Let's clear something up.

Travelling solo does not mean you're single.

It sounds obvious when you say it, but search for holidays aimed at people travelling alone and you'll quickly find the words solo, single and singles holidays used almost interchangeably.

They aren't quite the same thing.

And if you're looking at solo holidays or singles holidays over 50, knowing the difference can save you from booking something that isn't remotely the experience you had in mind.

There is a slightly unhelpful idea that once you've decided to travel alone, you must then do absolutely everything alone.

Book every hotel yourself. Work out every transfer. Eat every dinner by yourself. Get lost independently. Deal with whatever goes wrong independently.

Otherwise, apparently, it doesn't count.

We don't really buy that.

When you're comparing solo travel vs group travel, the best choice has very little to do with which option is more adventurous and a lot to do with what you actually enjoy.

Because these are holidays.

You are allowed to enjoy them.

If you tell people you’re thinking about travelling to Thailand alone, there’s a reasonable chance somebody will immediately tell you a story.

Usually about somebody they vaguely know.

Often from approximately 2009.

And almost always involving something going terribly wrong.

It isn’t particularly helpful.

So, is Thailand safe for solo travellers?

Thailand has a habit of staying on people’s travel lists for years.

You’ve probably seen the photographs: impossibly blue water, longtail boats, tiny islands, night markets, Thai food that makes the version at home seem rather disappointing afterwards.

The appeal isn’t difficult to understand. The bigger question, particularly if you’re considering solo travel to Thailand over 50, is whether you actually want to navigate a long-haul trip by yourself.

The answer might be yes. It might also be: yes, but I’d quite like somebody else to organise some of it.

Both are perfectly valid.

For some people, travelling alone has always sounded exciting. For others, it was never really part of the plan.

Perhaps you travelled with a partner for years. Maybe holidays have always revolved around children, friends or family. Or perhaps there’s simply somewhere you really want to go and, despite plenty of enthusiastic conversations, nobody else ever seems quite ready to book it.

That’s often how a first solo holiday begins. Not with a sudden desire to reinvent yourself as a fearless solo traveller, but with a much more ordinary thought: I really want to go, and I’m tired of waiting for somebody else to be available.

If you’re considering solo travel in your 50s or 60s for the first time, there are a few things worth knowing before you go.