Solo Female Travel (Travel Lemming Podcast #13)

Are you a solo female traveler or planning your first solo trip? This episode is for you. Travel Lemming creators Laura McFarland & Sky Ariella are seasoned solo female travelers, and in this episode, they give their top tips for having a successful solo trip as a woman.

Learn how to plan a solo trip, safety precautions to take while traveling, what to pack, and so much more. Plus, Sky & Laura share their top solo travel destinations and experiences.

A special thanks to Tortuga for sponsoring this episode.

👉 Get 10% off at Tortuga: https://travellemming.com/tortuga/

💻 Perspectives from TravelLemming.com

- Managing solo travel anxiety: https://travellemming.com/perspectives/how-i-manage-solo-travel-anxiety/ 

- Solo travel vs group tours: https://travellemming.com/perspectives/solo-travel-vs-group-tours/ 

- Australia campervan: https://travellemming.com/perspectives/my-australia-road-trip-free-campervan/

- Customer reviews: https://travellemming.com/perspectives/customer-reviews-will-make-or-break-your-trip/ 

- Sailboat in Indonesia: https://travellemming.com/perspectives/indonesia-sailboat/ 

- Couples traveling separately: https://travellemming.com/perspectives/couples-who-travel-separately/

- Ha Giang Loop: https://travellemming.com/perspectives/motorbike-trip-through-northern-vietnam-ha-giang-loop/ 

- Packing for 1 year of travel: https://travellemming.com/perspectives/what-i-packed-one-year-around-world-trip/ 

#SoloFemaleTravel #TravelTips #WomenTravel

Segment Timestamps

00:00:00 – Intro & Episode Teaser
00:01:37 – First Solo Travel Experiences
00:04:13 – Planning Styles (Type A vs. Type B)
00:08:55 – Common Misconceptions of Solo Female Travel
00:11:57 – Safety Abroad vs. Home
00:15:44 – Tips for Staying Safe
00:17:49 – Booking Accommodations & Travel Insurance
00:20:01 – Best Parts of Traveling Solo
00:24:01 – Challenges & Loneliness
00:27:52 – Packing Must-Haves
00:30:39 – Budgeting & Saving Money
00:33:01 – Making Friends on the Road
00:37:55 – Favorite Solo Travel Destinations
00:44:07 – Memorable Travel Moments
00:49:48 – Future Destination Wish List
00:53:01 – How Solo Travel Changed Us
00:57:32 – Sponsor Shout-Out & Wrap-Up

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Solo female travelers,this episode is for you.
Here's a 30 second teaser of this episode.
I do not feel more unsafe travelingby myself than I do being by
myself in the United States.
I definitely tend to bookall female dorms at hostels.
Which helps a little bit if you'refeeling nervous about, safety,
Make sure that your flights are arrivingin a new place, and even your trains,

(00:22):
if you're traveling within a country,during the day, as opposed to at night.
Just because you're solo doesn't meanthat you can't find a buddy and really
latch on in a situation where youmaybe want to feel a little bit more
Solo female travelers,this episode is for you.
We're going to discuss the ins andouts of solo traveling as a woman.
The most important things to know,how to prepare, how to stay safe, and

(00:43):
some of our own solo travel stories.
Welcome to the Travel Lemming podcast,where we talk all things travel
with our team of travel writers.
I'm your host, Laura.
I'm a senior travel writerhere at Travel Lemming.
I'm joined today by my co host Sky,who I'll introduce in a moment.
But first, I just want to thank TortugaBackpacks for sponsoring this episode.
My co host today is Skye Ariella.
She's a senior travel writer withTravel Lemming and a full time traveler

(01:07):
with lots of solo travel expertise.
She has written hundreds of articles forus as well as for other travel magazines.
Welcome to the podcast, Skye!
How are you doing?
I'm doing well.
How are you?
I'm doing great.
Where are you located right now?
Right now I'm in the UnitedKingdom with my dog, Bear.
We've been here for a few monthsand I think our next stop is
going to be Portugal, probably.

(01:27):
Amazing.
I'm calling in from the San FranciscoBay Area, so you have a lot of solo
travel expertise, and I just want tostart by asking where was the first
ever place that you solo travelled?
For sure, my first solo tripwas actually my very first trip
out of the United States ever.
When I graduated from college, whenI was 22, I took a one way flight to

(01:47):
Thailand and was by myself, but itturned into six months of solo traveling
around six different countries, I think.
And I got hooked after that.
I loved solo travelingand travel in general.
That's amazing.
That's such a long way from theUnited States, especially for your
first trip out of the country at all.
What kind of inspired you to do that?

(02:08):
so I had always wanted to travelinternationally, but I had really never
had the opportunity to do it growing up.
And I started watching a lotof YouTube videos when I was in
college of people just travelingaround and I was so enticed.
And I had my mind set on that onceI graduate, I'm going on this trip.
And it just kind of unfolded like that.
Going when you're young is such a goodtime to do it just because the lack

(02:31):
of responsibility that you might havecompared to other points in your life.
My first solo trip was also in college.
The summer after my freshman year ofcollege, signed up to go volunteer
as an English teacher in Croatia.
So I signed up completely on a whim, justwas like, again, same thing, I'd always
wanted to travel, I saw an opportunity.
And I took it, and I went witha group of other volunteers, but

(02:53):
I didn't know anyone beforehand.
So it felt like a solo trip,because I was the one that was
bringing myself to do that.
But then when I was in the country, I didhave a point of contact in the country.
I had, like, other Americansthat were kind of around me, so
that was really, really nice.
And I just had the best time.
I lived in Croatia for two months.
I lived in a little community on thecoast, and then one inland as well.

(03:14):
And then afterwards, I Went backpackingthrough Slovenia with two of the girls
that I had met while in Croatia And itwas just such an eye opening experience
and definitely got me hooked on travel
What are some things that you feellike you got to know before you
take your first solo travel trip?
I think one of the biggest things to knowbefore a solo trip is just keeping in
mind that everyone feels uncomfortableand it is a very nerve wracking

(03:37):
experience before you embark on it.
So the nerves are normal and it doesn'tmean you shouldn't go on that trip.
It doesn't mean that it'sgoing to be horrible.
It's just something that you have to pushthrough to get to the amazing experience.
And similarly, there are momentswhen you feel homesick or like it
goes in waves and you're not, it'snot always constantly fun, fun, fun.

(03:58):
But overall it is a beautiful experience.
And even the bad days teachyou something, useful.
Yeah, completely.
I mean, before I left for Croatia,the month leading up to it, I was
like, what have I gotten myself into?
I don't want to go.
And then I'm so glad thatI pushed through that
how do you feel about, Being typeA versus type B while traveling.
So, planning every single aspect ofyour trip out in advance, versus

(04:22):
just booking a one way flight andkind of winging it once you get there?
I'm definitely one of the booka one way flight and figure it
out once you get there, people.
I mean, in that same vein, I thinkthat there's a big difference
between, prepping and planningversus over planning everything.
, I think that preparation is a great ideaand you need to be prepared with things

(04:43):
like your embassy's phone number andknow that your cell phone is going to
work in a foreign country for instance,have your credit cards all informed
that you're going to be traveling.
But, I think that planning out everylittle thing really stresses me out.
Okay, so you were saying the typesof things that you would research
beforehand are your embassy'sphone number, anything else?
the embassy phone number is a big one.

