Where do you want to go? Not your friends, spouse, or kids, but you; where do you want to go? This is the beauty of traveling solo.
Some people will tell you it’s never a good idea to travel anywhere by yourself. In most cases, this is good advice, but when you travel with others, you’ve got to do and go places they want to just as much as what you want to do and where you want to go. If you feel confident enough to travel on your own, you could have the time of your life and the adventures you’ve always dreamed of.
Here are some great tips for traveling solo.
Learn about the places you want to go
The first part of traveling by yourself is figuring out where you want to go. This should be pretty easy, so we’ll move on to the next part. It’s important to learn about the places you want to go, and the best resources can be the people who have been there. Use your social networks to find people in the area or who have been to where you want to go. These are great resources for you.
Become more actively social
You might have thousands of friends and connections on social media, but that doesn’t make you a social person. It’s important to become more active socially before you begin traveling solo. If you want to have the best experiences possible, you need to know how to sit down and start a conversation with a stranger. This can be a challenge for introverts who love their own company, but talking to people where you travel is a great way to make the experience even better.
Gather information at your destination
Because you’re traveling alone, you are likely to meet more travelers and locals than those people who travel in groups. Ask others about their experiences, especially if you meet people who have been there for a few days. This can help you enjoy some great places to eat or some fun things to do that you might not have thought of ahead of your adventure. The people you meet can help make your trip that much better if you let them.
Don’t stick to a rigid travel plan
You can try to plan out every hour of every day and even put some contingencies in for foul weather, but that doesn’t allow you a chance to be spontaneous, flexible, or change things up. Give yourself some time to explore and do something unplanned because opportunities for something extra should arise. This is a great part of traveling solo; you can do fun, unplanned things without checking with anyone else because you’re the only one on your trip.
Give yourself some down time
Most people take vacations to have some time away from the hustle and grind of work and their daily lives. Part of your journey needs to be time to relax. You can easily overdo it if you try and have an activity during every part of your day. Allow yourself time to read a book, sit at a café, relax, and just wander around. This could be when the best part of your vacation takes place. Make sure you have time to chill.
Use various forms of transportation
If you only ride the bus around town, you’ll never gain the perspective of riding on a train, in the subway, or in a taxi. Some cities are well known for their various forms of public transportation, which you should experience. When traveling solo, you can enjoy more than just the destination; you can also the journey to wherever you want to go. You might also want to walk to some locations and enjoy the scenery as you go. Maybe a bicycle will be a great way to get where you need to go.
Ditch the fast food
Just because there’s a McDonald’s in nearly every country doesn’t mean you should eat there when traveling abroad. This is your time to explore new foods and try things you wouldn’t normally think to try and eat. Eat local cuisine and try something different. Part of traveling solo is doing what you want, and part of that can be learning about the local culture through the food that is served and enjoyed by locals in the area.
Use these tips to enjoy traveling solo to wherever you want to go. Your adventures are yours to enjoy, and you get to make the rules and plan where you go. Where will you take yourself first?
