Looking to take the plunge and venture into unknown territory on your own? Looking for some key tips and tricks for how to travel alone for the first time?
Then step right in, as we chronicle the dos and don'ts of traveling alone for the first time!
Benefits of Traveling with Your Own Company
There are so many beneficial aspects for solo travelers that it is different to know where to start, but here are a few:
- In solo travel, you travel on your own terms, able to do whatever you want whenever you want to without having to cater to the needs and wants of a companion.
- In this way, a solo trip means you can connect with whomever you want. Equally, you as a solo traveler can avoid whoever you like too.
- The experience as a whole will encourage you to grow as a person in the long term, causing certain parts of yourself to bloom that might not otherwise have bloomed.
- This will include the parts of yourself that are used for problem-solving, fostering confidence in these activities that might not have occurred in your home country.
- Overall, you gain a better understanding of yourself and your relationship to the world outside of yourself - best captured in a handy blank journal by Moonster.
How to Prepare for Your First Trip
There are a number of solo travel tips you can follow to get ready for the big day:
- Saving up enough money that you can afford the trip in the first place.
- Knowing some budget travel tips while you are away so that you can return with enough money to spare.
- Deciding on your destination would be a helpful thing to know fairly early on so you can brush up on the local language and get deep into the trip planning.
- Buying traveling insurance will ensure that traveling solo does not leave you empty-handed if you are indeed swindled in the process.
- If you intend to travel solo, you will want to book accommodation ahead of the trip that is friendly, both to you and other solo travelers.
- Solo travellers will want to pack as light as possible, minimizing the things you can lose along the way.
- And if some other travelers cannot pack light, they should at least pack smart.
- Protecting your identity during your first solo trip is key, especially in the age of online data theft. Your best bet is to use a VPN of some sort.
- If you intend to go on road trips, make sure you are suitably equipped with maps in case your internet does not work - do not forget travel insurance either.
- Let a family member know where you are going, how long you are going, and what you are going with.
How to Enjoy It
Now you know how to plan a vacation and have actually made it there, how do you go about enjoying the experience?
- Try to visualize how exactly you want your first solo adventure to go.
- Garner as much knowledge about the place you are going to and the experience of going elsewhere alone as you can before you go, preferably from those who have been there and done the same themselves.
- Try to engage with strangers and locals as much as you can - these are very often the most illuminating moments of any holiday.
- Be curious and learn about the experiences of other travelers to find the best places to go.
- This can belie the fact that you should not plan too much, and that you should be ready to engage with things as they happen in the moment.
- Thus, you should be as flexible as possible and as willing to engage in sudden experiences as you can. These will often be the moments you remember the most, making new friends on an amazing journey.
- Take some time to decompress once you arrive and be as patient as possible - these things will come.
- Explore the locations you find yourself in through as many routes as possible. If you are staying in one place for an extended period of time, then travel by bus, metro, taxi, bicycle, and on foot.
- Keep abreast of current events that are occurring - you might well find yourself in a place during the midst of a seasonal festival.
- If you are unsure of something, simply ask for help. Looking lost can very often attract the wrong kind of people, especially when solo traveling.
- Explore the local cuisine. A culture's relationship with food and the specific gradations of its cuisine says a lot about them and its history.
- If you are fond of shopping, then do so where the locals do. One of the more fascinating cultural surface-level cultural differences will be its differing relation to the throngs of capitalism.
- Get to know the map of a place but also learn about a place through your own means too.
- Find others who are traveling alone, who share your passions, so that you are not the only person facing this same newness.
- Music is a great bet for something to do in the evening, even if you do not know the language.
How to Meet People as a Solo Traveller
It can be difficult to bridge the gap between your inner world and others when on the road, so here are a few tips:
- A key tip that you will want to carry with you everywhere is to smile - you can hardly go wrong with sharing such a universal expression of friendliness and approachability.
- You should learn at least a few words in the local language. It wouldn't be superfluous to say that you do not necessarily need language to bond with someone, but it does not hurt to try.
- Go to local coffee houses with the intent to meet someone new.
- Book accommodation in places that encourage community and idle chatter, such as hostels.
- If you are staying in one place for a while, try visiting the same place each day and getting to know the place and its frequenters.
- Taking a day tour gets a bunch of like-minded individuals in one place, too!
- Simply being curious and asking questions is a surefire way to strike up a conversation and relationship with someone.
- Look for companionship away from the beaten path of tourists.
Last Words
So, there you have it! Hopefully, your curiosity has been quenched, though do not hesitate to drop a comment below if not!
FAQs How to Travel Alone
Is it lonely to travel alone?
As with many things, traveling alone is about as lonely as you make it. For some, this is a welcome time to reflect on their inner sanctum. It is not as difficult as you might think to strike up friendships while on the road, however. A simple smile and obvious curiosity are all that are necessary to build relationships with those you have never met before.
Is traveling alone hard?
It can be difficult to begin with, especially if you have never traveled alone and away from the coup before. As with many other things, though, you tend to get out of it what you put in, and so if you are ready and prepared with a smile and curiosity that wants to ask questions, you are well on your way to reaping what you sow. Sure, it can be tough to be away from friends and family, as well as routine, but it is best to make the most of it while you are there, for you are bound to miss it once it is over.