(05:04):
I would research travel insurance to see,a company that might work well for you.
I would definitely let yourloved ones back home know exactly
where you are at all times.
maybe in general, just a little researchinto the safety of certain places,
especially as a woman, but I don't thinkyou need to get, like, so bogged down to

(05:26):
the point where you're scared to even go.
Right.
things that I research about the countryspecifically that I'm going to, number
one is, like, the weather, and if it'stropical, if there's a rainy season.
Because I think for me, I was like,okay, great, I want to go to, say,
Thailand or Vietnam, but there's a hugemonsoon season in, like, the summertime.

(05:46):
And so, if I'm gonna go, I want tomake sure that I choose a time when
I'm not going to be spending the entireafternoon indoors because it's raining.
And then I also just like to usethat to inform kind of like how I
pack and what kinds of activitiesI think I might want to do.
Because if I think that there's a chanceI might want to go on a hike or do
something that's more like adventuretravel, I want to make sure that I have.

(06:07):
Athletic shoes or like athleticclothes with me as opposed to
just normal travel clothes.
But then, yeah, I still like toleave that room in the itinerary
for doing something like spontaneous
I would say that I am maybe moreof a Type A traveler than you are.
Like, I get so excited by theactual planning process of a trip.
Like, that to me is one of my favoriteparts, is just picking out where do
I want to go and then immediatelylooking at different travel blogs, like,

(06:31):
looking at the different articles onTravel Lemming and figuring out, okay,
what are the best things to do here?
And researching safety is a hugeone, because figuring out just,
especially if it's a new countrythat you've never been to before, and
maybe especially if you don't speakthe language as well, just doing a
quick research on like, what should Iexpect of different areas of the city?
What are the areas that are really, reallytouristy that Would be good, because they

(06:52):
might be a little safer, but also theremight be more scams or tourist traps that
I should expect versus one of the areasthat are a lot more local, but maybe I
need to be a little bit more prepared withmy language abilities before going there.
That can make a huge differencein your comfortability when
you go to a new country.
So yeah, researching neighborhoods,researching the weather, researching
big festivals or special events.

(07:13):
I think those are some thingsthat can help you prepare.
Without bogging you downinto a strict itinerary.
Right, the language one is a good onetoo, I think no matter where you're going,
if English isn't the primary language.
Or even if a lot of people do speakEnglish, but it's not the native language
there, learning a few key phrasesin the language is super helpful.
Even just things as basic as thank youand hello can really get you very far,

(07:35):
but if you want to take it a step furtherand be extra prepared, knowing how to
say, like, help, or I'm lost, or where'sthe bathroom can come in very handy.
I agree so much.
I love language learning, but even ifit's not something that comes easy to
you, I think it's really important whenyou're traveling to know, like you said,
the basic phrases, but also it justshows that you're putting in a little

(07:55):
bit more effort to learn the cultureof the country you're in and you're not
expecting everyone to just cater to you.
Especially if you're coming from awestern country where you only speak
English, you're not going to somewhereelse and expecting that everyone else
is going to speak English there as well.

(08:55):
Okay.
What are some common misconceptionsabout solo traveling as a woman
that you think are out there?
, I think one of the biggest onesis that you have to be a specific
type of person or at a specificphase in your life to do it.
For instance, a lot of people thinkI have to make enough money to buy
myself the privilege to solo traveland they waste years and years and

(09:16):
years not doing it and then they getto the point and they're like, should
have done it years ago or vice versa.
A lot of people think you can only reallydo this when you're young, like that's
when you're allowed to solo travel.
But I think no matter who you are,your personality type, whether you're
single, whether you're with someone,solo travel is for everybody and anyone
can get a lot of enjoyment out of theexperience and learn a lot as well.

(09:39):
Yeah, I agree.
I think so many people envisionsolo travel as like Julia
Roberts eat, pray, love of like
me into.
Realizing that I need to solo traveland like that is that can be a great
impetus for going and especially ifit's your first solo trip or I think
just traveling resets you, especiallysolo traveling resets you in a way that

(10:03):
can be really, really helpful after amajor life change or major life event.
But again, like you said, you cankind of do it at any time if you
feel confident in your abilities.
And even if you don't feelconfident in your abilities, and
saying, I know I want to do this.
So I'm going to challenge myself.
So it's just about making thatdecision that, hey, this is
something I want to prioritize.
Let's talk a little bit about solotraveling, even when you are in maybe a

(10:25):
long term relationship or you're married.
A lot of people think that at that point,That's when you can't solo travel anymore.
Like, you have to now doeverything with your partner.
But I think that that's just not trueat all, because even when you're in
a long term relationship, it's sohelpful to have time to solo travel.
I mean, one of our writers, LauraPhelan, wrote this really great
piece on our website about Couplesdoing their own individual solo

(10:49):
trips and traveling separately.
And she had this really great quotefrom a couples counselor named dr.
Lisa Marie Bobby, who says that there'snothing more detrimental to a healthy
relationship than the mental, emotional,and psychological enmeshment where
we have to do everything together.
And that just like, I agreecompletely because it's so nice.
I've been traveling with a long termpartner now for the past year, and

(11:12):
we did so many things together, butwe also took time to build in our
own solo travels in all of that.
So like, for example, We were travelingaround in Indonesia, and I really had
this idea where I wanted to go workon a sailboat for a week and just
sail around the Indonesian islands.
And my partner gets really, reallyseasick, so she did not want to do that.
And so I said, okay, that'sfine, I'll do it myself.

(11:33):
And I think that maybe some peoplein that circumstance would think,
okay, if my partner doesn't wantto do it, then I shouldn't do it,
I'll just, I'll just let that aside.
But I think it's so helpfulto just say, no, if you don't
want to do it, that's okay.
Are you okay if I go do it though?
Because that's just gonna, be reallyhealthy for your relationship, and
really healthy for yourself, andshows that you are able to prioritize

(11:54):
your own wants and needs, and Ihad a great time sailing solo.
I wrote a whole article about it onTravel Hemming, and it's really, it
was a really, really fun experience,and so I'm really glad I did it.
I think another major misconceptionabout solo traveling as a woman is that
only specific types of people can do it.
Like you have to be an extrovert,you have to be really social.
What do you think about that?
I think that Traveling alone is actuallyone of the best things for introverts.

(12:17):
I just wrote a an article with TravelLoving about how I have anxiety, but
I've traveled alone a lot, and obviouslya lot of people think that those two
things don't go together, but I've foundthat, um, Um, traveling by myself is a
good way, A, to learn how to cope withmy anxiety, but also B, is like the most
beautiful thing for an introvert everbecause I can do what I want when I want,

(12:39):
when I want to talk to people they'rethere to talk to, but really it's on
my terms and if I don't feel like doingsomething, I don't have to do something.
So I really think it is anintrovert's dream, so to speak.
and I think that it It helps you figureout what you like to do, like if you've
only ever traveled with only people andyou've met other people and you've never
been on a trip by yourself, it can be hardto figure out like what your thing is.

