Travelling alone can often seem quite a daunting prospect, especially for those who haven’t done it before. The reality is that if you do it right, you’ll likely find the experience incredibly liberating and heaps of fun.
Making sure that you get that kind of experience does require a little preparation, however. With that in mind, read on to explore some of the best ways to make solo travel as fun as possible.
Embrace spontaneity
One of the biggest benefits of solo travel is that you get to embrace a whole range of different opportunities.
With fewer people in your group, it’s ultimately down to you where you go, and any of your plans can be changed at any time.
Try to embrace spontaneous opportunities when they pop up, whether that’s joining a group of tourists for dinner or going to a dance class with someone from the local cafe.
Trust your instinct
While solo travel can absolutely be safe, you need to trust your gut instinct. Especially in some locations, people might pick on solo tourists more than those who are travelling in a bigger group.
If something feels wrong, trust yourself and stay away. You don’t have to have a reason behind why you feel a certain way, you just have to listen to how a situation feels.
Stay in hostels
If you’re travelling alone and you want to meet people, then the best accommodation option will likely be to stay in a hostel.
If you’re comfortable with staying in a dorm, you can also likely save a lot of money compared to staying in a Hotel. Combine that with some cheap flights booked a month or three in advance and you have the foundations of a highly affordable holiday.
Learn a little about local culture
Travelling solo means that it’s even easier to interact with and embrace the local culture – people on their own often seem a lot less standoffish, and locals will want to show you around more.
Before you go, try to learn a bit about the culture. This could be a few words in the local dialect, or even just a little bit about the history of the place.
Sharing this knowledge shows that you’re genuinely interested, and not just there for the cheap alcohol (which, if you are, is totally fine as well!)
Be double prepared
Lastly, as it’s just you who will be travelling, you need to double-check everything. If you forget your passport, for example, there’s no chance that your partner brought it along anyway.
That being said, however, try not to stress too much about these kinds of things. Ultimately, as long as you have your phone, passport and cards, everything else can be sorted out.
Travelling solo can be an amazing experience, as long as you take certain things into consideration while planning your trips. By thinking about the points listed above, and being just slightly more careful than you would be in a bigger group, you can make sure that you have a truly amazing time.
