Solo Travel Pre-Trip Nerves
I’ve had several people ask me lately whether I’m scared about travelling solo next year. Aren’t you worried about your safety? Should you really be going there?
Don’t get me wrong, I do have some pre-trip nerves… but I’m guessing they aren’t the kind they’re thinking of.
No… I’m not concerned about my safety. I am very conscious of my safety, whether at home or while travelling. And I take simple precautions to stay safe in both places:
- Don’t walk alone at night unless there are loads of people around and it’s well lit.
- Be careful drinking or don’t drink at all unless I’m with people I trust
- Be aware of my surroundings
- Trust my instincts – If something feels off, remove myself from the situation.
The way I see it, if I do these things, I won’t have a problem. Well there’s no more chance than at home anyway.
But I’m not naive. I definitely do some research about places I’d like to travel to, and I have ruled out some places for solo female travel just because I don’t feel confident about them (not because they are a definite no no). But most of my research has proven that solo female travel is completely achievable.
Jackie from The Budget Minded Traveler recently posted an article about the constant warnings of danger for women travelling, and the more truthful danger of violence at the hand of someone close to them. Truth is, I have had more of my female friends affected by violence at home in their everyday lives than problems while travelling.
So, I will be letting the comments go in one ear and out the other.
Of course I do have a couple of pre-trip nerves:
- How will my dog Mooch cope while I’m away? And how will I cope without her?
- Will I cope when I come back home? Will I want to come home at all?
A while ago, I had an additional concern about whether I would cope with being lonely. I am definitely an extrovert and was a bit worried about whether I could get used to eating alone or things like that. So, I went about addressing that by challenging myself to spend time on my own (without the need to be on my phone). And to my surprise, it didn’t take long before I really started enjoying it. Now one of my favourite things is to enjoy a nice meal on my own, particularly when dumplings are involved (who wants to share them anyway?).
I also realised that I will only be as alone as I want to be. I can make friends just about anywhere, from the local coffee shop, to the train, cafe, or walking my dog. In fact some of my closest friends have been friendships struck up either travelling or just randomly chatting to someone. So with this problem addressed, now I am working on the other two.
I’m sure there’ll be times when I miss my family, friends, and my dog. But there’s always a phone (and yes I plan on teaching my dog to facetime). And I know I’ll be making awesome new friends and having experiences that I’ll remember for a lifetime.
Nerves? Pfft… Nerves are just there to tell you it’s about to be awesome!