Tips For Traveling Alone

About to embark on another solo adventure and need some tips for traveling alone? I’ve got you. Luckily, I’ve been down this road. And a long road at that. Included among my many adventures was a cross-country US road trip that took 2 months and 9,000 miles. All solo.

So trust me when I say I’ve been there, and I’ve got some pretty good ideas about how you can stay safe, strong, and secure on your own solo travels.

Below are my top 21 solo travel tips, especially for the solo traveling woman (who is hopefully also over the age of 21).

1. Research Your Destination

Do your homework. Gather helpful tips and advice (including mistakes to avoid) from your friends on social media or, better yet, over coffee. Especially if any of them are also avid travelers with lots of experience. I’m constantly seeing people ask for trip recommendations on Facebook, and I’ve used it a few times myself, to great success. Those posts always seem to get a boatload of responses. It might end up being an overwhelming amount of information, but that’s par for the course on the internet anyway. In this case, it might be nice to have as much info as possible, and you can take all the suggestions you get with varying sized grains of salt. Plus you never know who you know who might be planning to go to the same place as you at the same time.

Photos from Amazon

Of course, besides friends’ tips, you should also read up on your destination from reputable online sources like Trip Advisor. Or you can go old school with travel guide books. There is something nice about having a physical book to flip through while on your way to your destination.

2. Share Your Itinerary

It’s always good for someone to know where you are at any given time. At least one other person. Just in case. Even if you’re a super private person. Even if you’ve secretly always wanted to be a secret agent. Please don’t go off gallivanting without telling anyone. It’s not as cool as it sounds, and can really get you into trouble. So before you leave on your trip, share your itinerary with someone you trust. Like that friend you always put down as your emergency contact without telling them. You’ll want to tell them this time.