I have been solo traveling since I was 17, with my first trip being a solo plane ride to visit my brother in Boston for a week. Since then, I have been on more solo trips than I can count, with the majority of them being completely on my own. I have learned to not only appreciate solo travel, but often prefer it! Read on for my six tips for solo travel, some more stories about my experiences, and why I think you should prioritize it in 2023:
Take Yourself Out on Solo Dates
It might seem obvious, but you spend a LOT of time alone when you are traveling solo! For someone who is not used to doing things alone – especially for extended periods of time – this might be jarring. In the extreme, it might cause anxiety and depression, which is certainly not the goal of solo traveling. Spending time alone can be peaceful, introspective, and exciting when done right, but some people have to build up to it. For me, it was something I built up a tolerance and fondness for over many years.
Between my first “solo” trip to visit my brother in Boston in 2008, and my first actual solo trip several years later, there was a lot of time spent building up my “solo time muscle”. Aside from flying solo to Boston to move myself to college in 2009, I spent an inordinate amount of time walking around and exploring on my own during the four years I lived there. I also studied abroad twice in 2012 (once in France and once in Spain), spending countless hours exploring on my own in foreign countries.
While living in San Diego, I went on a five day solo trip to Costa Rica; a three week solo trip to Thailand; drove back and forth to LA numerous times; drove up to San Fransisco and back, taking the breathtaking Pacific Coast Highway on the way down; drove to Denver alone (and met up with a friend there who drove back with me); then drove home to DC alone and made a two week cross country trip out of it.
Since moving back to DC in 2017, I have been to Miami solo about five times, taken two solo trips to Phoenix (read about those trips here and here), spent a day alone in London on a layover, and am currently planning a two week solo trip to Mexico City. In between these trips, I frequently take myself out on solo dates to get coffee, lunch or dinner, run errands, go to concerts, go to the movies and more. Often, I just go to an area of DC that I like and walk around! No matter what your interests are, the key is to challenge yourself to do things alone more often.
Brush Up on Your Street Smarts
One of the biggest concerns people (especially women) have when solo traveling is being safe. While I think the dangers of traveling are overexaggerated most of the time, I definitely think general safety in a foreign place is a valid concern. Over the course of my four years living in Boston for college, I built up a toughness that comes only from living in an urban setting, which I know has been very valuable to me during my travels. Even if you have not lived in a city or don’t know what I mean by this “toughness”, there are some principles that anyone can apply to help them be more safe.
First of all, you NEVER want to look like you are lost when you are wandering around. I don’t care HOW lost you actually are, you can’t show it! I can’t tell you how many times I have seen tourists pull out giant paper maps on the side of the street and be instantly targeted by scammers. It is a dead giveaway that you not only are not from there, but are helpless and oblivious! If you are truly lost, pull out your phone and look at a map, or at least duck into a restaurant and try to figure things out more discreetly.
You also want to make sure you are constantly aware of your surroundings. There is no need to be hypervigilant and on edge, but make sure you don’t do things that would completely make you oblivious, such as wearing noise canceling earbuds/headphones or talking on your phone while walking around. Should worse come to worst, you want to be aware of what’s going on so you can react if need be.
Act Like a Local
As someone who is racially/ethnically ambiguous and speaks four languages, pretending to be a local has been fairly easy for me in most of the places I have traveled, and I have certainly used it to my advantage (I think I would make a great spy haha). However, you certainly do not have to look like me or speak any other languages to act like a local in a way that will enhance your trip – I didn’t when I was in Thailand!
The most important part of acting like a local is finding the places they hang out, eating the food they eat, and taking their cues in terms of cultural norms. The most cringe-worthy thing you can do while traveling is blatantly disrespect the country you are visiting because you were oblivious to their cultural rules and expectations. The best way to avoid this is to do your research and talk to locals! Spending your whole trip talking to other Americans (or whichever nationality you are) and frequenting tourist spots, is the surest way to guarantee you are not getting an authentic experience.
That being said, there are certainly some tourist spots that are totally worth going to. After all, if you are visiting a new place, you are in fact a tourist! My hesitation comes more so from visiting restaurants that cater to foreign palates and have food that isn’t as authentic (and often way more expensive), missing hidden gems in cities and countries that aren’t as popular tourist spots, and most importantly – missing out on the beautiful experience of getting to know a different culture through the eyes of a local!
