If you’re new here, I’d like to extend a warm welcome! Greetings, I’m Brooke and I’ve been travelling the world on my own for the past 7 years. As a lone traveller, I’ve made a lot of blunders, booked last-minute flights out of unpleasant situations, and met many other like-minded individuals. I’ve gathered the finest advice from other single travellers to help you prepare for your first solo trip.
First-Time Solo Traveler’s Survival Guide
Use the ratings to find a place to stay
I’ve checked into a lot of hotels only to discover that they look nothing like the pictures. I’ve discovered that the best way to gauge a product’s quality is to look at the overall rating and the number of reviews. Because only one person gave the hotel a five-star rating, you might want to rethink your decision.
To meet other travelers, make an effort to do so.
Traveling alone at the age of twenty-one made me more introverted than I had been before. After a while, I noticed that new acquaintances were asking the same questions over and over again: Where are you coming from? What’s your next destination? In travels, what are some of your favourite spots? When you use these tiny conversation starters, you’ll find that your solo supper for one becomes a delightful excursion with someone new.
Get up early in the morning and get things done.
I receive a lot of questions about how I manage to acquire shots of national sites like the Eiffel Tower without any other tourists in the frame, and the answer is simple: get up early! At sunrise, you’ll be able to avoid the crowds, avoid long lines, and get a better view of the area.
Purchase trip protection.
When I go on vacation, I always make sure to purchase travel insurance. When you travel alone, you don’t have anyone to look out for you, so I always take out travel insurance just in case something goes awry. This also applies to flight delays and cancellations, and knowing that you won’t be on the hook for the costs means you can relax a little more.
Pack Lightly
As a young traveller, I learnt early on to pack light and enjoy the benefits of climbing a flight of steps with less burden! The more times I’ve found myself at the foot of 100+ steps coming out of the metro, the more convinced I’ve become that packing less is always preferable.
You may be travelling alone, but you won’t be lonely.
I discovered early on in my love for travel that it’s easy to make friends when you’re on the other side of the world. Thank goodness for social media and globalisation, which have made it possible to connect with locals and tour their city before ever setting foot on their soil. Learning a few words of the language and visiting local coffee shops are fantastic ways to meet new people in a new location.
Inquire about local coffeehouses
When it comes to meeting new people, a neighbourhood coffee shop is a terrific option. You can also just relax and people watch for a while. It is all to easy get caught up in the “seeing the sights” of a new place without taking the time to truly appreciate it all. Many of my best ideas, long-term relationships, or just quiet contemplation have come from these quiet times of contemplation.
Take a book with you while you travel.
If you’re travelling alone, you’ll often have extra time on your hands. While waiting in line, between dishes at a restaurant, or on a long bus ride, you may find yourself in a trance. You should always have book with you when travelling so that you can immerse yourself in a fictional world and never feel lonely.
If you’re out at night, stay sober.
However, I’ve unwittingly adopted this as a rule of thumb while travelling. Drinking wine with supper is fun, but feeling secure is even better. I’ll only take a glass of wine if I’m going to be walking around a city by myself at night, because I prefer to be alert and secure. A couple occasions have come up in which I’ve been grateful for my sobriety, allowing me to quickly flee. Make sure to remove yourself out of any circumstance that makes you feel uneasy if you’re walking alone.
Take a train, bus, or subway.
The greatest method to see a place is always by taking the cheapest and most convenient mode of transportation. There is no better way to feel at home in a new city than by using the public transportation system.
Pick your destination carefully.
Truthfully, there are some places that have a better reputation for safety than others. In the past, I wrote about the safest places to travel solo, and I stand by those recommendations as some of my favourite solo destinations.
Go your own way!
Solo travellers are sometimes advised to join a tour group, but I’ve found that I prefer to travel on my own. It is common for group vacations to seem rushed and focused on the big attractions, so much so that you don’t get a true sense of the location you are visiting,
Set new goals for yourself.
Challenge yourself to walk a specific distance or visit a certain number of locations each day while on vacation. Occasionally, I embark on a coffee-tasting adventure and visit 10 to 20 of the city’s most popular coffeehouses in a single day. My favourite way to spend a day is to spend it wandering around the city in quest of unique antique finds.
Find out what you’re made of.
One of my favourite and worst solo travel experiences was riding a mountain bike down Bolivia’s Death Road. As a result of the event, I learned more about my own abilities as a mountain biker.
Don’t rush anything.
Slowing down and taking in more than just the apparent has always been one of my favourite travel hacks. In museums, I can spend hours poring over the tiniest details, and before I realise it, I’m immersed in researching a specific artist or genre.
Get away from it all.
It’s a good thing that I enjoy both planned days and days where I have no idea what I’m going to do. If you’re visiting a city for the first time, this is the greatest option because it forces you to build an opinion about it based on nothing but your own observations. Antwerp, Stockholm, and Tallinn are just a few of the cities where I’ve had the most fun getting lost.
Take counsel from locals
I’ve discovered some of the greatest cafes and concept stores in my travels thanks to the help of locals who point me in the right direction. I’m the kind of traveller who relies on the advice of random strangers like waiters, bus drivers, and baristas to steer me in the right direction.
Consider taking a cruise.
The fact you are reading this right now makes no sense to me. Cruising has become one of my favourite modes of transportation after seeing the Middle East and Asia aboard cruise ships, and I really mean that. Once you’ve checked into your cabin, you don’t have to move your bags again. This is a terrific method to ease the stress of travel. You wake up in a new port every day, go exploring, eat, and sleep, and then repeat the process! Solo travellers looking for a less stressful and more relaxing way to travel may definitely consider cruising.
Learn something new.
I go to Paris every year to master a new pastry-making technique. Over the past three years, my love for desserts and pastries has grown into a full-fledged business. You may truly immerse yourself in a new culture by learning a new skill, such as pastry workshops, wine pairing, language lessons, or art appreciation.
Relish in solo travel’s unrestricted freedom
Asked how I developed the confidence to travel solo, I typically go on a long digression about how wonderful it is not just to spend time alone but to actually enjoy time alone.. As a lone traveller, you’ll have the opportunity to learn more about yourself and discover new hobbies.