Carli
Carli
Solo travel can be intimidating but it doesn’t have to be. These tips for travelling solo will give you the confidence to book the trip and explore on your own.
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I’ve traveled to all 7 continents, and over 15 counties solo, but that doesn’t happen overnight. Like anything else, solo travel takes practice, and while it gets easier each time, you’ll still have challenges come up.
Tips for travelling solo: start small
I’m often surprised when I see people online post something like “I want to take my first solo trip, where should I go?” and the internet responds with dozens of locations around the world. Unless you are an experienced traveler, I strongly discourage international trips for first time solo travelers.
Why?
- If you haven’t started solo traveling, there’s a chance you haven’t flown much on your own either. There’s a big difference between taking a 2 hour flight alone vs a 9 hour flight alone. Even flying across the United States takes 6 hours. Work your way up to it.
- Sometimes you travel with friends and realize, you don’t have the same travel vibe. The same can be said for solo travel. It might not be for you, but if you did a transatlantic solo trip and you hate traveling alone, it will make for an even longer trip.
- Language barriers add a challenge to any trip whether or not it’s a solo journey.
- Traveling internationally almost always means dealing with foreign currency and making sure you don’t have any issues with your banks or debit cards.
Where to go alone for your first solo trip?
- Start with a weekend (or long weekend) to get used to being on your own and in charge of all decisions outside your home environment.
- Consider a staycation in or around where you live. This lets you have some familiarity with the intention of getting outside your normal routine.
- Travel somewhere that’s a short flight, drive or train from home. This minimizes the travel time to focus more on the trip itself. And if you don’t have a great travel experience, it’s a shorter journey to get back home.
- Consider going somewhere you’ve been before but have wanted to revisit. This way you have a baseline familiarity with getting around and then can focus on the destination activities and not learning the logistics of a new city.
Tips to travel alone more comfortably
It can feel weird at first traveling alone buying just one ticket, or asking for a table for one. One of my tips for travelling solo: no one really cares if you’re eating on your own, especially in big cities.
Maybe you have roommates, or a partner and you don’t spend a lot of time doing things on your own. It’s beneficial to start taking yourself out alone at home to get more comfortable with the idea.
Take yourself on a solo movie date (it’s actually pretty awesome), go to a local museum, or take yourself out for a nice dinner. When you start making these changes at home, it feels less odd when you’re doing it in another city.
Tips for Travelling Solo and eating alone
One of the best things about traveling alone is not only do you get to decide when and where you eat, but you can get in pretty much anywhere right away.
Dining at the bar is a great way to meet people, read, or just sit and enjoy the atmosphere. Not only can you get in and eat faster, if you’re at the bar you can also chat with the bartenders. Bartenders are some of the best connected people in town to let you know great spots to check out. And if you’re lucky, they’ll say “tell them _____ sent you” and you might get the hook up.
Tips for travelling solo: get a Kindle
I bought myself a Kindle for Christmas of 2023 and I pretty much bring it everywhere with me, especially for traveling. 1) it is small enough to fit in a belt bag 2) unlike physical books its lightweight and can store dozens of books at a time 3) reading is significantly better for your mental health than scrolling on your phone through all your solo meals. After a busy travel day, if the weather is nice, I like to find a park to sit, read and decompress for 30 minutes before figuring out what’s next on the itinerary.
Solo travel tip: you don’t have to travel alone
This sounds counterintuitive to the entire concept of “solo” travel, but one of my tips for travelling solo is to travel with other people when you’re starting out. So how do you do that exactly?
Work travel
If there are times when you travel for work, for example to conferences or training sessions, you can extend your trip a day or two to explore on your own. Often with work trips there is so little time in the schedule to get out and explore the city you’re in. Not only do you have the benefit of free transportation to a (potentially) new location, but you’ll also be meeting with other people you likely know before or after the solo portion of your trip.
Travel with friends
Similar to work travel, you can start a trip alone then have friends join at the end (or vice versa). This gives you more of a buffer to start or end your trip with the safety net of friends, but then allowing yourself the space to test the waters of solo travel.
I’ve gone on trips to Iceland and Morocco where I’ve started the trip alone, then had a friend in Paris meet me halfway through. This was a perfect middle ground for us because I was looking to do a week or more of traveling, and she could only make 4-5 days work
Tours and day trips
One of my best tips for travelling alone, and a favorite thing to do as a solo traveler, is group tours. These are organized group tours offered by local tour operators, that can be anything from a 90 minute walking tour to a full day trip. This is a great way to meet other travelers and see different parts of the city or region in a safe way. These tour guides can also be great resources for where to eat in town. My tour guide in Ho Chi Minh City sent over a whole list of food recommendations on Google maps for places near my apartment.
