Solo Traveler

iffy

Hi there,

So my question is, i am a 22 year old female looking to go to south america for a couple of months at the end of April, I have the funds to go, and have been learning basic spanish, have my route planned, basically all i have to do is go ahead and book!

But my one hesitation is the solo bit, has anyone any experience in travelling on their own, is it easy to meet people, do you get lonely? Especially being a girl and safety issues....basically just put my mind at ease i really want to go !!!

Thanks for any replies!!

dory

Hello. I did the exact same thing. Headed for Brazil when I was 22, stayed in Central/South America for 9 months. Was absolutely fine. Felt perfectly safe as long as I didn't wander around on my own at night, took extra care not to get a bus that would arrive in the dark, things like that.
I blogged about it all (www.tuisligh.com), blog is a mess right now but if you can figure out where my South American entries are you'll see how I got on.

Have fun!

Civilian_Target

Yeah, I travel on my own pretty often. To be short, yes, at times it can be pretty damn lonely, but it's also incredibly engaging!

To travel alone is to travel with everyone, and no-one. You'll certainly get a flavour of the places your going that you don't get in groups. You'll spend a lot more time talking to locals, and to other travellers, and you should be open! Talk to people on busses or in bars - some of my best experiences have been when others have invited me to come to their parties or stay in their houses.

To stay safe, I'd recommend two things.
- You should do location tracking so that someone at home knows where you are. The expensive way to do this is to buy a GPS Spot Tracker http://international.findmespot.com/ and the cheap way is to use Twitter with a location plugin.
- Use the 'will this be a stupid story?' method. If you're in any way uncomfortable about doing something, add up all the facts you have and imagine you're telling the story to someone back home. If it's going to make you look stupid, don't do it!

Glynner83

Hi Iffy,

I am actually thinking about doing the same, heading off to South America for a few months. I am after finishing with my job and am very eager to just head off for a few months but none of my friends are in the position to go so am thinking about just going on my own.

I am 26 and have never done gone travelling solo before so have some of the same concerns. I think by travelling on your own though you could meet and talk to people you wouldnt normally if you were travelling with someone and they are they stories you'll tell when you look back at it in a few years. I wouldnt be too worried about the safety thing as long as you are smart about it and aware of your surroundings.

I know anyway that i am excited about it. I dont have any plan yet only I am going to fly into San Paulo in March or April and just go from there.

So i hope the thought of going on your own doesnt put you off it. I know I am looking forward to it anyway

Aurora Borealis

I went by myself for two months approx. and loved it. Took me a week to find my feet but then I loved it. I had done a few weekends away by myself before that but that trip cemented my love of travelling alone. The freedom is great. It's great travelling with people too don't get me wrong but being on my own would never put me off for a second. Have a blast. South America is ridiculously good fun.

Dante10

Another way of doing it is to do what I did (albeit in Asia).
I booked a tour for my first 3 weeks of travel in China, just to ease myself into the environment, culture, people etc....it was my first time travelling "solo" but then the tour ended and by that time I was pretty accustomed to travelling and moving around a lot so Ive had no problems being in hong kong, macau and the philippines "truly on my own" for the past month. And yeh, you meet lots of great and interesting people from i diverse range of backgrounds. Still have to watch your back though and have your wits about you at all times because you're on your own at the end of the day but a bit copp on should suffice.
So what you could do is book a tour that covers the country into which you fly and then when the tour ends, you should be well accustomed to everything and will be delighted to head off on you own without any problems.

best of luck and enjoy

iffy

Thanks everyone for your replies and experience much appreciated!!

I'm going to go ahead and book next week now just have to convince the parents i wont get kidnapped, i am pretty small tbf!

Really am excited about it, does anyone have any secret gems i must visit off the beaten track? Also i only have very basic spanish, i'm able to understand more than actually speak, will that hinder my trip?