The best way to travel solo is to safeguard your trip and go well-prepared and step out of your comfort zone to be open to new experiences.
Looking for solo travel tips to embark on the typical journey of “finding yourself”? Well, being a seasoned traveler, I can assure you that the plan’s noble!
To make my contribution to this noble cause, I’ve shared my biggest lessons and solo travel advice. They’re small tasks that compound further to make your trip free of any turbulence.
These tips are particularly helpful for those looking to explore the world without anything holding them back. Keep reading and find out how to hold the reins!
Table of Contents:
20 Genuine Solo Travel Tips for Beginners
Travelling solo can seem like a huge mythical creature that looks daunting at first, until you say hello. These solo travel tips will act as that introduction for all the budding explorers searching for how to travel alone for the first time.
Here are the 20 genuine solo travel tips:
- Download Offline Google Maps
- Address the Paranoia & Keep Your Eyes on the Road
- Do Not Post Real-Time Updates
- Invest in a Pocket Wi-Fi or Local SIM
- Do Not Share Accommodation Details
- Have an Itinerary Prepared Beforehand
- Learn Basic Words in the Language of Your Travel Destination
- Pin the Location of your Stay on Google Maps
- Do Your Own Research
- Choose Your Stay Strategically
- Be Open to New Experiences
- Stay Within the Radar of Your Stay While Hanging Out with Strangers
- Be Polite–It Goes a Long Way!
- Check the Ratings of Your Hotel
- Carry Secret Wallets–Never Put All Your Eggs in One Basket!
- Pack Wisely–Make Space for the Memories You Will Bring Back
- Make Space for Spontaneity
- Make a Playlist, Sit Back & Relax!
- Invest in a Selfie-Stick & a Tripod
- Download Useful Apps!
1. Download Offline Google Maps
In many tourist areas like mountainous terrain, hill stations, or even while exploring the countryside of many countries, it is hard to find an internet connection.
There have been countless instances when I reached my desired location from an area with good connectivity, but finding my way back was a treacherous path. At least until I reached a spot with good connectivity and then navigated to the hotel.
You can skip the hassle and learn from my experience to always download maps beforehand. Use these simple steps to download offline maps on Google Maps:
Open Google Maps> Go to your profile> select Offline Maps> click on “Select your own map”> adjust the map to the desired area> click on Download.
2. Address the Paranoia & Keep Your Eyes on the Road
This one is important to render to, especially if you’re traveling solo as a woman. I have a habit of indulging in conversations with the taxi drivers courting me. Asking them questions about the prime spots that we pass by en route.
I cannot begin to tell you how many times this has helped me memorize landmarks and navigate my way back to the hotel in times when my phone was discharged or I couldn’t find the network.
Also, always listen to your gut; anything that you’re skeptical about needs to be inquired about. Addressing the paranoia is any day better than ignoring and brushing it off.
3. Do Not Post Real-Time Updates
Influencer/public figure or not, this advice applies to everybody. All my updates about a day or pictures are posted only after I’m done having fun. Keep it up if it comes naturally to you, as many people live in the moment and forget about posting altogether.
For others who do post real-time updates and videos of where they’re headed, it is important to realize that there are creeps who can follow you through and pin you down.
I understand the desire to interact with somebody, especially when you’re traveling solo, but the internet is not that entity; rather, make friends with people on the go!
4. Invest in a Pocket Wi-Fi or Local SIM
While traveling internationally, many forget about internet access amid the excitement of traveling. But since it is impossible to get one thing done without the internet in this era, we solo travelers need to keep up!
This one out of the tips for solo travel will make or break your entire trip. In many countries, finding public Wi-Fi is a bludgeoning task and feels like you’ve hit a wall every 2–3 hours.
Just buy a pocket Wi-Fi, as it can be used in multiple countries, or buy a local SIM and get a data plan, which is, by the way, the cheapest way to access the internet. Find a wireless pocket Wi-Fi on Amazon, as it is a valuable investment for all your future travels!
5. Do Not Share Accommodation Details
Maintaining privacy in all matters during solo travel cannot be emphasized enough! Keep your location and accommodation private, and do not forget to turn off location permission if you have a public profile on Snapchat and other such apps.
Impostors will sneak up to your room claiming they know you, especially if you’re even distantly famous. However, you must share your itinerary, flight details, and accommodation details with someone trustworthy back home so that they can track you down in case you need help.
