Getting Your Mind Right for Solo Travel Preparation
I was overwhelmed at the thought of traveling to a foreign country alone. I’ve planned a lot of trips in the states but that’s small man tings now. I don’t know if people are gonna know english. I don’t know what area I need to stay in to be safe. What all goes into solo travel preparation?
As a lone black man, will I be able to embrace different cultures? More importantly, will they embrace me back?
All that, before even thinking about things to do for fun when I’m there, or how much it’ll cost. So to keep it real, I got overwhelmed and decided to stay put in the Netherlands for a few months after moving there.
Which turned out to be a good thing because the Netherlands has a lot of beautiful sites especially in the summertime when the weather is amazing (75 and sunny).
But I ain’t know that at the time. I finally sucked it up and bought a train ticket to Germany and planned a solo weekend trip to Dusseldorf and Cologne.
The point is, no matter how far you go or where you’re going, your first solo travel experience will be intimidating to some degree.
The degree depends on the person, but whatever that degree is shouldn’t determine whether you do or don’t do it. It just means that you’re stepping out of your comfort zone, which is a great step to take for many reasons.
If you’re not sure if Solo Travel is for you, than definitely peep the Pros and Cons to Solo Travel article after this!
The major key to getting your mind wrapped around your solo travel preparation is understanding that the overwhelming feeling is natural, and that you can minimize that feeling and really get your mind right by focusing on a few key things.
Language Barrier
Is there a language barrier?
If you’re an English speaker then you’re good in most places in Western Europe. I’ve had very little issues with getting around here.
At worst, I’ll be in Germany or Italy and the person I’m asking a question to will say that they don’t speak english and point to someone who does. If nobody speaks english, you keep it pushing.
At this point, I wouldn’t let a strong language barrier stop me from traveling somewhere. I would just have to turn my planning game up to another level to figure out the things I’d do once I get to that foreign land.
But for the first solo trip, I would definitely hit a country that either speaks English as a first or second language. And there are sooo many to pick from (Netherlands being one of them).
If you’d like to receive a 1st solo trip destination list let me know in the comments section below.
Safety
Speaking of getting robbed and shanked, you gotta do research on the general safety of a city before you plan that trip. That level of safety may change depending on who you are.
A woman roaming alone in a certain area may have more things to be concerned with than a solo dude.
A black person may be less safe in certain areas than a white person, or the other way around.
In Western Europe I haven’t had much issue with that at all. In certain areas I definitely have been treated differently because of what I look like; sometimes negatively and sometimes to my benefit.
First things first, do some research about race or gender relations on any place you’re planning to visit.
Not to scare yourself, but to prepare yourself.
Just because a city might have an area where you don’t want to be alone, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t experience the city center and all the beautiful sites because of a few people.
Solo travel preparation is all about safety.
When you know better you do better, right?
Trip Vibe
That ain’t all to think about when planning a solo trip.
Are you trynna have a relaxed vacay? Are you trynna be in nature? Are you trynna be on the move? Are you trynna party, or a lil bit of everything?
Honestly, wherever you go for your first solo trip, you’ll start to realize what type of things you like and don’t like on a vacation.
Let’s face it, when you’re traveling with your peeps, you compromise on a lotta shit because everybody has a different vision for their ideal vacation.
Traveling alone takes care of that issue by itself.
Cost to Visit
Lastly, but not leastly, the mulah!! So this all depends on your budget, but if you’re looking for a budget trip then you gotta pick your destination wisely or you gotta plan really well. Some places are just expensive to visit no matter what (ehem, Switzerland).
But you can work that out with some bombass planning. Booking things weeks or months in advance will allow you to pay less for the big expenses like flights, places to stay, transportation once you’re there, and even on down to things to do while you’re there.
If there are specific events, tours, or museum visits you wanna take part in then get the jump on the prices by thinking ahead..
The first thing to do is to create a budget for the biggest expense.. The FLIGHT!
Based on your bucket list of cities to visit, pick your top 3. And if you don’t have a top 3 then this is what I do…
Step 1: Go to google flights and type in your departing airport but leave the arrival airport empty.
Step 2: Type in the dates you want to travel .
Step 3: A list of random cities will pop-up with the cheapest prices to fly there on the dates you picked. Peep the cities!
