7 Outstandingly Useful Tips When Planning a Solo Vacation

Wanderlust is an invisible passion for traveling and seeing the world outside your comfort zone, which is almost impossible to describe accurately.

There are, undoubtedly, many positive benefits to traveling with friends and/or members of your family, but if you have not already taken the plunge and booked a solo trip, you are truly missing out.

So, whether you are considering making this brave move or already have a solo vacation booked, you have clicked on the right article.

Here are seven outstandingly useful tips for those planning such a trip on their own.

1. Contact the Local Tourist Office Before You Leave

Whether you are looking to couch surf, pay for bed and breakfasts and hostels as you move through the area as and when you need them, or prefer a more comfortable and easier package vacation with a tour company, it is always a good idea to contact the local tourist office.

This way, you will not only be able to find out more about local events and activities happening during the time period you will be there, but you will also receive up-to-date information on transport links and even be advised on customs and tipping etiquette too.

2. Prioritize Your Own Safety

Chatty and confident solo travelers will quickly find they develop a bond with one or more vacationers and begin to head out for the day, or indeed the evening, together as their friendship begins to grow.

Now, nobody would suggest you decline to speak to anyone throughout the entirety of your trip, but it is absolutely paramount that you always put yourself and your own health and safety above anything and anyone.

Tips for staying safe while traveling alone include the following:

• Plan the details of your accommodation beforehand
• Arrange transport between locations
• Share your itinerary, travel insurance policy, and emergency contact list with loved ones
• Save the local hospital and embassy details on your phone
• Take additional power banks and chargers with you to avoid being stranded
• Carry cash in a concealed inner pocket

3. Take the Time to Learn Key Phrases

It is common to experience a culture shock when traveling to a country you have never been to before and sense even more of a core difference when the locals are speaking in an entirely foreign language.

While you are not expected to learn the entirety of an ancient language in just a few weeks, it would be incredibly helpful to learn and memorize a few key phrases, namely:

• Words for 'hospital', 'police station', and 'doctor'
• Questions like 'Do you speak English?'
• Phrases such as 'I don't understand'
• How to order a coffee and a sandwich
• Hello and goodbye
• Please and thank you

4. Ensconce Yourself in Culture

Embracing the culture of the country you are exploring will automatically broaden your life view and give you a more worldly perspective, regardless of your age or previous traveling experience.

You will also find that, even if the local people speak English as their first language, you may still feel disconnected from them, especially if you are exploring a country that is not as advanced or developed as the United States.

In Thailand, for example, showing the bottom of your bare feet is considered to be highly insulting, whereas, conversely, it is downright disrespectful to ever enter a temple or other religious building if you are not barefoot.

5. Fight Those Nerves

Regardless of your own personal natural levels of confidence, it may still be slightly worrying you when you think about all the planning and transport arrangements you are required to make, either in advance or as and when you need to leave one place for another.

Luckily, there are many ways to calm yourself down should you have an attack of worry or even a pang of anxiety, including the following as a few fine examples:

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• Make sure you are perfectly content in your own company before you leave
• Write a mental list of icebreakers and conversation starters to fall back on
• Consider engaging in group activities on your first night away
• Take things at your own pace, and never do anything you do not want 

6. Take as Many Photos as Possible

Even when you decide to stay in and around your hotel grounds one evening, there is still plenty to see and experience which may differ greatly from what you and your friends and family know to be the 'norm'.

Even though smartphones, certainly of the highest specification, have cameras to rival a traditional camera, there is something to be said for reverting back to the 'retro' way of capturing the moment.

Perhaps, upon your return, you could then seek to print out your photographs, rather than simply throwing them on social media and forgetting about them, and make a scrapbook of your solo adventures.

7. Experiment with Different Food

You may be familiar with the popular trope of 'Brits abroad', meaning that a typical English holidaymaker wanders around in socks and sandals, with beet-red sunburn and holding a four-pack of beer in their hand. Now, even though this is certainly not the case for the majority of British holidaymakers, make sure you are in no danger of becoming like this generalization from over the pond and instead embrace the food and drink on offer.

Generally, local food and drink is also going to be considerably cheaper than buying a basketful of recognizable American brands from a supermarket, so branch out and sample the culinary delights that the country has to offer.

To give you an idea of how much national dishes of different countries vary, the French national dish is 'pot-au-feu' (a steak and vegetable stew), Jamaicans favor the fruity fish combo of ackee and saltfish, and in Germany, the locals keep their national dish of sauerbraten (marinated meat) at the forefront of their weekly menu.