r/solotravel

I came here casually and now I want to move to a cabin near a lake somewhere.

I'm a bit older than most solo travelers. Most of my close friends have regular jobs. Most of them are either married and have kids and all those things. I work online and basically has been a digital nomad except I pretty much travel to only one country throughout the years. I do visit the US and then go back abroad again. I know for most solo travelers, they travel to many different countries.

I'm curious but do most of your close friends now or close friends you had back then but don't keep in touch anymore do much solo travel or not much at all? The thing is it is hard if you have a full time job and if you have a kid, well it is going to be close to impossible for that.

What I do notice is whenever those friends of mine traveled back many years ago, they always traveled together. Come to think of it, I don't think any of my close friends or people who I knew well solo traveled at all.

I recently travelled to Marrakech, Morocco and it was quite an experience. My first night that I arrived, I was walking in the Medina to my Riad. It was quite late at night and two men approached me and said this was a dead end. I knew that since I had my phone out on Google Maps so I ignored them. Then they followed me and asked me if I’m going to my Riad *insert name* and I said yes. BIG MISTAKE. They then proceeded to follow me and told me that they’ll take me there even though I clearly had my phone out with Google Maps open and I was following Google Maps. Then, they corned me in a dark alley and demanded money, and threatened me. I was so so scared! Luckily I immediately called the owner of the Riad on WhatsApp and put it on speaker so they could hear what was going on and he came to fetch me.

Then I saw the same guy the next day and he proceed to call me the f slur and telling me I’m not welcome in his country. After that I started carrying around my umbrella for self defence as it is the only thing that I have which I can use to defend myself.

Lesson learned: do not respond to randoms on the street.

Some other things that really annoyed me: people calling out konichiwa and random Asian languages at me on the street, strangers telling me “this road is closed” when it is clearly not, etc.

Marrakech is a beautiful place, sadly ruined by the people.

I don't love solo trips just because of freedom or any of those cool reasons. It's mostly because I'm a "selfish" person, tbh.

By selfish I mean I don't have to be responsible for anyone else. When I travel with friends, I always end up being the google maps, handling the cash, picking the restaurants… all that stuff. I hate constantly compromising.

I actually like that when I fuck up while traveling alone, like booking the wrong ferry ticket or missing a train, since it's 100% on me. I get to own those moments completely and experience them in my own way. And that feels immensely great.

Hi! I’m a 28F planning my first solo trip and considering 7–8 days in Paros (possibly with 2 nights in Naxos or Milos). I’m flying from NYC and looking for a relaxing but still stimulating trip where I can spend most days at beaches/cafés while also exploring towns and different areas.

What I’m looking for:

• Beautiful beaches with clear water and places to lounge/swim
• Walkable towns with local shops, cafés, and restaurants
• Enough exploring to not feel bored solo
• Relaxed vibe (not looking for partying/nightclubs)
• Safe/easy for a first-time solo traveler
• A mix of slow mornings, beach hopping, reading, wandering, and nice dinners

A few questions:

1. Is Paros a good choice for someone who gets restless easily but still wants a relaxing beach trip?
2. Would you stay only in Naoussa, or split time between areas/islands?
3. Is renting a car necessary, or can I realistically get around with buses/taxis?
4. Any “must do” beaches, beach clubs, restaurants, wineries, cafés, or day trips?
5. Anything you wish you knew before going solo to Paros?

Would especially love advice from other women who’ve done Greece solo. 😄

Hey all, I am an American planning next year to spend about 6 months or so in SE Asia solo backpacking. I am planning at the very least to visit the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and possibly more countries like China, Nepal and Indonesia. So far I have only booked my flight to the Philippines and nothing else. I am trying to keep my plans as flexible as possible and avoid any hard commitments which is a problem when the visas as asking for exact dates and border crossings.

How much of a problem would it be requesting a visa a few weeks out?
Can anyone with a similar experience share how they handled it?

Booked a KLM flight and now stressing about the name situation.

My passport surname is “Johnson” and my given names are “Michael David”.

But the ticket only says “David Johnson” — it completely leaves out “Michael”.

So the surname matches exactly, and “David” is genuinely one of my passport given names, just not the first one.

I’ve called KLM multiple times and they keep saying it would cost around €500 to reissue/change the ticket, which I genuinely can’t afford.

Flight is still about a month away. Has anyone actually flown in this exact situation with KLM or another airline where the ticket used the second given name instead of the first? Did check-in staff allow it or deny boarding?

