There are so many travel tips you will make for yourself along the road, things you will pick up from other travellers and also things the locals will tell you! But I’m going to list the most helpful and universal travel tips, to help you get going. The travel tips I will list will be applicable to everyone, everywhere and hopefully make you feel more at ease before your trip. Feel free to pass them onto as many travellers or aspiring travellers as you can, and help everyone to get out there and live their best lives!
Travel tip 1
Make a copy of your important documents and ID. I usually take a printout of my passport and driving license. I also have a picture on my phone of my driving license and passport, and keep these in a separate folder for quick access when needed. My very close relatives also have a copy on our watts app messages just in case. Fingers crossed nothing happens to you ID+Passport but at least you have multiple copies as a back up.
Travel tip 2
Memorise a parents or next of kins phone number. I’ve always known my dads number off by heart my whole life, and knowing it has came in handy in many situations. I also write in the back of my journal important contacts and their phone numbers, so I have a list in case something happens to my phone and I can’t remember any numbers.
Travel tip 3
One of my biggest solo travel tips is to get yourselves a travel journal. And this isn’t only for solo travel, this is for travel in general too. If it’s one thing you take from these tips, this would be one of my biggest! Imagine you’re bored at 85 years old and start reading your travel journal to all your new besties in the retirement village, telling them of the times you went hiking up a volcano in Central America and fell in love with someone who doesn’t speak the same language as you. You’d be the most popular gal in the retirement village. Do it for future you!
Travel tip 4
One of the main solo travel tips is to stay in hostels! The quickest and easiest way to make new friends whilst solo traveling is to absolutely stay in hostels. Also it’s 2023, hostels are not what they used to be or what they have a name for. Some of the most luxurious places I’ve ever stayed in are hostels, and cost me around £10 a night…if that! Staying in hostels is one of the best things you can do traveling alone.
Travel tip 5
Use packing cubes! Oh my goodness! I’m telling you, they will save you at least 24 hours of your life, from trying to find something in that backpack! There’s no other way for me to explain it apart from INVEST IN PACKING CUBES. If your trip is short you will be fine with the cheaper ones, because they WILL break eventually. If you’re not bothered about replacing them every trip then by all means, buy the cheaper sets.
Travel tip 6
Download find my iPhone/friends or use an app like LIVE360 so your family and friends can track you whenever they want. There’s nothing more time consuming than texting your whole family every 3 days your exact location! Save your time and sanity and get one of those apps.
Travel tip 7
Download maps.me It’s an amazing free app that allows you to download anywhere in the world and use it without even signal! This app literally has saved my LIFE when it comes to backpacking on my own. Make sure you download the country you are going too on wifi before hand, otherwise you won’t be able to use it without data or wifi.
Travel tip 8
Leave expensive things at home, especially jewellery or sentimental things. It just not worth losing it, or having it break. Trust me, when you’re on the move so often and sometimes in a rush because things happen when you’re traveling, you lose, misplace and break so much. You’ll never see me traveling with my good sunglasses, jewelery, or anything designer.
Travel tip 9
LIE. Haha let me explain. If you get a gut feeling, or you feel the slightest bit uncomfortable encountering someone, just lie as much as you want about who you are or about your situation. If someone asks you if you’re alone, tell them no. Tell them you’re with all of your friends you just came down for dinner early. Or you’re traveling with your partner and they’re just in the shower. Just anything that comes to mind. Do not feel bad for telling a white lie to a stranger to make yourself feel safer.
Travel tip 10
Take padlocks for your backpacks, and for lockers in dorms in hostels. Always pick the padlocks with a code and not those padlocks that come with little tiny keys. Those little keys seem to grow legs and run away never to be seen again.
Travel tip 11
Take a tripod! Trust me, my best pictures have come from using a tripod. And it’s because you can position it exactly how you want and stand there taking 200 pictures in 10 minutes if you want until you get a picture that is a complete MONEY SHOT! I never travel without my tripod. If you feel like you have too much social anxiety to do that alone, just remember you don’t know any of these people and you will most likely never get the chance to take a picture at that location again, that always helps me get going.
Travel tip 12
Invite other people out for coffees, or out to explore. Asking people in your dorm room is a good way to make friends quickly as a solo traveler. Usually I meet most of my travel friends in my dorm room. You just get chatting away so naturally and friendships start forming left right and centre! Give it a go!
Travel tip 13
Always take a back up bank card! Even have 2 if you can. Sometimes ATMS can be temperamental and swallow your card, or you just might lose it. Anything could happen so always be prepared.
Travel tip 14
Don’t over plan. For two reasons. You might change your mind and go somewhere else, or not feel like doing that certain thing on that certain day you’ve booked and will lose money. And also you will make so many new friends and might want to join travel plans and do a bit of traveling together. So try and make yourself as open as flexible as possible! Let random medical things happen!
Travel tip 15
Join hostel events. If you plan on staying in hostels (highly recommend) make sure you join all of the events the hostel is running. Hostel nowadays literally hire people to run events and make sure all of the guests are mingling and making friends and having the best time possible. Trust me, I’ve worked as the event organizer is MANY hostels and its one fo the best things I’ve done. They also do things like family dinners that allow you to meet people, and also save money by eating a lower cost meal at the hostel. Win win.
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