Travelling alone can seem daunting from the comfort of home. What happens if you get stranded somewhere? Can you go out at night solo? Won’t it feel weird to eat in a restaurant alone? All these worries and more (Will I get attacked by bandits? Or my car stuck in a ditch?) plagued me before my first solo trip – my first research trip for Rough Guides, in 2003. My fears quickly evaporated, and now solo travel is a huge bonus of my job. Here’s how to make the most of your first solitary outing.
Know your strengths
Are you a sociable person who wants to be in the middle of everything? You might go crazy if you can’t communicate, so head for where you speak the language. Or, barring that go somewhere with very few tourists. A gregarious friend of mine travelled in Indonesia last year and loved it – foreigners were so rare on Java that schoolgirls stopped him in the street to have their picture taken with him. “I felt like a rock star”, he said. If you’re more of an introvert and prefer to observe a culture, forget the language barrier and go for passive entertainment. Vibrant cities are perfect for this, especially ones with good café cultures. Paris is classic, but other former French colonies, such as Lebanon and Vietnam, are also great for sitting and people-watching, all for the price of a coffee.
Sleep around
Look for room rentals in an apartment, which gives an automatic connection with residents. Even if your landlord doesn’t take you out on the town, you’ll at least scoop up a few local tips. Try online bulletin boards in your destination, room-rental sites like www.airbnb.com and crash-pad networks like Couchsurfing. Bonus: as a solo traveller, you have tons of options to choose from. Hostels are of course ready-made for solo travellers, but you might wind up spending more time with other tourists than with locals.
Play the oddball card
In much of the world, solo travellers – and single people in general – are seen as strange, even a bit unfortunate. “Pobre solita!” (“You poor lonely girl!”) people have said to me in Mexico, where everyone travels with their extended families. But because I was alone, I’ve also gotten generous invitations to people’s houses for dinner. So don’t feel bad – just roll with it, and show off your free-agent status by offering to take a family’s photo at a big sight, for instance, or sitting near a chatty gang at a bar.
Just say no
Sometimes, especially in more hospitable and foreigner-fascinated cultures like Egypt, I’ve found the attention I get as a solo traveller to be a little intense. Learn how to say “no, thank you” in the local language, as well as “absolutely not” – plus the local nonverbal gesture for no, which is often more effective than both. Also have local help numbers, such as the tourist police, programmed in your phone. You’ll probably never need them, but just knowing you have them can give you the confidence to deal with awkward situations.
Pack a book
A good book, a magazine or even just postcards to write or your travel journal to jot in – are all legitimate activities at a bar or restaurant if you get to feeling a little bored/lonely/exposed, so carry one of them with you at all times. And as a last resort there’s always fiddling with your smartphone.
Take photos
Making photography a mission, even if it’s just little odd details you notice about a place, gives a little structure to your day. And you will notice more odd details, because you’ll have the time and attention to look around. Your friends at home will appreciate your perspective and the story that comes with it.
Eat big
You might be tempted to live on fast food, just to avoid awkward restaurant situations. Don’t. In fact, fancy establishments are fantastic places to dine alone. Waiters are happy to help solo diners who smile and say, “I made a special trip just to eat here. What do you recommend?” Social folks might want to eat at the bar, but there’s no shame in taking a table for two.
Get an early start
If the thought of bar-hopping alone makes you die a little inside, just recast your day. Wake up early, enjoy a leisurely breakfast (when all the good stuff is still available on the hotel buffet) and head out for parks, museums and other daytime-only activities. If you pack your day full enough, you’ll be ready for bed by 9pm.
Find your people
Use Facebook and Twitter to ask for connections where you’re travelling. Offer to take local friends of friends out for dinner, and you’ll be surprised how many people take you up on it – everyone likes to be tour guide for a night. Also seek out your interests in your destination – the fan club for the local football team, say, or the chess association. That same gregarious friend who loved Indonesia also hooked up with an improv-comedy group in Kuala Lumpur. Hilarity ensued.
Revel in it
Even if you do get lonely, don’t lose sight of all the things you can do when you travel by yourself. Some of those perks are tiny – I’m always happy that I can double-dip my chips in the guacamole and change my mind every hour, without worrying about driving anyone crazy. But the real bonus of solo travel is much larger: pure freedom. You can take the exact trip you want, and even if you’re not quite sure yet what that might be, you’ll have a great time figuring it out.