The first solo trip I took, I cried at the airport before I'd even boarded. Not because I was scared, but because I'd spent so long waiting for someone to come with me. I finally understood that if I wanted the life I kept posting about, I had to be the person who showed up for it.
You don't need to be fearless — you need to be curious
There's a myth that solo travel is for a certain kind of woman: fluent in three languages, unfazed by hostels, already good at reading maps. The truth is far less cinematic. Most of us who travel alone in our twenties are simply too impatient to wait for the group chat to agree on dates.
Curiosity is the only prerequisite. If you can look at a small unfamiliar street and want to walk down it, you already have the thing that matters most.
Plan the first 24 hours in detail, and nothing else
The biggest mistake I made on my earliest trips was over-planning. I'd colour-code an itinerary that left no room to change my mind about anything, then feel guilty when I wanted to sit in a park for three hours instead of ticking off another museum.
Now I plan the airport transfer, the first meal, and where I'm sleeping. That's it. Everything after that is decided in the moment, usually over a coffee, usually badly, and always more memorably.
The unglamorous rituals that make it work
- A morning walk before anything opens — the city belongs to you
- One nice meal a day, sat at the bar with a book
- A voice note home instead of a phone call
- Cash in a second pocket you never touch
- One evening in the hotel with room service and no photos
On loneliness
You will feel it. Usually around day three, usually at dinner. It's not a sign you've made a mistake — it's the sound of your own company arriving. Sit with it. It softens by dessert.
“Solo travel doesn't make you a different person. It quietly returns you to the one you were before you started performing.”
“Solo travel doesn't make you a different person. It quietly returns you to the one you were before you started performing.”
Want to see how I put this into practice? Take a look at my services or get in touch to talk through a project.
