There are many things you can worry about for your first solo travel and I get that. Specially, when you have somewhere you want to travel to and explore, but your friends and family can´t go or simply no one else wants to go. The last one was my problem when I was 17 years old, thus it resulted in me going alone as soon as I finished high school at 18 years old. My destination was Tokyo, Japan. What is yours?

The 5 worries

Everybody has different worries and different ways to deal with them, but these are some of the ones I have heard the most about. Even though a lot of people ask me how I handle language barriers, how I pick where to travel and expenses, these are things I will talk about in another post. For now, let´s look at some other common questions and worries:

1. Safety
2. Directions or getting lost
3. How to handle emergencies
4. Lonliness
5. Afraid of feeling awkward

1. How do you ensure your safety?

Let´s be real, bad things can happen, but here is how I go about it.
I make sure I have a solid travel insurance. It does not stop theft, scams or injury, but it is indeed a safety. For me personally, I might need the insurance more for health than theft as I often find myself on the back of a horse, trying flying trapeze or bungee jumping. However, one time my new phone was stolen and it really saved me.

My personal biggest worry is to be robbed and stranded with no money. People are often nice and will help you find your way back, but it is harder if you need money. If you are from a first world country and traveling to one with lower income they might not even be able to help with money, but they are often the nicest and will help you back to your hotel. Because of this worry I have two cards. One with me and one at the hotel. If you are staying at a hostel and it does not have a lock, but you still have access to a locker. Invest in that lock and lock in some of your stuff including your second card. If this is not an option, have the cards seperate. For example one in your jacket and one in your bag, but have them seperate. I also have some emergency cash hidden in my suitcase.

It is very unlikely that your first solo adventure will be to a dangerous country, but if it is I have no other advice to give other than research, research and research some more. This is well worth to invest your time in to stay safe. If you travel to a country or city where the crime rate is high, you will be aware of this and keep a bit more of your attention on your belongings than if you had not known.
One thing that can prevent theft is to look confident. Walk with purpose and do not look lost. Which you might be, you are on holiday and it might be your first time in this city, but if you look like you know where you are going the robbers might think you blend in and are less likely to rob you.

2. Getting lost alone

Navigating a new city is scary, but it usually start from the same place. The airport, the train station or the bus station is usually the starting points, which means there are information counters there. I always save the address of where I am going on my phone in case Google Maps is not working and i always check if I have a direct line to my hotel. Because once my suitcase is gone and it is just me, it does not seem as exhausting getting lost, it can actually be a bit of fun. I say that, but I do have a horror story about this and it freaked me out, but to just have 1 of those stories compared to 15 years of traveling is not bad.

If you have gotten a sim card at the airport you will be able to use Google Maps throughout your stay to hopefully prevent getting lost. In some countries, such as South Korea there are other maps that are more detailed and beneficial to use when traveling there. In South Korea it would be Kakao Map or Naver Map that would benefit you the most. Which is why it is good to research the place you are going before leaving so you are aware of which map services works the best or where to get a travel card.

If you get lost, people are often very helpful with this. If not, go into a random hotel, you can also do this with stores, restaurants and cafes, but in my experience hotels are the best. Once I did not have a sim card and they let me use their wi-fi, while another hotel has called a cab for me. Also if the country is not English speaking and in general is not the strongest in English, the receptionists at hotels will have to speak a certain degree of English. Therefore it is easier to get help at hotels and they are often very understanding of you as a tourist.

3. How to handle emergencies

This one is hard, because you never know what kind of emergency might happen. Safety will help with theft and medical, but it might be more serious. An extreme situation could be a tsunami and a smaller situation can be having your luggage sent with the wrong flight. Some things are just out of your control and there are no way of preparing for it. If you have a carry-on for the flight you can always bring a pair of clean clothes with you onto the flight. The flight companies often manage to locate and deliver the missing luggage to you within 24-48 hours. It is not ideal, but you are still on holiday so try not to think of it and maybe go shopping if you are afraid your luggage will take longer. It might even help take your mind of your missing clothes.

