Having the courage to travel alone for the first time takes some MAJOR effort.
I know you’ve seen the captivating photos on Instagram of your favorite solo traveler roaming through beautiful cities thousands of miles away, and I know you’re pretty sick of drooling over them (okay, maybe that was just me!
But why HAVEN’T you booked your flight?
Here’s what I think: to have the courage to travel alone for the first time, you need to get a bit hands-on. You need to take actionable steps to get closer to taking your first solo trip.
Listen, I get it. I know that your first choice is not to travel solo.
I’m sure you prefer to travel with your partner, BFF, sibling, or maybe even your parents.
But let me tell you this: when you get through this post, plan your trip, and finally travel alone for the first time, you’ll see how exhilarating and empowering it is to travel solo.
You’ll gain confidence and see a side of yourself that could have never emerged if you didn’t dare to face your fears and travel alone for the first time.
Trust me, you’re making the right decision.
I want your first solo trip to be awesome from start to finish. I want you to walk through the city of your dreams, frolicking in your favorite sundress and enjoying every second.
I don’t want your trip planning to be an anxiety-filled experience, second-guessing every decision you make.
1. Ease Into Solo Traveling
I know you’re excited to solo travel for the first time and jump right in, but for your first solo trip, get your feet wet with solo traveling! Don’t jump in head first!
Here are a Few Things To Keep in Mind:
- Make The Trip a Week or Less: Even if you plan on one day traveling for an extended period of time, for example, a 30-day trip to Southeast Asia. for your first solo trip, get a taste of what it’s like to travel solo.
- Visit Super a Safe Country: Use Travel.state.gov to read about the destination you’re interested in visiting to make sure you feel comfortable navigating the country alone.
- Visit a Country Where You are Familiar With The Language: Go to a country where you already know the language or have studied it in school.
- Visit a Country You Can Afford: Make sure you can afford to travel in the country you’re visiting without sacrificing comfort and safety. Avoid expensive countries like Switzerland and Denmark unless you can afford them!
- Get Social: Just because you’re solo traveling doesn’t mean you must be alone 24/7. Take free walking tours, book budget-friendly tours, meet other travelers on meetup.com, take a class, etc. There are so many things you can do to get around other people.
2. Plan Your First Solo Trip 3-Months In Advance
Since you’re a newbie solo traveler, plan your trip three months before you expect to travel (at least eight weeks). You will have time to prepare both logistically and mentally to build up your courage.
All the trip-planning activities are entirely new to you, and you might make some mistakes along the way. So you should give yourself time.
On top of that, you must deal with your fears about traveling solo. Give yourself enough time to do all the tasks involved in planning your trip and the courage-building activities I mentioned below.
Honestly, you have work to do: find the best travel insurance, find the accommodation you’ll love, find a flight you can afford, find activities, etc.
3. Stay Somewhere Safe and Secure
Don’t cheap out on your accommodation.
You can cheap out on everything else, like your meals, your flight, and even supplies, but whatever you do, don’t play around when it comes to where you’re staying.
Remember, you are the most vulnerable in your accommodation because it’s where you let your guard down! Where To Find Safe and Affordable Accommodations
Hostels
A hostel is a budget-friendly accommodation typically geared towards young travelers on a tight budget. It cuts the cost of lodging because you’ll split the cost of the facility with other guests.
Consider staying at a hostel for your first solo trip. Hostels are not dangerous as they appear in the movies. If you stay at a hostel, you’ll be surrounded by other solo travelers that want to mingle with other travelers.
Socializing is the MAIN reason solo travelers stay at hostels!
I’ve used Hostelworld.com for years now to book hostels. You’re bound to find a good fit in one of Hostelworld.com’s 35,000 hostels in 170 countries.
Airbnb
I love staying at Airbnbs because they are cheaper than hotels, and I get more value for my money. I usually rent an entire apartment (not as expensive as it sounds, trust me!), but if I’m on a tight budget, I will rent a private room.
What you’ll love about Airbnb is that you get to LIVE with a LOCAL. You’ll get to experience the culture firsthand! I love asking my host for tips and suggestions on things to do that I can’t find online, like local places to stuff my face.
Plus, it’s always nice to have someone to come back to chat with after a long day of exploring!
Hotels
Staying at a hotel for your first solo trip might be an excellent fit if you value your personal space and want that #vacy feeling.
Hotelscombined.com is A-MA-ZING because it combines the best-of-the-best hotel booking sites in one place. It searches big-name sites like Booking.com, Hotels.com, Agoda.com, etc. If you find a lower rate on a different website, Hotelscombined will match your price!
Plus, there are no booking fees! Whatever accommodation you choose, make sure you have picked somewhere to stay that’s safe.
Also, it’s important to thoroughly read the reviews before booking.
4. Buy Comprehensive Travel Insurance
You guys should already know how passionate (and a bit crazy) I am about purchasing travel insurance. You NEED to buy travel insurance for your solo trip.
I won’t go on a rant, but I want you to understand that travel insurance is merely a comfy (and incredibly affordable) cushion to fall back on if something happens while traveling.