(13:01):
And I think it takes a few solo trips tofigure out what your ideal travel vibe is.
If you're listening and you'retaking your first solo trip coming
up and maybe it doesn't go aswell as you'd hoped, try again.
Because the first timecan definitely be rough.
You're figuring out what type oftraveler you are, you're figuring out
what your priorities are when you'retraveling and how to manage your time.
But it does get easier the more you do it.

(13:22):
And then the last major travelmisconception that I want to talk about is
that solo traveling is unsafe for women.
How do you feel about that?
I feel like it's an unfortunate realitythat women have to live with is that we're
just always in the back of our minds.
Trying to keep ourselves safe and to befrank, after traveling to over a dozen

(13:43):
different countries, the vast majorityof them by myself, I do not feel more
unsafe traveling by myself than I dobeing by myself in the United States.
And so I think really like, while itis, there is always the big concern of
like, I am by myself in a new country.
I may not know other people thatcan just come in and save the day.
As long as you're prepared, I thinkthat it can be very safe for women

(14:07):
and you really just need to keepa good head on your shoulders, be
aware of your surroundings, and Ithink trust your gut is a huge one.
Yeah, I agree completely.
I think that the only major differencebetween safety Abroad versus safety in
the U. S. can be like certain culturalcustoms or the language barrier.
And so, in certain countries, in orderto maybe prioritize my safety a little

(14:29):
bit more, I will, like, cover up more,especially if it's a local custom.
If it's a country, especially if it'sa Muslim country that I'm traveling
to, it's polite to maybe covermy hair or cover more of my body.
That doesn't bother me, especially ifit's something that's going to make me
feel like a little bit more safe andthat I can blend in a little bit more
and not draw attention to myself andagain, be polite to the local customs.
I think that The biggest tips for safetyare just making sure that people know

(14:52):
where you are, making sure that you havea point of contact at your accommodation
that you can get their phone numberand like call them if something goes
wrong, just so that you know you havesomeone in the country who can vouch
for you if you're in a sticky situation
And if you do ever get into one of thosesituations abroad where you're just
not feeling comfortable, say something,be rude, be loud, it, like, I wouldn't

(15:12):
recommend always being rude, obviously,but if you're in a situation where you
think your life might be in danger as awoman, be rude about it, don't let someone
come take advantage of you, I think thatif your gut is telling you something is
wrong, Put up those blinders and make sureyou get out of it by any means necessary.
I think that my next tipwould be to figure out your

(15:35):
phone situation in advance.
A lot of phone services these days,while they will let you use roaming in a
foreign country, it can be very expensive.
So I definitely prefer using, Iused to do local SIM cards where
I'd buy one once I got there, butthese days I do the e SIM card.
And the only thing to note about thatis that your phone has to be unlocked to
use it, and this is something that youcan call your phone provider and figure

(15:58):
out if your phone is locked or not.
So there's apps you can use.
I use an app called UBIGI, U B I G I.And it basically has eSims available
for pretty much all over the world.
I first discovered it on my Japantrip last year, and I have since
used it the whole time that I'vebeen in the UK and also in Canada.

(16:19):
So basically you go on there, youpick your country, you pick your plan.
It's very easy.
Another big tip that I think Ihave for Solo female travelers
especially, is to always read reviews.
I mean, Betty wrote thisreally great article about
reading reviews for differentaccommodations that she's stayed in.
It's up on our website.
You can go check it out.
But, yeah, she just talks about how

(16:40):
the first times that she solo traveled,she would book the cheapest accommodation
available without looking at the differentreviews of it and just being like, Oh
my gosh, this is such a great deal.
But then she was in all these situationswhere she maybe felt unsafe or it
was really loud or it was unclean.
And so I agree completely.
I think you always have to readaccommodation reviews before you book.
And speaking of booking accommodation,I think that it's also really helpful

(17:03):
to If you want to plan a lot in advance,book accommodation that does give
you a refund if you decide to cancel,because like you were saying, that
just allows you to be a little bitmore flexible with your travel plans.
And so, what websites do you use tobook accommodation, typically, Sky?
So I think that if you'relooking for a hotel Booking.
com is a really great one because theyoften have accommodations that have free

(17:25):
cancellation It's just something you needto check out when you're booking If you
are booking hostels, I use Hostel Worlda lot of the time, or if you're in Asia,
Agoda is a great one and often has cheaperprices than on some of the western sites.
But most of those sites will dofree cancellation within a certain

(17:45):
time period, so it does definitelygive you a lot more leeway.
Yeah, and sometimes I know on bookingyou might need to pay a slightly higher
rate in order to have free cancellation,but it's usually like, 5 extra a night,
which for me is worth it, especially ifI'm booking months in advance and I don't
really know how much my travel plansare going to change, that is something
that I will bite the bullet and take theextra cost just to have that flexibility.

(18:08):
How do you feel about travel insurance?
Is that something that you invest inbefore you're going to travel abroad?
yes, I'm definitely atravel insurance girlie.
I love travel insurance.
I've bought it before everytrip I've ever gone on.
Mainly just for peace of mind.
I like knowing that if anything doesgo wrong, there is an avenue that I can
go down to get my money back or help meget home or anything else that I need.

(18:32):
Luckily, I've never had to filea claim with my travel insurance.
But I still like having it and havingthe protection of it on every trip I go.
And really, travelinsurance is very cheap.
I think similarly to putting in theextra investment to get a, cancelable
accommodation, travel insuranceshould be viewed in the same way
where it's like, well, I'm takingthis trip for a month or two months.

(18:53):
I think my travel insurance tothe UK was like 45 or something
in the grand schema thing.
That can save you so much money ifyou lose your luggage or you get sick
or hurt or need to go home quickly.
So I definitely think it's worth it
I also, I do buy travel insurance.
I think it just gives me a littlebit more peace of mind because I
buy travel plus medical insurance.

(19:15):
And so, for me, knowing that I have anavenue where if I get injured abroad, I do
have medical insurance that will cover me,
just, especially if I'm doing anykind of, like, adventure travel
things or stuff where I might gethurt doing whatever I'm gonna do.
It's really nice to know thatyou have an option to get your
hospital bills, like, paid for.
when you are traveling, what kindof accommodation do you like to

(19:36):
stay in as a solo female traveler?
I think, especially if it's yourfirst trip and you're feeling nervous
about not having any friends ornot having anyone to travel with,
that hostels are the way to go.
It is an automatic friend zone.
You will always meet someone at a hostel.
It's very easy to socialize.
Even if you're not a super social person,I wouldn't call myself a social butterfly,
but hostels is maybe the easiest placeto make friends that I've ever been.