Trying to decide whether to risk showing up early at the airport and explaining that “David” is still part of my legal given names.

It was my first time going China, and solo at that, so I was really nervous since their systems - payment, transport, apps, is totally different from everywhere else I've been. I did my research and prep, and when I got there it was pretty easy making purchases and taking public transport (and really cheap!)

I've learnt Chinese so communication wasn't the biggest issue, although reading is a little but within the AliPay app, there's the translation features that was helpful. And as a visitor, I always try to respect and follow their rules.

I usually always enjoy my solo or non-solo trips, even when there's some troubles along the way but generally very positive thoughts on the place but Shanghai had me....on the fence.

Even though the places are great, the traditional-modern mix of sceneries were enjoyable, I felt something negative for the first time about a place.

It was the people, there's nice and not so nice people everywhere but, when it comes to public etiquette in Shanghai, which is such a big city, I expected people to be a little more cultured.

1. People often push and shove people on buses and trains, cutting in line, especially with older folks. I get it, I come from a city where we are also fast-paced, I'm also here for a short time so I also want do get to as much places as possible (I'm not a slow walker either). But I've never been pushed, shoved, hit, cut so much in a week while trying to get on / off transports. They also tend to touch you on your (lower) backs when trying to get through which made me uncomfortable. I get that China has a LOT of people and I think the crowd control can be improved.
2. Hygiene. I smell...a lot of things, maybe not everyone is a morning-shower-er, that's fine, but coughing, yawning, sneezing, very very few people covers their mouth when they do. I've smelt morning breaths, fish breaths etc. I can visibly see specks of dust in the air, either just dust, pollen, dandruffs or what else, who knows? But something is clearly in the air since everybody is sneezing / coughing unguardedly. Once I was in a queue, I noticed this girl behind me, she's tall and she's pretty, then she started digging her nose.

So, as much I enjoyed the city, these things put me off and made me like the city less, but I also came across nice people who would offer help or nicely help me take photos whom I’m very thankful for. Anyone else who's been to Shanghai or other parts of China experienced anything similar?

Hi everyone, 38M here. I’m arriving in Slovenia tomorrow and will be in Ljubljana from May 21st to 23rd. I don’t have a driving licence, so I’ll be relying on public transport.

For now, my plan is:

• first day: explore Ljubljana city center,
• second day: probably go to Lake Bled.

I’m also supposed to spend part of Saturday and Sunday with a friend in Opatija, Croatia, but it’s still uncertain. So just in case that doesn’t happen, I’ll basically be traveling around Slovenia from May 21st to 28th.

I’m arriving from Trieste with only a backpack and I’m doing this on a low budget. Any recommendations for places to visit, affordable transport, nature spots, or cool things to do without a car? I’m flexible ❤️

I'm a woman in my late 40's and been traveling solo since my divorce 7 years ago. My favorite place so far has been France, in particular the Southern France area in Provence ( Fountain de Vaucluse, Luberon UNESCO villages, Gordes, Abbaye de Senanque wow! so much lavender!!) also Nimes, Orange, Avignon, Aix en Provence, as well as Eze near Monaco. Also Giverny - Claude Monet Gardens close to Paris and Etretat in the North, in Normandy ( I rented 2 cars for 2 segments of my journey and also used the trains. I only took 2 years of French in Middle Scool so I don't really speak French). France is such a beautiful country! Highly recommend.

Also I loved very much Rome and Lake Como. I definitely want to go back to Rome - 3 days weren't enough. Waking the streets of Rome in the summer evenings, after a full day of immersing myself in history made me wish so bad I could lived there... But I still have about 15 more years to go in my healthcare career before retirement. I get the purest joy when I travel! It's the best adventure possible!! 

Sure sometimes I wish I could share with someone those beautiful moments, but that thought is fleeting - I just think of how lucky I am to have a healthy body that allows me to travel and to be able to afford to visit any place on this beautiful Planet of ours!

Next trip for me in September- Madrid, Seville, Granada and Andalucia area( flamenco, music, architecture and history, shopping, tapas, and more music) Either by train or by car. I'm not sure yet ..has anyone been there recently? 

