Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Self-growth.
You have no one but yourself to rely on when you're a solo traveler. It might
be a struggle at first but you quickly learn to be self-reliant—and I think that makes you a
stronger person.
DISADVANTAGES OF SOLO TRAVEL
Eating alone.
A lot of people feel really uncomfortable eating alone—especially in restaurants.
It isn't bad for breakfast and lunch, but dinners do get a little lonely. It really isn't that bad and
it isn't too hard to find other people to eat with, but it can be a little unnerving.
Unwanted isolation.
Staying in hostels is great because there are almost always tons of oth-
er people around to hang out with, but there will be times where you'll find yourself alone.
I remember my very first night of solo traveling. I was in Dublin and the hostel was overrun
by a large group of Spanish students. There must have been about forty of them. I didn't meet
any English speakers that first night so it was pretty lonely. I was also a new traveler so I was
quite timid. Luckily, occasions like this were rare, and I became more outgoing the more I
traveled.
No “buddy system.”
It can be nice to have a buddy to share your memories with and to
help keep each other safe.
HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY TRAVEL SOLO
Stay in hostels.
There are plenty of ways to meet other people while you're traveling solo. The
easiest is at your hostel. There will nearly always be someone looking to meet up. This is also
a great opportunity to meet with other solo travelers.
Be friendly and outgoing.
Smile and be the first person to introduce yourself. If someone
new arrives at the hostel, greet him or her. I didn't do a very good job being outgoing my first
few nights, so I had a hard time meeting people. But after the third night, I forced myself to
be a little more outgoing and it opened up so many doors.
Beer.
Buy some cheap beer and offer it to people. You'll meet TONS of people this way. People
will often do the same for you.
Cook meals in the hostel.
You'll meet so many people if you hang out in the kitchen
around dinnertime. This is also a good time to hand out those beers.
Hostel planned activities.
Many hostels plan outings like free walking tours or pub-crawls.
This is an easy way to meet other travelers.
Seek out other people.
Most big cities have an active Couchsurfing meet-up community
that gets together each week. It's normally held at a bar and anyone is welcome. It's a great
place to meet other travelers, expats, and locals. Additionally, most major cities have free
walking tours that attract a lot of younger travelers.
Start in a country where you know the language.
Traveling is confusing—especially when
you're solo. Traveling in a country where you don't know the language is even more confus-
