My tips for solo travel
I've just been on my first solo trip of 2024 so I thought I'd share my tips
Sorry the newsletter is late this week, I’ve been in Copenhagen for the past four days on my first solo trip of 2024!
This was my first solo trip in eight years so I thought it would be fun, in this week’s newsletter, to share my tips for others considering doing a solo trip.
I’ve been keen to do a trip on my own ever since I arrived in Europe three months ago. I think there’s something really special about solo travel and the opportunities it can give you.
The last time I did solo travel was during my gap year to Europe as a naive 18-year-old. It was my first overseas trip as an adult, without my family. While I travelled with friends for a lot of it, I think I ended up doing about three weeks solo during the four and half months I was there. I don’t remember being nervous about it at all, I just dove in headfirst and loved it! I met so many amazing people and had loads of incredible adventures.
This brings me to my last four days.
I just had such a fun time travelling solo in Copenhagen, Denmark. Copenhagen wasn’t where I had originally planned to go but when looking at flights, it was the cheapest place there was at this time of the year, so I booked it. My great-grandpa was actually from Copenhagen so I thought it would be cool to check out where he had lived before moving to Australia in the 1800’s. Copenhagen also turned out to be a great choice for a solo female traveller, as it is ranked as the world’s safest city!
I decided to not plan, or even Google, anything about Copenhagen or what there was to do there. I just booked my flights and a hostel and went in relatively blind. I ended up doing A LOT of walking (my feet hurt now), met some lovely people and did lots of fun things. I’ll write another newsletter more specifically about my trip, but for this edition, I just wanted to share my advice for solo travellers.
Now I don’t want to sugarcoat it and say solo travel is always sunshine and rainbows. It can be hard sometimes. You might get lonely, you might have moments you wish you had someone to talk to over dinner, and you might get sick of your own thoughts sometimes. That’s totally normal. Travelling is never going to be perfect no matter whether you’re travelling solo or with others.
After doing my first solo trip in eight years, I’ve compiled my tips for other people considering travelling solo. Now I know not every person traveling alone wants to make friends, you may just want to spend time with yourself and that’s completely fine. For that reason, I’ve broken my tips up into two parts: tips on how to make friends as a solo traveller and then tips for when you’re on your own.
Tips for making friends as a solo traveller:
Stay in a hostel
If you’re a solo traveller wanting to make friends on your trip, my number one recommendation would be to stay in a hostel. If you are in a dorm room, try to strike up a conversation with others in your room when you arrive. If you’re not a fan of sleeping in a bunk bed in a room with 12 other strangers, most hostels offer private rooms too. This is a good solution to having your own space, but also have the option to meet people in the communal areas or at the hostel’s organised activities. Just make sure to check the reviews before you book to see if it’s a hostel that has a decent common area/social vibe.
The hostel I booked in Copenhagen had a bar downstairs that hosted nightly events and was full of other young travellers. The first night I was there I made my way down to the bar, got a drink, sat next to a stranger and struck up a conversation. Was I nervous about doing this? Yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely. I met a handful of people that night who I ended up hanging out with lots over the next few days in the city and had so much fun with.
Book a tour
If you don’t have any luck meeting people in a hostel, then why not book a tour? If there is somewhere you want to explore but don’t want to do on your own, then find a group tour and attempt to befriend the other tour members. I did a walking tour on my third day in Copenhagen and got chatting with another young guy in the group. We found out we were both planning on doing the same day trip the next day so ended up going together and had a great time.
Start a conversation with a random
It can be daunting to start a conversation with a stranger in the wild, but I’ve met some fantastic people by doing this while travelling. Whether it’s with someone in front of you in line, at a cafe or restaurant, or even just someone you sat down next to on a park bench. Looking out for other solo travellers, or people around your age, is a great place to start.
During my gap year, I was in Barcelona for three days on my own, and the hostel I was staying at didn’t have a communal area and it was tricky to meet people there. After one day exploring on my own, I was a bit bummed I hadn’t met anyone who I could go explore with. On my second day there I headed to the famous Park Guell and saw two other girls who looked to also be tourists around my age. I decided to be brave and went up and started chatting to them. We hit it off right away and I ended up spending the rest of my day with them and we had so much fun. While you might not always be able to meet people that easily while solo travelling, the point is that sometimes it’s worth just starting a conversation with someone who you think you could make friends with.
Keep yourself open to meeting new people in every scenario
I really believe that people can tell whether or not you’re looking to make friends, so make sure you’re giving off '“I want to make friends” energy (if that’s what you want!). Ask someone about the book they’re reading, smile at strangers, or start a conversation with the bartender.
Tips for times when you’re on your own:
Carry a book around with you
If you don’t always want to be on your phone when you’re sitting for lunch or a drink, then make sure you have a book with you. Sometimes you’ll just want to sit down and relax for a bit on your travel days, and a book is a nice way to take a screen-free break.
Journal
If you’re someone who likes to journal about your travels, you’ll know how easy it can be to fall behind, so spend your lunchtime catching up.
Keep a pair of earphones handy
Personally, I sometimes like to listen to music or a podcast when walking around by myself all day, so I always make sure to carry a pair of earphones with me.
People watch
People-watching is one of my favourite things to do when I’m travelling overseas. It’s so much fun to sit down on a bench in a busy street and just watch the world go by.
Solo travel really is an incredible experience and I would recommend everyone do it at least once, even if it’s just a day out in your hometown or city. I think it’s so important to learn to enjoy your own company and solo travel can be a great way to do this. You might also meet some awesome people, learn something new about yourself and experience travelling in a different way!
So proud of you.
Wow!! That is great advice and a good reminder about life Ruby!! So good.