Guide to Traveling Solo

by Ariana Wahab

4 April 2023

Over Spring Break I took a trip by myself for the first time. While the experience was daunting at first, I found it extremely rewarding as I learned a lot about myself and really enjoyed my time in both Rome and Florence. If you’re interested in taking a solo trip soon, here are some tips and tricks to help make the experience easier, safer and more enjoyable.

Plan Out Your Trip in Advance

Due to the nature of traveling alone you often have a lot more flexibility with your schedule and are basically free to do whatever you want, whenever you want. However, having an entire schedule open can be a bit overwhelming, so I recommend creating a set schedule for each day. For example, I used a combination of Notion and Google to plan out all my days and it made the experience much more seamless. Some general tips for planning out your days would be to look up opening and closing times for the sites you want to see, the distance of different attractions from each other, when the best time of day is to visit each place, and the recommended amount of time to visit each destination. Additionally, I would also give yourself some wiggle room in your schedule in case you change your mind or want to explore.

Sign Up For Tours and Events

One thing I really took advantage of while traveling alone was signing up for guided tours and events. I looked online at sites like TripAdvisor, Viator, and GetYourGuide and found some amazing inexpensive tours. Taking these tours I gained a lot of knowledge about the places I was visiting that I wouldn’t have known before or have gained if I had just visited alone. I would also highly recommend tours since typically the guides are all locals and have lived in the area for years, so they are extremely knowledgeable and provide great recommendations. For example, one of my tour guides in Florence sent us a whole list of restaurant recommendations and places to shop after we took our tour with her. I also found that taking tours was a great way to meet other solo travelers. Also being in a group made me feel safer at times as the guides knew exactly where they were going and I was with a group of other travelers.

Safety

One of my main concerns before traveling alone was the safety aspect of it. Since I don’t speak Italian and I’ve never been to Italy before, I was obviously nervous before going in. However I recommend you do research beforehand about where you're going and look up the major tourist scams and overall safety tips for the area. Additionally, I would also have your location shared with someone and keep people updated throughout your trip, photocopy all valuable documents (from your Passport to credit/debit cards). Some general tips would be to carry a crossbody bag and wear it in front of your body or keep your valuables in a pocket that zips, don’t walk alone at night, stay in well lit areas, and be highly alert around tourist attractions.

Eating Out Alone

Another tip I have is don’t be scared to eat out alone. One of the things you may feel uncomfortable about is going to eat dinner alone, however I don’t think the anxiety should prevent you from crying over all the delicious food. You might feel awkward at first eating out at restaurants by yourself, but over time you’ll get comfortable with it. Personally I grew to really enjoy eating dinner out by myself,  as it gave me time to reflect on my day and go through all the photos I took. However, if you want to eat out with others you may want to see if you know anyone traveling to the same place as you. For example, one night I met up with one of my friends from high school who was in Rome at the same time and we got to catch up, and on my last night in Florence I met up with some friends from NYU who had arrived that day.

Overall I really enjoyed my solo-travel experience in Italy and I would highly recommend you take at least one trip by yourself while abroad. It’s a great way to learn about yourself and be out of your comfort zone,  minus the pressure of other travelers, while immersing yourself in incredible cultures.