As a solo traveler, I understand how scary travelling alone for the first time can be. In this guide I’ll share all of my experiences, mistakes, and tips from years of solo travel, so you can have the best first trip possible.
My first time travelling alone was an 8 month round-the-world trip. I‘d just turned 18, and despite a childhood of travel had no idea what I was doing. Fast forward to now, and I’ve traveled to 5 continents all by myself, and I write about travel for a living.
If solo travel is completely new to you, you’re likely stressed about… everything. But aside from learning what you can from experienced travellers, and researching the best that you can, all you can do is just go. Embrace the learning curve and being outside your comfort zone, it’s life changing!
1. Choose A Solo travel Friendly Destination
I’m a big believer in exploring those less explored destinations, but at least on your first solo trip, I recommend sticking to places with lots of other solo travellers around you.
When you’re travelling alone for the first time, you’ll probably be overwhelmed with an entirely new way of life. You’ll be learning to be alone, navigating a new place, learning a new culture, making friends, and staying safe. Choosing a destination that supports each of those things will make the adjustment so much easier.
The first country I went to on my first solo trip was Indonesia, and in my experience, South East Asia is one of the best places in the world for solo travellers. Afterwards, I traveled through Europe and South America, and the USA, and I was very glad I was able to get used to solo travel in South East Asia first.
In South East Asia, there are countless options for hostels, hundreds of thousands of solo travellers to make friends with, it’s low budget, western food is easily accessible as well as delicious local food, there’s good wifi, and it’s generally backpacker friendly.
2. Organise Visa’s, And Documents Ahead Of Time
The worst possible thing that could happen at the start of your first solo trip, would be arriving at the airport or in your destination, only to find you can’t leave or enter because of a document issue.
It wouldn’t be the first time this has happened to even an experienced traveller. Out of date passports, invalid visa’s, or other missing documents can quickly end your trip.
Before you leave, make sure you have a passport with at least 6 months validity after the planned end of your trip, and enough pages to be stamped. Also check that your visa is complete and valid, and make sure you have proof of vaccination, travel insurance, proof of an outgoing flight, or any other extra documents that the country you’re traveling to requires.
To make things as smooth as possible, make paper copies of each document and keep them in a folder in your carry on bag. It comes in handy all the time! You can read more about how to prepare in my blog post on Flying Alone For The First Time.
3. Buy Travel Insurance
I was so hesitant to buy travel insurance before my first trip, because it can be very expensive. And while I didn’t use it, there were many close calls, and I had many friends that did.
Despite the price, travel insurance is a necessity. You will never be able to predict the things that could happen abroad, and travel insurance could end up saving you thousands of dollars. It’s a cliche phrase, but it really is better to be safe than sorry.
4. Stay In Shared Accomodation
I learnt this the hard way, but the best thing you can do for yourself if you want to have fun and make friends is to stay in shared accomodation.
Hostels come in so many shapes and sizes, there are quiet hostels, party hostels, all women hostels, co-working hostels for digital nomads, adventure hostels, and the list goes on. Depending on your budget, you can find anything from luxurious private rooms in hostels about as fancy as a 4 star hotel, or a rickety bed in a 16 person shared room in a basement. But most places are very comfortable!
I spent two months of my 8 month trip living alone, and in that time I can honestly say I made no friends and I was miserable. On both occasions I moved into a hostel, while staying in the same place, and ended up having the time of my life and making lifelong friends.
If you’re going solo traveling hoping to meet new people, definitely learn from my mistakes and stay in shared accomodation. If you like your privacy, you can book a private room!
Planning A Solo Trip? I Can Make You A Custom Itinerary!
5. book Accomodation With Free Cancellation
Solo travel is spontaneous, it’s so common to meet a new group of people and follow them to a new city or country. If you’re like me and want to live the adventure but don’t feel comfortable booking a place the day before, I highly recommend you book accomodation with free cancellation.
I ended up losing about $1000 on pre-booking hostels, transport, and flights and then changing my plans. So knowing this in advance would have really helped me cut my losses and avoid unnecessary spending.
6. Always Take Extra Money
As much research as you do into your destinations budget, internet estimates and budget calculators will never be 100% correct.
Even experienced travel bloggers recommendations are an educated guess, as prices change quickly and depend on the time of year. In many country’s things will also cost more as a tourist, so it is always safer to over-budget.
As a good buffer, take at least $500 more than you think you’ll need in each destination you visit. If you don’t use it, you’ll just come home with a little bit extra.
7. Say Yes
Almost all of the best things I did on my trip were things I could’ve absolutely shot down. Climbing an active volcano in Lombok, 7 days in a van in Northern Italy, a 5 day road trip through Patagonia, hiking into the wilderness to find mountain huts, and so many of my best wild adventures took me stepping out of my comfort zone.
If you’re faced with an amazing opportunity for an adventure, but you’re scared of stepping out of your comfort zone, take the jump. And if someone comes up to you with an idea, try and say yes as much as you can. I would’ve missed out on so much if I didn’t!
8. Pack Less Than You Think You Need
I read this everywhere before my trip, and while I thought I cut down enough before I left, I definitely didn’t.
Everyone I saw was saying ‘take everything you want to take, halve it, and then halve it again’, which I thought was way too much, but then ended up carrying 6 sweaters around for 4 months of summer.
