Traveling solo can be a unique experience that offers something a little different to a traditional vacation with your friends or family. For those newer to traveling, diving into less familiar cultures, and experiencing new sights and sounds that places have to offer for the very first time could be incredibly rewarding and fulfilling. These tips for solo travelers are perfect for you!
Traveling solo is a great way for you to see the world. You will be able to create and follow your own schedule. You will be able to pick the destination that you want to go to, without worrying about pleasing others. Read on to read a few helpful tips to prepare you for travelling around the world alone.
Tips For Solo Travelers
Research Your Destination Ahead Of Time
Research is important for any kind of vacation, but particularly so when you are traveling on your own. When you have decided where you are heading, it’s worth going through sites like TripAdvisor and digging through the reviews of any potential accommodation spots, bars or restaurants and sights you are thinking about going to.
Those reviews will give you an insight into the personal experiences of other visitors who will often point out the places to go or avoid. Read plenty of reviews before booking anywhere to ensure that it is the best fit for you.
Using Google Maps, you can add pins to mark out locations such as restaurants or bars you want to check out. You’re not expected to know all the ins and outs of your trip as a tourist, but you could also read up on how the local public transport systems work, as it might not operate exactly the same as the one you used to.
Look After Your Valuables
Similar to when you travel in a group, you will need to ensure that you are keeping your valuables safe. This is the case no matter where you go. As a single traveler, you will be solely responsible for your valuables. You need to manage your finances and you need to ensure you are keeping your valuables safe.
If there is a safe in your hotel, it might be a good idea to make use of it, so you aren’t carrying around more cash or valuables than necessary. Avoid keeping things in your back pockets or in loose, open bags, and store cash in a wallet under your clothes to prevent getting pickpocketed.
It could be best to cover yourself before you go, which can be done with travel insurance. You should do your own research and make sure that the travel insurance you do take out covers you for what you need. You can search online to find relevant policies. The holiday cover by Staysure is a great example to see what is included.
Stay At A Few Different Locations
When travelling as a group, it can be difficult to arrange visiting one location, let alone several. Luckily, this isn’t something you’ll have to worry about when traveling alone. In fact, you can enhance your traveling experience by going to a few different locations.
For example, if you are traveling around Europe, you can visit multiple countries over a period of time so that you can see more. It doesn’t take long to travel from Berlin to Prague, if that was something that intrigued you. You will be able to see more of Europe, either city to city, or country to country.
Even if you are traveling around the US, you can visit different states so that you see more unique sights. If you were to travel with a large group, it’s likely that you wouldn’t be able to all agree on which state you wanted to visit. This way, you can travel however you like.