(20:01):
Then I think hotels is the next bestchoice because while I do like airbnb
and I have stayed at airbnbs all over theWorld it's just a little if you're when
you're a solo female traveler And noteven necessarily because the airbnb is
going to be weird or whatever But if theycancel last minute, which is a possibility
or anything like that It's just a waybigger hassle to deal with by yourself

(20:22):
I agree, I definitely tend tobook all female dorms at hostels.
Usually it'll be the same price as a mixeddorm, which is really, really nice, and
you can just get, you just know that youhave a room that's only women are allowed
in that room, which helps a little bitif you're feeling nervous about, like,
safety, or if you just want a placeto come back and, like, change after a
shower and not feel, like, a little weirdabout the other people in that room.

(20:46):
Okay, Sky, what are your favoriteparts about solo traveling?
By far my most favorite part about solotraveling is that I can do whatever I
want And I don't really have to compromisewith anyone else about what I'm gonna
do, what I'm gonna see, what I'm gonnaeat I think that the freedom is really
One of the best parts of solo travel byfar it outweighs all of the bad parts

(21:09):
in my mind or potential bad parts
I agree.
The freedom is just unmatched because,again, like we talked about, you don't
have to wake up and think, what doeseveryone else around me want to do today?
You only have to think,what do I want to do today?
And that's a really rarefeeling in your life.
It's like a powerful feeling tojust have control of the whole
day, week, trip, whatever it is.

(21:29):
And I think it teaches you alot about yourself as we've
already touched on a little bit.
It like gives you more insightinto your likes and dislikes.
And it also can just, I think for me,add it to like a lot of confidence.
Made me feel super secure in myability to take care of myself.
So yeah, there's a lot of benefits.
I always tell myself, like, Iam the only person that's gonna

(21:49):
be with me my entire life.
Like, I have to deal with me from themoment I was born until the moment I die.
And so I better like my own company.
And solo travel has taught me so muchabout how to enjoy my own company.
That's very, very accurate.
I'm actually an only child, so I'vebeen, like, very familiar with the
feeling of being alone and enjoyingmy own company for a long time.

(22:11):
That might be why I likesolo travel so much.
But I agree that it definitely teachesyou how to be comfortable being by
yourself, which I think is a lessonthat a lot of people struggle to learn
or are scared to learn, because itis nerve wracking to be by yourself,
but it's super, super valuable.
What are some other things that youthink it has taught you, like in

(22:31):
terms of maybe more hard skills?
I think a big one is that it improvesyour navigational skills and just like
your ability to get around in a newplace when you're just kind of dropped
somewhere and you have to figure out,okay, how do I take the train system?
How am I going to getfrom point A to point B?
You know, you only haveyourself to rely on.
It really hones in those skills.
I think it helps you learn to trust yourintuition and trust your gut and develop

(22:56):
that sense in yourself so that youcan be a better traveler in the future
and keep yourself safe as you travel.
When I, the feeling of navigating a publictransportation system in a brand new
city, I feel like the king of the world.
I'm like, I have done it.
I can get anywhere I want to,like, I am so smart that I
figured out the subway system,
like,

(23:16):
that and It does take effort.
It is a whole thing to likelearn that it, don't it's it.
I think that that's a harder skillthan a lot of people give it credit
for and it can be really overwhelming,especially if you're in a place where
English isn't the first language.
I know that when I got a handle on theJapanese public transportation system, I
also was like, I'm the king of the world.
I am.
Ruling this.

(23:37):
Yeah, completely.
I think also another really greatpart about solo travel is that you
do make these connections, especiallyif you're staying in hostels where
you're trying to be social andyou're trying to meet new people.
You make connections with peoplethat you probably wouldn't talk to
if you were traveling with a group.
Like if you just stuck with yourfriend or your partner, you might
not branch out and talk to as manypeople as you do when you're really

(23:59):
forced to if you're a solo traveler.
Yeah, absolutely.
i've been on a lot of trips with Friendsat this point and then obviously also by
myself and it's incomparable I feel likeI don't meet anyone when i'm traveling
with friends and even if I go into thetrip thinking we're gonna meet friends
It's so much harder for some reasonthan when you're traveling by yourself.

(24:19):
I think that there's just Alittle more like closed off
ness when you're with a group as
opposed to by yourself.
I think as an adult actually travelingalone is one of the easiest ways to
make friends in a world where it isso difficult to make adult friends.
So now that we've talked about thebest parts of solo travel, what are
some of the worst parts of solo travel?
I think a big one is that it can getlonely and there is this sense of, not

(24:44):
having anyone to share the memories with.
When you're traveling with a significantother or friends, you're all making
memories together and that's palpable.
But when you're by yourself,even if you're doing a million
cool things, it can kind of feellike, oh, but I'm still alone.
And there is a loneliness to that.
But I think if you can own that andbe like no, this is cool, this is an

(25:04):
experience for just me, and that's a coolthing, that it's a good way to turn it
on its head and turn it into a positive.
Yeah.
And there is something to besaid about the memories that you
share with maybe friends thatyou've made on your solo travel.
And we'll talk about how to makefriends while solo traveling in a
little bit, but on that topic, whatare some things that you like to do
to make yourself feel a little bitmore safe while you're traveling?

(25:26):
One of the big ones I think, and thisgoes, is something that you could
deal with in the planning stage, isto make sure that your flights are
arriving in a new place, and evenyour trains, if you're traveling
within a country, during the day,
while even in the safest place,arriving at night, I just feel like
I can't get my bearings in the sameway as when I arrive in the morning
or the afternoon, I have a full day oflight, everything is kind of copacetic.

(25:49):
I think that's a big one and can bereally helpful to making you feel
more comfortable in a new place.
Another big one is watchingyour drinks at the bar.
I think that this is something thatmost women have been hearing their
entire lives, but it's especiallyimportant when you're traveling.
Especially if you're goingsomewhere, there's a lot of
destinations that partying is abig part of why people go there.

(26:12):
And it can be fun, and it's a good time,and I've definitely had my fair share of
partying, but I think that when you'retraveling alone as a woman, it's not
the time to get super, super drunk, orsuper intoxicated by any means, and to
always keep an eye on your drink becauseyou are at more risk in that situation.
Yeah, which again, like, I, I hatethat we have to think about that as

(26:33):
like, well, I just will not get superdrunk because that's not your fault
if you do, and something happens toyou, that's not your fault, but it is
a precaution to
take
as simple as you don't even have tobe targeted, but if you get super
drunk and let's say you trip and hurtyourself in the middle of the night,
or you like, end up somewhere and youdon't know what's going on, there's a
lot of situations that can happen thatyou just don't have, like, if you're
not being able to think to your fullcapacity, it's more dangerous, I think.

(26:56):
Yeah, that's a really good point.
I think another big one is that whenyou're out and about and you meet people,
you can feel like you're building aconnection with someone really fast,
but you do need to keep in mind this isstill a stranger, you don't necessarily
know everyone's true intentions,so I would recommend not giving out
the name of where you're staying toanyone, unless you super, super trust
them, because You don't want someonepopping up at your accommodation.

