How To Ease Into Solo Travel (if you’re feeling nervous to start)
So you want to try solo travel but you feel a little nervous or unsure where to start? Luckily, you do not have to go full ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ right away. You can absolutely ease into the world of solo travel - starting small, starting local, and building out from there, all the way to your first solo international trip if that’s something that interests you. Many of these are methods I’ve tried myself over the past 10+ years as I’ve gotten more and more comfortable with solo travel. I’ve broken the recommendations down into three general phases starting right where you currently are and expanding out from there, with a bonus section at the end for my aspiring camping girlies.
Phase 1: Start Small — Solo Moments in Everyday Life
Phase one eases you in to doing things on your own. If you’re uncomfortable spending time alone at all, this could be a great place to start.
Solo Morning or Afternoon Adventure
For this adventure, you’re going to make plans to take a few hours to yourself doing an activity that you really enjoy or that you’ve been wanting to experience but haven’t gotten any takers on a buddy to go with you. Now is your time!
Example itineraries might be:
going to a new coffee shop and then taking a wander through the farmers market on a Saturday morning (bonus points for making conversation with the vendors if it’s not too busy!)
perusing a local bookstore followed by a cafe for an afternoon snack and diving in to your new book.
If you’re uncomfortable spending time alone at all, this could be a great place to start.
Day Trip Within Driving Distance
For this one, you’re going to go a bit farther afield and extend the duration of your solo adventure to a full day trip. The nice thing about this is that you get the excitement and experience of solo travel with the comfort of going home at night.
Choose a destination 45-90 minutes from home, either driving or if you’re lucky enough to have public transportation options, taking a train or bus.
Itinerary ideas for this option could include:
Visiting a museum you’ve really been wanting to explore in the larger city near you (don’t sleep on the cafe and gift shop!)
Wandering in a nearby town with an abundance of antique stores or art galleries. Again, bonus points for striking up conversation with the owners, artists, or people working, if it’s not too busy. I promise you, they often have amazing stories behind their art or the antiques they’ve curated.
Exploring a nearby hike or natural feature like a waterfall or swimming hole. Bring a picnic, a blanket, and your journal or sketchbook and really savor the peace that comes with being in nature.
Phase 2: Low-Commitment Solo Trips
In phase two, you’ll still be in a relatively familiar destination, but you’re going to step it up to an overnight adventure.
Staycation in Your Own City
I’m pretty sure we’ve all heard the term ‘staycation’ at this point, but in case it’s new to you - a staycation is defined as a mini-vacation in the city where you already live, experiencing your town through the lens of a tourist.
For this one, you’ll be booking a night in a hotel or short term rental property in the town where you currently live, but in a different neighborhood or part of the city. For activities, if you don’t already have something on your itinerary, check out websites like TripAdvisor or the local tourism department to see what’s recommended to tourists. The city’s official tourism website will often provide curated itineraries on different themes. You could also find recommendations put together by travel bloggers who have visited your town by searching ‘[your city here] travel guide’.
The nice thing about this option is that if you really, truly hate it, or you feel too nervous or uncomfortable, you can easily go home to the comfort of your own surroundings. That’s right, I said it - if you don’t like it or you’re uncomfortable, you can go home. You can always try again another time and just be proud of yourself for the steps you did take on this attempt. Progress is progress and we always trust our intuition when something doesn’t feel right, right?
Revisit a Familiar Destination, But Alone
The next recommendation is to revisit a familiar destination, but this time go on your own.
You’re going to be returning to a place you’ve visited in the past - perhaps with friends, family, or on a work trip - and absolutely loved, but this time you’re going alone.
The benefit of this strategy is that you’re limiting the amount of unfamiliarity. Instead of everything being new and different, the only unfamiliar aspect of this trip is that you’re doing it alone. You’re limiting the amount of variables in your solo travel experiment.
You already know what to expect and you already know that you enjoy this destination. Now you get to explore it fully on your own terms, which is great. Having full control over the itinerary and the ability to change the plan at a moment’s notice is one of the luxuries of solo travel, in my opinion.
Phase 3: Independent Travel With a Built-In Community
Solo Afternoon or Morning Adventure (the remix)
You might recognize this suggestion from phase 1. Let’s call this the remix. In this scenario, you’re on a trip with other people, perhaps with family or a partner, and you take a few hours to yourself one morning or afternoon. Perhaps you’re an early riser, so you duck out for a few hours while your friends or family are sleeping in to grab coffee and explore as the city starts to wake for the day.
This method is a low stakes way to test how it feels to travel solo in an unfamiliar destination.
I did this on a trip to England with my mom. She was there for a month for work and I joined her for the last week of her business trip. During the weekdays while she was working, I’d take the train from where we were staying in the English countryside and ventured off to nearby towns, visiting Glastonbury, Bath, and exploring our home base of Yeovil. Then I’d take the train back in time to meet my mom for dinner. It was my first foray into solo international travel and also ended up being a nice balance of solo and family travel.