6. Have an Itinerary Prepared Beforehand
While planning and mapping out your trip might sound boring and too uptight, it is one of the best solo travel tips I have received, and I will pass it down to those about to embark on a solo trip.
Preparing an itinerary beforehand enables you not to miss out on important sights and experiences, and gives a good idea of where to go next after exploring every attraction.
It will enable you to find out how many days you need to dedicate to a place and make the most out of your stay, and there’s always room for improvisation!
7. Learn Basic Words in the Language of Your Travel Destination
This is one of the generic solo travel tips, but it still needs to be emphasized. Today, we see a lot of extremism about language, and we may not know how the locals will respond to inquiries in English.
To stay safe, start your inquiry/interaction with a simple “hello” in the native language, and most locals will warm up to you. Download Duolingo and choose the intention to learn as you travel, and you’ll be good to go.
Most locals will try to understand you or grab another local who understands English. Do not forget to follow up with a “thank you” in the native language once you’ve gotten the help!
8. Pin the Location of your Stay on Google Maps
This one’s out of the box of traveling alone tips that I often forget to mention because it’s a minuscule task.
However, it does go a long way, as it makes it easy to calculate the time it will take to navigate to places from the hotel and get back. Pin the location of your stay on Google Maps with these easy steps:
Find the spot you’re looking to pin> press and hold it> a red pin will appear with a detail card> press save.
9. Do Your Own Research
At the cost of starting to sound a little nerdy, I have to let this out of the bag, labelled solo travel tips, because it does help a lot.
Include everything in the research, from safety index ranking, crime rate ranking, to the type of chargers used, the best time to visit, and visa requirements.
While traveling alone, you only have one person to fall back on, and wouldn’t you want that person to be someone smart who knows what to do, where to go, and what to eat next?
Doing your own research gives you that edge, and the confidence just comes with the dish!
10. Choose Your Stay Strategically
Checking all the reviews goes without saying, especially the ones left by women. While traveling overseas at night or to places where the flight takes longer than 6–8 hours to reach, choose a hotel nearby.
Accommodations near the airport are slightly expensive, but safety comes first, and you can check out the next day. Wandering in any unknown place at night, trying to find a way, isn’t safe; hence, it is important to pick your accommodation wisely.
11. Be Open to New Experiences
All the planning and mapping done prior to the trip is so you have a mind map of things to explore after landing and a convincing itinerary to present in front of the immigration officer, wherever required.
But my solo travel advice is to always have room for improvisation and spontaneity. If you find a nice group or want to embark upon a surprise short trek with others rowing the same boat as you, go ahead, by all means!
These spontaneous moments are all the sauce and flavor of a solo journey and, in the long run, make you bold and fearless!
12. Stay Within the Radar of Your Stay While Hanging Out with Strangers
Being a connoisseur, hopping from one group of strangers to the other on a solo trip is fun, since the invite comes easily if you’re any one of the three—funny, beautiful/handsome, and interesting.
No matter how much fun you’re having, do not drink more than your capacity, since you have to take yourself home. One of the solo travel tips that has worked out the best for me is to pitch a hangout spot closer to my hotel to make things easier.
13. Be Polite–It Goes a Long Way!
This is the top solo travel advice I have for all those navigating how to travel alone for the first time. Imagine being alone in a foreign place, or even your own country, for instance, with no one but yourself to rely on.
You’ll need lots of small favors from numerous strangers; in such cases, politeness and kind words are your currency.
The prime reason for learning a few words in the native language (sorry, please, thank you & greetings) is that the sound of their own language is sweeter to people.
14. Check the Ratings of Your Hotel
Despite so much planning and iteration before going on a trip, many of us find ourselves running out of money by the end. At desperate hours such as this, it is economical to stay in a hostel/hostel pod wherever available.
However, many of them cannot be trusted, and some of them are way too small to accommodate people of all statures. Make sure to check the ratings and reviews from people who share the same prospects as you.
15. Carry Secret Wallets–Never Put All Your Eggs in One Basket!
Keep the secret wallet on you at all times, the slim one like in the image. Keep your legitimate identity card, passport, and some secret cash in the wallet, which you have to swear not to use throughout the trip.
This will ensure you get home in the worst-case scenario, robbery? Lost? Thrown out of your hotel? Lost your luggage at the airport?
