Things You Should Know About Travelling Solo

I found myself on my first solo trip in Vancouver in 2014, when my friend unexpectedly went home early on in the trip. Since then I’ve been on multiple solo trips and moved overseas on my own.

When you travel solo you learn as much about yourself as the places you visit and you grow as a person. I believe that everyone should experience travelling alone at least once in their lifetime.

But when you travel alone it isn’t all sunshine and good times, there will be things that will challenge you.

These are the things that generally nobody tells you about solo travel. So I’m sharing all the things you should know about travelling solo here on the blog so that you can make the most of your adventures.

You Need To Master Directions & Maps

You are 100% in charge of all your travel logistics when you travel. Firstly at every destination, you will need to figure out how to get from the airport/train station/bus station to your accommodation.

Then throughout your trip, you will need to figure out how to get to all the tourist sights you want to see (and back to your accommodation every time).

You will inevitably take a wrong turn or get completely lost at least once during solo travels so you will also need to learn to be OK with moments of wondering where on earth you are and getting back on track.

GoogleMaps is your friend when you travel, and knowing how to use it, especially when you are offline is an essential skill to learn.

Don’t Let Your Fear Stop You

There will be times when you travel especially on your first trip when you will feel scared or be wondering what you are doing all alone abroad. It’s ok to sit with that feeling temporarily but you need to push past your fears to enjoy all the amazing experiences that travelling has to offer you.

I’ve done some things on trips that scared me. Some were awful and I’d never do them again, but others were incredible. Even though some of them were just frankly terrifying for me, I am so glad that I did those things.

Travelling requires you to step out of your comfort zone now and again. Feel the fear but do it anyway. You will feel so proud of yourself afterwards.

Get Comfortable With Making Small Talk

When you travel solo, you will participate in small talk everywhere you go…a lot of small talk. So it’s something that you will have to get used to pretty quickly as it will probably start as soon as your trip begins.

Airports, trains, buses, hostels, hotels and bnb’s, tourist attractions, tours and even just walking along the street you will be engaged in small talk everywhere, especially in friendlier places.

The small talk can get a bit tiring and annoying quickly, but it never ends when you travel on your own. Whether you are introducing yourself for a tour, or just at a museum, people seem to love talking to solo travellers.

To avoid the typical travel questions like where are you from and how long are you here for or travelling for, have some interesting topics in your back pockets. And at attractions or during walking tours steer the conversation to exhibits or things you’re learning. You will have a lot of better conversations and you can avoid the sheer monotony of small talk that way.

Bonding With Other Travellers

When you travel, you have an unseen bond with all other travellers simply because travellers understand travellers.

I’ve found that this is especially true for solo travellers because travelling alone is definitely not for everyone. It’s weird but for me bumping into a fellow solo traveller is like meeting a kindred spirit. You find your people in fellow travellers.

So embrace being understood by a stranger and connecting about something you both love. You may make some life-long friends.

Eating Alone Doesn’t Need To Be Scary

One of the things I’ve been asked over the years as a solo traveller is how can I eat alone like it’s the scariest thing ever. When my friend left me alone in Vancouver, it was one of the things that made me feel a bit unnerved…can I eat alone or have a drink on my own?

The thing is that eating is seen as such a social event, and when you walk into a cafe, pub or restaurant you will see tons of groups of people. But if you look again, especially at the bar area you will likely see at least one person on their own just like you.

There is nothing strange or scary about eating alone, and people do it all the time. It can be a bit uncomfortable and awkward at first but you will get used to it once you’ve done it a few times. Trying local cuisine, and dining alone has gone from something I hated to one of my favourite things about travelling alone.

But if you still feel utterly terrified or anxious about eating alone, these are my top tips that I use myself every time:

• Eat at off-peak hours when restaurants are quieter
• Ask to sit at the bar so your back is to other diners. If you feel up to it you can also be social this way by chatting to bartenders and other people alone at the bar.
• Choose cafes, pubs and restaurants that have free wifi so you can go on social media, text people back home or review your travel plans
• Bring a book to read while you're waiting for your food

These tips will help you to get over your fear of eating out as a solo traveller — and you never know it may become something you love!

You Will Probably Cry

It’s fairly inevitable that you will cry at some point during your solo travels, especially if you travel for a long period of time. I’ve cried at some point of time during every solo trip I’ve ever taken.

Whether you are taking your first solo trip, or you’re an experienced solo traveller it is just something that happens. It’s totally normal and it makes sense.

You are alone in new environments, with new cultures and people, sometimes in countries where you don’t speak the language, trying to navigate your way around, budget your money and cram in everything you want to do. And not everyone you meet will be friendly or helpful.

So alongside all the fun amazing experiences, you will have, you will also find yourself stressed and exhausted at times. And it’s amplified when you are on longer trips. You’re bound to have a good cry session or two. Own it. Let yourself cry when you need to. You’ll feel so much better afterwards. And with the crying out of the way you then have a clear head to deal with whatever made you cry.

Hostels & Hotels Won’t Make You Social

I consider myself to be an ambivert as I have both introverted and extroverted tendencies which generally serves me well when I travel.

Social settings and small talk generally don’t make me uncomfortable, but I tire of being around people too much and a crammed day of travelling around lots of people can leave me feeling drained.

I’m sharing this because if you are an extrovert, hostels and hotels will probably be social environments for you, where you come back with stories of new friends. But when you are introverted or an ambivert it isn’t as easy.

