I've shared solo travel tips, and suggested solo travel tour operators, including solo travel tour groups for women, but how the heck do you plan a solo trip by yourself? Where do you start? If I'm being honest, I don't have a great track record for planning (in my personal life) which is probably why my professional life is bracketed by calendar boxes. That said, I have picked up some tips over the past 22+ years for how to plan a solo trip—many of which I even use myself!
Planning a solo trip isn't much different than planning any other trip and boils down to the following:
Time - Available to Travel?
Where - to Travel?
When - to Travel?
Budget - This will influence HOW you travel.
All other details and concerns are just cake frosting.
How Long Do You Plan to Travel?
Most people don't travel for months or years at a time. That said, how long you intend to travel can impact where and when you'll travel, so it's worth considering, especially when traveling solo. The longer you travel, the more you'll need to account for including but not limited to:
Visas and country-specific documentation
How long will it take to travel to your destination? There's a big difference and major impact on your planning needs between a 2-hour flight followed by a 20-minute Uber ride to your hotel and a 12-hour flight with a 3-hour bus ride to your hostel.
Identifying your packing needs - as this may involve multiple climates or adventures for which you'll need to be prepared.
Managing your health and mental well-being - including but not limited to:
Routine or extreme illness
Unexpected accidents
Isolation or loneliness
Stress and anxiety
Travel fatigue or burnout
You will still want to prioritize each of the above for short-format travels since as a solo traveler, you'll be your most dependable resource.
Budget Travel Tip: When I was backpacking for 13 months across multiple continents and climates, I utilized thrift and consignment shops for swapping out my packing and gear needs. For better or worse, this ingrained a sense of detachment to the stuff I was carrying in my pack and allowed me to keep what I needed or what was working and swap out what needed to change, without harboring the attachment and emotions that we so often associate with our belongings.
Packing Travel Tip: For shorter trips, pack what you need and might want. However, for longer excursions, focus on what you'll actually need. Lugging your life around on your back or dragging it behind you while traversing cobblestones or unpaved roads will get old fast! Check out my article: How to Pack Light for detailed packing lists and more travel tips.
Deciding Where and When You Want To Go?
I've lumped these two considerations together because one really does influence the other. With the exception of those adventurous souls who like to chase the deal and not the destination, if you're looking for planning tips then you probably aren't one of them. While not comprehensive, below is a list of questions you may still need to answer before planning your solo trip.
Why are you traveling? Relaxation? Adventure? Event-specific experience? Education? Spiritual enlightenment? You'll need to answer this first. Once you know, the world is quite literally your oyster. Go seek and find! Use sites like Trip Advisor to help narrow down your decisions.
If you're planning to travel outside of the country, do you have a passport and enough blank passport pages? You might want to double-check the second one. This can range from 1 (most countries) to 6 (Namibia). Travel.State.Gov is a great, real-time resource for making sure you have all the necessary information you need. Learn About Your Destination here.
Available time off (see above)
Cost of getting/staying there and your total and daily budget (see below)
If you're an extroverted introvert (like me), you may want to target off-season travel. Peak travel seasons can be crowded and difficult to find accommodations, additionally, tours or events may sell out quickly
Conversely, traveling for experiences is a top reason many people choose to travel, especially solo, so peak season might be a great time to target—especially if you're an extroverted-extrovert!
Budget Allowances
Below are costs you'll want to account for beyond the price of a plane ticket (or automobile expenses if you're driving) and accommodations.
Meals
Entertainment
Trinkets and Souvenirs
Transportation (Ubers, Trains, Busses, or Tours)
Travel Insurance (often covers trip cancellation or lost luggage—you may need to supplement for healthcare)
Medical Membership (for emergency medical needs such as accidents, heart attacks, broken bones, medical evacuation, etc.).
Unexpected Miscellaneous
While there are a ton of ways to travel inexpensively, depending on where life finds you today, you might not need (or want) to pinch pennies. I think there's a false glamour that travelers assign to finding ways to cut costs to extend travel experiences. I admit, I was guilty of that myself. When my husband (very early into our dating years) gifted me with an opportunity to stay at an all-inclusive resort, my knee-jerk reaction was to shun the experience, behaving like a reverse snob. My misguided thinking, based on years of struggling financially simply to fund or extend my current and future adventures had me believe that if I took, let alone enjoyed this experience, I would no longer be able to identify as an "XYZ-Backpacker/Traveler."
Don't make the same mistakes I did.
Experience as many forms, styles, and variations of travel as you have the ability, desire, or opportunity to. As long as you're a curious, kind, and inclusive human, how you travel (budget or luxe) doesn't define you as a person or a traveler. We are designed to evolve, so enjoy each iteration that your travel budget affords you. But, if you want a couple of clutch budget travel tips, see below.