No worries; by using one of these solo travel tips, you will get home safe and sound, without missing out on any of the fun.
16. Pack Wisely–Make Space for the Memories You Will Bring Back
Remember to keep the packing as concise as possible. As a solo traveler, the luggage margin is already pretty tight, and you would want to bring back a lot of things from your travel destination.
On both domestic and international flights, the luggage limit is around 15 kg (7 hand baggage), and even while traveling domestically via a train, you’ll have to drag the luggage.
Eliminate this burden, make a checklist, and pack light!
17. Make Space for Spontaneity
All of this might sound like a lot of hassle, but it’s all in theory. These are the preparations you need to make beforehand to ensure safety and to be able to focus on having fun upon reaching.
Careful planning just paves the way for spontaneity and fun. The crux of a solo trip is to have the time of your life, explore the type of decision-maker you are, and see how you befriend people.
By being too uptight and reserved, you might stay safe at the cost of missing the point.
18. Make a Playlist, Sit Back & Relax!
Two of the most awkward things I noticed while traveling solo were dining alone and traveling on public transport.
One way to skip being nervous during is by listening to good music and escaping into your little la la land instead of staring at people’s faces, wondering how they’re judging you.
Another upside of this is that every time you listen to those songs after getting back home, they will be associated with the flavor of the memories you made on the trip.
19. Invest in a Selfie-Stick & a Tripod
This is yet another one of the golden solo travel tips, and you’d want to note this down somewhere. The struggle of getting the pictures right was real during my first two solo trips.
But ever since the switch, it has been so easy. No need to beg strangers for clicking pictures and remain at the mercy of their photography skills.
This doesn’t necessarily apply to the content creators, since anybody can use a tripod to snap a few good pictures of the drip!
20. Download Useful Apps!
There are a few things you must be doing to enhance your travels, like checking your country’s travel advisory for the destination you aspire to visit. Check the visa requirements.
Download the important metro apps, language translation apps, and bus update apps. Figure out the process to obtain a travel card like the T-money Card in South Korea and the Suica Card in Japan.
A few other ways to look out for yourself are by getting the basics right, like keeping extra cash and finding out the opening and closing times of the attractions.
Follow through with the essential solo travel tips mentioned above, and have a trouble-free and most riveting time of your life.
Make eye contact with people, smile, and say a little hello. This is the best way in, and I can swear by this solo travel tip for introverts.
Mentioned in the next section are a few prospective solo travel destinations you can consider!
Also Read: 10 Unforgettable Things to Do in Denver in 2025: An All-Round Guide to Exploring Colorado
My Top 5 Solo Travel Destinations
If you’re in the first stage of planning your solo trip, here are my top 5 solo travel destinations for women due to their safety:
- Nordic Countries: Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Iceland are a group of countries that can be visited together on a Schengen visa and are safe.
- Baltic Countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are also considered very safe, with some of the lowest crime rates.
- Canada: There are a lot of things to do in Canada, given its vastness, and the low crime rates, especially in popular tourist spots, make it a promising option for a solo trip.
- Japan: Japan is known worldwide for its low crime rates, favorable demography (mostly old people), well-connected public transport, and respectful culture.
- Iceland: The magnetism of Iceland is unmatched, and the safety and variety of things to do make it a convincing option for recreational solo travel.
Now that I’ve given you a wide overview of how to travel alone for the first time, let’s move over to the final words.
Also Read: 20 Best Things to Do in Midtown NYC: A Quintessential List!
Summing Up the Solo Travel Tips
If you do comply with the solo travel advice above, it will be easier to stay safe while inviting valuable new experiences. The best part about solo trips is that nobody knows you, so you can completely reinvent yourself and be whoever you want.
For all the introverts out there, muster up the courage to interact with the locals to get a deep understanding of a place. Lastly, let the experience challenge your thoughts, beliefs, and predefined notions about yourself, and let it carve you into someone new!
FAQs
What is the best way to travel solo?
What are the best places to travel solo female?
Some of the best places to travel solo as a female are Iceland, the Nordic-Baltic nations, Canada, Japan, and Thailand.
Which states are the best places to travel alone in the US?
New York City, California, Washington D.C., Seattle, San Francisco, and Portland are some of the safest states/cities to visit in the US as a solo traveler, as far as my experience goes.
Which are the top 3 countries for solo travel?
Iceland, Japan, and Canada are the top 3 countries for solo travel.