(27:20):
You don't know whatthey could have planned.
It's just better to keep youraccommodation Secure and for yourself and
I think another big one is If, when you'reout exploring, and you are, if you do want
to partake in a place's party lifestyle,party atmosphere, to go with a group from
your hostel, because that could really
limit the risk, and also then youknow, we go out together, we come

(27:42):
back together, you'll have people thatyou're all going in a pack, and it
just makes things feel more secure andsafer, and just more, more people.
Power numbers.
Just because you're solo doesn't meanthat you can't find a buddy and really
latch on in a situation where youmaybe want to feel a little bit more
Definitely.
Let's talk a little bit about packingfor your first solo trip as a woman.

(28:04):
What kind of stuff are on your packingessentials list, no matter where you go?
I think that it's pretty similar to mostgeneral packing lists, especially if you
know the destination that you're going to.
A few main things that I alwaystend to bring is a laundry bag
to put all my dirty clothes.
And definitely a laundry day outfitfor when you use up all your clothes I

(28:26):
think that layers are super importantbecause even if you're going somewhere
that it's hot and night it can get colderOr like you were talking about earlier.
There's different seasons and ifyou're in somewhere during the rainy
season Might be really hot duringdifferent parts of the day, but
then it pours and you're freezing.
So layers are very good.
I think another big thing to knowabout packing as a solo traveler is

(28:48):
being very wary of overpacking because
.You know, it might be okay to pack everything under the sun
when you're going on a group trip,but you are the only person who's
going to be carrying your backpack.
Nobody can help you close your bag,and it can really be draining to
carry around a bag that's too heavy,especially when it's full of a bunch
of stuff that you didn't actually need.
Yeah, we have a few differenttips for packing for full

(29:10):
time travel on our website.
So whether you're packing for a few weekstrip Or if you're packing for a year long
trip That's a piece that I wrote is howI packed for a full year of travel and
what I put in my backpacks and everythingBut if you're curious about our packing
lists, we have a ton of articles ontravel lemming that you can check out
I also think that something to keepin mind if you're someone who does get
periods is to pack tampons or pads withyou because some countries, Might not

(29:34):
have as easy access to them, so if you aresomeone who does get a period, like, maybe
pack your tampons or whatever menstrualproducts you use, like, in advance
just to have enough while you're there.
Yeah, I agree with that.
They can be pretty hard to findsome places or it might just
not be what you're used to.
I think also reusable period productscan be very helpful for travelers,
especially if you're going on along term trip somewhere that these

(29:57):
things aren't super accessible.
So like period panties or like a divacup or something like that can be
much easier than like packing monthsworth of tampons into your bag.
My last tip for stuff to bringwould be a portable charger.
I don't know, Skye, do youbring a portable charger
with you when you go places?
I definitely love havingthe portable charger.
I think that even when you'rejust out for like a full day,

(30:20):
the phones die so quickly.
It's such a hassle to figure outsomewhere to charge it, especially
if you're relying on it for GPS.
It's just better to know, like, I havea full extra two battery lives with me
in the form of a portable charger ratherthan just, Oh God, my phone is dying.
What am I going to do?
So definitely love portable chargers.
Yeah, it makes me feel so much saferto know that I will be connected to

(30:44):
wherever I am and not gonna have like,I just don't want to get stuck with a
dead phone while I'm traveling alone.
Definitely Let's talk a little bit aboutmoney and budgeting for a solo travel
trip because sometimes a solo traveltrip is There's this misconception
that in order to afford to travel byyourself you have to be really rich, or
have a trust fund, or have, you know,life savings that you use, but there's

(31:07):
really really easy ways to budget travel.
I know, like, I personally, one ofthe ways that I afforded to travel
was that I did work exchanges.
So I used a program called WorkAway whereI stayed with different people and helped
out on, like, farm work, child care.
That summer camp that I taughtat in Croatia was completely a
volunteer experience, so I wasn'tpaying for any, like, food or

(31:27):
accommodation while I was there.
And so doing volunteer trips likethat can really It would be a
huge way to ease the cost of solotraveling, and it's really fun because
you get to meet people as well.
And so, stuff like that, or,Worldpackers is another really good
program where you can work in hostels.
And these work for maybe more likelong term trips, so if you're hoping

(31:48):
to travel or backpack around for a fewmonths at a time, I would definitely
recommend using Worldpackers.
Workaway or Worldpackers or some kindof volunteer exchange to, relieve the
cost of your accommodation and food.
But Sky, what other tips do youhave for like budget traveling?
I think another few ways that ifyou aren't trying to do the work
program but still save money andbudget while you're solo traveling.

(32:09):
Obviously a hostel is goingto save you tons of money.
A bed in a hostel is somuch cheaper than a hotel.
But also I think that another,one of the most expensive parts
of traveling is probably the food.
Eating three times a day.
One of the ways that I try to lower thecost of that is by eating in more local
neighborhoods away from tourist hot spots.

(32:32):
And also eating the local food whileI'm there because While it sounds
obvious, like, oh, I'm in Italy, I'mgonna eat Italian food, it can get to
be a lot of Italian food after a while,
But it will always be much cheaperif you're eating the local food of
the place that you are visiting, andthat's a great way to keep costs down.
If you really, really are on abudget, you can buy groceries

(32:53):
and make them at your hostel.
Usually, most hostels have, like,a kitchen area that you can use
yourself and make your own meals.
So that can save a lot of money.
was one of my favorite ways to save moneyas I always eat breakfast at my hostel.
So I will buy like a tub of yogurtfor the week and a thing of berries.
And I just have berries and yogurt inthe morning and then I'm only paying.
For lunch and dinner.

(33:13):
But yeah, I think just, like, cooking,trying to make at least one meal
in your hostel kitchen and buyinggroceries is gonna save so much money,
especially if you're doing a longer trip.
Yeah, definitely.
I also think that just the simple, taskof building yourself a daily budget and
knowing this is how much money I have toallot to the day can be super helpful,
because when you're just spending moneywilly nilly and then you go back to see

(33:35):
how much you spent, it's almost alwaysmore than you intended to, but if you
have that budget goal, then usually Ifind that I stay under it when I set
a budget goal for myself for the day.
one of the other parts of solotravel that can get exhausting is
trying to make new friends all ofthe time, but it can also be one of
the parts that is the most rewarding.
So how do you make friendswhen you're solo traveling?

(33:58):
So there's a few ways.
My first go to is alwaysstaying in a hostel.
I've found that this isone of the easiest ways.
Even the first hostel I ever stayed at,I was like walking past another girl.
We just kind of made eye contact,clicked, and then by the afternoon
of that day, we were friends.
flying to a different city tomeet a bunch of other girls.
So it really can justhappen as quickly as that.

