Momliz~ Well I'm single, so for me solo travel is obvious. I can see how a person with a young family has a completely different situation and set of decisions to make.

Sometimes its a lot less lonely to travel on your own than being with someone who after 3 days is driving you totally nuts (you can be good friends or in love but maybe not always be the most compatible travel partners)
:)
I feel like I meet so many more people when I am traveling alone then when I am wrapped up with my travel companions.

Recently did a trip to krakow, prague, budapest, and vienna. Met a Scottish couple coming from a wedding in krakow and learned about polish wedding traditions, met a Czech woman on my way to Prague who escaped life under Communism but never got to see her father on his deathbed because she wasn't legally able to return to the country, went to the baths in Budapest with a couple from my B&B who were from San Francisco, and danced the night away with my fellow B&B guests to celebrate someone's birthday. Maybe these things would have happened if I was traveling with someone else but I think I wouldn't have reached out in the same way.

I love going to Paris solo, I wouldn't have it any other way! I might go somewhere else with a companion, but Paris is all mine!

I have a very nice husband and 2 sweet daughters but I really enjoy traveling alone and do it whenever I can get away with it. Fortunately, my husband is pretty good about this. He knows I need my "pilgrim" time... Things are just different when seen from your eyes only. No rushing, no set in concrete plans, just letting the day unfold according to your whim is shear heaven. Yes, there are lonely times but this is where the real discoveries begin. Most of us just don't spend enough quality time with ourselves.

did I mean sheer heaven?

Just came across this thread and it made my day :)
How about... noone has to find out that I completely misread the map and walked in circles for an hour trying to find the U-Bahn station. No, I fully intended to tour that construction zone.