When I say “something happening,” I don’t mean something life-threatening. It could be as simple as stumping your toe and needing a few stitches or getting food poisoning and needing medication.
Why pay out of pocket when you can pay the small cost of travel insurance, then have medical coverage and other coverage like baggage and trip cancellation/delay.
I’ve used World Nomad Travel Insurance from the beginning of my travel journey, and I don’t plan on changing companies. It’s a quick and simple sign-up process and an affordable option.
Here’s a list of what their policy includes:
Ultimately, since you will travel alone for the first time, purchasing affordable, comprehensive travel insurance will make you feel at ease!
I mean, you’re covered on all fronts!
5. Know The Nitty-Gritty Details Of Your Trip
After everything is booked (flight, accommodation, travel insurance, etc.), you can now write down the nitty-gritty bits of information you’ll need while traveling, so you can quickly reference it if you need to.
Maybe it’s because I’m a Virgo, but when I have an organized list of important information (hard copy + digital), I have complete control of the situation and feel more confident.
Information About Your Trip You Should Save:
- Make a note of emergency numbers for the country you’re visiting: 911 is not universal!
- Save a digital copy of your travel insurance policy: on your cell phone or computer (whatever electronic you are traveling with) and also print a hard copy.
- Know where you’re going: Use Google Maps or Rome2Rio to look up directions to your accommodation. You won’t have to worry about how to get to your accommodation when you land in the new country and are jet-lagged!
- Save a copy of your accommodation info: address and phone number in case you get lost. If it’s in a different language, print it out in that language.
- Know your flight information: Arriving/departing airport, arrival/departure time, etc.
- Know your luggage allowance: Carry-on, checked bag, and personal bag
Please remember, cell phones go DEAD! Have a hard copy of all this information handy.
I usually write this information in a notebook and save it on my cell phone, but it’s best to have a hard copy in case your phone goes dead.
6. Get To Know The Cultural Norms
To feel confident about navigating in a new country alone, you need to know what you’ll expect from the culture (cultural norms) to be prepared and not freak out when you get there.
The #1 thing you need to do before arriving is to research the social norms.
I suggest you learn how to behave in certain social situations because you don’t want to do something disrespectful unknowingly! You don’t have to spend a dime learning about cultural norms.
Just use our good old friend GOOGLE.
The list below might seem silly, and you might think certain cultural etiquettes are universal, but they are NOT! For example, in Japan, it’s NOT rude to slurp your ramen loudly — it shows the cook that you are enjoying your meal.
Cultural Norms To Learn:
- Dining Etiquette: You need to know the social rules on how to behave while eating. One minor slip-up can cause people to see you as rude.
- Visiting Someone’s Home: If you get lucky while traveling abroad and are invited into someone’s home, knowing the Dos and don’ts is essential.
- Verbal communication: In the U.S., it’s normal to call someone by their first name, but in many countries like Japan, it’s considered rude and too forward.
- Non-verbal Communication: Gestures common in western cultures might get you cursed out in others!
- Major Religions and Beliefs: Be aware of the predominant belief system.
- Clothes: How we dress in the U.S. only works for some cultures worldwide. For example, in Sri Lanka, I had to cover it alllllllll up!
These are only a few areas that you need to research on your destination. Google your heart out!
I want to make an important point: cultural norms are not obvious. You won’t be able to pick it up when you get into the country.
You have to learn it BEFORE you arrive.
If you want to get real hands-on experience and learn about the culture from a local, you can take a few hours of language lessons on Italki, where you speak to a native speaker.
If you haven’t heard of Italki, it’s a community of over 5000 native teachers where you can book video sessions with native speakers.
Yes, the goal is to learn new language skills, but you’ll have DIRECT access to a local. They can teach you everything you need to know about cultural norms!
7. Be a Tourist In Your City
Now that you’ve planned your trip, you have an exciting itinerary to look forward to. You now need to get comfy doing the tourist thing.
Once or twice a week, be a tourist in your city.
Do touristy activities like free walking tours, eating at popular restaurants, museums, concerts, and the whole shebang! Feel how it feels to be in a crowd of other travelers, and notice the thoughts and emotions that come up when you are alone.
I used to feel like a complete loser when I would do things alone in Brooklyn. Like when I would go to the movies, eat at a restaurant or sit in the Park and have a picnic alone.
Boy, are those days gone! I learned how freeing it is to have a balanced life where I make time to do things with the people I love but also make time to do things alone and connect with myself.
If you don’t have that balance, you’ll need to create it before you solo travel.
Get it by doing things alone in your city. And make it FUN!
My mind was occupied with parasitic insecure thoughts holding me back from solo traveling. I did those things alone and learned how to be comfortable doing things alone and inevitably traveling solo.
Not only will you start feeling more comfortable solo traveling, but you will also get to know your city more, which is fantastic!
Do each of these ten steps, and I promise you that you will gain the courage to travel.
We all had to take our FIRST solo trip! It’s now YOUR turn!
