Step-by-Step Guide on How to Take Your First Solo Trip!

Does the sheer thought of travelling alone unsettle your nerves? Do you ask yourself questions like, Why should I travel solo when I can travel with others? Will I feel lonely? Will I regret my decision? Will I be in danger? Will I come back alive??!?

I went through the same hesitations all the time. Is solo travelling for everyone? I’m not sure I can answer that, but I can tell you for sure, everyone should try solo-travel at least once in their life. I took my first solo trip back in 2012 and it gave me a whole new perspective towards travelling, and living my life afterwards.

But before you read on, here’s a disclaimer so we’re on the same page: I’ve not taken as many solo trips as it may appear to be, so I’m only sharing what I know and learned from my perspective.

Here’s a practical guide to help you take that first step out towards your first solo trip!

Guide: How to Take Your First Solo Travel Trip

Step 1: Decide the Destination

No one says you have to go somewhere you’ve never been. There’s no rule that you must fly to a place far enough to commemorate that first adventure. No one dictated that you need to make the first solo trip a one-week or one-month length.

It isn’t a competition, you don’t have to get over-adventurous if you don’t wish to. I personally feel that baby steps are good enough! A few days as a short trip is really very commendable.

Here’s a helpful tip: Choose a city you think you’ll feel safe at, or a city where you have distant relatives or friends (or even friend’s friend) living there, or even a city you’ve visited before!

2. Book that Air-Ticket

Tip: To make it easier, have someone accompany you in spirit while you do the deed.

I had my friend stay on the line with me for moral support, till I clicked the “Book” button for my flight and accommodation. Of course, you have to find the right person who will encourage instead of dissuade you from doing it.

When the transaction went through on Expedia, I knew there’s no turning back.

| Check my Travel Resources recommendations to save costs and time for booking trips! |

3. Acknowledge the Anxiety, then Overcome it

After booking the trip, you might get overwhelmed with thoughts arising from anxiety, or perhaps even question your decision again and again. I too have lost sleep after making a scary travel decision, wondering what I’ve done, and also suffered insomnia the day before flying.

Stop.

Stop for a minute and ask yourself, “What’s the worst that can happen?”

Halt any morbid thoughts of murder, terrorism, robbery, or rape. The media often paints a frightening picture of a dangerous world out there. Indeed, it could well be a dangerous world out there and crooks can be everywhere (including your home city). But as long as you didn’t pick a place without implementing basic awareness of conflicts and crime rates, if you’d exercised due common sense in selecting a destination, you’ll probably turn out fine. This world is really HUGE. And there will always be more ‘good’ people than ‘bad’.

4. Research As Much As You Can About Your Destination

These are the steps I always take in general:

1. Use TripAdvisor to get a general overview of a place, get key outlines to look out for.
2. Search Pinterest for travel blogposts that write about the destination.
3. Google thoroughly for deeper research on the key outlines. Use information from credible travel resources.
4. Check travel blogs with relevant experiences and travel tips.

5. Pack with Strategy & Intelligence

Packing the essentials will bring you peace of mind. For your first solo trip, it’ll be perfectly ok even if you overpack, be it clothes or shoes or medicine or even your favorite pillows that will bring you comfort.

However, do manage your expectations of places accordingly. For example, I’ve had to lug my luggage up an overhead bridge after taking the wrong subway exit to my AirBNB in Tokyo; countless times of metro staircases and narrow apartment staircases in Europe, etc.

It helps to remember that not every train station and apartment in this world have lifts.

And sometimes they break down. Take note accordingly for your destination of choice.

| Check accommodation rates (and if they have lifts) on Booking.com! |

6. Research Mobile Data Options (if you really can’t live without Internet)

In Singapore, we get access to high-speed Internet wherever we go. It is actually very impossible for me to imagine going through days without being online. If you really need 3G wherever you go, the general guideline is, research 3G availability options ahead for the cities you’ll be at.

There are some cities where you can buy prepaid data cards (eg. Bangkok, Johor Bahru, Hanoi, Milan, Seoul, Yangon); cities where you can rent a portable router (eg. Kyoto); cities where street WIFI is easily available (eg. Singapore, Seoul). There are also places where I couldn’t find prepaid data cards sold anywhere (eg. Athens airport, Santorini). Many cafes and accommodation providers also provide free WIFI in their premises.

Singapore’s airport has a service for Singaporeans called Changi Recommends, where you can rent routers if they’re available for the cities you’re visiting. I always rent from them for my Japan and Taiwan trips at least.

If there’s no 3G guaranteed, I wrote a few useful tips to travel effectively without 3G.

