I have traveled many times, to many different countries but never alone. I have always idolized the travelers I met along the way who had the confidence to travel as an individual. Though even today I do not believe I could do a backpacking trip alone, I am happy that I experienced a one week trip solo.

After my first solo hostelling experience in Switzerland last time I was in Europe, I decided if I was traveling alone again, I would sleep in a one bed hotel room. Between the mix of languages, people, interests and the levels of politeness, it was impossible to sleep longer than an hour in a four bedroom dorm room (while many are 16 or more). There was one older woman up at the crack of dawn banging around, while the other two younger ladies in the room were up all night partying and decided to call it a night only hours before the older woman woke up. Then there was me… The solo traveler who was still too jet lagged to get up at the crack of dawn and too scared to go out and party alone at night. I had the worst sleep out of the four of us and on top of all the noise, I was constantly thinking about my valuables and luggage, holding on to them like they were my everything.

In South Africa, if there was ever a time we were in a dorm room, I always knew I had Alicia (my travel buddy at the time) to be my ears and eyes when I was out cold (and vice versa).

I think that staying in dorm rooms is a really great way to meet new friends and new travel buddies but it is also hard to leave your trust in people whom you barely even know. It is nice to have that someone from home who you know you can be your backbone when you are too tired, too sick, too drunk, to lonely, etc.

The one bonus of solo traveling is being able to do what you want, when you want. You can be as selfish as you want and plan your IDEAL vacation to the fullest. While in Milan and Berlin, I never anticipated being able to see all that I wanted to see. To my surprise, I was able to accomplish this on my own schedule at my own pace. It was great. However, these beautiful sites that I so badly wanted photos at …. quite often times ended up being your typical ‘selfie.’ Don’t get me wrong… I am a vocal enough person to ask or attempt to ask for someone else to take the photo for me and I quite often do. The only issue with this is finding out who is trustworthy to take the photo and who will run away with your camera before you even get the chance to blink. I typically try to search for a group of tourists my age who I will know will also want a photo in exchange.

Another typical tourist tip that I actually found useful was the money belt. The funny thing is that the first time I used it in Peru and Africa, I used it for the purpose of safety. If anything were to ever go wrong, if my belongings were to get lost or stolen, I would always have my money belt on me for security and I would be able to get back home in one piece. Now, I have learned what to do and what not to do and I feel like the money belt was more of a nuisance than anything else. Of course dearest mother insisted I take the money belt to Italy and Germany especially when traveling alone. So I did. This little tip wasn’t helpful for the purpose of being safe but simply because I tend to lose things on my own. That or I just have those small panic attacks everyone usually has when they can’t find their phone. Luckily with this handy-dandy belt, I never have to look twice for which pocket I put my passport in, where my money is and all my I.D.

Overall, I think I would prefer to travel in smaller groups with one or two people, no more, no less. The more people you have traveling with you, the more difficult it is to make concrete plans and it also doesn’t allow you to branch out and meet new people. Most tourists are intimidated by large groups and you won’t end up meeting many new international friends. With just one or two people, you have the comfort of home with you and two other good brains when yours is kaput.

For now, no more solo travels for me. My train ride today en route to Milano… Sitting next to a girl filing her nails and dusting the particles all over my salad and the boy laying next to me in his hostel bed right now having his phone go off every time he gets a text and then having a noise for ever letter he types on the key board…. Is just enough to sell myself for a one room upgrade next time!

Tomorrow, I will be in Canada again! 🙂

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