Traveled with your parents, kids and friends? Now is the time for you travel alone! Travel for yourself, not for and with anyone else. Plan a solo trip to find the independent ‘you’. Indulge in your soul and bring back a ‘new you’.
But travelling solo is not all that easy. Safety concerns, monetary issues and privacy; there are several issues you need to consider. But, worry not! You just need to follow some basic guidelines and you are all ready to fly your plane, all by yourself.
Here are 10 easy tips to keep in mind to survive solo travel:
1. Do some advance planning. Plan your destination and the places to visit properly. It’s much easier these days, thanks to the internet! Make a list of places where you want to go and stay. Try to know the safety and culture of the destination, in advance.
2. Pack your luggage with fewer essentials, so that you carry your stuff easily. Divide your luggage into two. Your cash and credit cards should remain in each of the bag, so that in case of emergency, you don’t panic. Always carry a hand bag with you, which should include your all essentials, in case you lost your luggage.
3. When you travel solo, your safety is in your hands. Be aware about your surroundings and don’t dress up like an obvious traveler. Walk with confidence and don’t talk unnecessarily with strangers. Have your own contact list and follow that.
4. Don’t miss this golden opportunity and try to mingle up with the destination. Travel as many places as you can. Go to local markets and dive into their culture, food and history. Observe little things around, this will give you an entirely different experience.
5. If you are travelling to an unfamiliar place, try to reach there at day time. So, that it is easier for you to navigate the place. It becomes difficult to search your destination at a new place in dark.
6. Download skype or other calling or messaging applications onto your phone, before leaving. The idea is to stay connected with your friends and family. Upload other useful apps to your phone like GPS, currency translator and travel guides. Regularly, update your family about your whereabouts and ongoing itinerary.
7. While exploring about the history and culture of the specific destination, you can take up a short term cooking or language course. This will be adding on to your trip memories and you will learn a new cuisine and language well.
8. Try to be as much as in public place and avoid private passages. Always trust your instincts and gut feeling, in order to avoid any mishap. Learn to say ‘No’, in their local language and also learn the local non verbal gesture for expressing ‘No’.
9. Make a photo diary. Click picture of every day, every hour and for every moment. This is the trip which carries a tag of ‘Only Me’. So, make most of it and make photography your mission. Your family and friends will love and appreciate every moment you have cherished, by seeing your pictures.
10. Even if you are not a foodie, eat big. Don’t pitch into big and regular restaurants. Find local markets and try exploring street food. Dig into their authentic cuisine and feel the flavor, which is en-routed to their history and culture.
(Image Courtesy: Shutterstock)
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