7. Tell Someone Your Full Travel Plans

Don’t just scoot off and take off. Let a trusted someone (or a few people) at home know about your trip’s outline, destinations you’ll be at on which days, and especially flight information. Pass that person a copy of your passport too.

This is more for reasons that someone at home will still keep a lookout for you now and then.

8. Mentally (& Financially) Prepare Backup Plans

Some people try Couchsurfing or Workaway and discovered their hosts are not anything they had expected. Or sometimes, things go out of plans and you need to leave a place quickly for your own safety. Ensure you have the means to make alternative plans, i.e, if you need to book an air-ticket or a different hotel at the last minute, you should be able to afford it.

— Travelling Alone for the First Time —
Adventure Begins

9. Embrace the Liberation!

Say hello to travelling on your own terms: waking up at your own timings and only doing activities that you wish to!

10. It Helps to Keep Some Rituals from Home

If you always have a morning coffee back at home to perk you up, feel free to keep to the habit on your solo trip.

As for me, I don’t always do morning yoga back in my home country, but if I’m overseas on my own, I try to unroll my travel yoga mat and do some yoga flows or sun salutations. It helps to keep me grounded in the new town.

11. Be Ready for New Dining Experiences from Travelling Solo

I feel you. Dining solo, even in a city where no one knows me, is not something I will be excited to do. Here’s a few tips you can try to make meal-times on your solo trips more comfortable:

a) Bring A Book / Kindle. Ever since I was a kid, I read books at meal-times. Now, I have my Kindle ready when I’m travelling solo and having meals at food joints. If not, my Libby app will also have e-books.

b) Eat Mindfully. Yes, we don’t have to be occupied all the time. During my first solo trip, I had no WIFI nor was I that dependent on my handphone. It was perfectly fine for me to simply focus on that bowl of ramen right in front of me on the table. There’re lots of benefits to mindful eating, by the way.

c) Pack and Eat Somewhere Else

Have a mini picnic on your own in front of the beautiful river you passed by earlier, or at the park, or perhaps your hotel room if you prefer.

| Are you an Introvert? I have some tips on enjoying your solo trips better as one! |

12. Take Photos, Keep A Travel Journal

There was a time when most people around me didn’t like to take photos. With the development of social media habits, now, everyone takes photos everywhere, of anything.

Regardless of your intention, take photos for visual documentation of where you visited and things you did. For memory’s sake.

Also, when you’re exploring new places overseas on your own, it’s normal to feel the sensations deeper than say you’re travelling with a bunch of friends. I think a lot, feel a lot, and write them down in a journal at the end of the day if I’m not too tired.

These days, I find it easier to keep my travel journal down using Day One app, which you can link to on my Travel Resources 😉

13. Handle Sleeping In A Foreign City Like A Boss

Sometimes, I find it extremely challenging to fall asleep in foreign places. What I do is to switch on my Headspace app (briefly reviewed on the design aspects!) for a 10 or 15 minutes sound-clip of guided meditation. My mind calms down so I drift off to sleep. The pleasant audio clip also makes the night’s silence a little less intimidating.

Because I also don’t like to sleep with the hotel room in complete darkness, I always bring a pair of sleeping eyeshades with me to block out the light as I sleep.

14. Don’t be afraid to indulge & relax.

If you don’t feel like going for things like spa or massages, you can always indulge in DIY relaxing sessions in your hotel room. Bring your favourite facial and eye masks or bath bombs.

I love this lavendar heated eye mask from Kao – it feels especially relaxing when I’m in an air-conditioned room.

15. Stay Mindful of Surroundings

Practice common travel sense and be mindful of your surroundings. Watch out for pickpockets, thieves, any forms of tricksters and stalkers. Always be aware of where your valuables are kept and have your eyes or hands on them especially during unfamiliar scenarios, or when someone tries to distract you.

16. Keep in Contact with People Back Home

Feel free to take a full social media break if you want, but you should still stay in touch with some people back at home, and let them know now and then that you’re safe.

17. If You Feel Lonely, Know that You’re Never Truly Alone

I don’t mean this in a creepy way #StalkerAlert. Seriously, you’ll be surprised to realise that there’re lots of solo travellers out there, even in the most unlikely places such as Santorini, and in winter! Even if you might be alone at times, learn to enjoy your own company! It will teach you a lot about yourself.

18. Keep An Open Mind & Have Fun!

Stay open to new experiences — not everyone is out to cheat you (although you might meet into more than one who tries). Get to know different cultures and the people you’ll come across during your trip, the exotic food you’ll be having and embrace all the new sensations. Travel may be exhausting but it is also invigorating, and I promise you that your first solo trip will be a memorable adventure!

Hope this entry encourages you to take the first step out! Feel free to share in the Comments below if you have more tips for other newbie solo travellers!