Info on Solo travelling for women???

U1D2C3

I am desperate to go travelling! I'm 25 and a girl and all of my friends have children, careers or they have absolutely no interest in travelling or have any money, even my boyfriend doesn't want to travel as he has done it already and wants to concentrate on his career! i have no career and I'm stuck in a dead end job with no college qualifications! I have no idea what i want to do with my life and I don't think I'll know until I've seen at least some of the world - I also don't want to have kids until I've seen the world!!!! Is/was anyone else in my situation? I am also scared and nervous to go alone!!! Also, i don't know where to start on organizing myself!
do I book hostels etc before I leave?
how much money should I save to travel around Asia and maybe Australia?
do i plan my travelling (i.e. flight tickets etc) before I leave and stick to some kind of itinerary?? (i'd rather not and just be free to do what I want)
Is immigration strict over in those areas like China and India where I would need a certain type of visa that could cost me a lot of money??
A lot of questions I know!! sorry!! but i just need some answers to get myself started!! thanks in advance!!! ))

dory

Travelling alone for women is perfectly fine. I travelled South America, Australia and Asia on my own for 15 months, and I was 21.

If you saved up €5000 you could have a great 4 month trip through Asia. Australia is much more expensive.

Visa's aren't too bad in most places. Don't know about China but for India it's €50 for 6 months (that's the minimum you will get) and the clock starts ticking once you get the visa, not when you enter the country.

If you want some ideas, I just so happen to have thrown together a photobook of my travels. You can see it here. I'm not selling it, the website puts up that cheesy writing and price automatically, but the photos might give you ideas.

Why not look at photos/blogs and see what you'd really like to see. I remember reading a blog about Bolivia and that's what made me want to go to South America.

For most countries €1000 a month is normal, but don't forget flights/visas/vaccinations.

And also, if you want to stay free and flexible you'll pay for it. But you could book a return flight to Bangkok and then you'd still be free to go whereever within that time.

Pisco Sour

U1D2C3 wrote: »

I am desperate to go travelling! I'm 25 and a girl and all of my friends have children, careers or they have absolutely no interest in travelling or have any money, even my boyfriend doesn't want to travel as he has done it already and wants to concentrate on his career! i have no career and I'm stuck in a dead end job with no college qualifications! I have no idea what i want to do with my life and I don't think I'll know until I've seen at least some of the world - I also don't want to have kids until I've seen the world!!!! Is/was anyone else in my situation? I am also scared and nervous to go alone!!! Also, i don't know where to start on organizing myself!
do I book hostels etc before I leave?
how much money should I save to travel around Asia and maybe Australia?
do i plan my travelling (i.e. flight tickets etc) before I leave and stick to some kind of itinerary?? (i'd rather not and just be free to do what I want)
Is immigration strict over in those areas like China and India where I would need a certain type of visa that could cost me a lot of money??
A lot of questions I know!! sorry!! but i just need some answers to get myself started!! thanks in advance!!! ))

Just PM'ed you

dory

EDIT: Whoops!

Canis Lupus

Not specifically aimed at women but this is decent site in regards to how/where/when http://www.travelindependent.info/

madrabui

I've read this book. It's full of practical tips of female travellers.

Funny_Bones

hey, I'm in a similar situation, would love to know what you decided and how you get on?

travellingjoe

Im looking to travel also - maybe not in your age group - anyone out there looking to travel to China this year or somewhere similar - age group 50s but whats age? Have travelled solo many times - great!!!

maggiemissy

Have travelled solo for years all over the place, also in the all friends married with kids bracket, never gave it a second thought, its all about common sense and a little bit of forward planning and also you're never really on your own for long!!!! Have a ball!!

Up-n-atom!

I was in your shoes a year and a half ago (and was the same age). I was terrified about travelling alone so decided to do a bit of a 'test-drive' around Europe for a month interrailing. After that went really well I started to plan a round the world trip to South East Asia, Australia, North America for 7 months. You'll meet so many people out there that are doing exactly the same thing.

The best thing is just to research, research, research. Get an idea of how long you want to go for, what places are attractive for you, what itineraries are good, how much it's going to cost etc. A lot of the older threads here are really good and inspired a good bit of my travelling. Look at other websites such as wiki-travel, travelfish.org, lonely planet, and travel blogs, as suggested. When you've narrowed it down a bit in terms of your destinations, maybe think about investing in a guidebook or 2.

You can get a good idea of what places you need to be more organised/book in advance, and what places are more relaxed. For example, it's perfectly feesible to rock up in most places in South East Asia with no accommodation and you'll find somewhere to stay. You can book trips and transport the day before or the day of and it's no problem. In most Western countries this isn't always possible.