In 2027 I'm thinking of an Adriatic cruise starting in Milan and stopping in Dubrovnik( Game of Thrones) Split(, Plitvice Lakes) Greece, Turkey. Also on the horizon - a walking/ hiking trip around London, the Cotswolds area and also those dramatic Dover cliffs from many Jane Austen novels ☺️

Then in 2028 I'm thinking of a Rhine river cruise from Netherlands to Belgium, Germany and Switzerland and back!! I'm so excited about that! The possibilities are just endless!! 

Hey guys! I visited Minsk, Belarus in December 2024 and decided to write up a trip report, since Belarus is one of those countries that a lot of people are curious about but far fewer people actually visit.

First, a note: this report is mainly about Minsk and one military-history day trip outside the city, rather than Belarus as a whole. I was only there for around 3 days, so I would not claim to have “seen Belarus” properly, but it was enough time to get a strong impression of the capital and its atmosphere.

For a bit of history, since that was one of my main interests: Minsk is not a preserved medieval city like Kraków, Vilnius or Prague. The city was devastated during the Second World War and then rebuilt on a huge Soviet scale. That means the main appeal is not cobbled streets or cosy tourist areas, but enormous avenues, Stalinist architecture, war memorials, Lenin statues, Soviet mosaics, metro stations, military museums, and the strange feeling of being in a European capital that still feels very different from almost anywhere else on the continent.

Me: British/Irish passport holder, frequent traveller in Central and Eastern Europe, with an interest in Soviet history, architecture, politics, military history and places that feel a bit off the usual tourist trail. I had previously visited Transnistria and Kosovo, so Belarus appealed to the same side of my travel interests: unusual borders, post-Soviet spaces, politically complicated destinations and places that do not feel fully absorbed into the standard European tourist circuit. I can read Cyrillic, but my Russian is basic.

Budget: Belarus was relatively cheap once I was there. Public transport, food and everyday costs were noticeably lower than in most European capitals, although getting there and arranging the trip obviously takes more effort than a normal city break.

Length of travel: Around 3 days in December 2024.

Destinations: Minsk, with a day trip to a military-history complex outside the city. In Minsk itself, I focused on Independence Square, the Government House and Lenin statue, the Island of Tears, the National Library area, the Minsk Gates, Oktyabrskaya street-art area, Soviet murals and reliefs, churches, metro stations and general wandering around the city centre.

Accommodation: I stayed in Minsk and would strongly recommend staying somewhere central or near a metro station. Minsk is very spread out and the distances are bigger than they look on a map.

Bureaucracy and other considerations:

Belarus was actually easier to enter than many people might assume, because in December 2024 Belarus had a visa-free travel scheme in place for certain nationalities. I travelled overland by bus from the Baltic states rather than flying in, which made the trip feel even more unusual. Crossing into Belarus by bus was one of those experiences that reminds you that you are entering somewhere politically and culturally very different from the EU.

That said, Belarus is not a destination where you should just turn up without checking the rules carefully. Visa-free schemes, border rules and entry routes can change, and the rules may differ depending on nationality, passport used, method of entry and how long you intend to stay. In my case, travelling on a British/Irish passport during the December 2024 visa-free period worked fine, but I would not rely on old travel reports without checking the current position.

The overland entry made the trip feel more adventurous. Travelling by bus from the Baltic states gave the trip more of a “proper journey” feeling and made the contrast between the EU side of the border and Belarus much more noticeable. Having previously visited places like Transnistria and Kosovo, I enjoy that kind of borderland travel, and Belarus definitely scratched the same itch — but in a more formal, state-controlled and serious way.

Once I was in the country, the trip itself was manageable, but Belarus is not a normal “easy city break” destination politically. You should avoid protests, political discussion with strangers, photographing police or security infrastructure, and anything that could attract official attention. I did not have any problems, but I was careful and kept a low profile.

English was limited. In central Minsk, some younger people and hotel/cafe staff spoke a bit of English, but Russian was the default everywhere. Being able to read Cyrillic made a huge difference. I would not say you need fluent Russian, but you definitely need basic phrases, Google Translate and some confidence navigating a language barrier.

Activities:

Walked around Independence Square and the Government House area. This was one of the most striking parts of Minsk. The square is enormous, formal and very Soviet in scale, with the Lenin statue still standing in front of the government buildings. In most European capitals, a giant Lenin statue in front of parliament would be a museum piece. In Minsk, it is still part of the functioning political landscape. That alone gives the city a very different feel.

