menorca chaturvedi May 27, 2018

8 min read

So you are thinking of travelling alone, possibly for the first time and wondering what to keep in mind? Firstly, congrats on taking the first step to travelling solo – by preparing your mindset. I think preparation and planning are things that can lead you to feel a lot more confident about your travels. I also feel that in order to live or travel alone, it is very important to be happy and comfortable in your own company. Here are my thoughts on the magic of being alone and happy, not lonely.

Now for some recommendations to get you comfortable in travelling alone

Practical tips for travelling alone for the first time

1. Start small and get to know yourself

If you have never travelled alone, it could be a good idea to start taking day trips on your own to get comfortable with the idea. Hop on a bus or train and go explore a town 1-3 hours away from you. Ask for a map and suggestions at the local tourist office and enjoy yourself while navigating through a new city/town. You might realize many small things that could help you enjoy your experience and feel safe. This can also be a good way to know yourself better and realize what pace of travel you love the most/what activities you enjoy doing and also the experience of eating out alone.

Here are 5 scenic day trips you can take in Switzerland

Table for one, please! Travelling alone can make you get to know yourself better. Staying alert and trusting your instincts is necessary always, irrespective of where you might be. Picture from Venice, Italy.

2. Do your research

Be prepared and plan the essentials. If you know things like where you would be staying, how far it is from the airport/station, what currency would work, expected prices, how you could contact your family, what events might be going on at the time, etc, you would feel much more prepared.

Before you travel, you can ask your phone provider for any offers pertaining to international travel, although if you are visiting Europe, it is easy to buy a prepaid sim on your arrival. Based on my recent 2-week solo trip to the US, I highly recommend having offline Google Maps on your phone. Prepaid sim cards do not seem to be that common in the US, and I’m sure you wouldn’t want to waste a lot of time on your travels running from store to store, looking for sim cards and figuring out why they wouldn’t work.

Some people also buy or rent internet hotspot devices for their travels. Check out one such experience of travelling with a Wifi Hotspot in Paris.

Here’s a map of wifi passwords from various airports all over the world.

3. Stay organized

Pool all your travel info in one place with Tripit or another app or even a document and share it with a family member/ close friend. Apps like Tripit extract all booking info from your emails and collate them into an itinerary. This way, people you trust would know where you might be, how to reach you if needed and you will also be more relaxed knowing someone is aware of your plans.

Here are some travel accessories you might find useful.

Planning your trip smartly

4. Safety and location apps

If you’d like to have some emergency options on your phone, there are apps like Bsafe that you could install and share your location, send SOS alerts or recordings to trusted contacts if required. To get out of some situations, you can also make your phone ring with the ‘Fake Call’ feature and excuse yourself.

Some other apps I found include My Safetipin that apparently gives you safety score of an area based on multiple factors and Guardian Circle which lets you alert your trusted network of guardians.

5. Meet locals to get to know the culture

Make an effort to meet some locals in your destination. Staying in a hostel might be one way to meet other travellers. Join some free walking tours or group tours to meet more people and make friends. That way, you can get company and also enjoy your trip on your pace at other times.

Couchsurfing can be a great way to stay or hang out with locals, and you can read reviews of hosts before reaching out. I know making friends as an adult can be difficult but here are some ways you can meet people and make friends while travelling or moving to a new place.

P.S – Here’s how to explore Florence on foot by taking free walking tours.

Hope that helped you a little! Do let me know your experiences and feel free to reach out with any questions or suggestions. I’d love for you to share YOUR travel stories with me for the Travellers’ Tales series.