In my experience, leave everything you don’t wear at home. You’re very unlikely to gravitate to it overseas. Try and stick to a capsule wardrobe, rogue pieces that don’t fit with most of your clothes will probably stay at the bottom of your bag. Then take out all of the extra ‘things’ you think you’ll need. You can pick up books, tokens, and actually pretty much anything you’re missing overseas.
9. Research Your Destination In Depth
This is probably the most important thing to do before you leave, because it’ll make your experience so much easier. Before you even book flights to a new place, there are a few key things that you should look into.
The first big one is safety, find out which areas to go to and which to avoid, and if a place is safe for solo travellers/solo female travellers. You should also look into common crimes and common scams (this is a big one in most countries).
Travel blogs are usually the best place to go, as they’re full of personal anecdotes and tips. Another great place to source information from personal experience is social media. Do a deep scroll through ‘Safety in X’ TikTok’s and Instagram reels, you can learn a lot!
Research daily life, cultural customs, transportation, weather, travel tips, recommended budgets, and places to visit. It’ll all come in handy when you arrive.
10. Think About Language Barriers
This goes hand in hand with choosing a solo travel friendly destination. While you can absolutely travel somewhere with a different language, going to a place where almost nobody speaks English on your first solo trip will make things tricky.
11. Get A Local SIM Card
Local SIM cards are the cheapest, reliable way to get mobile service abroad. Make sure to research how and where to get SIM cards in your destination, and who to trust to avoid being scammed. Tape your home SIM inside your phone case to make sure it doesn’t get lost in the process.
If you don’t want the hassle of changing out a physical SIM card, want service as soon as you enter the country, and have a bit more money to spend, ESIM’s are a great alternative. I used Airalo whenever I chose to use and ESIM and they worked well for me wherever I went.
12. Plan Transport From The Airport To Your first Accomodation
When you land in your first destination, you’re going to have a lot on your mind and it can get overwhelming. To avoid a whole lot of stress off the plane, it’s a great idea to prebook transport directly from the airport to your accommodation.
For your first night, I recommend choosing somewhere with a shuttle bus to and from the airport, prebook a driver, or have someone you know pick you up. Having a seamless first day will seriously reduce the stress of being somewhere totally new.
13. Take Both Cash And Cards
This is individual to each destination, but in general I recommend bringing some of your local currency in cash as well as a card. Cash is a stable backup, and in many places it exchanges at a better rate. If you’re bringing cash, make sure to have a stealth money belt or some other way to keep it hidden or safe.
I even took it a step further, and made a double card system. This is a great way to protect your money from theft and fraud overseas. I kept all my money in my Australian bank account, but left the card for that account at home. I brought a Revolut travel card with me instead, and transferred money from my bank account onto that card from my phone whenever I needed money.
If you choose to do this, make sure you let your bank know in advance, I had my account locked three times before I did!
14. Go Up And Talk To People
The things you can learn and the people you’ll meet if you initiate conversation are endless. And this is probably the number one thing I did that made my first solo trip the amazing experience it was. People are much more willing to talk than you may think, especially likeminded solo travellers.
You can find out all about making friends and social life travelling in my articles about Making Friends As A Solo Traveller, and Solo Travel Loneliness.
15. download Important Travel Apps
Your phone is your biggest tool abroad, for safety, meeting friends, navigating, and booking. There are a few apps that I downloaded for my trip that I used all the time, and I definitely recommend you use them too.
The first is TripBFF, which is a travel friendship app! You can join destination groups, where you can meet solo travellers from all over the world in your area. You can organise meetups, adventures, and find travel buddies for future trips.
I also recommend you download an offline map. Google maps is great until you run out of data or leave WIFI, whereas offline maps allow you to navigate despite the situation, which is great for safety.
Another favourite of mine is Google translate, which lets you translate text, voice (I’ve had so many Google translate conversations with people!), and photos (like pictures of street signs and menus). It’s so handy.
16. Learn From Experienced Travellers
Since you’re reading this, you’re clearly already doing it, but learning from people who have done it before you is a game changer. Nothing beats personal experience, and stats and facts will only get you so far.
So seek out advice from people in your life, or online, who’ve already solo traveled. Most people are ready excited to give advice to people who are starting out.
17. Don’t Over Plan
I planned so much for my first time travelling alone, and ended up changing pretty much all of it. If planning your entire trip helps you feel more comfortable about leaving, go for it. But plan in a way that will let you be spontaneous if the opportunity comes up.
Your priorities will almost certainly change while you’re overseas, and what you want to see and do will change too. You’ll meet new people, crave new experiences and have plenty of opportunities you can’t foresee. So don’t plan yourself into a box!
Solo Travel FAQ’S
How Long Should Your First Solo Trip Be?
This is different for everyone, some people might prefer to start slow with a 1-2 week trip, but my first solo trip was 8 months long. So it completely depends on what you’re comfortable with.
What Destinations Are Solo Travel Friendly?
Some of my favourites are New Zealand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Portugal, Albania, Australia, Sri Lanka, Costa Rica, Croatia, Spain, Ireland, and Guatemala. These are all ranked highly for safety, have a strong backpacker culture and good tourism infrastructure.
Is It Okay To Travel Alone?
Yes, not only is travelling alone okay, but it can be an incredible experience! You’re in total control of your trip and what you do, you can meet countless new friends from all over the world, and learn more about new places and yourself in the process.