Saw the big state buildings, fountains and election posters around the centre. Minsk has a very particular atmosphere: clean, orderly, monumental and slightly surreal. The city centre feels carefully maintained, but also politically heavy. Even just walking around the public squares tells you a lot about the country.

Visited the Island of Tears, the memorial to Belarusian soldiers killed in Afghanistan. This was one of the most moving places I saw in Minsk. The black chapel-like monument, the statues of grieving women and the snow on the ground made it feel especially stark in winter. It is a much more emotional and intimate memorial than the giant Soviet monuments elsewhere in the city.

Went to the National Library area at night. The building itself is one of the strangest and most recognisable modern buildings in Minsk — a giant geometric structure that looks like something from a late-Soviet science-fiction film. The area around it had huge illuminated star structures, which made it feel even more surreal in the dark and snow.

Explored the Minsk Gates near the railway station. These twin Stalinist towers are probably one of the classic views of Minsk. They are grand, symmetrical and slightly theatrical, especially at night. It is the kind of architecture that makes Minsk feel more like a Soviet showcase capital than a normal European city.

Saw a lot of Soviet public art, mosaics and reliefs. Some of the most interesting things were not necessarily formal tourist attractions, but random murals, mosaics and monumental artwork on public buildings. One of the best examples was a huge Soviet-style relief above modern shops and fast-food restaurants. That contrast — heroic socialist sculpture above KFC and coffee chains — sums up a lot about post-Soviet Minsk.

Walked around the Oktyabrskaya street-art area. This was a very different side of the city: large murals, converted industrial buildings, cafes and a more alternative feel. It was interesting because it showed that Minsk is not only Soviet monuments and state architecture. There is also a younger, more creative side, although it still feels very different from similar areas in places like Warsaw, Berlin or Vilnius.

Visited churches and religious sites, including large white Orthodox-style churches and smaller memorial chapels. Minsk is not overflowing with old churches in the way some Eastern European capitals are, but the ones I saw were impressive and often set against very Soviet surroundings, which made the contrast more interesting.

Did a military-history day trip outside Minsk, which was probably the highlight of the trip. The site had tanks, armoured vehicles, artillery, aircraft, bunkers, trenches and recreated wartime positions. I got to climb on tanks, see Soviet military hardware up close, and even shoot an AK-47 for less than $5, which felt completely surreal compared with what would be possible at a similar attraction in Western Europe. For anyone interested in WWII, the Red Army, Soviet military history or the Eastern Front, this was absolutely fascinating.

The military site also had a very Belarusian/Soviet approach to history. It was not presented in quite the same way a Western museum might present it. It was more patriotic, more immersive and more focused on the Great Patriotic War narrative. That made it interesting not only as a military-history attraction, but also as a way of understanding how Belarus remembers the war.

What went right:

Minsk was far more interesting than I expected. I thought it might feel empty or dull after a day, but the city has a very distinct atmosphere. It is not beautiful in a conventional tourist sense, but it is fascinating if you are interested in Soviet history, authoritarian politics, architecture, military museums or places that feel genuinely different from the rest of Europe.

The winter setting really suited the city. December is cold and dark, but the snow, grey skies and early darkness made the monuments and Soviet architecture feel more atmospheric. Places like the Island of Tears, Independence Square and the military-history site probably felt more dramatic in winter than they would have in summer.

The military-history sites were excellent. The tanks, aircraft, artillery, bunkers and reconstructed wartime areas were much more hands-on than similar museums in Western Europe. Being able to climb over Soviet vehicles and shoot an AK-47 for less than $5 made the whole thing feel almost absurdly accessible. It was the kind of experience that would be difficult to replicate in the UK.

The city was very clean and orderly. Streets, metro stations, squares and public areas were generally well maintained. There was very little visible litter or disorder. Whether you find that impressive or slightly unsettling depends on your perspective, but it is definitely noticeable.

Public transport was useful and cheap. Minsk is spread out, so the metro is very helpful. The stations are not quite Moscow-level spectacular, but they are efficient, clean and easy enough to use if you can read Cyrillic.

There were very few Western tourists. That made the trip feel much more unusual. It did not feel like I was following a standard tourist route at all.

What went wrong:

The language barrier was real. Even in the capital, English was not something I could rely on. Menus, signs, museum displays and everyday interactions were mostly in Russian or Belarusian. Google Translate was essential.

The political atmosphere is always in the background. I did not personally have any issues, but you are aware that Belarus is not a liberal democracy and that you need to be careful. I avoided political discussions, avoided photographing sensitive buildings or security personnel, and generally tried not to draw attention to myself.