My advise if you are afraid of something like a tsunami, do not think about it. If it happens you will not be alone, there will be more people in the same state of emergency as you and you can rally together. The chances of it happening is low and it would never stop you from living your life where you live. Do not let it stop you from traveling to mesmerizing locations.

To not have to worry over everything, I do think it is better to understand some things are out your control. Therefore let it go and enjoy your holiday.

4. Lonliness

Do not worry, if you travel alone and this is your biggest worry it also most likely means you like meeting new people. If not, well, you have already stepped outside of your comfort zone by traveling alone, why not do it one more time?
These are the main ways I tackle it:
Hostels – I do not like sleeping in a room with many people, but I find Capsule Hotels fun for a night or two. This also let´s me meet a lot of new people. You feel to old for it? Same, but hostels also usually have hotel rooms, though they are really expensive compared to the hostel beds, but many of these places have social areas which is worth visiting. Some hostels even have events on certain days, I have seen some hotels which also have it, but I have never attended.
Join a group tour – Many people travel alone and you might meet someone else on a solo trip adventure. This is one of my favorite ways as I have met so many interesting people, both traveling together and adopting me for a day or two, or someone else solo traveling whom I can meet up with the day after if our plans aligns.
Pub crawl – If you sign up for an official pub crawl or just go to bars you want to visit, I am sure you will meet new people. I have made friends with other bar attendees and gone to the next bar with them, but also made friends with the bartenders. I have not hung out with the bartenders, but we have stayed in touch over social media and it is amazing. They have also told me of other bars that I should visit while I am in town. Some of my really great friends have been made through drunken fun and sober adventures the next day.
Long term rental – Are you staying in an area for a longer time? Depending on the culture you might befriend your neighbours or the local community around where you are staying. The language might be an issue, but not always. I have rented for a month some places and made friends with other renters and even the next door grandma, but it has been a bit of a longer process. Talking once in a while and then the week before I leave we will hang out.
Attend a course – There is so much you can learn while abroad. You can go for privat courses or group courses, but if you sign up for a group course then you already have somethng in common with the other people attending. There is not only language courses you can attend, but cooking, sport or arts classes. You can do a weeks course or just for an hour, but it is a great way to meet people. Maybe you will get invited for dinner or a drink after, or take action and invite them.

These are usually my five ways of battling loneliness and I never felt the need for something else. Especially since I like meeting people organically. There are also apps you can use to meet people while traveling solo. Some apps are specifically made for connecting solo travelers with eachother, while other apps are for connecting with people. If you are working while traveling or you are a digital nomad, I can imagine meeting people at co-working spaces also would be natural.

5. Afraid of feeling awkward alone

Traveling solo has become more and more normal so other travelers will not think much of it. In some cultures it is looked at as being a lonely person if you are by yourself. Take South Korea, most restaurants are made for gathering of people and you will look lonely eating alone. However in the neighbour country Japan it is perfectly normal to eat alone and many restaurants are designed with this purpose.
There are of course some group activites that will be difficult to do, but then you just find something else to do. If you feel like people are looking at you because you are alone, just remember you will soon pass them and they will forget about you.

I have things I feel awkward about as well, such as festivals, but I have gone alone and it is freeing. I get to see the stages I want, I get to sit down and stand far away from the stage when I feel like it. Also I made some friends in the crowd for the time we were standing together. It will feel less and less awkward, and you will adjust. Even in South Korea there are some restaurants being designed to cater to people eating alone. Why am I mentioning this? Well, it means more and more people are doing things alone. You might still feel awkward about certain things, but if you want to do something, go for it. The memories will not be of how awkward it was, but of the actual thing you did.

We are all different and we all enjoy different things, but even if you are traveling with friends you might want to do something different. One of you wants to go shopping while the other wants to go to a museum. Do it! Go seperatly. Decide on a meeting point and time, go for food or something after and you can both talk about what you did. I am sure if this is possible, then a whole solo trip is also possible. I personally have made a lot of memories and friends because I have travelled alone. Had I been with friends, I might not ever made the friends I did along the way.