Ask around to see if you have any connections in your destination
As you’re making your travel plans, ask around to see if anyone has connections in the city where you’ll be traveling. Or at least, share your plans as much as you’re comfortable within your network. You might be pleasantly surprised to learn that a friend of a friend lives in the city where you’re heading. The mutual friend can make the connection and you might end up making plans with a new friend. It’s also nice just to know that you have someone local you could reach out to if you really needed help.
When I was in Mexico City, a friend noticed I was there from an Instagram post. She reached out letting me know she had a friend who lived in the city if I wanted to meet up with her. We ended up grabbing coffee and decided to hang out a couple more times from there over the course of the month that I was in Mexico City, even celebrating my birthday together with a dinner and drinks. It was so lovely to make a new friend and have someone I could go out with. (Fun fact - the mutual friend who reached out and connected us was a woman I had befriended on a stand-up paddle board yoga retreat eight years prior!)
Activity-Centered Trip
If you aren’t already comfortable doing activities alone, this one could feel a little scarier than some of the other options. However, if you’re cool with going to events by yourself, this could be a great way to finally go to that event you’ve been wanting to experience without having to track down a plus one.
You’re going to plan your trip around a specific event or activity, such as attending a musical, an art festival, a concert, or a class. You’ll be attending an event you are so excited about (potentially crossing something off your bucket list!) and surrounding yourself with equally as excited likeminded individuals.
Lots of flexibility here on duration of trip or distance from home, so you can really adjust to your comfort level. For example, when I was living in DC, I took my mom on a less than 48 hour whirlwind trip to NYC to see Cinderella on Broadway. We took the MegaBus from DC to New York, wandered around, had delicious meals, had our highlight experience of seeing Cinderella (my mom’s favorite musical from childhood), and headed home the next morning. (Side note - I highly recommend seeing Cinderella if you’re a fan of the Rogers and Hammerstein version. 10 out of 10, the costume changes are magic.) I know this specific example isn’t a solo trip, but I do think it easily could have been and is a good example of a trip centering on a specific activity.
Attend a Retreat or Join a Group Travel Experience
This is my absolute top recommendation for a first solo international trip. You’re going to attend a retreat or learning experience or join a group trip. Some examples of this might be a yoga retreat, surf camp, art or culinary workshops, or language schools. You could also join a group trip tailored to your specific interests and lifestyle. You arrive solo but have an instant community of likeminded people. Depending on the structure, you’ll have scheduled group activities but likely plenty of opportunities for solo adventuring as well.
As I mentioned, this is my personal top recommendation for a first international solo trip and it’s actually the exact strategy I used. In 2016, I went on my first solo international trip to Mexico where I participated in a stand-up paddle board yoga retreat. It was the perfect bridge between group and solo travel. We had yoga classes every day, scheduled group paddle board sessions, and some shared meals. But there were also optional excursions, meals on your own, and it was walkable to a main avenue of Tulum for shops and restaurants. Lodging was right on the beach, so there was always the option of a solo beach day.
As a solo traveler joining a group experience, I was able to socialize when I wanted to, but also take opportunities to stretch my comfort zone through some solo activities. I also made new friends who I stayed in touch with long after the retreat ended.
Bonus: Nature-Based Solo Experiences
This one’s for my aspiring nature girlies. So you want to try solo camping, but you don’t really know where to start? Maybe you aren’t ready to go all in on sleeping in a tent. (To be perfectly honest with you, when I’m solo camping I prefer to sleep in my Jeep set-up as it feels safer to be able to lock the doors.)
For this one, you’re going to rent a cabin at your local state or national park. You get nature, a little bit of solitude (depending on the popularity of the park and time of year), and safety. You’ll likely be at a decently trafficked location so you don’t have to be super isolated and there are park rangers around if you need assistance. Check the notes of the reservation to see what you’ll need to bring for yourself, as this does vary. If you need tips for booking a campsite or cabin at state or national park, check out this blog post I put together with all of my recommendations. And if you’re looking for something that offers more amenities, you’re going to search for ‘glamping’ options. This should bring up nationwide companies like Under Canvas or local businesses like El Cosmico in Marfa, Texas.
Make sure to check out the events for whatever destination you choose. State and National Parks often have ranger-led activities where you can socialize with folks for a bit and usually learn a thing or two about the lands you’re exploring.
Time to Get Out There!
Solo travel doesn’t have to be all or nothing. It can be something you build into your life in small, intentional steps. You do not have to blow your comfort zone to smithereens. You can expand it out a little bit at a time in a way that feels doable for you, celebrating each step as part of your solo travel journey.
Remember, this is supposed to be fun!
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Ok, that’s it for now! I’m so excited for your adventures and I hope to see you out there!