It was cold, dark and icy. This is obvious for December, but it does affect the trip. Walking long distances was tiring, daylight was limited, and some areas felt bleak. Good boots, gloves and a proper winter coat are essential.

Minsk is not conventionally pretty. If someone is looking for a charming old town, cosy bars, Christmas-market atmosphere and easy Western-style tourism, they may be disappointed. Minsk is more interesting than charming.

Some attractions and areas were not very tourist-friendly. There was not always much English-language information, and some places required more effort to understand without Russian. This is part of the experience, but it could be frustrating for some travellers.

Recommendations:

Learn Cyrillic before going. This is probably the single most useful thing you can do. Even if your Russian is basic, being able to read station names, street signs, menus and place names makes the trip much easier.

Do not just stay around the obvious centre. Independence Avenue, Independence Square and the Minsk Gates are essential, but some of the most interesting parts of the city are the Soviet murals, street-art areas, residential districts, metro stations and random monumental public spaces.

Visit the Island of Tears. It is one of the most powerful memorials in the city and gives a more emotional side to Minsk than the huge state monuments.

See the National Library at night. It is strange, futuristic and very Minsk. The surrounding lights and giant star decorations made it especially memorable in winter.

Make time for a military-history day trip. If you are interested in WWII, Soviet history or military equipment, the tank/artillery/aircraft sites outside Minsk are probably among the most memorable things you can do.

Go in winter only if you are prepared. December makes Minsk atmospheric, but it also makes it cold, dark and slippery. Warm clothes are not optional.

Be sensible with photography. Normal tourist photos are fine, but avoid photographing police, military personnel, security buildings, checkpoints or anything that could cause problems.

Final verdict:

For around 3 days, Minsk was a fascinating and very unusual city break. I would not say I saw Belarus properly — I mainly saw the capital and one military-history site outside the city — but it was enough time to get a strong impression of Minsk’s atmosphere: monumental, orderly, Soviet-influenced, politically serious and unlike anywhere else I have visited in Europe.

Three days felt about right for a first visit. It gave me enough time to see the major central sights, explore some less polished areas, visit the Island of Tears and National Library, walk around the Soviet-era architecture, and do a military-history day trip. I could definitely have stayed longer, especially to see more of wider Belarus, but as an introduction to the country, Minsk worked very well.

I would not recommend Minsk to inexperienced travellers, nervous travellers or people who want lots of English and easy tourist infrastructure. But for someone comfortable travelling in Central/Eastern Europe, able to read Cyrillic, and interested in history, politics and unusual destinations, it is a very memorable trip.

It is not a place I would describe as “fun” in the usual city-break sense. It is cold, serious, monumental, orderly and sometimes slightly unsettling. But that is exactly what made it so interesting.

growing up in the urban (ugly) part of the philippines, ive always dreamed of visiting those old historical cities in the west. dont get me wrong, the philippines is beautiful, but not the cities. especially not the one i grew up in or the one i live in at the moment. i watch walk through videos and sometimes go on google maps street view to get a feel of what it would be like to walk through edinburgh, prague, paris, or rome. everytime i do this, i feel such a strong sense of both awe and envy, it makes my chest hurt.

im 31 years old and i have an average metro manila income (a bit on the higher end but still within the average range). i've been pretty frugal my whole life and i've saved up a bit. i now have enough to go on a 2 week trip to scotland and still have enough left over without touching my emergency fund. im looking into different ways i can go on this trip on a super tight budget, like staying at a cheap hostel, and packing food so i dont have to eat out too often.

despite these measures, going on this trip would still make a significant dent on my savings. i wont go into debt or drain the money i need for basic needs but my frugality is making me think twice about going on a vacation. i ask myself if the money i saved would be better spent elsewhere

i'll be going on this trip alone. i enjoy my alone time but have learned from past experience that i dont enjoy solo trips to the beach. ive since learned from other people on reddit that beach trips can get lonely and they suggested i go to a city instead for solo trips.

so here's my dilemma: i dont know if i can justify spending tens of thousands of pesos to see beautiful landscapes and architecture. i imagine it would feel like a dream (might even get a bit teary eyed) but im also scared it wont turn out as good as i expected. im scared i'll regret it.

