Top Tips When Travelling Solo
Travelling Solo – A Guide to Travelling By Yourself
Travelling solo can be scary if you’ve never done it before. Heck, sometimes it can be scary even if you have. But there are a few steps you can take to make solo travel safe, easy and most of all fun!
Always Book Accommodation in Advance (And know how to get there!)
This is the best advice I can give. Book a hostel, hotel or apartment in advance of your arrival in a new place, even if it’s just so you definitely have a place to stay on that first night. Imagine arriving in a place and finding all the hotels were full?! That’s not a good start to a travel experience in a new place! Always make sure you know how to get from your arrival place (be that airport, train station, bus station etc) to your accommodation. Who wants to arrive and find out their accommodation is a £45 taxi ride away?! This is especially important if you’re arriving into a new place at night when finding your way is always harder.
Plan Some Things to Do
One thing I always do before visiting a new place is to check out in advance some things I’d like to do and see while I’m there. This takes away from the feeling of being a bit lost and lonely and not really knowing what to do with your time. So, check out the museums, take some walking tours, book theatre tickets, festival tickets, take day trips, do whatever you want to do but don’t let yourself become bored when travelling solo.
Don’t be Afraid to Eat out Alone
So many people have said they’d be scared to eat out alone for fear people will think they have no friends or something. Who cares?! Everyone needs to eat. Pick a nice restaurant, ask for a table for one and be armed with a book, your kindle, your iPad or anything to save you getting bored and scanning the room restlessly while waiting for your food to arrive. Don’t be afraid to be alone. Sometimes that’s the best company.
Talk to New People
Whether it’s the people on a walking tour, in your hostel, hotel reception or on a day trip, don’t be afraid of talking to new people. People are usually friendly, especially when travelling and if you see other people travelling solo then even better. Say hi, introduce yourself and strike up some conversation. I made friends with two great girls I met on my tour of the Great Ocean Road and met up and hung out with them again before I left Melbourne.
Keep Important Phone Numbers Safe
If something were to happen to you (and there’s every chance it won’t!) then make sure you’ve got those important numbers you might need in an emergency. These are vitally important especially when travelling solo.
Have FUN!
Don’t spend your time worrying about what could go wrong when travelling solo. Instead, embrace your own company and learn to enjoy it. After all, you don’t have to compromise on what you want to do and where you want to go just because someone else doesn’t want to. You don’t have to change your plans for anyone. The only one you have to please is yourself when travelling solo, and that’s a definite luxury!
Emma shares all of her travel adventures, tips and advice on her two websites Emma’s Travel Tales and Emma On Board, as well as writing for a number of other online publications. She has also partnered with many large companies and tourism boards around the world. She’s busy making memories around the world…
I’m Emma, a twenty-something Scottish girl who’s obsessed with travel.
I’ve been to 38 countries so far and had some incredible adventures around the world.
My passion for travel and writing led me to create my person blog Emma’s Travel Tales.