Last updated on January 16th, 2022
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Going on your first trip can be very intimidating. Traveling anywhere new can be scary, and now you’re doing it alone. I’d be shocked if you weren’t a little nervous. But this shouldn’t stop you from going! To help reduce some of the first-time jitters, I’ve compiled a list of 7 tips on how to prepare for your first solo trip.
Determine the Purpose of Your Trip
To ensure you have the time of YOUR LIFE, you need to define a clear purpose for your trip, whether that be to relax, party, or simply explore the world. Once you set your intentions, you can plan a journey that supports your vision.
Do Your Research
You’ll want to make sure you do your research before you book a trip anywhere. How can you prepare if you haven’t done your homework yet? Conducting some research on possible destinations, travel restrictions due to covid, the estimated trip cost, etc., will help you better prepare for your trip.
Once you have a destination in mind, try out these questions during your search.
Questions to Research:
- Best ways to get around in the city.
- Best areas to stay in the city.
- What attractions does the town have?
- What are the Covid restrictions?
Check out my recent post about the best cities for a first-time solo traveler for ideas on destinations!
Plan Out the First Couple of Days
If you’re feeling really nervous about your first time traveling alone, it helps to plan out the first couple of days of your trip. This drastically lowers the overwhelm of being in a new area alone. While you shouldn’t plan your days down to the very second, it’s good to have a general plan of what you want to do and see. Then, the remainder of your trip can be much more spontaneous once you’ve settled in a little bit.
Pack Only What You Need
Nine times out of ten, you’ll want some souvenirs to remind you of your first solo trip, so you’re going to need extra space in your suitcase. Be sure to keep that in mind as you pack and only bring what you need. It would be super unfortunate if you had to leave something behind to carry your souvenirs with you. Been There. Done That. No Bueno.
Determine How You’ll Communicate With Family & Friends
For anyone traveling abroad – something else to think about when preparing for your first solo trip is how you’ll communicate to your family and friends. Also, check with your telephone provider to see if there are additional charges when using data abroad.
Luckily, we live in a time where technology has provided us with several options to communicate with our loved ones for free. Social media and messaging platforms such as Facebook, Zoom, Skype, Facetime, WhatsApp, etc., are great resources to use if you want to connect with someone across the world. And you only need wifi to use them!
Share Your Itinerary With Someone
An important safety tip that can be easily overlooked is sharing your itinerary with someone before you leave. It’s imperative to let someone back home know when & where you’re traveling in case of emergencies. Whenever I go somewhere, I also leave copies of my passport and other important documents along with my itinerary. In addition to the tips mentioned above, this will also ease some of the nerves because you know someone else knows of your plans.
Practice!
Practice makes perfect.
This last tip might be a little strange but bear with me. I highly recommend practicing for your solo trip before you actually take it. Now, what do I mean by this? Well, if you’re not used to spending a lot of time alone, traveling solo might be more challenging than you expect. Going out with yourself for the first time is much harder than it sounds. But with practice, it makes ‘perfect’! So while you’re still at home, go out to get food or drinks alone, visit some museums alone, or do anything that means spending time alone. This will make it much easier to do so when it comes time for your trip.
Now, I know I said only 7 tips, but I must encourage you all to enjoy the planning process as a farewell! This is the time to get inspired and go wild! Finally, I wish you all safe travels.
Bon Vovaye!
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