Budapest (lands in budapest 11am) Dec 14 – Dec 17

Vienna (with Bratislava) Dec 17 – Dec 21

Prague ( have tickets from prague to cairo)

Dec 21 – Dec 24

Cairo Dec 24 – Dec 27

Singapore Dec 28 – Dec 31

Hong Kong Dec 31 – Jan 2

Chongqing Jan 2 – Jan 4

Chengdu Jan 4 – Jan 6

Xi'an Jan 6 – Jan 9

Beijing Jan 9 – Jan 12

Seoul Jan 12 – Jan 15

San Francisco Jan 15 – Jan 17

Jan 17th home to Houston

That's my current Itinerary, I'm 20, I've done a solo trip to 9-10 countries already and will also be going to Japan for 3.5 weeks in the summer. I've learned a few things from my last trip, but I still definitely want more opinions, the things y'all told for my last trip was definitely helpful. My biggest question for this trip is, about china, should I cut it down to only 3 cities? I've done trip like this with short time in each city but how are these cities? Do they deserve more time? I was also looking to find trains between the chinese cities but I couldn't really find any good info. I would take morning or sleeper trains to maximize my time in the city exploring but I couldn't find anything helpful. I have all my flights/ transport booked just nothing for the time in europe and china. Any advice for train booking in china and my europe portion. Advice for any cities would be great, also is bratislava worth a visit, it's sooo much cheaper than vienna I'm honestly considering staying there a night or two.

Just booked my first solo trip (25F) and my parents are terrified. I feel so guilty making them worry, but also don't think they have the best risk assessment of places (and they think the same of me). I'm not content to live my life based around where they think is safe and acceptable, but I do want to help reassure them.

Main issues are South America (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay) and a tour through Botswana and South Africa. I have travelled to Europe and Asia (Asia by myself and with a partner, Europe with family). I'm not "untravelled" but haven't done such a big trip alone.

All advice on reassuring parents and dealing with the guilt welcome! I feel like their fearmongering is getting to me, and I don't want that as I don't think it's an educated take.

Hello everyone,

I was taking a break from studying today and it dawned on me: I have to go to Ireland this summer. I, for various reasons, will be certainly be travelling alone.

My plan was to get started in Cork and staying 2 nights there, looking for Rory Gallagher related places, having a tasty beamish, walking around the city and finding a cheap chippy with formica tables.

Afterwards, I'm torn between Kilkenny and Galway. Call me a hipster but I don't really care that much about Dublin, so apart from travelling reasons going there definitely isn't a pre-requisite. What would you suggest? Again, 2 nights in either Kilkenny or Galway seems reasonable.

That brings us to 6 days.

If I go to Galway, maybe that'd be a good idea to check out the nearby islands (Aran?). However I'm on a budget and I'm a bit wary of price-gouging in scenic, remote areas...

If I wind up in Kilkenny, where to go next? Dublin seems unavoidable at this point but then again, my friends who went to Ireland specifically said Dublin was a letdown compared to other places. What towns are there between Kilkenny and Dublin that might be worth a visit?

As you can see, that's kind of where my plans fall apart and become a series of 'maybes'.

I thought about going for a completely different approach to it and starting in Dublin, northbound to Belfast and exploring Northern Ireland instead. But I have even less knowledge of these areas...

Anyway. As far as accommodation go, I want to stick to hostels and/or non-stuffy B&Bs, basically places with a modicum of a social life. My mate told me about hostels specifically targetted at solo travellers so I might try that. Do you have any experience with hostels in Ireland?
I'm not against driving but have no experience driving on the left-hand side of the road apart from Euro Truck Simulator 2 lol. Unsure how it'll turn out. Also I suppose renting a car is fairly expensive...

I know it's a lot of questions, explicit and implied, so feel free to only partly reply! Thanks and happy trails!

I’m in my mid 30s and for years I’ve had this idea in the back of my mind about taking a year out to travel the world properly. I’ve reached a point where I have no major commitments tying me down, and I’ve saved enough money to realistically make it happen.

Part of me feels like this is exactly the right time before life gets more complicated, but another part wonders if I’m romanticising it and walking away from stability for too long.

Has anyone else done something similar in their 30s? What were the biggest pros and cons once you actually took the plunge? Did it change your outlook, career, relationships, confidence etc and was returning home afterwards difficult?

Would love to hear honest experiences, especially from people who travelled solo or left behind a stable routine/job to do it.