(34:19):
As you, you pass someone in the hostel,you both know your solo travelers
and you're looking for friends.
And I think that's why it's such agreat environment to meet other people.
If you're not staying in a hostel,I think that group tours are a
great way to go as a solo traveler.
When I was in Japan, I went onthis group tour to Mount Fuji.
I actually wrote an articleabout it for Travel Lemming.
And while I was there, I met this womanfrom sweden who I never would have really

(34:43):
connected with I think if I wasn't onthis trip by myself But we really did
and we were chatting the whole timeand it was such a nice experience So I
think group tours are another big one
Let's talk a little bit aboutsocial hostels versus party hostels.
Now, there is a difference, correct?
Oh, definitely, definitely.
Can you explain what a party hostelis and what your thoughts are on

(35:05):
Sure, so a lot of cities will havethese places that won't be necessarily
straight up say we are a partyhostel, we will be partying all night.
But it'll be clear when you like look atsome of the reviews and you look at some
of the photos, that these places aremeant to be more social and party hostels.
Basically what I've found that justmeans is usually there's a bar in the

(35:26):
hostel and they do drink specials orthey play games or they have social
events around drinking and partying andthey're usually very loud throughout the
night, but also very fun if you're inthe mood for that type of environment.
I just think you need to go into itaware because if you go to a party
hostel thinking, I'm gonna get a greatnight's sleep for my trip tomorrow, that

(35:47):
will not happen.
Yeah, like a really popularbranch of party hostels around
Southeast Asia are Mad Monkey.
Have you ever stayed in a Mad
I've stayed in like oneor two a couple times.
They're definitely intense, butit's, I think that if you go in
there and you're like, I'm readyto party, it's a great time.
Yeah, it can be a really good time,but again, just knowing what to expect.

(36:09):
So if you want the social aspect,but you're like, party hostels
sound way too intense for me.
There are also just normal social hostels.
And now the thing that I have foundfor how to search for like the perfect
social hostel is when you go on a siteyou can, again, read the reviews and
figure out what people are saying oflike, a lot of times people will say.

(36:32):
This is a pretty quiet hostel andeveryone pretty much keeps to themselves.
Or, they'll say, this hostel is great,they host, like, yoga on Monday mornings,
they host a wine and cheese night everyWednesday, they do karaoke on Fridays,
and getting a sense of if there's somekind of weekly calendar of events, and
if people are going to those things, thatis a great way to make friends in a very

(36:53):
chill environment that's not as intenseas a party hostel, but still is, like,
a hostel that has activities going on.
And a lot of times, some of thebest advice about how you're going
to format your trip comes frompeople that you meet in hostels.
So I've met people that have influencedme to go to places that I wouldn't
have gone to before talking to them.
Yeah, I've found the exact same thing.
Some of my favorite thingsthat I've ever done were

(37:14):
recommendations from other travelers.
Like, for instance, I didthe Ha Ging loop in Vietnam.
Had never heard of itbefore I went to Asia.
And then so many people were recommendingit that I was like, I have to go there.
Nusa Penida Island off the coastof Bali was another one that I had
never heard of before I got there.
And then so many people were like,grabbing my shoulders and being like, no,
you need to go there while you're here.
And I went and they did not, it did notdisappoint at all, they were telling

(37:37):
the truth, it was gorgeous there.
all right, now that we're kind of donewith our tips and tricks section, we're
gonna wrap this up by just talkingabout some of Sky and I's favorites.
So, we're gonna first startwith our favorite countries that
we've been to for solo travel.
Sky, what are your top five?
my top five countries for solotravel are Japan, Vietnam,

(38:00):
Italy, Thailand, and Spain.
So I'm going to go and give alittle more detail on each of those.
I think Japan is perfect for if it'syour first solo trip and you really
want to go somewhere that's completelydifferent from where you grew up or live.
But it's super safe and easyto get around as a foreigner.
That's Japan, to the nth degree.
There is so many things to do there andso many things to see that you could never

(38:22):
get, for instance, living in the U. S.But it's also very easy to get around.
Vietnam is a similar vibe.
I wouldn't necessarily say it's the bestfor a very first time traveler, because
it can be very chaotic, especially,like, the streets with the motorbikes
and everything, but it's insanely cheap.
So this is one of my top picks for, like,budget travelers, because Seriously, I

(38:43):
stayed in hostels that were like givingme free breakfast and doing like the
social events, like you said, for nojoke, like three US dollars a night.
So, Vietnam is beautifulfor budget travelers.
Italy is one of my top choicesin Europe for the food.
It's easy to get around.
There's very iconic cities in Italy,so if you're looking for somewhere

(39:03):
to check out some, bucket listitems, I think Italy is a top place.
I think we both, said Thailand isa great place for solo travelers.
And anyone who's
been there as a solo traveler cantell you, Thailand is the spot.
There's a million hostels.
Also, once again, very budget friendly.
Such a wide range of things todo for whatever you're into.

(39:24):
There's lots of gorgeous beaches.
There's amazing nature.
There's lots of animals.
It's just an incredibly beautiful place.
And also very easy to get around andeasy to get around the region from there.
And the last place I have onthere is Spain, and I have a very
fond place in my heart for Spain.
I think that, once again, thisis one of those places that
has something for everything.

(39:45):
If you go to the south of Spain,it's going to be very different
than the north of Spain.
And there's places that are more partyoriented, like Barcelona, and there's much
more chill places, like I loved Sevilla.
So yeah, Spain is gorgeous.
Also the food is incredible
The variation in Spain.
It's not just landscape variation,but cultural variation too,
because you have Catalonia, whereBarcelona is, and then you also

(40:05):
have Basque country up north, right?
it really differs from place to place.
You can like feel the culturaldifferences when you're like in the
coast on Catalonia like you said.
Versus like if you're in themiddle of the country in Madrid.
And I think that's a really coolexperience if you want to see a bunch
of different cultures but you don't wantto go to a bunch of different countries.
yeah.
I agree completely.
My top five places for solotraveling are Croatia, Slovenia,

(40:29):
Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand.
Australia and New Zealand may be alittle bit controversial because , the
countries are so big and there's nota super robust public transportation
system around different regions, so youdo kind of need a car to get around, but
they do have really good bus systems andthe cities are Absolutely incredible.
So, like, Sydney and Melbournein Australia are really, really

(40:50):
fun to be a solo person in.
Super safe, super easy to get around, andthere's so many good day trips and group
tours that you can take from those cities.
And then in New Zealand, it's justsuch an incredible and super safe place.
Like, the people that I met Thatwe're comfortable hitchhiking,
we're hitchhiking in New Zealand.
So again, like just very safe.
There's no language barrier if you arecoming from an English speaking country.
So those two are really, really fun.

(41:12):
Croatia and Slovenia both have veryspecial places in my heart because they
are the first places that I solo traveled.
They're neighboring countries
and there's really, really good busesand train systems around both of them,
and many, many people speak English.
And they're a little bit cheaperthan a lot of Western European
countries, and then finally, I doreally agree with you about Thailand.
I think it's one of the bestplaces that you can solo travel.
It has something for everyone, likeyou said, and it's just very safe.

