Want to solo travel but something holding me back?

tkd93

So to give you the background 23 year old lad never was out of the country before last summer. Ended up having to spend a week in Warsaw on business but had lots of time to explore the city on my own and really enjoyed the whole experience.

Would love to start solo traveling say a week in a different European city each time. Thinking Paris for a start, speak ok French and really interested in the city. Already looked up flights hostels etc.

Very independent but also enjoy mixing different people nationalities etc. However i dunno I just have this feeling holding me back cant explain it about traveling abroad. We would never have gone on foreign holidays when I was younger and my parents would never leave the country be very nervous about going abroad. So suppose looking for advice how did similar 1st timers find the experience heading off on their own etc.

lc180

The first time is always daunting! I never did any solo travel until I was 25 and since then I've been to over 30 countries. It's not for everyone but I enjoy it loads. It's a weird sense of freedom that can be addictive.

My recommendation would be to do 1 city by itself first. See how it goes, come back home and figure out what you liked, what you didn't and then you'll be in a better plan a week away properly. But in saying that, loads of folks bite the bullet and feck off for months solo and it's no bother to them.

If you've any questions just shout.

mimihops

My take on it would be - whats the worst that can happen?! Worst case scenario is you book Paris, and maybe you decide that you prefer to travel with others but at least you gave it a go. On the other hand, since you enjoyed Warsaw by yourself its very likely you will have a good time and catch the buzz of heading off by yourself. I have been on a few solo trips and have always loved it, and if you stay in a sociable hostel you have the best of both worlds as there will be someone to join up with if you don't feel like being on your own. Its natural to feel nervous but don't let it hold you back either.

JJayoo

Research the sh1t out of it, good maps/street view/YouTube videos.

Phantasos

I only started a few years ago (at around 27yo) and wished I'd started sooner. As was said, not for everyone, but you should try it out.

Try a tester holiday first. My first solo trip was a weekend in Edinburgh. Short travel time, short length of stay, and it let me know whether solo travel was right for me. Maybe that would be a good place to start?

Remember, the first night away can be a little strange, but you settle into the groove after that.

Richard Hillman

Similar situation as yourself. I didnt travel abroad when I was young but last year decided to travel to around France by myself (Paris included). It is very strangely exciting in how exposed to you feel in travelling alone.

Paris is a great spot to start off. Bus tours are your best friend. The most common one in Paris has 3 different routes and an optional boat tour. You'll never be stuck for things to see or do. You may feel awkward at first but you'll find your feet pretty quick. You have no other option to find your feet.

grimm2005

It's totally natural to feel nervous or apprehensive but once you get past that you'll absolutely love it. One of the most important things in my opinion is to find a good social hostel, the smaller ones are usually more communal. This will make the world of difference.

On my trips usually I explore the city and do the tourist things by myself during the day at my own pace but then group with others for dinner (much of the time provided by the hostel) and a pub crawl later. If you need any hostel recommendations don't hesitate to send me a PM or ask in the thread

Doing these trips has really made me more social in all aspects of my life and I've come out of my shell in a huge way. So many people say "oh I could never do that, could never stay in a dorm/hostel etc" but in reality of course you can, you just need to take that first step of trying it. There's something really liberating about seeing a cheap flight and just booking it there and then without trying to organise with others to join you. Sometimes I book and give a few people details if they wanna join me, other times I'll purposely tell no one until close to the trip as I'll just want to go it alone.

otnomart

grimm2005 wrote: »

There's something really liberating about seeing a cheap flight and just booking it there and then without trying to organise with others to join you.

This !

tkd93

Hi guys thanks for the replies. Sorry for the late response but had a few big exams recently. Ended up booking paris. Went with a resonable hotel instead of a hostel. A room with aload of strangers on top of 1st time solo traveling would be too much too thought id ease myself it. Il hostel it next time. Gonna meet up with a friend or two who live in paris plus theres tours meet ups and stuff if i choose to be abit more social.

mimihops

Enjoy!

BetsyEllen

You'll have a great time!

I'm just back from a week in Rome, first time travelling by myself and I LOVED it.

I'm already googling where to go next!

I stayed in a hostel and it was great, I've come home with 3 new friendships.

Enjoy OP. I would recommend getting one of the Lonely Planet books, they're great, and also researching where you want to go every day.
I had an itinerary that I stuck to, and worked out (using google maps) the distances of where things were from my hostel so I knew in advance if I could walk/get a bus etc.

Some of my best days were the ones where I just wandered, you can never get lost once you have google maps or similar.

Book tickets in advance for attractions where possible so you don't need to carry too much cash with you as pickpockets can be an issue in big cities.

tkd93

BetsyEllen wrote: »

You'll have a great time!

I'm just back from a week in Rome, first time travelling by myself and I LOVED it.

I'm already googling where to go next!

I stayed in a hostel and it was great, I've come home with 3 new friendships.

Enjoy OP. I would recommend getting one of the Lonely Planet books, they're great, and also researching where you want to go every day.
I had an itinerary that I stuck to, and worked out (using google maps) the distances of where things were from my hostel so I knew in advance if I could walk/get a bus etc.

Some of my best days were the ones where I just wandered, you can never get lost once you have google maps or similar.

Book tickets in advance for attractions where possible so you don't need to carry too much cash with you as pickpockets can be an issue in big cities.

Hi Betsyellen thanks for jogging my mind to give an update.

Got back about two weeks ago to say I had a blast is an understatement. Went to all the major sights did everything on my own. As I mentioned above next holiday I will stay in a hostel and try be more sociable ha.

Didnt book tickets in advance and paid the price for that timewise. Once I was reasonable careful and kept my wits about me never had any hassle. Funnily enough I was using a Lonely Planet guidebook too, found it particularly useful for finding good places to eat in addition to information about the sites.

