Solo traveling the world is on everyone’s bucket list. However, when it comes to planning, buying a plane ticket, booking, and actually leaving, we get scared of what may happen. Last year, I lived in Barcelona for four months, and visited some places by myself. It all seemed scary at first, until I traveled to that one small province near my uncle’s house in Madrid. After that, it all got easy, fun, and addictive.
I have grown to love traveling by myself, and have done so ever since. Therefore, here are a few do’s and don’ts tips to help those who want to travel solo and are scared, or even those who want to travel with friends, but have little experience.
Don’ts:
1. Don’t panic: Well, do panic, but don’t show it. This is more psychological rather than actual fact. Panicking internally and acting ‘cool’ on the outside makes you keep control of the situation and lets you think clear enough to make rational decisions. The first time this happened to me was the first time I traveled by myself. I had gotten to Atocha train station in Madrid Centro an hour early, and learned that the train I was going to take to Segovia was found in the next stop, not where I had gotten off. In that moment, I had no time to panic since time was running fast, and panicking wasn’t going to solve anything. I still managed to get back on the train, arrive at the next station (where I had never been), and take a bus (while looking at the stops it made) that would take me to the city.
2. Don’t restrain yourself from new things: If you put barriers out of fear, you won’t get to experience anything. In here I’m talking about living in the culture while traveling. Eat all the traditional food, drink the traditional beverages, take tours if you’re really interested in that museum, castle or palace, go party and experience the nightlife, ring that ancient bell. While I was in Seoul, South Korea, I coincidentally found a giant bell in the middle of the advanced city. I approached it to read the information on it, and the guy that was working told me that in ten minutes they would ring the bell, and that I could help them ring it. I hesitated for a second, but really, the only person being ridiculous was me if I had said no. I went up the traditional Korean style gazebo, and helped ring that bell alongside with tourist doing the same thing. In the end, you won’t look ridiculous doing these things, trust me, you’re not alone.
3. Don’t stay at your usual hotel: In Europe, it’s more common for a traveler to stay at a hostel than at a hotel. Hostels come in all shape and sizes. In other words, if you search thoroughly, you can find yourself a nice cheap place. The fun thing about hostels is that you can share a room with strangers. Yes, this sounds scary, but like I said, if you look for the right place, you will end up meeting nice people. I still remember my first night in Budapest, seeing a man drunkenly changing in the room as if I hadn’t just walked in. I went outside and met the German host of the hostel, and spent the night talking with him and his Brazilian friend. I still remember that nice Japanese girl that I had to use Google translate with from my Seoul hostel. Those are the best experiences, meeting new people that don’t speak the same language, but share the same purpose, a love for traveling.
Do’s:
1. Make a schedule before arriving: You might be able to do more of what you plan, if you look for the places you want to visit and write them down in a sort of calendar with the times you’ll be visiting. The most important thing here is to plan how to get from the airport to where you’re staying. After planning this, check the safety of the country. When I went to Budapest, many reviews suggested that I didn’t take a taxi at night, it was unsafe. So what I did was wait four hours for my friends to get to the Hungarian airport (she was traveling from Dublin), and together we took a taxi. We felt more comfortable that way. However, on my way back to go back to Barcelona, I felt confident enough to use the Hungarian public transportation.
2. Walk: Sometimes you may have to take some kind of transportation to get to places, but if they are unnecessary, walk all you can. Not only you get to enjoy more views, but you can experience the life of the city. Try to “get lost.” Take alternate routes that makes you explore new places. To this day, you can come up to me and ask me how I got to the giant bell in South Korea. I don’t even remember. That was not even on my schedule, but fortunately, that day I had decided to try a different street. After that, I took alternate routes and saw more than the things I had originally planned.
3. Look for the highest view of the city: El Tibidabo in Barcelona, Namsan Tower in Seoul, Matthias Church in Budapest, those were high places that gave me amazing views of the city. I went during the day and night. The city might be the same, but your point of view changes. During the day, it’s your usual picture city view, but at night it’s a breathtaking beauty that makes you think “this is why I came, this is why I travel.”
Solo traveling makes you get out of your comfort zone and try new things. I know traveling solo is scary, especially for a woman in her 20’s. However, I learned that if we are confident enough, nobody will care about what you do. Trust me, in those countries nobody pays attention to you. Your confidence is what protects you and makes you enjoy that trip. So, plan ahead, be safe, and rock that solo travel!