24 Solo Travel Tips & Hacks: travel alone without feeling lonely

[00:00] if you ever find yourself having to be

[00:01] solo on a trip or you're thinking about

[00:03] solo travel and you're a little bit

[00:05] scared or you just like to hear my voice

[00:07] then this video is for you some people

[00:09] fear traveling alone because they're

[00:11] scared of loneliness or they're scared

[00:13] something bad might happen to them like

[00:15] the movie Taken but I have now traveled

[00:17] to eight different places by myself

[00:19] since I was 22 years old so here are 24

[00:22] solo travel tips and hacks to ease your

[00:24] mind and show you how lifechanging it

[00:26] can be I am an introvert but I will say

[00:29] that traveling a alone can be a lot of

[00:31] time alone why travel solo other than

[00:34] work-related things traveling solo

[00:36] allows you to have the freedom to travel

[00:38] and do exactly what you want to do

[00:40] without worrying about anybody else that

[00:42] can also teach you what kind of traveler

[00:44] you are what do you enjoy doing what

[00:47] pace do you enjoy because you're not

[00:49] worried about following anyone else's

[00:50] schedule it's your own I have found that

[00:52] I tend to adapt to other people's

[00:54] traveling Styles but when I am by myself

[00:56] I don't mind going out early in the

[00:58] morning then I'll come back for like a

[01:00] midday nap then I'll go back out again

[01:02] in the evening next traveling solo

[01:04] allows for introspection where you are

[01:06] outside of your daily routine in another

[01:08] country or a different state and you

[01:09] really get some time to yourself to

[01:11] think and reflect and introspection is

[01:13] so important for us as humans to just be

[01:16] mindful of how are our actions and what

[01:18] kind of person are we traveling solo

[01:21] also allows you to really grow as a

[01:23] person I get very homesick if I am

[01:25] traveling by myself and that just allows

[01:28] me to be in uncomfortable situation

[01:29] situations and to grow and to push

[01:32] through it and when I come back I'm like

[01:34] I was just in Japan by myself I can

[01:36] handle this work email and you have to

[01:38] problem solve all by yourself so I feel

[01:40] like with those experiences I get even

[01:43] 1% more mature another perk of traveling

[01:46] solo is that there is a higher chance of

[01:48] your seat being upgraded or you being

[01:50] moved because you're by yourself versus

[01:53] if you're traveling with other people or

[01:54] in a group traveling solo also allows me

[01:57] to practice communication skills because

[01:59] I have no one else to talk to so I have

[02:02] to approach strangers if I'm lost I need

[02:04] directions or I have to talk to the

[02:05] waiters or the people that's around me

[02:07] as an introvert that's very scary but

[02:09] now with solo travel especially as a

[02:11] woman comes solo travel safety that's

[02:15] very important some of the things I

[02:16] share may sound a little bit paranoid

[02:19] but I'd rather be safe than sorry and

[02:21] I'm going to air on the side of caution

[02:23] so that you can just have the best time

[02:25] and not worry about anything first you

[02:27] want to research your destination and

[02:29] figure out what their walking score is

[02:31] is the place you're going walking

[02:33] friendly especially if you aren't going

[02:34] to have a car now traveling in off

[02:37] seasons can be helpful because a lot of

[02:39] the flights and accommodations will be

[02:41] cheaper but on the flip side it's

[02:43] actually nice to go when there's a lot

[02:44] of tourists because there's just a lot

[02:46] of people outside because people are

[02:47] roaming the streets everywhere but if

[02:49] you're in a city where you know it's

[02:51] totally safe it's fine to go during the

[02:53] offseason even if there's not a lot of

[02:55] people out and about Korea and Japan I

[02:57] felt very very safe walking out at night

[02:59] time by myself in Madrid I also felt

[03:02] very safe but there may be some cities

[03:04] and places that you should maybe avoid

[03:05] late at night especially Alleyways next

[03:08] share your itinerary like your flight

[03:10] number and the time as well as your

[03:12] hotel with someone at home or someone

[03:14] that you know that is in your home

[03:16] country that way they can just kind of

[03:18] keep tabs and make sure you landed where

[03:20] you needed to be and they know where

[03:22] you're staying in terms of your

[03:23] accomodations just in case make sure you

[03:26] stay connected whether you have Wi-Fi or

[03:29] an Sim or just any way where you know

[03:32] you can contact someone especially if

[03:34] you're International just so that you

[03:35] have a way to connect with someone my

