Steph Goes Solo
If traveling solo is on your bucket list this year, let’s chat! This time last year, I was gearing up for my solo trip to Kenya, which sparked this idea to start a series centered on my thoughts and experiences on solo travel, solo travel tips and how to get more people on this wave! I was once you, curious, unsure, but intrigued about traveling somewhere, without friends or family, just me. Not having to beg someone to go out or stay in, go to a museum or a 7am excursion because my itinerary included only me, myself and I.
“Steph goes solo” was not always a thing. It was more like “Steph never goes solo”, because I was always on a group trip with friends, hell, even strangers, when I traveled. I’m a social person, who is both energized and drained by people and social settings. But one fateful trip to Curacao, in 2016, sparked my interest in solo travel, and I've been intentionally and sometimes, unintentionally, doing it ever since.
Solo travel, to me, doesn’t get the shine it deserves! Not when most travel content is focused on group travel (girl group, bachelor/bachelorette, family), baecations, and so on. Group trips often look fun, filled with activities and full of options, whereas solo travel can look out-of-reach, lonely and even threatening to personal safety. So why would people go for the latter?! I wouldn’t dare say solo travel is for everyone, but there’s no one archetype of a solo traveler.
I wouldn’t say I’m the most daring or adventurous person, but I’m aware of situations I put myself in and my surroundings; I like people, but value my time alone; I love exploring new places and activities, and people don’t always want to do and see what I want to. If any of this resonates with you, then you’re more ready than you think! With some proper planning, self talk, and a budget, or not, you’ll be well on your way on your next solo adventure!
The most important part of solo travel (besides deciding to solo travel) is choosing a destination. Is the destination solo travel friendly? How is transportation at the destination: public transit vs private transportation vs ride shares? What type of solo vacation are you interested in: beach, city, secluded? A while back, I was reflecting on my solo travels and had the itch to start planning my next solo adventure. I asked my Instagram followers for suggestions on destinations for solo travel, and here’s what I got:
South Africa: Cape Town
Portugal: Lisbon/Porto
Spain: Mallorca, Barcelona
Greece: Island hopping
Morocco
Netherlands: Amsterdam
México: México City
Central America: Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica
Japan
It’s a pretty solid list of places and I agree with most, have visited some myself, and totally disagree with others. At the end of the day, you could really make the argument that any destination can be done solo, depending on what you like to do and how you like to travel.
My Solo Travel Recommendations
Mexico City, Mexico: walkable city, lots to do, will need to know some basic Spanish
Lisbon, Portugal: walkable city, budget friendly, good transportation options, lots to do
Cape Town, South Africa: cost effective, diverse culture, lots to do, very far
London, England: lots to do, multiple flight options, excellent public transportation system, but expensive
Bali, Indonesia: budget friendly, beach destination, great excursions, but far and has strict tourist laws
So far I’ve traveled solo to: Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Curaçao, Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka), Lisbon, Portugal, Cairo, Egypt and Kenya (Nairobi and Diani Beach). My longest solo trip was 2 weeks to Japan in 2023 and 2nd longest was 1 week in Kenya. There’s some extra planning and consideration that goes into planning a solo trip that I’ll cover in a later post. I just want to water the seed in your head that solo travel is a great bucket list experience, for any and everyone to do, at least once in your life!
Let’s chat: what are your thoughts on solo travel? If you could go one place solo, where would you go?