Accommodation Budget Travel Tip: I know so many travelers who are currently staying in baller locations around the globe for a minimal annual membership to Trusted Housesitter. Essentially, the cost of an annual membership (even at a premium level) equates to the price of one night at a mid-tier hotel chain. Not only can you stay in homes around the world and snuggle with sweet animals, but you can also virtually meet prospective travelers who can pet/house sit for you, making it easy for you to leave home and explore more without worrying about your home/pet! I can't recommend this service enough and wish it had existed when I was a full-time traveler—I may not have cleaned so many hostel toilets! Check them out!!
Transportation Budget Travel Tip: Sign up for a multi-day tour where your transportation needs are wrapped up in the experience of seeing a new city, state, or country. Whether you're looking for something educational, luxe, or a booze cruise, there's a tour for that.
Reference Resources
Whether you're a reader or not, when it comes to solo travel resources, you can't beat a good (up-to-date) guidebook. While Backpackers' Guide to the Globe will outline the nuts and bolts of how to prepare for and reflect on having traveled solo, guidebooks that list accommodations, maps, and additional country or city-specific resources, are invaluable. Below are a few of my favorites for physical books and online resources:
Use your guidebook to help create a loose travel itinerary. Flexibility is always your friend when traveling solo. Have a general sense of some key places or events you'd like to experience but leave a lot of room for the unexpected invitation, inclement weather, or unexpected detour that might impact your plans (positively or negatively).
Staying Safe
Again, not a complete list but travel tips worth noting...
Safety Travel Tip #1: Avoid looking lost if you need to reference your guidebook in public. Tuck into a cafe or find a bench to read while staying aware of your surroundings. You never want to look like a lost tourist, AKA: a potential target. AKA: a damsel in distress. We want to empower one another and exude confidence, even if we're figuring it out in real-time, just don't look lost.
Safety Travel Tip #2: Don't be afraid to be curt and direct with someone who approaches you and feels unwelcoming or intrusive. I've gone so far as to wear a "wedding band" when single and traveling solo and have used phrases like, “My husband is on his way," and then proceeded to walk into a bar or cafe and inform the staff of what was happening. Other simple and effective resources include knowing the local emergency number (i.e., 911) and carrying a personal travel alarm like the She's Birdie which when activated will elicit a shrill sound and flashing light.
Safety Travel Tip #3: Wait to post social media posts with tagged locations until after you've left—by at least 45-60 minutes. It's okay, it will still be real-time enough without making you an unnecessary target—or worse, a statistic.
Safety Travel Tip #4: I wish it didn't, but it should go without saying, be smart about your levels of intoxication when traveling solo, especially women. By all means, let loose—but if something feels off or unsafe—GTFO.
Safety Travel Tip #5: Bookmark this article from Global Rescue for the Ultimate World Travel Safety Kit.
Additional Advice to Help Plan a Solo Trip
My best advice is to figure it out as you go, followed by what works for you might not be suitable advice for someone else. Additionally, what applies in one location might not in another, and how you travel in your 20s may look different in your 40s. You get my point.
That said, below are a few more solo travel tips to consider:
Share a digital copy of your travel documents as well as your itinerary with a trusted friend or family member back home in the unlikely event something happens to you or your passport.
Save the number for the nearest (US) Embassy for where you'll be traveling, in case of emergency, and include this information in your shared travel documents.
Sign up for the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (S.T.E.P.). This free service allows U.S. citizens and nationals traveling and living abroad to enroll their trip with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate to receive important safety information for the countries their visiting.
Stash an emergency USD 100 and a separate credit card (Visa or Mastercard) in a safe location either in your pack, luggage, shoe, money belt, or somewhere other than your purse or wallet—just in case. I recommend USD currency as it's most widely accepted worldwide—including for the needs of a bribe (see page 56 in Backpackers' Guide to the Globe).
Download any foreign languages in your translator app to have them available offline.
Sign up for an eSIM account (like Airalo) and download a digital data pack, so you can be connected as soon you land, anywhere in the world.
Pack at least one comfort item to help ground you emotionally when you feel stressed, anxious, or lonely. Apps like Calm and Ten Percent Happier are great resources right at your fingertips.
If you're prone to motion sickness, look into a prescription for medicated patches - these may help offset any land, air, or sea adventures you may wish to take—especially if you get stuck in the back of the bus.
If possible, budget an extra day on the back end of your trip to account for unexpected delays getting home, but also jetlag.
I'm going to leave you with one last tip that will make your return home that much sweeter (assuming you have a home base and aren't a full-time traveling nomad). Don't just clean but deep clean your place before you travel. There's nothing quite like being gone and coming home to a clean home waiting to welcome you. The last thing you want to do when you return home is laundry, let alone manage whatever didn't get cleaned before you left. Ensure that when you return, you can pour a glass of wine or make a cup of tea, relax from the stresses of traveling, and reflect on the adventures you had—not do housework.
I'd love to hear from you! Drop me a comment if anything I shared resonates or if you have any solo travel planning advice you'd like to share!
BEFORE YOU GO! As a special for my readers, click the link for 30% off your Ten Percent Happier subscription.
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