[03:37] friends and I also have each other on

[03:39] find my friends it's just a way for us

[03:41] to just make sure you know our friends

[03:42] are safe and we also are just curious

[03:44] and like to know where they are next

[03:46] make sure you pack lightly especially

[03:49] when you're traveling alone just take

[03:51] what you can carry by yourself because

[03:53] there's nobody who can help you in the

[03:55] overhead compartment and when you're

[03:56] lugging it through public transportation

[03:58] you just want to make sure you can

[04:00] handle it cuz there's nothing more

[04:02] pressuring than trying to get everything

[04:04] by yourself next decide how you're going

[04:06] to get two and from the airport before

[04:09] you go on your trips this is just one

[04:11] less thing to worry about when you land

[04:13] where you already know how you're going

[04:15] to get from the airport to your

[04:17] accommodations whether it's Uber public

[04:19] transportation or someone's going to

[04:21] pick you up or like a private taxi just

[04:23] know what you're going to

[04:25] do secure your valuables make sure that

[04:29] you you have your wallet and your phone

[04:31] inside a pocket and that it's not just

[04:33] hanging behind you make sure that you

[04:36] have your things in the front nobody

[04:38] else is looking out for you so you just

[04:40] have to look out for yourself so I

[04:41] always have like my sling bag and I make

[04:43] sure the zipper part is in front of me

[04:45] or I make sure that my phone and my

[04:46] wallet are always in front of me never

[04:48] behind me next stay in reputable places

[04:51] and make sure you choose accommodations

[04:53] that have a lot of reviews where you can

[04:54] kind of see the notes of you know how is

[04:57] it at night how's the noise level and

[04:59] did people feel safe I also like to

[05:01] check the location on Google Maps and

[05:04] then I press on the yellow person and I

[05:06] just kind of see what the surrounding

[05:08] area looks like of course we can't know

[05:10] for sure what a location is like but it

[05:12] just gives you a general idea of what is

[05:13] the feel of this neighborhood and if

[05:16] you'll be utilizing public

[05:17] transportation make sure your

[05:18] accommodations are near the public

[05:19] transportation so you're not walking you

[05:21] know 20 minutes every single night make

[05:23] sure to utilize the second lock in your

[05:26] hotel room the one that goes at the very

[05:28] top like a little bar that goes across

[05:30] there have been stories of the front

[05:32] desk making a mistake and they make

[05:34] another key for someone that happens to

[05:36] open your hotel room I've heard this

[05:39] happen before not to me so you just want

[05:40] to make sure nobody can just like barge

[05:43] into your hotel room even if it's a

[05:44] mistake I always have the bar right

[05:46] across so that even if somebody tried to

[05:47] open the door they can't come in now

[05:49] before heading out for your day make

[05:51] sure you download your Google Maps and

[05:53] you already kind of preview the route

[05:55] that you need to go on even if you're

[05:56] looking at it and you're like this

[05:57] doesn't make any sense to me at least

[05:59] you just have it there and it's open

[06:01] because whenever you are out and about

[06:03] and you're looking a little lost you're

[06:04] really bringing attention to yourself

[06:06] because people notice and you just want

[06:07] to make sure that you are safe and you

[06:09] don't draw unnecessary attention to

[06:11] yourself if you start to feel lonely

[06:13] it's also helpful to call your friend or

[06:16] your family member and for me I like to

[06:18] use either caca talk FaceTime or

[06:21] Facebook messenger and then I'll either

[06:22] call my husband or my mom and my dad

[06:25] usually that's it and then usually I'll

[06:26] text my friends I always Vlog most of my

[06:28] trips so that is very helpful for me to

[06:31] not feel alone especially when I'm

[06:32] eating I just have my camera in front of

[06:34] me and I feel like I'm eating with you

[06:35] guys but for most people I know it can

[06:37] start to feel a little bit daunting but

[06:39] just enjoy the food and I found that in

[06:41] Madrid the waiters were so nice to me

[06:44] because I was eating by myself they

[06:45] would check in on me a lot more often

[06:47] they would also give me free food but I

[06:49] really had to just learn to sit with

[06:50] this feeling of I'm okay and it's okay

[06:53] but I'm fine with it so it's okay and

[06:55] it's normal to feel alone sometimes and

[06:57] it's normal to just sit and we just me

[06:59] to sit with that feeling but if solo

[07:01] dining is daunting there are places that