Whoa!! [London] looks sick. Dayumm!! 300 bucks that’s a steal!!
Looky there, ya got your first destination. In your solo travel preparation, plan around the best flight prices because that’s usually the biggest expense.
Lodging
Aight you picked a location and a flight, the hard parts are outta the way. Now you gotta find the pad.
For solo travel, my absolute favorite places to stay are hostels!
Hostels are pretty much college dorms for travelers from all over the world. Most people are between 18 and 30 but it’s definitely not limited to that.
You’ll find people in their 40’s and 50’s staying there because.. well, why not?
It’s cheap, there are lively people, and most importantly, it’s cheap. Most hostels have an option for a private room, but actually, most people stay in a room with like 2 bunk beds and I’ve even stayed in one with like 24 people of mixed gender.
Of course, it’s a very large room (more like a shelter) and it can be as low as 10 bucks a night, but there are a shit load of people in there.
Now that ain’t for me and it may not be for you but even the private rooms are way cheaper than a hotel or an airbnb.
Most of the time you will have to share a bathroom with half a hallway of people so it really is time traveling back to college daze.
If your standards are too high for all that, then you can always find a hotel or an airbnb that’s right for you in your solo travel preparation.
There are quality hostels out there right in city centers, and even better than the cheapness is that you’re surrounded by like-minded strangers who are mostly solo traveling just like you.
I’ve made some really good friends from all over the world this way so I’ll always recommend hostels. Hostelworld.com is a great place to look.
Things to do
Planning for what you’ll do while there can be very important depending on the type of wanderer you are.
Who me? I be wandering.
I do a little research before the trip and make a short list of things I want to see and do. I wander throughout the city pretty aimlessly and do what looks interesting at the moment, but always in route to the main sites and activities on my list.
Most people need more structure than me, so planning will be your best friend. You can have an event for every day and night and build out your itinerary exactly how you want it before you go. Remember, solo travel preparation is all about research!
Transportation
You should definitely look up how people get around for transportation in the city that you’re going too. Is it a very walkable city? Do you need to take a bus or train to get to different landmarks?
I always visit a major city, then take a day trip to the nearest national park for hiking. So I research exactly how I’ll get to the park and what time is the train/bus I need to take to the park.
Just as important, I look up the last train/bus back from the park to the city and then book both tickets before I fly out there.
If everything you want to see is pretty spread out and they don’t have great public transit, then consider renting a car if your pockets can handle it.
You also gotta think about how you’re going to get from the airport to the place you’re sleeping, so you can drop off your bags before exploring, unless you’re a light traveler. You can easily take a cab from any airport but the costs will be higher.
Uber is the safest way to go since it’s all tracked in an app, but make sure where you’re going has Uber by searching the airport on the app before you go there.
All major cities in Europe are gonna have Uber or some form of it so find out what their form of rideshare is.
Once I felt more comfortable with solo travel, I looked at cheaper methods like taking a bus or train from the airport, and then walking to my hostel so there’s always a way, of course.
Once again, solo travel preparation is all about research!
Solo Travel Preparation Done.
Now what?
Okay now the planning phase is over and you just touched down in your solo travel country. What now?
Ahh shiitt, I’m overwhelmed again! What do I do? Where do I go? STICK TO THE PLAN! That’s what all that planning was for. Don’t jump ship now!
Have your itinerary in your notes app on your phone so you can stay on track.
You just gotta understand that sometimes you won’t have everything accounted for and you gotta figure some things out on the fly, and that’s okay.
That’s part of the process of becoming a seasoned traveler. I’ve learned that traveling is a skill that you develop the more you do it.
At night stay in the city centers and have a destination, don’t just aimlessly wander in the dark unless the city centers are bumping with a lot of people and it’s a safe location based on your research.
You can usually tell at first look whether it’s sketchy or not but remember…
That’s why you did all that research before on the to-go and no-go areas.
For a little more info and prep help, check out the video on Solo Travel Preparation.
So you’re ready to start planning your first solo trip. What you waiting on? Do that research and comment below on any other questions you have or things I didn’t hit on and I’ll make sure to hit back.
Kudos to you for taking the first step out of your comfort zone and into your journey of becoming a seasoned wanderer!
Ya boi,
Zekarias