Do Your Research
My favorite part about traveling solo is planning out the places I want to go. I will spend weeks scouring Pinterest, Google, Google Maps, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube for places that are up my alley. I love places that are aesthetically pleasing, but still offer good food, drinks and vibes. I have become quite adept at seeking them out, but I know this can be daunting for people with less experience.
Recently, I discovered a platform called Well Traveled Club – which has a website and an app – where you can browse curated lists of recommendations in dozens of locations around the world, taking the guess work out of it for you. You can save places you want to visit to refer back to during your trip, or just open the app and press “nearby places” to see what’s around you. The club vets every member before accepting them, so all the recommendations are guaranteed to be worth checking out. I am also a member now, if that lends it any credibility!
Even better, the team of booking specialists are able to hook you up with exclusive member perks like welcome gifts, early check-in/late check-out and even upgrades (where available) when you book through Well Traveled Club. They choose the welcome gift based on the preferences you select in your profile, and you can access personalized recommendation lists based on those preferences as well. The membership costs $150 per year, but you get a $100 booking credit when you sign up. If you want to check it out with a free two week trial, use this link (or my code ALANAREINA) to sign up and skip the waitlist!
Go With the Flow
This one may be controversial, with so many different approaches when it comes to trip planning – and counterintuitive to the last tip – but hear me out on this one. Over the years, I have become a much more anxious traveler and do a bit more planning than I used to, but leaving space in your schedule for things to flow and fall into place naturally is where the magic happens! Let me tell you some stories to illustrate:
When I went to Thailand in 2015, I only planned where I was going to stay the first night, and that was it! Over the course of the first two weeks, I planned my meals, activities and next destinations as I went, based on recommendations from people I met (both locals and other travelers). Because I stayed at hostels (which are SO nice and luxurious in most parts of Thailand!), I was able to meet a lot of other backpackers, some of which I traveled with for a few days at a time before parting ways. The last week, I ended up meeting up with a childhood/family friend of mine who happened to be in Thailand at the same time, and had such an incredible time with her! We probably would have never planned a trip together, but it worked out so well and we had such a great time (with some stories that won’t fit in this blog post haha).
Earlier that year, I went to Costa Rica to volunteer at a music festival in the jungle, where a couple people I knew from San Diego would be there. During the festival, I became friends with a group of people that I hitchhiked with to another town afterward, and camped on the beach for a couple nights before flying home. I will never forget waking up on the beach to a man selling fruit from a cart, and eating the best papaya of my life. There is no way I could have planned these experiences out ahead of time!
Learn How to Get Your Own Content
Another major concern I often hear about solo travel is how to get photos and videos while alone. I find it funny to hear that sometimes, because at this point I would prefer taking my own content – even while in DC! I am so used to it now, and really prefer the freedom to be as particular as I want and take as long as I want to capture all the content!
In addition to capturing photos and video for Instagram and TikTok, I also film video footage for YouTube, so needless to say I am capturing a lot of content. I find that filming for YouTube is much easier when I am alone, as I am less distracted and able to remember to film more. As far as capturing picture and videos of myself on my phone, this is where a tripod comes in handy!
Ever since discovering this compact tripod, my life has been changed. It fits in even the smallest tote bag, is super light weight and discreet, and can be pulled out and set up just as quickly as you can take it down. I use the app LensBuddy to take the photos – it is a continuous self timer app with many settings, and as far as I can tell it does not reduce the quality. Remember to always use the back camera though!
As far as having the confidence to take pictures of yourself – honestly, who cares? You are likely to never see any of those people again, and I think the temporary awkwardness or embarrasment (which I truly don’t feel anymore) is worth having photos and videos to remember the trip for the rest of your life.
Hopefully you have been convinced to plan a solo trip by now, but if not, here are some more words to motivate and inspire you. I think all travel is transformative, but my solo travel experiences have been quite literally life changing. There is nothing like being in another city or country – completely alone- that shifts your perspective in a way that is irreversible but completely magical. It has done wonders for my self-discovery, growth and overall mental health.
Considering how much of a popular topic that mental health has become in recent years, it seems like an obvious advantage for anyone looking to improve theirs. As far as health and safety goes otherwise, please proceed with caution based on your own health considerations. However, many people have enjoyed relative safety and ease when it comes to covid restrictions for travel in late 2022, and 2023 is a great time to jump back into travel if you took a hiatus over the last few years due to covid.
If you need more inspiration, check out some of my travel blog posts here or my travel vlogs here.
Happy travels everyone!
