10 Essential Tips for your First Solo Adventure Congratulations on taking the first step. By reading this article, we understand that you have made up your mind and have booked your first solo adventure and yay, it’s all exciting! If you have not booked your tickets yet and still toying with the idea of travelling solo, we hope this post will help you jump on the other side of the fence
If you are planning to make a solo trip to Sri Lanka, check out these 10 essential tips for women travelling to Colombo.
As you travel solo, being totally responsible for yourself, it is inevitable that you will discover just how capable you are! For the ones who are starting out with their solo adventure, it can be exciting and daunting at the same time. Check out these 27 Best Places to Visit for Solo Travellers. Here are 10 essential tips for your first solo adventure. Have an open mindset The first step to going on a solo adventure trip is to actually believe that it is going to be alright. You need to approach the whole trip with an open mindset instead of getting paranoid about stories that you may find online. Not two people’s experience is the same but it would not be worth it to make your own judgment before actually experiencing it firsthand. Take the plunge. You will be amazed by what you can discover about yourself and the place when you travel solo.
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Be prepared Just because you have an open mindset does not mean you should go unprepared. Check out this Ultimate list of Travel Hacks if you are planning your trip. Spend some time reading about the place before you travel. Knowing the culture, tradition, religion, do’s and don’ts would actually help you face situations in real when you get there. Keep soft copies of your visa, passport and other travel documents in your email. Save your local embassy’s number. Travel doesn’t happen as planned. That is the beauty of it. It is always better to be prepared to have an enjoyable holiday. Choose hostels/guesthouses over hotels Travelling solo does not mean being alone. Choose accommodations that are solo travel-friendly where you get to interact with owners and other fellow travellers. Hotels do not give you that flexibility. Hostels are a great place to visit fellow travellers. Want to spend time with the locals? Guesthouses are your way go. People in guesthouses are generally more attending to solo travelers.
Carry a book It is not easy eating alone in restaurants if that’s something you have never tried to do. And if you are travelling solo, it can be a nightmare doing that. Carry a book along with you and spend time reading while your food is being prepared. Reading is a great thing to do during your free time and while you is waiting around. It makes it less awkward and easier for you enjoy your meal once it arrives.
20 Maxwell Road, #09-17, Singapore 069113
http://ichiqoo.com +65 9781 9464 (SG)
Write your experience in a notebook A great way to remember every tiny bit detail about your travel is to carry a notebook with you. When you are alone, sit down and jot some points. Write the name of the place you have been to, the neighboring coffee shop you visited, the people you met and more. These kind of information are easy to forget especially if you are on a long holiday and you don’t want to feel miserable not being able to recall a name. The notebook can also help you bring back memories if you are depressed once you are back after a wonderful holiday. If you want to know how to beat postdepression after your trip, read this blog. When you get invited, play ball There are plenty of advantages when you travel solo. People try to help you, invite you over for a meal or even ask you to tag along when they are going to visit places. Play ball and say yes. Who knows, you might end up making some great friends? Beware of the ‘overfriendly’ ones As much as it is nice to play ball and tag along with people during your trip, be careful of the ones who try to get, too close too fast. If they are being over friendly, asking you a lot of questions about your personal life, it’s time for the alarm bells to ring. Politely decline and if that doesn’t work, use a firm hand gesture and say NO in the local language. That works most of the time.
20 Maxwell Road, #09-17, Singapore 069113
http://ichiqoo.com +65 9781 9464 (SG)
Eat a heavy breakfast When you travel solo, it is better to start your day early and end it early too. Not many destinations are safe to explore late in the night and it is best to wrap your night early. It also gives you an early head start in the morning to grab sumptuous breakfast before it runs out. Early breakfast gives you the energy to survive the day and focus on exploring some interesting places.
Learn few words in the local language This is a must if you are travelling solo or with friends. When you learn few local words, it gets easy to communicate with locals and get your point across. You should know basic words like
Where is the toilet? Good Morning Hello How are you? No Stop Thank you I am lost ….to help you survive a trip. You can now say Hello in 20 Asian Languages Don’t get lost in your book all the time Although it is good to carry a book when you travel solo, immersing yourself into it will not allow you to experience the place to the max. Look up, watch people around, have casual chats with waiters or other tourists. Socialize a bit. You don’t have to be a social butterfly. You don’t have to force yourself to talk to people. Sometimes all you need to do is to smile to start a conversation. Ready to travel solo? This is going to fun!
20 Maxwell Road, #09-17, Singapore 069113
http://ichiqoo.com +65 9781 9464 (SG)