Follow your own itinerary
The last thing you want to do on a holiday is compromise on how you spend your time. But when you’re travelling with a group, compromise is as inevitable as passport control.
Maybe you’ve always wanted to see Paris, but your friend has already been twice. Perhaps your partner wants to get up at 3am to climb a mountain for sunrise; you can think of nothing worse.
When you travel solo, you’re free of compromise. The world really is your oyster. Your destination, your itinerary, your accommodation: every decision is yours. You can eat where you want to, get up when you feel like it, and visit the sights you want to see. Plus, you can’t argue over directions if you’re the only one with the map.
Build self-confidence and independence
There’s nothing quite like arriving in another country by yourself with a dead phone and no grasp of the local language to force you outside your comfort zone. The confidence you gain from relying on yourself to navigate foreign transport systems, menus and languages can stay with you long after your holiday has ended. Plus, you’ll develop skills you can bring to your next group trip. You’ll know how to sniff out an authentic restaurant instead of a touristy one. You’ll be fluent in Google Maps. You’ll have done it all before without help.
Learn to love your own company
Learning how to enjoy your own company is a real skill. Not everyone can do it: eat alone in a restaurant, ask for one admission ticket instead of two. What better time to practice than when you’re travelling by yourself?
Plus, when you’re away from your friends and your regular routine, you can really sit with your own thoughts. You have the opportunity to reflect on your new experiences without someone else’s opinion colouring them first.
Set your own budget
Group holidays can be tricky when you’re juggling different financial needs and wants. Will you be splashing out or eating in? Camping or glamping? Taking the high-speed train or the overnight bus?
When you’re by yourself, you hold the purse strings. You don’t need to consider someone else’s budget when you decide to slum it in a hostel or spring for business class on a long-haul flight. It’s one less thing to worry about, and nobody should be worrying on their holidays.
Meet new people
When you’re travelling in a group, there’s less of an imperative to make new friends. You’ve already got your mates, your drinking buddies, your plus one. It’s easy to forget that one of the best parts about travel is the chance to meet people from all over the world.
If you’re not sure how to go about meeting fellow travellers, take a free city walking tour (most cities have them) and suggest grabbing a bite to eat as a group afterwards. Or strike up a conversation with the person next to you in the queue for whatever gallery, museum or cathedral you’ll no doubt be lining up for. Making new friends on holidays is just another way of making new memories. And if you get lucky, they can last a lifetime.
Tips for solo travel
While travelling solo is rewarding adventure, your safety is paramount, here are some tips for travelling safely solo.
Keep an emergency stash of cash
It’s a good idea to have a decent reserve of money in your bank account as well as 100 USD or 100 EUR cash on hand in case of an emergency. This will be especially helpful in case you find yourself in a medical emergency and need to see a doctor.
Check reviews before booking accommodation
If you're travelling alone, you could feel more vulnerable in a new environment. Check accommodation reviews before making a reservation to get a sense of what the neighbourhood is like, is it central, safe? The reviews will give you a decent indication of what to expect.
Stay somewhere communal
Hostels are a great place for solo travels as they range in price from extremely cheap to luxurious, and typically offer common facilities like bars, kitchens, and sitting rooms where travellers can chat and exchange stories. Several hostels now offer private rooms so there’s no need for you to stay in a dorm if you don’t want to.
Travel with insurance
It's not a bad idea to have a backup plan in case something goes wrong. In fact, anything may go wrong, so it's important to be ready with travel insurance that can help cover those unpleasant travel experiences.
Do your research before you travel
Make sure you know how to get from A to B for example from the train station to your accommodation. Winging it can be adventurous in some situations, but when you're exhausted and have just got off a train, you want to know where you're heading.
Share your itinerary with family or friends
Create a travel itinerary and give it to family or friends. This means someone will always know where you are in case of an emergency. It also means those that care about you can feel more at ease about you travelling solo. Giving a copy of your passport to a family member or friend is also a good idea. They will be able to email it to you if your passport gets lost or stolen.
Download maps so you can view offline
If you don’t have a local SIM card, you’ll most likely be without phone data. A good tip is to download offline city maps from Google Maps using Google Offline Maps so you can find your way around without using any data. This feature is accessible for the more well-known or established cities. You can also use the GPS function, so you’ll always know where you are.
Planning a holiday this year?
Medibank health members save 15% on Medibank Travel Insurance all year round. You can get a quick and easy quote online or give us a call on 132 331 to chat through your options.
