A few of my friends made the exciting decision to travel by themselves this summer and asked me for some tips for the solo traveller. For some of them, it's their first big travel experience so they were obviously a little nervous about boarding the plane into the unknown for over a month.
I've been very fortunate to have already had so many amazing travel adventures, from family holidays to school trips, French exchanges, a
World Challenge expedition and a Gap Year. Most recently, I travelled round Australia, my first travel experience entirely on my own outside of Europe, so I'm fresh off the traveller circuit and have put together some tips for the solo traveller:
1. Research your first stop
For me, the scariest thing about travelling is the moment you first arrive in the country. You'll most likely be tired and groggy after the long-haul flight and will want nothing more to be showered and in a comfy bed but instead you've got to navigate your way to the hostel, usually without using trusty google maps (shock horror).
This is, however, easy peasy if you
book your hostel in advance and check the directions before your go - usually there will be
public transport available instead of a pricey taxi. Some hostels even offer
shuttle bus services so look out for those.
Be prepared though - on my first night in Budapest the hostel had double booked me and my friend and we were left walking through the streets with our backpacks at midnight in an unknown city (eventually we ended up crashing in another hostel common room for the night after they took pity on us)!
2. Make friends!
This sounds obvious but just go for it. Other travellers are probably the easiest people to form friendships with -
everyone's out there for the same reason so you've at least got one thing in common already, plus a lot of other people will be on their own and looking for friends! Before I'd even checked in at my first hostel in Sydney I'd already made friends with a lovely German girl I met on the street!
Don't know where to start? Usually asking the
famous backpacker questions,
Where are you from? Where are you travelling to? How long have you been travelling? Where next? ... You'll have this conversation A
MILLION times!
3. Approach people
I actually found this easier travelling by myself than with a friend, just because you're in a very open position (I normally found people would approach me) and you have to force yourself to talk to people otherwise you'd be by yourself and lonely. Keep your
phone in your pocket, put your book away and go and talk to people.
4. Stay in dorms
Probably the easiest way to make friends is with your
roommates in a hostel. If you've been travelling a while sometimes if you've got the money it can be a dream to treat yourself to a couple of nights in a private room but if you're up for socialising the dorms are where it's at.
5. Get involved
Lots of hostels run events such as
bar crawls and
city tours so going along to those is a surefire way to meet people and explore the place you're visiting.
6. Take a kindle/book
There will inevitably be times when you'll be by yourself and embrace these moments by bringing a good book or kindle with you to read, whether you'll be relaxing by the beach or sitting on a (very) long bus journey.
Kindles are great because you've got an everlasting collection of things to read but don't panic if you haven't got one -
swap books with other travellers or lots of hostels run a
book exchange. There are also places like
The Little Library in Melbourne where you can borrow, swap or donate a book.
7. Cook with others
Cooking for one doesn't always turn out cheaper and I actually often found it cheaper to eat out. Depending where you are in the world, the price of food is obviously going to vary - I don't think I cooked once in South East Asia since the
street food was so cheap!
Pesto pasta is always a winning formula, especially as you'll be able to carry the ingredients with you from hostel to hostel.
Team up with other travellers and you can all chip in to ingredients for a slightly more exciting meal or a BBQ on the beach - ALWAYS a good idea.
8. Be selfish
The beauty of travelling on your own is you can decide exactly what
YOU want to do. Wander around the city and soak up the place, look online and ask around where's good to go and
visit the places that interest you. This is your chance to be incredibly selfish so enjoy it, you're not tied down to anyone.
9. Buy a selfie stick
Ok, so before I bought my selfie stick I've got to admit I used to laugh at people who had them. When I got to Barcelona and was out exploring the city on my own enjoying the view at the MNAC I saw a man selling them and, having just booked my solo trip to Oz, decided to make the purchase. €4 later, I'd switched over to the selfie stick side and I'm a true convert - honestly
even the biggest cynics were begging to get into my group selfies. My secret weapon for making friends!
10. Social Media
An inexhaustible tool for travellers, whether you're
looking for travel buddies (I met two Germans who were driving around together after meeting on Facebook) or trying to find
cool places to go (Instagram, Instagram, Instagram). Also an amazing way to
keep in touch with everyone and share photos, either while you're travelling or in future - I met up with a friend I'd met in Vietnam again in Budapest after seeing her Snapchat story.
Also the best way to keep in contact with friends/family back home. Or
start a blog... like this one!