Rome is pretty high up on my to visit next list would you have any advice from being there?

BetsyEllen

tkd93 wrote: »

Hi Betsyellen thanks for jogging my mind to give an update.

Got back about two weeks ago to say I had a blast is an understatement. Went to all the major sights did everything on my own. As I mentioned above next holiday I will stay in a hostel and try be more sociable ha.

Didnt book tickets in advance and paid the price for that timewise. Once I was reasonable careful and kept my wits about me never had any hassle. Funnily enough I was using a Lonely Planet guidebook too, found it particularly useful for finding good places to eat in addition to information about the sites.

Rome is pretty high up on my to visit next list would you have any advice from being there?

I'm delighted you had a great time!

Rome is just incredible.
I was quote emotional leaving as I'd had such a wonderful time. I definitely fell in love with the city.

I could write an essay on my week there but my main points would be:

- Avoid during August. It's very, very hot and also a lot of places close in the last 2 weeks of the month as this is when Italian's take their holidays.
The week I went (26th Sept-3rd Oct) was perfect - beautiful and sunny all day but not that uncomfortable, sticky heat. Also tourist season is calming down slightly so whilst still busy, I was told it's normally a lot worse.

- Walk everywhere as the most enjoyable parts of my trip were when I was just wandering and absorbing the atmosphere. Once you have something like Google Maps, you can't get lost.

- I stayed in the area around 'Termini' which is the main train station/bus depot. It's a handy spot for transport but I actually walked nearly everywhere as everywhere is so accessible by foot.
I wouldn't recommend staying in this area purely because there are no decent restaurants etc around - next time I go I will probably stay in Trastevere which is a fabulous area with a real bohemian vibe to it.
My favourite place in Rome by far. Or somewhere around Piazza di Spagna area as there's a great buzz, although very touristy and expensive. Trastevere would be my top choice.

- Book all tickets in advance. I booked the Colosseum online including a tour for €25 and it was the highlight of my trip, it was fantastic.
For the Vatican, do some googling on something called the 'Scavi' tour - basically you go underground to the Necropolis under St Peter's Basilica but you have to apply for tickets a few months in advance. They're only €13 each but not too easy to get. I was lucky and got one, it was a brilliant thing to do and very enjoyable.

- Borghese Gallery - this is a top spot and I loved it, but actually more for the gardens than the gallery itself! I spent most of the day there, hired a bike etc, took a book with me...this was my favourite day of the whole week.

- Food Tour - I treated myself and splurged on a food tour as I thought I was unlikely to eat out in many fancy restaurants in the evening, as I was travelling alone. I booked this one for €94.00: http://www.eatingitalyfoodtours.com/rome/tours/twilight-trastevere/ and it's hard to describe how much I loved it.
Well worth the money - book it for your first or 2nd night so you can go back and visit the places you visit, you will 100% want to.
I have a 10% off code too; if you want it just let me know.

- Rome is classed as being pricey and this is true but only in the tourist traps. A lot of cafe's do a cappuccino and a croissant in the morning for €3!
So you can do it on a budget, I did very easily. Pizza by the slice is weighed and normally came in at about €2.50 - Pasta's in the evening can be anything from €5-€12 depending on where you go.

I honestly could keep on typing forever so if you want to know anything else, just PM me!

I've got the travel bug now and I'm sitting here trying to decide where to go next - it's either Italy again (maybe Venice?) or Germany/Austria.
Rome was so good though I'm almost tempted to just go back there!

tkd93

Appreciate the response, most of that is similar enough to what I experienced in Paris. Did you find you interacted much with the other people in the hostel or did you tend to do your own thing?

thebsharp

Most hostels have private rooms which are about the same cost as a hotel room. Perfect if you're looking to ease yourself in to the hostel idea. Staying in hostels i'd still tend to go off and wander by myself for the day and then socialise at night.

I've always stayed in hostel dorms myself unless its the day before or after a lot of travelling when I'd sometimes book a hotel for the comfort.

tkd93

Right now my biggest cost is where I stay. Think staying in a small dorm of a hostel would be grand say six or less people.

Bring honest doing my own thing during the day and then hanging out with people in the evening would be perfect.

BetsyEllen

tkd93 wrote: »

Appreciate the response, most of that is similar enough to what I experienced in Paris. Did you find you interacted much with the other people in the hostel or did you tend to do your own thing?

I stayed in a female only hostel as I thought I'd feel more comfortable.
Most of the girls there were Korean but there were a couple of English a French girl that I had a great time with.

One of the English girls actually messaged me yesterday to ask of I'd be up for a weekend in Milan with her after Christmas so it looks like I made a friend!

I found most people in the hostel were travelling alone or just with one other person. Everyone (that could speak English) was very friendly, up for a chat and sociable. Everyone is interested in where you've been during the day, to compare notes or get ideas for where to go tomorrow.

I did do mainly my own thing there though, but that was the way I liked it.

BetsyEllen

tkd93 wrote: »

Right now my biggest cost is where I stay. Think staying in a small dorm of a hostel would be grand say six or less people.

Bring honest doing my own thing during the day and then hanging out with people in the evening would be perfect.

I loved staying in a dorm, I think I would have felt a bit lonely in a room by myself.
One thing I would advise though - take earplugs and a sleep mask to cover your eyes!
My roommates were very respectful of everyone's peace etc but there is no way to be completely silent and some would have alarms set early to go to the airport or whatever.

The earplugs especially made sure I had a great nights sleep

tkd93

Thats good that people have a certain respect for other but I get the need for the ear plugs and face mask.

Crap just spotted Ryanairs winter sale must not book Amsterdam for a few nights in December!!