5 things you need to know if you travel solo.
When I was 19, I decided to uproot my life in Sydney, and venture to the other side of the world with $1000 (a lot of cash at the time, to be fair), a backpack, and my trusty discman.
It was a one way ticket to a place I knew NOTHING about.
I couldn’t speak the language. For the first time in my life I had no one there to bail me out if I got stuck. I never knew that cities in Europe didn’t all have big skyscraper buildings, or that in summer the sun wouldn’t set until well after 10pm in most places. I had never seen a red light district, or shared a room in a hostel with complete strangers. This was my baptism by fire moment, and honestly I didn’t love it.
Until I did.
After I got over my hopeless homesickness and fears, I decided that my best option was to throw myself into every experience I could. Some of these will never be spoken of again (and if my daughter asks, they were all VERY SAFE and I made good choices all the time). What came next was a lifetime of magical experience and knowledge, and a long career in the travel industry, that makes me an expert in solo travel.
So let me give you my top 5 tips to making your solo travels a success:
Know your boundaries - and then nudge them.
Let’s face it, if you are afraid of heights, bungee jumping is not going to be a fulfilling life experience. HOWEVER, the number one key part of getting the maximum out of your solo travel adventure is to be comfortable with stretching your comfort zone. That might look like eating at a restaurant by yourself, or it might be hiking a crazy mountain solo. Wherever your boundary sits, I would implore you to nudge it slightly, and then a bit more if you can. This ‘new zone’ of experiences is where the magic really happens.
Use the experts
Yes, I am tooting my own horn here, however if you are having the butterflies about undertaking this new experience by yourself, it could be really helpful to get a little bit of an idea about how your destination looks and feels from someone like a helpful travel agent. It is also really helpful to be armed with knowledge about your destination - the fewer avoidable speedbumps you encounter, the smoother your trip will feel. Find out what you can about things like currency, cultural custom, food and transport so you can spend your time enjoying them.
Be flexible.
Sure, I just said to find out what you can about your destination so you know about where you are headed, but you will absolutely find that you will feel FAR less stressed if you can adapt some level of flexibility. I always like to recommend that my passengers take an extra $100 to cover any sneaky little costs that pop up on the fly, like having to catch a tuk tuk or having to pay a national park fee you never knew about. Be prepared to change tack - more often than not, these last minute changes in plans can open you up to an experience you would have missed otherwise, and these are the ones you are most likely to hold on to as special.
Choose your destination wisely
I would love to say that you should be able to travel anywhere solo safely. Sadly, that is just not the world we live in. Being adventurous on your own is a wonderful way to be, however you should do your research first. The last few years have seen some really exciting destinations emerge as the top spots for solo travellers - particularly solo women - including Sri Lanka and Portugal.
Take the pics - but cherish the memories
Solo travelling is going to produce a lot of selfies, absolutely. These are going to be so fun to go through with all your (envious) friends when you get back. One of the most special things I treasure about my solo adventures, however, are the little snippets of time where I had a moment that only I would keep. Sure, this was a lot easier in my backpacking days before we had cameras in our phones (yikes!). It is these moments - the sunset over Edinburgh Castle that lit it up pink, and the delicious mango I ate on the deserted beach in Port Douglas - that I treasure the most. They are mine, and mine alone. I ventured far and wide to get them, and they are some of the most special snippets that make up the whole of my travel life.
