Everything You Should Know Before Embarking on Your First Solo Trip

Planning a trip can be stressful and time-consuming. I'd drive to a coffee shop and sit there for three to four hours at a time, browsing through countless web pages, creating must-visit lists, and planning all the logistics needed for the trip.

Over the course of past several years, I have grown accustomed to treating trip planning as a hobby and less of a stress inducer. That said, I've broken my travel tips into two phases so you can establish your own routine when you plan your next adventure:

Phase 1 – Research

My list of countries to visit never shortens because I always come up with ideas right after I finish a trip. Most of the time I'm determined to visit certain places the following trip. Other times, flight prices dictate which country I would cross off next.

Be sure to sign up and bookmark the following web pages so you can stay updated on the latest flight prices and any deals they might present to you:

• Skyscanner (https://www.skyscanner.com/)

• Hopper (https://www.hopper.com/)

• Google Flights (www.google.com/flights)

• Airfarewatchdog (https://www.airfarewatchdog.com/)

Another must-do is to register an account for all the main airline carriers. Expect to be bombarded with a plethora of emails but sometimes they do have deals that might fit what you’re looking for. Plus, it doesn’t hurt to start accumulating miles!

I swear by Hostel World (https://www.hostelworld.com/) mainly because I stay at hostels whenever I travel and it’s a great website to browse as you can easily save, compare, or book your hostels right away. Some hostels have promotions on their own website instead of Hostel World. Most of the time they offer free breakfast if you book through them instead so be sure to double check both places first before booking your rooms.

Lastly, if you have never used Google Maps as your primary visualization tool for your itinerary, time to hop on the bandwagon. You can bucket and color-code your items based on the different categories. See below for an example of my map for Porto, Portugal.

I keep the same icons and colors for all my maps, so it has become second nature to my brain to associate the colors with the categories.

Phase II – Cost-effective decisions

• This ties back to Phase I but it’s good to have some knowledge on the public transit system in the cities you visit. The amount of money saved vs. the minimal time saved is worth the trade-off in most situations.

• This travel hack depends on your bank. Either exchange all your money beforehand at once or exchange money at an ATM once you get to the destination. Note, the second option is only advantageous if your bank partners with other banks globally. For example, I have Bank of America in the US and they void the transaction fees per withdrawal if you exchange cash from an international partner bank. More importantly, you don’t lose as much on the exchange spread as if you were to exchange money at an airport kiosk or other exchange houses.

• Unless there is an activity that requires advanced reservation, buy your tickets to events when you arrive. As a solo traveler, plans have a higher risk of changing; you can meet people in the hostels and end up exploring together. Train tickets are a perfect example not to buy online well before your trip. You can get them at the train station and the prices rarely fluctuate unless it’s in extremely high demand. Furthermore, never book anything through third party websites like Trip Advisor, Travelocity, Kayak because they charge a substantial premium. There are tons of groups and booking agencies native to the cities you visit who can offer better deal packages on the activities you want to do.

Now that you’ve gone through these tips, join me in this journey as you browse through various guides on cities and countries I’ve visited!