Whilst family holidays are always enjoyable and full of laughter, going solo on holiday can often be just as satisfying for different reasons. There seems to be a large stigma about travelling solo, but you don’t have to feel like a loner when travelling alone. By going solo, you get to experience the richness of the country and understand the culture much better than just being relaxed at a resort with your family. There is nothing shameful or dangerous about it, so here are a few things that you should consider before going on holiday alone.
Optimise Safety & Ensure You Can Be Contacted
Travelling alone is exhilarating, but it can become dangerous if you become reckless. Before heading off, always make sure you apply for an EHIC card renewal to cover any accidental injuries that you may encounter whilst away on your travels. For extra safety and peace of mind for your loved ones, ensure that you can be contacted at all points of your trip. This can range from a phone call every day, or even by just documenting your travels on social media, as just from this small update, your loved ones will know that you’re safe. Tell your closest contact members where you’ll be staying as well as other important details, so you have a nice soft blanket beneath you if you fall.
Plan Your Trip… But Not Too Much
You’re heading to a country that you’ve never been to before, alone. It would be stupid not to conduct research into places to go and things to do whilst you’re there. So, start drawing an outline on what you’d like to do whilst on your travels and where you will stay when the sun sets. You might have noticed how I’ve said ‘not too much’ when it comes to planning, and this is because you can be completely selfish with your travels! When on holiday with family, you need to negotiate where you’ll be going and compromise on decisions. When on your own though, you can go wherever you like, whenever you like! So, don’t set anything in stone, as you never know where a spontaneous trip might take you!
Don’t Use Popular Booking Sites
You wouldn’t plan a holiday alone if you couldn’t afford it, but it’s obvious that being alone means there’s only one load of funds going into the jar. In order to save as much money as possible, you should avoid popular booking sites all together, as whilst they promise you they’ll find the cheapest deal, this is very rarely the case. For an even cheaper alternative, you should consider booking your flight and accommodation separately, especially if you’re planning on travelling far to your destination. This way, you will have even more freedom on your solo holiday, and who doesn’t want extra freedom?
Learn the Culture Before You Leave
You should aim on doing this whenever you travel abroad, but even more so when alone. When with family, you have them as a main point of interaction and socialisation, but when travelling on your own, you’re much more likely to branch out and speak to natives within the country. Therefore, it’s only polite to adopt their mannerisms and etiquette; otherwise in strict countries such as Dubai, you could find your holiday resulting in a 4 year prison sentence. Not quite the holiday you had planned, right?
