Are you looking to solo travel internationally here coming up soon?
If so, you certainly have every reason to be excited, since traveling and exploring new areas is certainly a lot of fun, but at the same time it’s definitely understandable if you’re also feeling a little nervous.
Fortunately, learning about some basic travel tips can be one of the best things you can do to help alleviate any nervousness you are feeling, and more importantly, have a smoother trip.
With that in mind, here are the most important tips for first time international solo travelers:
Travel Insurance Is Always A Wise Investment
Many novice travelers especially neglect to buy travel insurance because they view it as being an unnecessary added expense.
But in reality, travel insurance can really save your bacon for when things get rough. For example, if you lose any valuable items such as jewelry or electronics, if you land in a foreign hospital from an injury or illness, or if you have to cancel any non-refundable reservations, travel insurance can kick in to cover your costs.
You just have to be sure to read the fine print of your insurance agreement, as they can differ significantly from one another.
Don’t Spend More Than You Have To
Just because travel is expensive doesn’t mean you have to pay as much as you may have thought you might have to.
Traveling is an excellent opportunity to put your credit card points and bonus miles to good use for saving on airplane tickets, and you can further save on flight costs by searching for promo codes and coupons online (just search for something like ‘emirates promo codes’ and you should be pleasantly surprised by what comes up).
Other ways to save on money include staying in hostels over hotels (this is a great way to meet new people, too), and buying food at grocery stores instead of eating out with every meal.
Leave Your Itinerary With Someone At Home
Purely for safety reasons, it’s very smart to leave your full itinerary with someone you trust at home, such as a close friend or family member, in addition to copies of your important travel documents. Bring their emergency contact information with you too.
Furthermore, you can check in with them everyday via e-mail or phone call, and if you fail to get in-touch with them at your scheduled communication time, they’ll at least have a general idea of where you are so they can contact the authorities for help if they get the sense that you’re in trouble.
Solo Traveling Tips
When it comes down to it, you learn from your experiences. So while you can’t expect to be totally prepared for your first time international solo trip just be reading about these tips, it’s still important to know about them so you’ll be at least somewhat more prepared.