The fact is that hostels and hotels will not magically make you friends or give you amazing experiences. You won’t make any friends at all unless you put yourself out there. I’ve had trips where I’ve made tons of friends who I still speak to years later, but on other trips, I didn’t make a single friend.

You will have to put yourself out there and make a real effort to be social if you want to meet new people. If you don’t engage in hostel or hotel events, get to know your dorm mates or hang out in the social areas of your accommodation you won’t meet anyone.

It isn’t easy. It is uncomfortable and awkward sometimes, but it is worth pushing yourself out of your comfort zone from time to time. If it’s super hard for you, just try at least once or twice to be social during your travels.

Taking Photographs Is A Conundrum

When you travel with another person, you always have someone to snap a perfect picture of you wherever you are. But when you travel you constantly have to figure out ways around it.

Selfies are an obvious workaround, but when you want a proper photograph of yourself you have to either ask a stranger, use a tripod or just live without getting the picture.

I don’t particularly like having my picture taken and taking selfies gets old pretty quickly so on some of my trips I have very few photographs of me. It would be nice to have more to savour the memories and to share here on the blog but it’s a sacrifice I’m fine with making.

But if you love having tons of photographs then it is super easy to ask someone to take your photograph, and they are generally always willing to help you out especially fellow travellers. It does get easier to ask the more you do it. You may feel a bit weird at first, but if the picture is important enough to you, you will ask. And you will also get asked loads of times to take pictures of people for them.

Using a tripod, or coming up with creative ways to get pictures (mirrors, puddles etc) are other ways of getting more pictures of yourself. I sometimes take pictures of myself holding something like a drink or an ice cream as another way to get pictures.

Staying Safe When You’re Alone

Travelling solo means you are completely responsible for your own safety. There is no way to absolutely guarantee that nothing bad will happen to you, but there are things you can do generally to stay as safe as possible.

Here are some quick tips:

• Be street smart, keep your possessions close to you at all times and make the most valuable items hardest to access
• Try to blend in with the locals. Keep things like google maps or physical maps to a minimum and walk with confidence. Fake it till you make it my friend
• Be mindful of being out late at night alone — if you want to enjoy nights out pick places close to your accommodation or even better group tourist activities
• Have a drink or two — but don’t drink to get drunk
• If you can avoid it, don’t take your passport with you when you explore — keep it locked away in-room safe or at least in your room along with any other essential travel documents

You Will Get Bored

Travelling alone — especially if you travel for a long period of time, you will get bored at least once or twice.

Not every city you visit will be awe-inspiring, not every place you go will be filled with things that you want to do so you will experience moments of boredom,

The evenings, in particular, can be harder for solo travellers. The after-dinner evenings can seem to drag on and never end, exploring local nightlife on your own won’t always be appealing — or safe to do.

I have spent countless nights in a hotel room watching Netflix after a full day exploring, wondering if 8.30 pm is too early for bed. But the boredom never lasts long.

Not every minute of every day and night will be filled with activities, so having spare time is just something that comes with travelling. The time can drag on a little when you don’t have a travel companion.

These are some of my favourite ways to combat boredom when travelling solo:

• Go on an evening walking tour, bus tour or boat cruise
• Visit a museum with late opening hours.
• Get tickets to a local play, concert or ballet
• Find a bar close to your accommodation playing live music
• Hang out in the common area of your hostel or hotel

You Might Get Lonely Or Homesick

Just like crying, it is pretty inevitable that you will feel lonely or homesick during your solo travels. You will miss having someone to share your adventures with, and if you are a homebody you may long for your bed, your loved ones or how much easier everything is at home.

Firstly, that’s completely normal and we all experience it when we travel solo. After 8 years of solo travel, I still have moments where I feel lonely or homesick. But although there are things about a typical life that I long for, I also just really love travelling.

These feelings of loneliness and homesickness do not last. Here are some tips to help you in these moments:

• Treat yourself to a nice hotel or Airbnb with a luxuriously comfy bed
• Plan and go on an adventure you’d never get to do at home
• Watch your favourite movie or tv show on Netflix (VPN is your friend)
• Schedule a call with someone back home
• Do some self-care; take a luxurious bath, treat yourself to a facial, paint your nails, eat something indulgent.

Your Relationships Will Change

This is something no one talks about enough, and it's one of the harder aspects of solo travel. When you travel whether it's for a short time or a longer period, you just assume that everything at home will stay the same. But everyone back home is still living their lives generally doing the same things they always do while you are off being adventurous.

You won’t be the same person you were when you return home especially if you go travelling for a long period of time. After exploring new places, learning new things, and experiencing different cultures you will come home with new perspectives on life. You will probably look at everyone and everything in your life differently, for me it motivated and encouraged my move overseas.

It means that friendships you built before you travelled might be different when you come back. Technology can help to maintain relationships while you are away but it’s easy to get wrapped up in your adventures, and time zones will make communication harder. If you get caught up in the joys and excitement of your solo travels, you will probably forget to check in with people at home.

Overall solo travel is incredible, and a pretty priceless experience, but people have a tendency to gloss over the less exciting or fun aspects of travelling solo. So, I hope that my rundown of the things you should know about solo travel is helpful.

It’s important that you know everything that comes with travelling on your own before you go on your first solo trip. You now have the inside scoop of things to expect — and can plan how to break the ice with strangers, avoid small talk, get the perfect photographs and just enjoy your trip with more confidence.

Travel bloggers on Instagram with stunning photographs can make solo travel look effortless and oh so glamorous but the reality is that it’s rarely glamorous (unless you’re wealthy or landing free stays in fancy hotels) but it is a truly enriching experience and well worth it.