admin Travelling can be uncomfortable for some newbies. For others, who have travelled before, travelling alone can bring about a different kind of discomfort. And whether it is your first time travelling on your own or not, there are some safety and trust issues to consider, and ways to better prepare yourself for all contingencies. However, with these useful travel hacks, which will leave you in awe and ready to wave goodbye to everyone else at the airport and just stretch out into the driver’s seat of the rental car.
Do your research
Researching the area you are travelling to is a crucial step in ensuring that your trip goes smoothly. A little bit of research beforehand can help prevent some serious issues from popping up during your trip. Researching how to get there will help prepare you for any potential delays or complications with transportation, while researching the best way around once you arrive will ensure that getting around the new city is easy and enjoyable. If it’s a popular area, there may be a lot of tourists who don’t know where they are going; this means that thinking through how to stay safe is an important part of planning as well. Finally, finding out where all the good restaurants and hotels are located might seem like a luxury but it’s actually one of those things that makes solo travel easier!
Choose a destination that speaks to you
When choosing a destination, it’s important to find a place that is right for you and your personal preferences. You’re going to have an amazing time if the location is perfect for you! When planning your trip, think about how much time and money are available for traveling, what kind of climate would be best for your trip (warm or cool?), if there will be places where you can stay once in the city/country/state/etc., what kinds of activities do you enjoy doing? This will help narrow down where would be best to go on vacation so that it meets all these criteria at once!
Travel someplace with good public transportation
You’ll want to choose a place with good public transportation. This means that buses and metros are easy to use, reliable, and affordable. This can save you tons of money on taxis, hotels and other expenses while you’re in town.
You can find out if a city has good public transportation by checking online reviews from tourists who have been there before or asking locals about the best ways to get around their city.
If you’re not sure if your destination has good public transportation options available, ask someone who knows about these things (like an expert traveler or travel blogger). They’ll be able to help guide you through this process! Once they confirm that it’s okay for me to go there without needing my own car is when I actually book my flight tickets so I know exactly how much money I’m spending on this trip – which helps ensure that I don’t run out of cash while traveling abroad.”
Use hotels and hostels as bases for your adventures
One of the best ways to meet people while traveling is by staying at hotels and hostels. Hotels and hostels are great places to socialize, as you can meet other travelers who may be on the same journey as you or have similar interests. They’re also good places for meeting locals who can give you insider knowledge about where to visit and what activities to partake in. And if your goal is to make friends with internationals, then staying in a hotel or hostel will help facilitate this!
Put your phone away to meet more people
When you’re traveling alone, you have the opportunity to meet so many more people than if you were with friends. The next time you’re in an airport or train station, try striking up a conversation with someone waiting by your side. You may be surprised at how many interesting people are standing around!
Once on board the plane or train, get over any fears of talking to other travelers and start asking questions about them—where they’re from, where their trip is taking them, what their favorite part of travel is so far. You’ll find that most people love talking about themselves and will be happy for the company. Even if they don’t want to talk much at first (which is often true!), just put yourself out there; everyone loves a good listener too!
Dine alone at restaurants
Traveling alone doesn’t have to be lonely. If you are traveling solo, there are plenty of ways to meet new people. One of the easiest ways is by dining alone at restaurants. There are lots of restaurants that will seat single patrons, and most places will also allow solo diners to request a table for two people instead of one if they want some company at their meal. You can also ask for a table for two people but ask if someone will join you — if no one does, it may be worth asking again later in the evening when more tables open up (some restaurants get really crowded and don’t have room for additional tables).
Make sure you have a basic knowledge of the language
If you want to make the most of your trip, it’s important to have at least a basic knowledge of the language in the country that you will be traveling in.
For example, knowing how to say “hello” and “thank you” can help when asking for directions or ordering food at a restaurant. Knowing how ask for help if needed is also helpful. For example, if someone was looking for something specific and doesn’t know how to ask locals (or fellow travelers) where it is, then knowing some phrases would be useful! Lastly, knowing how order public transportation like taxis or trains in advance can save time as well as money during your travels!
Pack ultra-light
The number one rule for packing for your solo trip is to bring only the essentials. This means no extra shoes, no unnecessary makeup, and absolutely nothing you haven’t worn in the past year. You don’t want to be lugging around a heavy suitcase when you’re traveling alone! If you are going away for a long time (3 weeks or longer), pack an ultra-light suitcase and a backpack. If it’s going to be shorter than 3 weeks, just use an ultra-light suitcase alone—you can always rent a backpack while you’re away if necessary.
If there’s any part of this process that makes me balk, it’s packing my clothes into those tiny little cubes (and then trying not to lose them). But once I do get them all squared away in my luggage cube organizer bag (a genius invention), I feel better knowing they’re safely stowed away until I need them again at home.
Be open to adventure and new experiences
You don’t have to do everything. There will be a lot of opportunities in your travels, but if something doesn’t sound appealing to you or feels unsafe, stay away from it. You don’t want to spend your time on Earth scared or frustrated because you decided to give up on what could have been an amazing experience by taking some stupid risk that wasn’t worth the payoff.
While there are lots of things I wanted to do while traveling solo (like take a helicopter ride around New York City), I also knew that they weren’t right for me at the time. For example, one night I found myself in Hong Kong with only one free day before heading back home and was feeling adventurous! But after scrolling through all the different options available at our hotel’s front desk, none of them seemed all that interesting except for one: shark diving!
Now anyone who knows me knows that sharks aren’t my favorite animals (they freak me out). So when I saw this option, my first thought was “Nope! Not happening! Nope nope nope!” But then another voice inside my head said “Hey maybe this isn’t such a bad idea? It would be fun and might help calm some fears.” And so began an internal debate between two sides—one side being rational and logical; the other side being full of irrational fears and feelings of discomfort—that lasted throughout my entire trip until finally landing on “Eh…I’ll just go with Option A.”
Have some quality alone time
When you’re traveling alone, it can be easy to fall into the trap of planning your trip around other people’s schedules and interests. This can lead to some awkward situations, like sitting alone in a restaurant while everyone at your table is enjoying each others’ company (or being invited to join a group activity that feels more like torture). If you want to ensure that your trip is as stress-free as possible, make sure that you do things on your own schedule and don’t feel obligated to spend all of your time doing things with other people if it doesn’t suit you.
Also remember: traveling solo doesn’t mean doing everything alone! You should still try out new activities and explore new places—just make sure those activities are ones that resonate with who YOU are as an individual! Some examples of things which might be fun for me may not be as enjoyable for someone else.
It’s important to stay safe
Traveling solo is one of the best ways to get to know yourself, but it can also be a scary experience. Being alone in a strange place can lead you to feel vulnerable or unsafe. You’re not sure who you can trust and you might not know where to go if something happens.
Here’s what you can do:
- Pay attention to your surroundings. It’s easier for someone to take advantage of your lack of awareness when they see that you’re distracted by something else or are talking on the phone (which doesn’t make people around you more likely to help).
- Stay healthy. If anything happens, it’ll be even harder for someone else if they don’t recognize how sick or injured you are because they aren’t looking out for clues about how healthy/unhealthy we really may look at any given moment due its ever changing nature (a person suffering from depression may appear just fine one day but show signs of being depressed another day). The same goes with finances; if someone steals your wallet they might think that there’s plenty inside so they won’t check too closely before running off with it; however if there isn’t much money inside then perhaps
