Hello friend, I wrote a post on Quora regarding 5 tips for solo travellers.
And the post did well it got 5100 views, 45 upvotes and 1 share.
Because it did well I thought I’d share it in this blog post.
Here is the exact breakdown I shared that resonated with thousands of people to the question:
“What is some good advice and tips for travelling alone?”
Last year, I went on my first ever solo trip when I travelled to Rome. The picture below is of me from my solo holiday.
Here are five pieces of advice that I learnt from travelling to Rome solo.
1. Don’t overthink it and book the trip
It doesn’t matter what tips I give you because you won’t learn anything just by reading this post. You’ll only learn by travelling, just like I did. We only truly learn by doing.
2. Plan the main trips before you go
Before I travelled to Rome, I booked a guided tour around the Colosseum, which was definitely a good move to make, but I also got myself in a pickle. Because when I was in Rome, I realised that I wanted to go on a guided tour around the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel, so when I was there, I paid over the odds to get a special tour around the Vatican. If I were to do this again, I would pre-book the Vatican trip beforehand so I wouldn’t have to pay over the odds.
3. Bring the correct adapter to charge your phone
When I got to Rome, I quickly realised I had brought the wrong adapter to charge my phone. So the morning after I arrived in Rome, my phone was almost out of juice, so I had to go and walk the streets of Rome to try and find a technology store that sold British plug adapters for my phone charger. Doing this was very stressful because I couldn’t speak hardly any Italian, but eventually, I luckily found a shop that sold adapters, and I was able to charge my phone.
4. Plan out all the places you want to go
I knew when I travelled to Rome that the main sites I wanted to see were the Pantheon, the Vatican, the Colosseum, and the Marcus Aurelius statue in the Palatine Hill museum. And I managed to see everything, I left no stone unturned, but now that I’ve become Catholic, I’ve realised that there are many basilicas/churches that I want to go and see next time I’m there.
5. Make time for spontaneity and for exploring
It’s wonderful to see all of the sights when you travel, but it’s also very important to make an adventure out of wherever you go. Walk down some funky neighbourhood, get talking to locals, go into some restaurants that the locals dine in, or drink the coffee that the locals drink.
Bonus tip
Realise that you will have some bad holidays, but don’t let that stop you from going away. You need to buy a ticket to win the raffle, and when you travel, it’s a bit like buying a lottery ticket because you’ll never truly know if you like a place until you’re there.
I read a quote saying “A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.”
Even if you have a terrible time when you’re away travelling, at least you’ll have a story to tell (or write about), and you will almost certainly learn something from the experience.
Remember, life is an adventure, and never lose that sense of adventure. You don’t need to travel to the other side of the world; you can explore your own country and keep the spirit of adventure alive within you.
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