HOW TO PLAN A SOLO TRIP

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This post is about how to plan a solo trip

**So you’re thinking of going on a solo trip but not sure when to start? This guide to how to plan a solo trip has got you covered.**

Going on a trip alone will be one of the most liberating things you ever do in life. You can decide exactly what you want to see and do and have no one elses desires and wants for the trip to consider - you can be selfish and make it all about you!
If it’s your first time travelling alone I understand that it can be extremely overwhelming and you may be unsure how to actually plan your trip. Don’t worry, this guide is here to help. I’ve recently begun travelling solo after my son has grown up and before that I travelled all over the world as a solo mum. I’ve picked up lots of tips and tricks over the years that I use when booking my solo trips.
If you want to see my favourite travel resources that I use whenever I plan a solo trip to help me save money and get the most from my solo travels you can find them here.

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So you’ve decided to go on a solo trip? The first thing you need to do is decide where you want to go. Is there somewhere on the top of your travel bucketlist? Somewhere you’ve been longing to go? If you’re anything like me you probably have a long list of places you want to go and things you want to do! Do you fancy a trip to Thailand or maybe Mexico?

If you don’t have one particular place that you’re longing to visit maybe you could figure out what you want from the experience. This will help you decide on the country to visit. Are you wanting to relax in the sun on the beach? Or maybe you have a love of architecture or really enjoy hiking? This can help you pinpoint the country or area you want to visit.

It’s important to think about when you want to and when you can go. If you’re wanting to visit Asia check for the rainy seasons, if you’re visiting the Caribbean check when the hurricane season is. There’s not much point in planning a Caribbean getaway with the intention of sunning yourself if you’re travelling during hurricane season! If you’re travelling in Europe the summer months are generally the warmest but the busiest. This means more crowds and generally more expensive.

Next you want to think about how long you can/want to go for. Maybe a week away is enough for you to escape the daily grind at home or maybe you want to take a whole month backpacking a few countries. It’s important to plan something that you’re really excited about. The beauty of solo travel is that it’s all about you and where you plan to go should fit around your wants and desires entirely. This trip should be exactly what you want it to be.

As you go through the next few steps you may realise that you have to change where you’re going due to one of a few reasons.

Now that you’ve decided where and when to go, it’s time to check your passport. You usually need at least 6 months left on the validity of your passport so make sure that it’s still in date or that you have enough time to apply for a new one (it can take around 6 weeks depending on where you are).

After checking your passport you need to check if you need a visa. This varies massively depending on where your from and what passport you have. Some passports allow visa free entry to many countries and others don’t.

I always use iVisa to check if I need a visa for a country I want to visit. On the website you can also apply for the visa you will need.

For some countries you can get an eVisa and apply online whilst there are a few countries where you have to apply weeks or months in advance. When I was getting my visa for China I had to go in person to the Visa Application Centre in Manchester.

Depending on the location you’ve chosen to visit you may need to give yourself a lot of time in order to obtain the visa you need.

Useful website : iVisa

Depending on where you’re wanting to go, you may need to have travel vaccinations especially if you haven’t had them before. You may also need a booster too if it’s expired.

The general ones needed for travel are Hepatitis A, Typhoid, and Polio. Some locations may also need to get your yellow fever vaccination. Some vaccinations are a requirement and others are opptional so make sure you get all the most up to date information.

You can check which vaccinations you need for the location you want to go to and if you have enough time to get them before your trip. Some vaccinations are done in rounds and you may need one vaccination, then 4 weeks later have another one.

It could be that you don’t have enough time for the vaccines for the place you want to go so you’re going to have to either push your trip back or change locations to somewhere that doesn’t require any vaccinations.

So now you’ve figured out where you want to go and that you’ve got enough time for any visas you need to apply for and vaccinations you need to get you can start the excited bit - start thinking about, researching and planning what you wnt to do when you’re there.

Sometimes it’s great to rock up somewhere and go with the flow - spontaneity is great when travelling and it leaves space for any unknowns you may discover whilst you’re on your trip. I always think doing a little research before you go can help you make the most of your time. As a solo traveller I always think it' makes sense to do some research so you can try to keep yourself as safe as possible.

If you want to draw yourself up a detailed itinerary you absolutely can go ahead but for most destinations it isn’t necessary. A rough schedule of what you want to see and do is usually plently. Some places are closed on certain days so it’s important to check on this and make sure you plan this into your schedule.

If you’re heading on a city break many cities, particularly in Europe have city passes which can really help save you some money if you’re planning on doing quite a few activities.

I highly recommend getting on GetYourGuide to help you plan your trip. You can choose your destination and take a look at the top things to see and do in that destination. There’s activities on there for all sorts of traveller from walking tours, boat trips, cooking classes, guided museum visits and so much more. It’s important to give yourself some down time and don’t try to cram in too much.

If you are heading somewhere during peak season it may be a good idea to prebook skip-the-line tickets for popular attractions. When in Rome we prebooked Colosseum tickets which was so worth it as well as booking for the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. I’ve always found it’s worth it in peak season so you don’t have to waste time in queues when you could be exploring.

Useful Websites:

Now it’s time to think about where you want to stay. This is the time to think about your budget as it will have a huge impact on where you’re going to stay.

