Does this cause you anxiety or make you excited? For most people when I say I am travelling alone, they tell me I am brave. For others I meet along the journey it is the absolute opposite. For me, it truly is a privilege to travel and have the motivation and energy to do so.
Top FIVE tips for the solo traveller:
Arrive into the new destination during daylight hours.
This is because arriving late into the night could mean local transport options are not available and some hotels/Airbnbs might have fees to arrive late at night.
Choose the right accommodation.
I spend quite of bit of research time on the right location and type of accommodation as a solo traveller. I usually let my guard down if travelling with others (I’ll write a blog about that in the future). Things to consider are my arrival time, type of accommodation (hostel/home-stay/hotel) and departure time (will they let me leave luggage?). If you are more open minded you could find a share room in an AirBnB, couch surf if money is tight or go to a hostel, the latter two options are perfect for those wanting to meet others.
Choose the right location.
This would have to be the most important thing to spend time on. There is no use going for a cheap option that far away that you might spend $$ on transport. Consider local transport costs and distances from key attractions. I usually check google maps for the location of a few key hotels. I search for neighbourhoods in the old cities (identified by yellow shading in cities) as these usually have key attractions and restaurant options. In addition, there are more local transport options and buses/trains/shuttles to get in and out of the city.
What to do
Decide which season you will visit the city of choice, this is important to then deep dive into what activities are happening at the time. Am I interested in seeing a gallery, eating in a fine-dining restaurant, doing an activity or joining a group tour? I search locally on AirBnB experiences to give me a rough idea of the options available in that city, what’s on in the city and even ask for recommendations from friends. You don’t need to book before you go as a solo traveller as you can usually find a slot somewhere. But I tend to book in a tour for the first day at least to ensure I have something to do on day 1 and my initial research sets me up until I arrive so I have a rough idea on what to do and look out for Day 2 etc.
Choosing where to eat
I am a foodie and I always precheck the local cuisine. I try to eat local, 0km restaurants. I check blogs for upcoming restaurants or just nearby to my accommodation restaurants, Michelin guides depending on budget and cheap eats options. If I have been travelling for some time, sometimes I will search for a specific type of cuisine that I cannot get often in my home base. I ask my accommodation for hints but tend to try to find the non touristy spots so blogs are usually my best best. I do also use google maps for the spots sometimes and go for ratings but consider these with a grain of salt because the people that write the reviews are sometimes expecting more than they are willing to admit. So I look for reviews from locals more than a person visiting a city for a short stay. If Iam going to a rural location or place where the food is expensive like Iceland for example, I remember taking with me some key snacks like nuts and easy lunch options to save money.
Join a Group
Finding a group of travellers that are solo isn’t as hard as you might think. There are applications to meet people like on bumble or tinder that are social reasons rather than to hook up. Options on these apps to meet groups that want to hang out also exist.
Other applications like Meetup or business like minded groups like Internations are for all ages. And if a group or activity does exist you can create your own.
The most common ways I see people meeting others these days are on Tiktok, Instagram and Facebook. Facebook groups are wild. People post on every topic and many groups exist for those wanting to get advise on where to do/stay and what to do.