While most people enjoy traveling, everyone has their own preferences when it comes to the very nature of the trip. For instance, some people prefer flying to their target destination, while others are terrified just by the thought. Some prefer luxury travel, while there are those who are excited about backpacking. And, some people like traveling in groups, others like traveling with their significant other, and then there is the third group – the solo travelers. Traveling on your own brings many uncertainties, but it also helps you experience your destination in a completely unique way.
Here are a few tips that can ease you into solo travel.
Think About Your Safety
The first problem most people see in solo travel is the lack of safety that moving in large groups provides. Still, when you come to think about it, safety in numbers is often just an illusion. Traveling with a family in no way makes you safe from getting mugged; if anything it just gives you a few more people to worry about. Luckily, there are more than few ways in which you can improve your safety while traveling. First of all, you need to start trusting your gut. When your intuition tells you something is wrong, it is probably for the best to avoid it. Next, you need to try and blend in so that you appear as less of a target. In order to avoid being pickpocketed, you can try wearing pants that have a zipper on their pockets. Luxury hotels usually have a safe in every room, and you can leave some of your most precious belongings, as well as the majority of your cash there when you are out.
Start Small
Some people live by the motto – go big or go home. However, this usually isn’t the best way to go. It might be a good idea if you were to pick a location a bit closer to home for your first solo travel. This way you can test the waters and see if this actually fits you. The safest course of action is to try visiting a distant city within your own country or a neighboring state.
Stay in Touch
Sometimes, you won’t have any problem with traveling on your own, especially when you know how beneficial solo travel can be in terms of self-improvement, but your friends and family may be terrified of this idea. You can’t let fears of other people govern your behavior and make your decisions for you. Fortunately, in the 21st century, easing their mind is much easier than ever before. With the help of Skype, Viber and similar IM platforms you can stay in touch with people back home with little to no effort.
Travel Frugal
Another great thing about traveling alone is the fact that it can be extremely frugal if you focus on making it so. The aforementioned backpacking is just one of the examples, but there are other ways to do so as well. One of the things you can do in order to travel cheap is to do so in low season. You can also do things like pre-booking the airport parking, bringing your own food onboard or even mix and match your own flights. When it comes to the lodging, you can look for alternative ways of booking, like going through Hotel Deals. You can also save quite a bit by visiting local markets and avoiding usual tourist hotspots, which usually have over inflated prices.
In conclusion, the most important thing that a lot of people like about solo travel is the fact that it allows you to focus on the journey itself. When you have no one from your homeland around, you will be forced to interact with strangers and mingle with locals. In this way, you will be more open towards embracing the culture of your destination. Aside from this, not having anyone to chit-chat to during your travel will help you be more mindful of your surroundings and admire local landscapes and architectural wonders with the attention they deserve. Of course, there is also a chance that you will find solo travel not to be to your liking, but then again, you won’t know this for sure unless you try.
Guest Post by Leila Dorari