Group trips are a great option for travelling alone for the first time. There are a number of different tour providers available that target either specific age groups, solo travelers, or female travelers. Group trips have a set itinerary and can have groups as small as 10 people or as large as 40. Either way, you’ll be with the same people for the duration of the trip for a chance to make new friends along the way.
Tips for Travelling Solo: How to prepare for solo travel
My tips for travelling solo are to start with figuring out your itinerary. Solo travel often requires a lot of research for everything from flights and hotels to activities and dining. If you are not a planner, consider hiring a travel advisor or going on an organized group tour.
Research any safety precautions of your destination ahead of time, especially with regard to the neighborhood where you’re staying. This is one of the most important tips for solo travel as a woman. You need to make sure your accommodations are in a safe location. Check online reviews for hotels prior to booking your trip.
Be sure to consider how you plan to get around while you’re at your destination. Are you comfortable with public transportation or will you be taking taxis/Ubers. Do you speak the language? If not, you should learn basic phrases and local customs.
For any international or remote locations where cell phone service may be an issue, download offline maps. This is important for not only navigation, but also safety. If traveling internationally, make sure you have an international data plan or purchase and e-sim. How to Use Your Phone while Traveling Internationally
Solo travel tips for introverts
On the one hand, solo travel can be easier for introverts because we thrive in having our own alone time. However, you likely still want to have some connection with other people while traveling.
If you’re an introvert, hostels are probably not the place for you, unless you plan to book a private room. Hostels can be a great way to meet fellow travelers, but shared rooms can be a bit overwhelming. Decide what your goals are for your travel budget and making connections.
One of my favorite things to do as an introvert and solo traveler is day tours. You can choose to interact with the other guests as much or as little as you want, but still get the experience of learning about somewhere new without having to plan anything.
Other options that I love as an introvert are museums and beaches. With museums you can spend as much time as you want exploring art, science or history on your own. Or you can do a beach vacation where you spend the whole time reading books in the sand.
Advice for solo travellers starting out
- Start with a weekend to ease into solo trips. If that goes well, next time make it 5 days or a week.
- Go somewhere that aligns with your interests ex: hiking, theater, museums, beaches. You’ll feel more comfortable in a new location doing things you already like to do, and will spend less time planning the trip.
- Have a support system in place. Make sure you have a friend or family member you can reach out to if you need someone to talk to. You should also share your itinerary so that someone knows where you are staying and for how long.
- Embrace the discomfort. Sometimes it’s awkward, or lonely, or even overwhelming. But at the end of the trip, there’s a sense of accomplishment and understanding that you’re a lot more capable than you may realize.
- If you plan to travel internationally, get travel insurance. There are a few different options, but especially for international travel medical insurance is important. But general travel insurance can cover trip delays, lost baggage, flight cancellations, etc. And there are even options for separate rental car coverage.
- I’ve used VisitorsCoverage numerous times. They always have reasonable prices and I’ve had positive experience when submitting claims
- For domestic flights, use a travel focused credit card as these typically come with basic travel insurance coverage. The Best Travel Credit Card for Beginners
Tips for travelling solo FAQs
How do you travel solo successfully?
To successfully travel solo, you need to plan a trip that you know you can manage. If you’ve never traveled alone before, a 3 week international solo trip is going to be too much too soon compared to a weekend getaway. You’ll have better success if you ease your way into it.
Solo travel should push yourself out of your comfort zone, but not so much that you will be miserable. Make sure not to over schedule yourself. Travel fatigue and burnout are very real especially with solo travel, the longer the trip is.
What is the best way to travel solo?
There’s no one best way to travel solo, you have to find what works for you. I recommend starting with going somewhere that aligns with your interests. If you love theater, visit New York. If you love beaches, consider an all-inclusive in the Caribbean or Mexico. If you do not like travel planning, join a group tour where everything is already planned out.
How do I cope with traveling alone?
Traveling alone can be lonely or awkward at times, but once you get a trip or two under your belt it gets easier. Start with small (3-4 day) trips to get started. Have some friends or family on standby to call or text if you need to connect.
Why solo travel is important
It’s important to solo travel for a number of reasons. First, it means you no longer have to wait for others to have the time, money or desire to travel where you want to travel. You only have this one life, stop waiting for others. Second, you gain a lot of self confidence traveling alone. Third, you can go wherever you want, whenever you want, and create the itinerary you want without feedback or complaints from others.
What are some things to do as a solo traveller?
Anything you can do with another person you can pretty much do as a solo traveler. Go to a sporting event, visit a museum, take a day tour, go on a hike, watch a play, eat a great meal. Just be sure to research ahead of time about safety recommendations (especially with hiking alone) or reviews for hotels, restaurants, tours etc.
Additional posts on Solo Traveling
Still have questions about solo travel? Set up a solo travel consultation with me by emailing me info@adventureswithcarli.com