(41:35):
I felt very comfortable being there,and the culture is so different
and unique and amazing thananything I've experienced before,
now Sky, what are your top experiencesfrom your time solo traveling?
One of my favorite solo travelingexperiences was when I was in Italy.
I did the Path of the Godshike on the Amalfi Coast.
And this is something thatI actually joined a tour for

(41:56):
because, or a hiking group rather.
It was pretty complicated to figureout how to get to this remote point
of where the hike started by myself.
And it was a gorgeous experience.
It was actually the inspirationfor me going to Italy in the first
place, as I started seeing videosof this hike, and I was like, I
need to be there, I want to do it.
It definitely exceeded my expectations.
It was the most gorgeousviews of the Amalfi Coast.

(42:19):
A lot of people think that the onlyway to see the Amalfi Coast is to
get on a boat and see it from thatside of things, but I think this
was a totally different perspective.
And I met a lot of really nice peoplewhile I was hiking, so it was super fun.
Oh wow, that sounds incredible.
One of my favorite experiences from solotraveling happened, just last summer.
I was traveling around thesouth of France by myself.

(42:40):
France is one of my favoritecountries to travel around.
I've been there four times and it's just,there's so much variety in the landscapes.
But I love the south of Francespecifically and I'd never
been to Marseille before.
And so I took a day trip from Marseilleto Les Clancs National Park, which
I feel like was a national parkthat really flew under the radar.
I had never heard of it before, andI was looking up things to do in

(43:02):
Marseille, and I was like, Okay,great, it's only a two hour train ride
away, like, I'll just go for the day.
And I had the most incredible hike,where I just bought a bunch of fruit
and a baguette, and I stuffed it all inmy backpack and was hiking along these
beautiful granite cliffs overlookingthis, like, turquoise blue water.
And just like, all these little inletsand coves with tiny little beaches.

(43:22):
And I just ended up spending the wholeday swimming and soaking in the sun
and eating my apricot and my peaches.
And it was just like, Ihad never felt happier.
And so that was one ofmy favorite experiences.
that's a good spot.
Whenever there's like, it's not verywell known and you could just have
like a private experience by yourself.
That's always a good time.
Another great solo travelingexperience I had was when I

(43:43):
was in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
I went to one of theethical animal rescues.
Just to be clear, this is notone of the places where they
let you ride the elephants.
These are places wherethey've rescued the elephants.
And so I did a lot of research into makingsure that that's what this place was.
It was such a beautiful experience.
They were so serious about keepingthe elephants comfortable that we

(44:04):
actually had to change into likethe outfits that the, local people
who took care of them were wearing.
So they weren't like, what,who, who are these people?
And we basically just hung out with them.
And in their natural habitat too,in a way that sounds relatively
comfortable for them, like, it's soimportant to research the ethical,
like, conservation rehabilitationcenters and not just places that are
doing it for tourism and for profit.

(44:26):
One of my favorite travelexperiences was doing my working
holiday visa in Australia.
So this is a visa that you canget if you're between the age of
18 and 35 and you're from the US.
You can just sign up for a workingholiday visa and it usually comes
within, for me it came within like a day.
And you get, it allows you togo to Australia and live there

(44:47):
for a year and do odd jobs.
So I worked in a hostel, I did somefarm work, and it basically allows you
to, this is a really great way to fundyour travels while you're in the country
because you are allowed to get jobs there.
And I had such an amazing time, I livedin Sydney for two months, I travelled
up the east coast of Australia.
I lived in Melbourne for two monthsand went to the Australian Open and

(45:08):
worked in a hostel above a beer gardenand just got free beer and salads every
day and just like cleaned the hostel.
And then I also went over to WesternAustralia and hung out in Perth for a
little bit and so I just completely fellin love with the Australian continent.
Seeing kangaroos everyday was like Incredible.
Just awesome.
I saw two koalas in the wild.
Like, it is such a unique countrywith such a such a fun culture

(45:35):
and so many amazing wildlife.
Oh, and Tasmania.
Tasmania really flies under theradar, but I loved my trip to
Tasmania when I was in Australia.
So, I think Australia as a whole wasjust one of those places that was
really, really influential to me.
That's a good one.
I've heard great things aboutthe working holiday visa.
It is one of the best ways that ifyou just want to go and go somewhere

(45:55):
for a year and know that you'reallowed to stay there, I think
it's an amazing way to do that.
Another one of the, my favorite travelexperiences was, now this one might sound
a little weird to a lot of people, butI have always been really into going
to abandoned places and taking photos.
It is something that a lotof people are like, Oh, okay.
So before I went to Bali and likeSoutheast Asia in general, I was looking

(46:17):
up abandoned places and I came acrossthis abandoned theme park in Bali.
And so I went there on my solo trip.
It was incredible.
One of the coolest abandoned placesI've ever been to, so that was
definitely a really cool experience,obviously that's so random.
But that was a top one for me.
That sounds so interesting and Ithink doing your hobbies while you're

(46:38):
alone abroad is something that canconnect you to home and kind of
alleviate that feeling of homesickness.
Like, I brought my crochet hook and aball of yarn with me because anytime
I was nervous and just needed to likedo something with my hands, I just
would like crochet and it would kindof calm me down and I was like, okay.
Just because I'm super far away fromhome right now doesn't mean that
I don't still have, like, some ofthe comforts of things that I would

(46:59):
normally do if I'm just at home, like,hanging out with my family or friends.
So I think, yeah, like, keepingyour hobbies the same while you
travel is, is really nice tokind of cure that homesickness.
right.
That's so valid.
I journal.
I do like journaling in thesame place as when you crochet,
one of my other favorite solo travelexperiences was actually something
that you mentioned doing, Sky, theHa Giang loop in Vietnam, which is a

(47:22):
crazy four day motorbike loop throughthe mountains of northern Vietnam.
It's the Tonkinese Alps that are kindof on the border of China and Vietnam.
And you motorbike around, youdo like, you're motorbiking for
probably five or six hours a day.
And you can either have someone else drivefor you, and you sit on the back of the
motorbike, or you can drive your own.

(47:43):
Now, Sky, which one did you do?
So I didn't go with an official tour.
I rode on the back of someoneelse's motorbike who had more
experience driving than me.
So I had the comfort of not feelinglike, oh, I have never driven a motorbike
before and now I'm in one of potentiallythe most dangerous places to do it.
But I still got to do everythingand have fun and not have like the
strictness of joining a whole tour.

(48:06):
Yeah, and I like that you mentionedthat it's dangerous, because
honestly, these roads are no joke.
Like, you are driving on these super,super windy roads, high up in these
cliffs, and it's stunning scenery.
Like, easily, probably, My favoritetravel experience of all time, I think,
and one of the most beautiful thingsthat I've ever seen with my own two eyes.
And so it's really nice to knowthat you have someone else who is

(48:26):
an experienced motorbike driverwho is going to be driving you.
So, I would not recommend drivingyourself personally unless you,
like, have extensive experiencedriving motorbikes in Southeast Asia.
I agree with you that it's one of themost gorgeous places I've ever seen.
Even now, after so many years oftraveling, I always think back
to there and I'm like, I thinkthat might be the pinnacle.
That's so funny.
I say the same thing.
Where do you want to go solo travel next?

