5 Tips for Solo Travellers

This past week I took my first ever solo trip in which I traveled to Berlin, Germany and Interlaken, Switzerland. This was one of the most incredible trips I have ever taken and helped me grow so much as a person. I figured out exactly what I was capable of, what mistakes I need to not make again, and how I can make my future solo trips even better.

These are five things I learned from my first solo trip:

1. Pack with intention

• This means ensuring before you leave for your trip that you can carry all of your items comfortably and with ease. I also found that it helped to pack logically. My larger items such as hiking boots went at the bottom of my bag, along with other items I needed but was not going to use frequently. The packing cubes that I brought along to Florence really came in handy for this trip as I was able to categorize my hiking clothes, travel clothes, toiletries, etc.

2. Adapt to hostel living

• This solo trip was also my first time ever staying in a hostel. At first it may feel uncomfortable sleeping around strangers but I genuinely had amazing experiences in both of the hostels I stayed in. In Berlin I stayed in a 6 person mixed dorm and in Switzerland I stayed in a 6 person female dorm. I met people from Australia, London, America, Canada, South Africa, Brazil, and the list goes on. As it was my first time staying in a hostel I was extra friendly and tried to connect with everyone I encountered but this led to some really cool conversations with people I had just met. My advice would be to connect with your roommates, say hello, introduce yourself and feel out if they are looking for more conversation or are okay leaving it at that. Either way, you got to have an interesting encounter with a new person.

• My other piece of advice is to mind your noise level!! Especially if you have an early, early flight or train, pack all of your items the night before and make sure you simply have to remove your bedding, grab your bags and go. I unfortunately was around a few people who did not do this which led to the whole dorm being woken up at 5am when someone had to catch a flight.

• Also, your room is simply for sleep and showering. People don’t hang out in their hostel beds, the ones I stayed in had a bar or restaurant in the building and this was where I met a huge variety of people and even ended up playing trivia with a few strangers.

3. Bring a portable charger

• It's so stressful trying to navigate your way home when your phone is on the verge of dying. Some trains have charging ports but many don’t or they do not work.

4. Download your maps before you leave wi-fi

• For whatever reason my Italian SIM card did not work in Switzerland unless I was on wi-fi. This made it difficult to figure out where I was going unless I downloaded my maps beforehand. I also was unable to look up train/cable car schedules on the go unless I had researched it the night/morning before I left the hostel.

5. Make a game plan for the next day

• This is probably the biggest piece of advice I can give. Especially in a high activity city or if you’re someone who wants to truly make the most of the town you're visiting, this is the best way to make sure you cross off everything you want to do on your list. Each night over dinner I would sit down and figure out exactly what I wanted to do the next day. I didn’t have time restraints or anything, but rather it forced me to logically plan what I was going to do chronologically so I didn’t have to waste time or steps backtracking to an activity.

Solo trips are stressful to plan, nerve-wracking to start, and a bit scary when things don't go to plan. However, this solo trip was by far the most memorable one I've ever taken. All my experiences, the good and the bad, helped me grow so much as a person and feel much more confident when it comes to planning trips in the future.