I read.

I travel.

I become.

Derek Walcott

You know how the story goes, you want to go on a trip and everyone say they going to go. When the time comes to cough up the money, there is silence. Oh okay, so if not silence, there is excuses of why they cannot go.

 Another year and another year go by without you going on your trip. Stop waiting for others and go solo.

Solo trips are good because you can do whatever the hell you want to do. On a solo trip you making the rules. You do not have to debate on this and that, or getting dragged to something you do not have interest in.

I know some of you guys will rather drink water with a pitchfork than to go on vacation alone! To ease into having the confidence to travel solo, I’m sharing three tips to make solo traveling less scary.

Start going to local familiar places solo

What’s your favorite spot to eat at? Where do you like to shop at?  Take a solo walk around.  Walk the Brooklyn Bridge (Well, you know what I mean, whatever bridge is feasible)

Start going to these places alone.  Since you have already been to these places, probably thousands of times, you are already accustomed to it. Give yourself some credit, you probably were already doing this solo.

 I remember wanting to go to the movies, and not feeling like waiting for no one. Now I had no one to talk to during the movie, but I shouldn’t be talking during a movie, anyway. I still had a nice time.

Doing activities solo, that you were already doing in the first place, makes it easier to do it, when you on your vacation.  

You can always chat with your friend on the phone, while doing so.

Go to a city you have been too solo

So, there was this grand plan to go to the city of Sin with my friends, but guess what they never booked. So, I found myself, there by myself. Now the good thing about this was that I had already been there twice before. I also had family done there. Thank you, Uncle Danny, for taking the time out to offer some hospitality.

 I was still solo, because I only saw my family one time during the trip. (They did not know I was coming, until two days before I got there)

Stay busy with activities. This can as simple as reading a book in a different environment, or going to all the activities that are feasible for you to do. You know you can never do everything in one trip, so this is your chance, to get some more done.

One thing I could have done different was tap into all the meetups groups, online. Facebook also have a lot of travel groups, offering valuable tips. Still solo, but you can still meet other like minded people in the process.

Again, it is out your comfort zone, for sure, but once you do a solo trip, you realize you can do it again. Going to a destination you been to already, makes you know that you can actually do this solo thing.

Do a NEW domestic trip solo

Now that you know for a fact that traveling solo is something that you can and you will do, time for the next step.

The next step is to travel to domestically, to a new place. What spot of you been looking at, and your girls been saying “I’ll go with you”, but they never really book. Pick the domestic one and pack.

You can travel to a place that you never been to before, but always wanted to go.

Do your research and prepare your inventory.  Your friends are still your friends, so let them know your inventory, for safety.

 Go on Youtube and listen to some advice, from a local.

End Of Story

Girl, you will be fine. Soon, enough you will be comfortable traveling both domestic and internationally.