How to travel alone: Useful tips
Alexandra Savina
Summer is the traditional time of vacations and travels. If the company for the trip is not in any way, it does not matter: traveling alone can be no less exciting and interesting. There are many fears and stereotypes associated with such trips, but instead of being afraid and sitting at home, it is better to thoroughly prepare for the journey and go on a journey of adventure. We share tips and life hacks that will make vacation alone easier and safer.
Take care of your safety
The main issue of concern for those traveling alone is safety. But traveling alone is not necessarily associated with big risks — just follow a few simple tips. Before you leave, tell your friends or relatives about what you are going to do and where you want to go, but rather make a detailed trip plan, so that they know where and on what day you most likely are. And even if you want to relax from everyone, it’s worth taking time to call or write a message to your friends and family and let them know that everything is fine with you.
When choosing a place to stay, it is worthwhile to read reviews (we think that you probably do this anyway) and learn more about the area in which the selected hotel or hostel is located. If you use couchsurfing, read the reviews about the host you want to stay with; You can also see his profiles in social networks. In hostels and hotels it is not worth saving on renting a safe: keeping money in it is safer and more secure than hiding it in secluded places. If you are worried that someone will enter the room without your knowledge, you can take special gadgets with you — a door stop or a hanging alarm device — that make a loud sound when someone outside tries to open the door of your room.
When you go somewhere from a hotel or hostel, tell the staff where you are going to go - they will surely be friendly and see if you are back. On walks, if you need to look at the map, it is better not to stop with it in the middle of the street, but to go to the nearest store or shop: pickpockets consider bewildered tourists as an easy target. For the same reason, it is better to try to dress not as a tourist (for example, not to wear T-shirts with the name of the city where you are now) and, if possible, to get out of the crowd. On walks with you, it is better to take a bag over your shoulder - it will be harder to rip off - and not to keep money and valuables in the back pockets of jeans or pants.
At the same time, it should be understood that a dangerous situation can be encountered not only on vacation, but also in the hometown. This is not a reason to panic every time you need to leave the house, but to reasonably assess the risks and estimate difficult situations that you can get on vacation.
Make copies of documents
This advice is useful not only for those traveling alone, but for solo travelers it is very important: there is nothing worse than being alone in a foreign country without documents. In order not to get into an unpleasant situation, it is worth making copies of all important documents and carrying them with you, not the originals. Another useful tip is to save scans of documents on services like DropBox, Google Drive, or send them to yourself by mail. So you will always have the opportunity to get a copy of the desired document - even if all things are stolen from you.
Study the place where you are going
Any self-respecting tourist tries to explore more closely the place where he is going to go. But for a lone traveler it is doubly important: you should find out in advance where you are going to live, in which areas of the city it is not safe to go alone, and where you can walk quietly, which taxi services you should use, how is the situation with public transport and whether a lone tourist can quietly walk around the city in the evening. If you are going to the city for the first time, you should study it carefully: look at the map of the place you want to visit and try to remember the way to the hotel. The more confident and calmer you will feel on the streets when you follow familiar routes, the less you will look like a tourist and you will not attract the attention of intruders.
Before the trip you should study the social networks: on Instagram and Facebook you can see profiles of people living in the city where you are going, which you are interested in, and see the places where they go. This way you can find routes that are not obvious to tourists, cafes and bars that are loved by local ones: in this respect, social networks can even be more useful than popular services like TripAdvisor. In urban groups on Facebook you can see if there are any interesting events in the city at the time you arrive, and what you should pay attention to. In addition, it is worth finding out whether your friends and relatives know where you are going: an extra contact for emergency situations in a foreign country never hurts.
Before the trip, it is useful to compile a memo with important phone numbers and data (embassy number, emergency services, hotel address, information about the nearest hospital and other relevant information) that you can put on the phone or print and carry in your bag - in case the phone will steal.
Get ready to spend more
Traveling alone, you need to be prepared for the fact that a trip can be more expensive than if you were relaxing with someone: a single room at a hotel usually costs more than half a double room, and to share the cost of food, taxi or car rental does not work - you have to pay for everything yourself.
The main question on a single trip is safety, so it’s better not to spare money and choose a convenient day flight, so as not to be alone in the middle of the night in a foreign city, and not save on a hotel or hostel and live in a safe and secure area. In addition, it is worthwhile to put money in the budget for unforeseen expenses related to security: arrange a transfer from the hotel instead of taking the bus (especially at night!) And be ready to use a taxi instead of going to an unsafe area in the evening.
Do not keep all the money in one place
Another advice that is useful not only for lonely tourists, but is especially important for them: if you travel alone, then in case something happens to borrow money from a friend with whom you come to rest, it will not work. Do not keep all the money and valuables in one place - it’s better to divide them into several parts and store them in different places (and even better, do not save and use the safe!). In addition, it is worth having a small amount ($ 50 or euro) in reserve for emergency situations: when you unload things, you can hide a bill in a suitcase, for example, by folding it into a pack with a tampon or a sock. In the same way, you can store a spare credit card - so even in the worst case scenario, you will have some money left.
We think it is unnecessary to explain why you should not walk around the city, putting all the money that you took with you on the trip into your bag at once - it’s better to estimate how much you need on that day and leave the rest in the room. The amount you took with you should not be kept in one place either: so, if your wallet is stolen from you, at least some of the money will remain with you.
Take less things with you.
Try not to take too much with you - at least because a heavy suitcase or bag will have to be carried everywhere by yourself, without help from others. In addition, the fewer things you have, the faster you will be able to move around the city - which is especially important in dangerous and uncomfortable situations. For the same reason, you should give preference to comfortable shoes and take at least a pair of sneakers for a trip.
Meet new people, but be careful
The fact that you are traveling alone does not mean that you have to spend all the time alone. If there is a desire, then on a trip you can and should meet new people. You can meet in traditional ways, and you can find interesting people from the city where you go to relax, and get to know them in absentia in social networks - and when you arrive at the place, arrange a personal meeting.
Do not forget about caution: very often the most interesting and pleasant interlocutors are fraudsters - so you should be more careful and not rush to trust strangers (for example, do not ask them to keep an eye on the bag and valuables when you go to the toilet). In addition, it may be easier and safer to meet a small group of friends who are resting together than with one or two people.
Remember that in unfamiliar company it is better to be more careful with alcohol - try to keep a sober mind. And trust your instincts: if in some situation you are uncomfortable, do not torture yourself and leave - it is always better to be safe.
Learn to have dinner alone
When traveling, you will be your only companion, so it is very important to learn how to spend time alone with yourself. Most difficult for many travelers are lunch and dinner alone - but this is not a reason to neglect a little rest and good food. There are several useful techniques: for example, you will probably be more comfortable spending time alone in a small cafe than in a famous restaurant (although nothing prevents you from going there if you want). In order not to be bored, take a book or a magazine with you, and if you do not want to sit at a table for two, choose a place at the bar counter. If you want to communicate, do not hesitate to talk to the staff or the next table - of course, provided that they do not mind and are friendly. And if the idea of having dinner alone is completely unbearable, there are other options - you can take a meal or order room service.
Tune in for a great trip
The biggest plus of traveling alone is absolute freedom of action. You do not need to adapt to anyone, you plan to travel completely independently and can include exactly what you need: no one will condemn you if you decide to spend all day in the room, go for a walk around museums for ten hours without a break, or go to the famous gallery for half an hour, instead of quietly get around everything with an audio guide. Traveling alone will teach you to be prepared for surprises and will give you new experience, and at the same time help you to know yourself and your desires better - in everyday life, there is often not enough time for this. The main thing is not to be afraid to leave the comfort zone.