Do you want to stay in a resort? Maybe you’re only going for a short time and can afford to splash out on more luxury accomodation or maybe you’re on a really tight budget. I’ve done both! When I was travelling full time around Asia for a year my budget was only £10 a night for accomodation so some nights I got really cheap accomodation for only a £2/3 so I could get somewhere a little more lux for a few nights (trust me, in some areas of South East Asia a £30 is pretty luxurious!) I’ve also spent 100s on a night in Monaco for a special experience.

If you’re on a tight budget and you’d like to meet people on your solo trip you might like to stay in a hostel instead of a hotel. Staying in a dorm room in a hostel is a great way to meet other travellers and you may find yourself going on trips with them if that’s something you want to do. Hostels also often offer tours and social activities which makes it easier to meet others.

Useful websites :

HostelWorld

Booking.com

Hotels.com

Now, you know where you’re going, where you’re going to stay and what you’re going to do when you’re there you need to think about how you’re going to get around.

Depending on where you’re going this could be an easy step. If you plan on a beach destination and you’re going to be lounging on the beach for a week you’re not going to need any transportation so there’s no need to bother with this step. You should look at how you’re getting from the airport to your destination though. I’ve found that researching this throughourly beforehand is one of the best things to do when going on a trip. You could book a private transfer or a bus ticket. But knowing what you’re going to do when you arrive helps negate any stress when you first arrive in your chosen destination.

If you’re planning on a city break it’s more than likely there’s a metro/tube/buses to get around the city. It’s worth researching those so you have a little knowledge before you go. Lots of cities also have hop-on hop-off buses that can be a great way to get around and get you to the main tourist spots too.

Maybe you’re doing a 2 week trip around different locations in Italy or backpacking Thailand for a month, so you’re not just staying in one place and you’re travelling around a little. If this is the case you should do a check on how you’re getting from place to place. Is there public transport you can take? Maybe hiring a car is a good idea? It really depends on your location. Bookaway is a great resource to book trains, buses, taxis or ferries to get you between locations.

You might want to prebook a transfer from the airport to your location so there’s less hassle as soon as you arrive. I always use GetYourGuide for this. Sometimes hotels arrange transfers too so you could always get in touch with your accommodation and ask if that’s something they offer.

Useful websites :

Bookaway

GetYourGuide

Now that you know exactly where you’re going and what you’re going to do there, you can look at flights that’s how you’re planning on getting away.

If your trip is a while away, and by a while I mean a few months or more, you have alot of time before you go so what I recommend doing is signing up to a travel alert on Skyscanner which will email you when flight prices go up or down for your chosen location. This is a great way to save money on your flights and it’s something I always do if I’m booking a holiday a long time in advance.

Skyscanner is great to use as you can look at whole months instead of just individual days so if you can be a little flexible with the date you go you can use it to find the cheapest flights.

Another thing you can do, which I do often is look at the price of different airports. I have 2 airports pretty much the same distance from my house (Liverpool and Manchester) so I always check which one has cheaper flights. I also look at the place I’m going to. As an example when I went to New York for New Years Eve I looked at all 3 New York airports (JFK, La Guardia and Newark) that could work for getting me to my accommodation and figured out which one had the best flights.

It’s so important to get travel insurance for your trip. You may think you don’t need it and you may think it’s worth taking the risk of not getting any but trust me it really isn’t. I’ve heard of so many people who didn’t get insurance and ended up in a real situation.

When you’re looking through insurance it’s important not to just take the cheapest one. You should actually read the policy. What does the travel insurance cover? How much excess would you need to pay if you need to make a claim? Normally with travel insurance (infact all insurances) the higher the excess the lower the cost of the insurance.

If you are taking part in any adventure activities or dangerous sports you need to check that the policy you choose covers these activities. Lots of insurance companies don’t cover things like skiiing, certain water sports and riding a quad bike.

What electronics are you taking away with you? You should check that your insurance will cover you if you had your phone, tablet, camera or laptop stolen.

I generally use HeyMondo which I have always found to be excellent for all my needs. They offer multi-trip annual insurance as well as long trip insurance for trips over 90 days.

Other good companies I’ve heard many travellers recommend are World Nomads and Safety Wing. Both of these are available to people from many countries around the world including UK and USA.

Useful Websites:

You’re all booked! Exciting! As it gets closer to the time you need to start thinking about what you want to take with you. It may be that you need to buy a few items or you may have everything you need already. If you need a few items you can check out my favourite travel essentials for the things I love to take away with me.

You can use this handy packing list to help you get organised. I’ve packed for many trips over the years and I have really whittled the things down that I take. I like to pack light! My general advice to most people is to pack what you think you need than half it.

There are packing lists for various locations on the blog that you can read for more detailed help and advice on a particular location.

DOWNLOAD : Travel packing list

TRAVEL ESSENTIALS

Planning a trip? Here are some of the resources and tools I personally use to organise my travel plans to anywhere in world.

FLIGHTS : Find the best deals on flights using Skyscanner.

VISAS : Use iVisa to check if you need a tourist visa for wherever you’re going to and apply for an expedited visa online. Use OneWayFly to obtain proof of onward travel/hotel reservation for your visa application if needed.

TRAVEL INSURANCE : Insure your trip with my preferred insurance for single trip and annual cover HeyMondo

AIRPORT TRANSFER : Pre-book your hotel transfers from the airport.

ACCOMMODATION : Find the best hotel deals on Booking.com.

DAY TRIPS : Find the best city tours and day excursions on your travels on Viator or Get Your Guide.

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