Traveling solo isn’t always the easiest thing in the world, but there is one thing that you can definitely guarantee: you have to make your own fun. Without effort you won’t get anywhere and there won’t be a person for you to lean on, but this is a great opportunity to develop and maintain the lifelong skill of independence. Here are my tips for traveling solo.
Use apps
There is an app for just about everything these days and most people have a smartphone to go with this, therefore it should be too much trouble to download one and go. I recently used a travel app myself called Tourlina and was able to meet a friend that I could travel with. This was an amazing experience and I definitely will be doing it again.
Give people a chance
One thing that I know a lot of people have trouble with is meeting different people or those that they would not normally associate themselves with. By giving everyone a chance you really open your world to a wide range of people and may find out things that you never knew you liked. Being open is one of the cornerstones of traveling solo, and perhaps the people you meet would have never pictured meeting you! The more open people there are, the better!
Share, share, share
One of the best ways to meet people is different through food and everyone needs to eat. I highly recommend cooking something in a communal kitchen (in somewhere like a hostel) and you will be very surprised by the interesting people you will meet whilst cooking. I have had many people interested when I cooked some nice Asian food or a curry. Cooking together is also a great way to keep the costs of traveling down whilst also meeting new friends. To me there is nothing better than this.
Say something
It is extremely important to strike up conversation, after all this is the best way to make friendships. If you have something to say, then definitely say it. Do it whenever you get the chance, this could be in a taxi or whilst in a restaurant, the opportunities are practically limitless. You will be surprised by the amount of doors this will open for you. You really have nothing to lose in this situation, especially because you don’t know anybody there! Throw your inhibitions aside and get talking.