[07:04] have solo dining options whether it's

[07:06] taking food to go and eating it at a

[07:08] park or there are restaurants that

[07:10] specialize in just solo eating where you

[07:12] just get a small table for yourself this

[07:15] is really popular in Asia when I went to

[07:17] Korea I went to get Mong kyoja which is

[07:19] like a kosu place and when I said I was

[07:21] eating by myself they sent me upstairs

[07:23] where everybody was eating alone it's

[07:25] just all these people at their own table

[07:27] but you can also read a book listen to

[07:29] to a podcast or an audio book and we

[07:32] live in a generation where a lot of

[07:33] people just have technology on them

[07:35] while they're eating but if you just

[07:36] want a people watch that's fly too carry

[07:38] a safety device so one time I went to

[07:41] Europe and I brought my pepper spray

[07:43] with me I don't even know how it made it

[07:45] to Europe with me but then I was going

[07:47] from Prague to London and I realized oh

[07:49] no I have my pepper spray in my backpack

[07:52] and so they made me throw it away but I

[07:53] have found that you know hand sanitizer

[07:56] that would probably hurt if you sprayed

[07:57] someone with it so just know that that

[07:59] could be something that helps you feel

[08:01] safe too hopefully you never have to use

[08:03] it or a hydroask water bottle or

[08:05] anything that's made out of metal or tin

[08:08] just in public settings especially

[08:10] public transportation surround yourself

[08:12] with families and children I always feel

[08:15] safe when I see children walking around

[08:17] ah it's safe for them it's safe for me

[08:19] it's unfortunate that I have to even

[08:21] think that way but it is what it is no

[08:23] the emergency number of whatever place

[08:26] you are in in the United States 911 is

[08:28] the police but in other countries it's

[08:31] not like in Korea it's actually 119

[08:33] another safety thing is to be mindful of

[08:35] sharing your itinerary especially on

[08:38] social media if you are on social media

[08:40] for me I try to be very mindful to not

[08:42] post in real time so if I am eating at a

[08:45] restaurant which you know that could be

[08:46] like an hour experience then I try to

[08:49] post after I leave because if I post

[08:52] right at that moment you just never know

[08:54] who could be looking at our socials

[08:56] especially if your profile is not

[08:57] private of course if a viewer said hi hi

[08:59] to me I'd always be so happy and so

[09:01] excited so this is not just because I'm

[09:02] a content creator but this is for

[09:04] everyone just be mindful of what you're

[09:06] posting especially what hotel you're at

[09:08] or what you plan to do for the entire

[09:10] week make sure to use reliable means of

[09:13] transportation so that you don't end up

[09:15] getting scam cuz I know there's

[09:16] different countries where some people

[09:18] have their own taxi lines and you just

[09:19] don't know how much they're charging

[09:21] they can scam you be very mindful that

[09:23] you have a reliable means of

[09:25] transportation I don't mind using Uber

[09:26] in other countries because at least I

[09:28] know that they have a customer service

[09:30] line so if anything happens I can

[09:32] contact customer service keep emergency

[09:35] cash on you because you don't have

[09:37] anybody else to ask or to rely on and so

[09:40] it's nice to just have some emergency

[09:41] cash should you need it back in 2013 not

[09:44] all places in Europe accepted card but

[09:47] I'm sure now that's changed but again

[09:49] rather be safe than sorry usually for me

[09:51] I like to think enough cash to last me

[09:53] one day because I feel like okay within

[09:54] at least one day I can figure out

[09:56] whatever problems are happening 23 if

[09:58] you're into it you can talk to strangers

[10:01] but be mindful to listen more about them

[10:04] before you share your whole life story

[10:06] and like that you're traveling alone and

[10:08] all of that cuz you want to make sure

[10:09] you just fill out the vibe and make sure

[10:11] they are trustworthy and and that they

[10:13] are safe people to be talking to make

[10:16] sure to have a portable charger on you

[10:18] because you want to make sure your phone

[10:20] doesn't die when you need it the most

[10:22] cuz there's nobody else that you can

[10:24] borrow from so I hope that this

[10:25] encourages you but also keeps you safe

[10:28] if you plan to travel Trel alone but

[10:30] also remember that you are never truly

[10:33] alone behold I Am With You Always to the

[10:36] End of the Age Matthew

[10:38] 2820 if you like what you see please

[10:40] like And subscribe and I'll see you

[10:42] later travel safely bye

[10:47] [Music]