Hello! I'll be going to vietnam for a month leaving early July and coming back early-mid august. This is the rough itenirary I have put thought into so far and would love to hear any feedback or advice as this will be my first solo trip abroad.

Days 1-4 Hanoi: Getting rid of jet lag, trying food tours, visiting old town and the museums the city has to offer etc

Days 5-8 Ha giang loop: Easy rider 4d 3n tour

Days 9-10 Sapa: Relaxing after ha giang, hiking and whatever cool stuff I can get into in the area for a couple days

Day 11 Hanoi: Relaxing for a day before going to cat ba.

Days 12-13 Cat ba/lan ha bay: 2d 1n cruise,overnight stay on the island

Days 13-14 trang an: Boat tours,hiking etc

Days 15-17 Hang va cave: Travel to phong nha, start 2d 1n

hang va cave tour

Day 18 Relax for a day in phong nha

Days 19-22Hue,Da nang,Hoi an: See some cool historical sites, enjoy the local food and culture

Days 23-25 Da lat: Try more food, hiking, relaxing before Saigon etc

Days 26- 31 Saigon/Mekong delta: Food,party hostels,shopping etc. Would also like to spend a day or 2 in the mekong delta if option is available. Getting a tattoo in Saigon on my very last day.

Let me know what you guys think about the selection/pacing! I really like outdoorsy stuff and would love to spend as much time as possible seeing the nature, hiking,meeting people and eating great food.

I'm anticipating staying a single night in a hotel in London on my way to Edinburgh (short stopover to see a play). I stayed at the Z Hotel Tottenham Court Road last year (one word to the wise: it's not on Tottenham Court Road, it's on Poland Street), and I liked the efficient use of space and the window was just... there. Not a view window but a window.

I'm booking now at a different Z Hotel, and I don't know why but I just can't bring myself to book a room with no window. It's like I feel like I would be trapped in an emergency. I don't even know whether last year's window would open or if I could squeeze through it if it did.

That makes me think that it's just an artificial worry, like maybe it's something that my mother said when I was a child and it's just been lurking in the background all these years. But it's like GBP 50 more to have a window, and that's not nothing. Am I just being unreasonable or is there really a potential (if not probably) safety issue?

Thanks!

I’ve been staying at Onefam parallelo and Onefam sungate. Everything I’ve seen has rated them as one of the best Europe hostels and the people there all say it’s amazing. It’s very social and people want to talk. But I just haven’t really liked it. The facilities are fine but I think the partying is not at all what I thought it’d be.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what I’m not vibing with but everything seems very manufactured and surface level. They have the free dinner and then drinking games at 8 or 9PM every night. I think the drinking games just kinda suck. There’s way too many people for it to be any fun and it’s difficult to hear anything. It’s all just a bunch of people talking loudly. By the end of it I don’t really know anything about anyone cause it’s all just dumb stuff and no one is having proper conversations. After 1 hour it’s straight to either a bar or a club but you don’t even know most of the people there at this point or you only do in a very surface level way and it’s too late to get to know anyone in such a short time before town.

Kinda regretting booking the ones labelled social or party hostels. It’s not like I’m super introverted or have been too shy to talk, I’ve been friendly and met some cool people. I definitely want to be in hostels where people want to talk but I thought it’d be more of a vibe of finding a group in the hostel to go out with and drinking together for a few hours then going out yourself. Every night I’ve been there if you’re not drinking or going out with the hostel it will basically be completely deserted.

I had broken up with my boyfriend of 3 years nearly a decade ago and the first thing I did was book a solo trip. I went to Barcelona. I was adamant on not relying on my phone so I printed things off, made notes of what to do when I got off at the airport, which metro line to get and directions to the hostel. I remember asking the guys at the metro station if I was at the right stop but they were so rude (even though I asked in Spanish).

Anyway, I must've walked around the block 4 times before getting so annoyed that I couldn't find the hostel. Took out my phone and turns out the hostel was right behind me. In that moment I was kind of annoyed that I had to use my map at the last minute but looking back at it I was a 24 year old who had managed to fly from London to Barcelona all on her own, doing everything on her own without technology and I am so glad I did that.

I just remember feeling so free and so happy to explore. The best feeling. It's been a decade since that trip and I still travel solo where I can. It's not as alluring now I must admit. I have been mainly all over Europe and now at 34 I like travelling with people (very specific people though). But today I got nostalgic.

What was your first solo trip? And why was it so special, other than just being your first?