How To / Travel Solo
5 years ago by
There is something magical about travelling solo. Having a day to yourself in an unknown city, diving into the culture, doing as you please and seeing where the day takes you. Not to mention, you can learn a lot about yourself when travelling solo…
Garance recently spent some time in London discovering the city. Inspired by her trip, we came up with a few rules to follow to fully immerse yourself in your new surroundings…
Rule #1: Talk to strangers (dogs/cats/local wildlife included).
Rule #2: Make no reservations and leave food “allergies” back home.
Rule #3: Pack a bag of essentials for the day (and night?).
Rule #4: Walk and/or bike the city you’re in, so you can really see it all.
Rule #5: Get lost! You can go wherever you want, whenever you want. And remember, you’re not really lost, you’re just wandering, and that’s when the magic happens.
Rule #6: Hang out with locals!
Rule #7: Shop at the spot with the least amount of tourists.
Rule #8: Sit at the restaurant bar and treat yourself, preferably with a good book.
Rule #9: Turn off digital noise and listen to what’s around you (yes, this includes your airpods). It’ll all be waiting for you when you (choose to) reconnect.
Rule #10: Own it.
But, what’s really important about traveling solo is doing whatever makes you happy in the moment. The world is yours to discover.
And perhaps you’ll discover a bit about yourself in the process…
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Agree with all points. The best experiences and especially meeting wonderful people of all ages are much more likely to happen when travelling alone, and travelling light. I’ve made life-long friendships simply from being more approachable, feeling more relaxed, and often because I look like I live there. I can follow any mercurial whim, change plans last minute, make no plans, take much longer somewhere with no-one waiting, experience and see whatever I like. In my old cities, I see my friends, but they don’t have to entertain me for the entire visit.
I started travelling solo at 16 when a friend couldn’t make it last minute. Moved to a new country at 17 alone. Haven’t stopped, even though I still very much enjoy some trips with friends and lovers and family. The only thing I rarely do, unless there is something I really want on the menu, is go to those super romantic type restaurants alone because it can make the waiters and sometimes other diners feel uncomfortable. Otherwise dining alone is great too for all the same reasons.
I could not agree more with everything, except the “don’t book anything”.
Well, if you are on a tight budget, and if you go to a big city in the full touristic season, that’s not very realistic not to have any hotel booking. It causes unnecessary stress and it’s not very fun to scroll for “cheap” hotel rooms on your phone, especially when you are supposed to unplug !
(if you rent a car and go to the country, it can work though)
oh, yes, spending the night in a train station wasn’t all that much fun at 15, or 17, or 27. It is best to know where you’ll be resting your head for the night, unless you are camping, or out all night in a club, and even then…
I love love LOVE this video Garance! I didn’t know there was a name for this type of wandering that I do all of the time when on my own in London. Even better to do it in these summer months. I must remember to ditch the phone next time x
Summer months are definitely the best for Flânerie! Xo
I love this! As someone who has to get out by herself regularly it’s so recognisable. I need to be alone, that’s how I reload, get creative ideas, start wondering the usual and question what’s ‘normal’. Thank you for the reminder to treat myself to a little getaway soon!
Je viens tout juste de me perdre seule au Japon… maintenant je ne veux que voyager seule
These are great tips for getting the most out of our solo travel. The best thing about travelling solo is that we’re more open to meeting new people and immersing ourselves in the local culture.
*_*
Some nice ideas but why take a book to a bar? You won’t meet people with your nose in a book, leave it at home or take one to a park and read it when you need to sit for awhile. Wandering around a new city or town is the best feeling, ditch the maps unless you specifically have to find some place, or better yet ask people for directions. Just breath and take it all in…
I do enjoy your blogs and website.. I’m a single man and I’m curious.. which date app do you use.. :)