My Just You Story: Bob Gray

I travelled quite a bit around Europe and further afield in my 20s (Egypt, Israel/Palestine and the US) and did several interrailing trips, one with a friend and the other solo. After a lot of great travel experiences, I went as a single traveller with a company to Slovenia in my late 20s. Although I loved Slovenia, I had a very lonely time on that holiday as I was the only single traveller and none of the group mixed with me at all - meals were by myself in the hotel restaurant and I didn’t even learn the names of any others in the group the whole week! That put me off ‘touring holidays’ for years. In my 30s I went with friends on holiday a couple of times but also went to an apartment in Spain owned by friends for a quiet week of rest and relaxation for several years.

My first Just You holiday

As my 40th birthday loomed I decided life was too short and wanted to start seeing the world again. After a bit of internet searching I came across Just You and decided to give them a go. For my first holiday, I decided to play it safe and went to Andalucia, a part of Spain I’d never been to before. I figured it was only for a week, it wasn’t expensive so if I didn’t like it, that wouldn’t be the end of the world!

As soon as I met the rest of the group any nerves disappeared and I met a few lovely ladies who were great fun and we met up frequently during the week at meal times and on excursions. On my return I signed up to the Community forum and have never looked back!

A world of adventures

I’ve now done 13 Just You tours. Thanks to Just You I have travelled all over the world and although I now have the experience to be confident in going by myself I do like the security and friendship offered by Just You tours. My work means I have to organise other people, so it’s great on a Just You tour to have all the work done for you!

There are so many things about the holidays that appeal to me - everyone is in the same boat (even on tours when some friends are travelling together I’ve found that everyone mixes really well), people are friendly and happy to share their travel experiences so I get ideas for future holidays and everyone respects each other’s privacy, so it’s easy to find some personal time if you feel like it. Best of all, the itineraries are fantastic, a great mix of seeing all the major iconic sights plus some unexpected highlights off the beaten track – pretty much a perfect mix of holiday experiences. I have two holidays booked with Just You next year and I can’t wait! They have given me a new lease of life and a keen interest to learn more about this amazingly diverse world of ours.

Do you have a story to tell - why not share it with us? Simply email editor@justyou.co.uk