You have read it correctly. You will find many blogs on packing list of solo trip. I have also written about South East Asian packing list earlier, but while planning my second solo trip to Nepal, I realized preparing yourself (mentally and physically) for a solo trip is equally important. Here are few tips on how to prepare yourself for a solo trip. In addtion to that I have mentioned some other solo travel tips or tips to consider when you are going abroad alone.
But before that if you are not sure why you should go for solo trip read my post.
Mental preparation:
This is the most important aspect for the people who wants to do solo trip for the first time in their life. Are you ready for a trip where the place will be unknown, people will be unknown, you have to take all the decision that too impromptu, sometime you may be really alone and miss terribly your family .
People like me who is a mummy of a toddler, the decision of solo trip is really difficult. Whenever I start the planning of solo trip (not a regular type of trip for me as most of the time I travel with family), I feel very happy to get opportunity to explore a new place with very little budget compare to a family holiday. However as the time of the journey comes, I start feeling bad because I have to leave my daughter at home. It is a double Whammy effect. I think only a mother (or to some extent a father also) understand the combination of joy and pain who have travelled without their kids ever.
Read my post about how you can plan your family trip to Bhutan in very low budget along with the best itinerary for 7—8 days .
Physical preparation :
1. Fitness:
This is the most important solo travel advice I would like to give. One is that you have to be physically fit for solo trip. There will not be anyone to look after you if something happens to you. (Though I found people are helpful out there and you will get some help in every corner of the World.) To take precaution you should buy a travel insurance. There are many options available in policy bazaar where you can get comparison between the policies and take the buying decision accordingly.
2. Tour Planning:
Second is planning of your tour. If you are a person who plans his /her tour instead of travel agency then you have to read about the place and finalise the itinerary.
What I do is first I read blogs of that location /country. Start tracking the airfare/ train availability. Book the airline in advance to save cost. But sometimes it can be a boomerang to you, like it happened in my Nepal solo trip. I booked Jet Airways ticket in cheaper price but 7 days before the journey, both the flights got cancelled and I had to book the alternative flight with higher price.
3. Buying necessary items:
For a solo trip you need to pack all essentials, as if you don’t have the particular thing which you may need, you may have to purchase at a higher price. At the same time the bag size should not be so big that you feel difficulty in carrying it. If you are carrying bag pack then 40-50 litters is the perfect size for a girl and boys can carry up to 65 litter.
Keeping your bag pack in an optimum size is very difficult when you are travelling solo. In most of the south East Asian countries, the ticket price are less but most of the time you will have a weight limit.
In my Indonesia trip the weight limit was only 7 kg. I have seen many people paying extra luggage charge even more than the ticket price.
My optimum Packing list for solo travel:
In the packing list there should be 3 set t-shirts, 2 pants, one set night ware, cap, sunscreen, night cream, comb, deodorant, small bottle (less than 100 ml, as in many international airport they will not allow bigger size than 100ml) of shampoo, conditioner, shaving kit (for boys).
Additionally important are medicine, first aid kit, hair dryer (optional), camera, mobile, charger for both, Power bank, headphones, extra one pair shoes, raincoat (if you are travelling in Rainy season of that place), extra 5-6 plastic bags (for any emergency)
Read: Backpacking Europe Packing list
4. In the trip:
In both of my solo trips, I did not plan the total trip. So many times it may happen that you have to take decision on any topics, it may be your next location or place to visit, how to explore the places, what to eat. These seems not so important to you now, but your solo trip it do matter.
How to explore the places will always be money vs. Time. If you want to save time you may have to opt for private cab, however if you want to save money you can take public transport available in that place. So you have to take on the spot decision for those things.
Choosing food is also very important aspect. You have to balance between trying new foods which may be costly vs taking some available cheap food like bread, butter, biscuits, cake etc. Also you need to take such food which will not create any health issue.
Sometime you can add or delete some part of your decided itinerary. Like I did in my Indonesia trip, I have added Nusa Penida after discussion with some of the hostel mate I met at Bali. This was the best on the spot decision.
My Nepal Experience of instant planning
For my Nepal trip also I was thinking a way to visit Muktinath and do Ghorepani Trek. I was not having any idea how to do that in my limited time. After coming to Pokhara, I came to know that the trek can be started from Tatopani which is on the way to Muktinath. So after interaction with local people, hotel people you May get some good places reference which no blogger have mentioned.
In my Nepal trip the same happened in Kathmandu also. I was asking the hotel people about how to visit Bhaktapur from Kathmandu, and the owner suggested to visit Changunarayan temple also. This was another good sudden addition to the Kathmandu trip. So for this you have to interact with hotel owner, fellow travellers, drivers, local people and so on.
Thank you for reading the post How to prepare yourself for a solo trip. Hope you have enjoyed my solo travel tips. These are very important specially when women travel alone. In my first solo trip, it happend sometimes when I felt totally clueless what to next. So I have mentioned some tips on that.
Read How to handle unwanted situation in your solo trip.
Read more: Why Travel to India alone (As a female)?
If you have already done solo trip and want to suggest something more, please post a comment.
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