travel was to Ibiza; that was just pure vibes, and I ended up meeting friends out there unexpectedly.  I then did Croatia, which was one of my faves. I just ate and sunbathed and walked again.  I did a few European ones out of joy, then bang, another breakup after lockdown. Horrrrrriiibbblleeeee!!!! This one really broke me because the guy was one of my nicest boyfriends. This is when Bali happened. I met some Irish bird @siobh.ohagan (🤍 u) in London August 22’ who lived there and just said so casually come to Bali. Bali was already on my radar, so this felt like it was a sign. So I booked it and left 4 months later. Bali changed everything as this ended up being a 5-month trip. It bypassed a lot of the shIt part of a breakup, and I made some solid friends over there. After Bali, I don’t think I’ve even questioned solo travel; I just booked it. In all my trips abroad, I have never once felt lonely; I felt more lonely in London. As for the best places to go, only you can decide that. Solo travel has been the best decision every single time, without a doubt.  I dare you to do it 😘