(48:49):
my to do list for this year, Idefinitely want to go to South Korea.
That's a big one for me.
Last year I did Japan and it made meonly want to go to South Korea even more.
Also China in that same kind of region,I'm very interested in going to.
And closer to Europe, Ireally want to go to Iceland.
I think my places that I want togo solo next, I've been seeing Sri

(49:10):
Lanka on like a lot of differenttravel blogs, travel websites.
I think that a lot of people aregoing to Sri Lanka now, and so I do
really want to go before it kind ofGets really, really big in tourism.
But I think that it's such a uniqueculture there peru, I've been
to South America once, but I onlywent to Argentina and Uruguay.
And I would love to hike to Machu Picchu.

(49:31):
So I think that that's somethingI really do want to prioritize.
Nate, our founder of Travel Lemming,talks a lot about how Georgia is
one of his favorite countries in theworld, and it has honestly influenced
me to want to go to Georgia now.
I think hiking in that regionlooks really spectacular.
And then finally, I have spent sometime traveling around Spain, but
I am really wanting to prioritizewalking the Camino at some point

(49:52):
in the next few years of my life.
I have heard such wonderful things aboutpeople that do that pilgrimage, whether
from the Spanish side or from Portugal.
Just doing a really long walk likethat sounds very, spiritual and
cool and like grounding for me.
So I think that's something I'mreally excited to do in the future.
So now that we've talked about some ofour favorite travel experiences, can I ask

(50:12):
what was that first impetus that like madeyou take the leap into solo traveling?
What inspired you and gaveyou the confidence to do that?
Part of it was just watching otherpeople do it online, the more I looked
into it, the more interested I became.
Actually, in this whole process ofwhere I was first thinking about going
solo traveling, I came across thisquote that really sealed the deal for

(50:34):
me and changed my perspective a lot.
It goes, And then there's themost dangerous risk of all.
The risk of spending your life not doingwhat you want on the bet that you can
buy yourself the freedom to do it later.
And that really, really inspired me
because I pictured myself, maybe like40 or 50 years old, had never traveled
anywhere, and then was first tryingto do it because I had spent so long

(50:56):
trying to have enough money for it.
That's, that's a wonderful quote.
And yeah, it just really hitshard in terms of you don't want
to live life with any regrets.
And so if you want to do something,you should just do it now.
I think my impetus for solotraveling is very similar to yours.
I just was in college and I knewthat I wanted to see the world.
Like, I just had this huge desireto get out and see everything and

(51:16):
do everything I possibly could.
And so when I found this volunteerprogram in Croatia, I just applied
without a second of hesitation.
I just was like, yeah, I'llapply and see what happens.
And just taking that first step intolooking into things and making it real.
was so huge in order for me to getover this hump of like, Oh, but I have
to have a lot of money to do that.

(51:36):
Or, Oh, but I have to waituntil the perfect time.
Like, no, I just startedlooking into it and then I was
like, Alright, I'll just go.
It wasn't even a question in my mind.
So that was something thatwas really powerful for me.
It just opened up this whole worldof like, Oh, I have free will.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Has anything ever gone wrong for youwhile you were solo traveling, and
how did you go about fixing that?

(51:57):
I wouldn't say that I've had anymajor blunders but I've definitely had
plenty of little hiccups along the way.
One story that comes to mind is that onmy very first day by myself in Thailand,
I woke up, I had stayed at an Airbnb, butmy Airbnb host had left for the day and
I was trying to go get a cab to my nexthostel and I couldn't figure out how to

(52:18):
open the door of this guy's apartment.
Turned out you had to like pressa button on the wall to open it.
But as an American that would, itjust isn't a thing that would exist
and I was like trying to open thisdoor and I'm trying to like look
at my phone at where the taxi is.
And then I finally got outside andmy taxi didn't speak any English and
I'm trying to tell him where I am.
He couldn't find me and I ended up solvingthe situation by basically running up

(52:40):
to some random guy in the street andhanding him my phone and being like, taxi.
he told the guy on thephone where we were.
He found me.
Everything was fine.
But in the moment I was like, oh my god,I like was attached to this guy's wifi.
Yeah, sometimes you can relyon the kindness of strangers.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Same thing happened for me in terms ofrelying on the kindness of strangers.

(53:00):
I had Rented a van to travel up theeast coast of Australia and on day
two of my camper van trip I woke up toa flat tire and was like, I Honestly
don't know how to deal with this.
Like I Didn't really knowhow to fix a flat tire.
And so luckily there was a very niceMan in the campsite next to me with
his family who offered to help andthey were from Belgium So they only

(53:22):
spoke Flemish and so we were doing thislike hand gesturing communication of
like, okay How do we change this tire?
How do we patch it like all thisstuff and eventually the whole
campground pitched in to like helpme change this tire And it was just
honestly really fun and really nice,
but definitely a panic moment It wassuper wholesome, but definitely a
panic moment at first of like, Oh mygod, it's day two of my road trip and

(53:44):
I already have a flat, like, what?
Yeah,
you very far, a lot fartherthan some people think.
yes, exactly.
Well, final question before we departfor today, Sky, I just want to ask,
how has traveling alone changed you?
Traveling alone haschanged me in so many ways.
I think the, the very firstthing I noticed is that I was

(54:05):
way more confident in myself.
And confident in my selfreliance, specifically.
There's just something about going toa new place by yourself, navigating the
whole trip, doing what you need to do.
By the end of it, like we've touched ona little bit, you really feel like you
can do anything and handle anything.
And that's something that I'vedefinitely carried with me since.
I also think it's made me a lotmore open to new experiences.

(54:28):
I was always pretty open minded and kindadown for trying new things, but It really
pushed me out of my comfort zone to thepoint where now I'm really just ready to
try something as long as it sounds likepretty much safe for me, I want to try it.
But I also think there's a fewnegative impacts that it's had.
For instance, I think I've becomemore difficult to please, especially,

(54:50):
In the fact that I prefer solo travelingto group traveling at this point.
And I almost prefer my own company
But it also is kind of a benefit.
I think it just shows that kind ofgrowth that can happen when you solo
travel, is that you do get so muchmore comfortable with yourself, but
sometimes you go too far into that hyperindependent space, where I've definitely
had the same thing, where I'm like, okay.

(55:10):
I know that I love to do thingson my own, so now I would rather
do that instead of sharing it.
And sometimes you do need to takea step back and be like, Okay, I
still want to travel with friends.
Like, it's important toprioritize that as well.
Solo travel, for me, has made me somuch more confident in my ability to
do things on my own, even at home.
And so now, when I Was in high school orcollege the thought of going to a concert

(55:35):
by myself was like terrifying to me ofjust like oh people are What will people
think people will think I have no friendspeople will be like what a weirdo Why is
she here by herself and now after solotraveling so much it doesn't even cross
my mind as any kind of question It's likeif I want to go do something And I can't
find anyone else that wants to do itwith me, I will go do it no matter what.

(55:55):
I have gone, now I live in San Francisco,and I've gone to see ballets by myself,
I've gone to the symphony by myself, I goto concerts by myself all the time, I go
to little, like, bookshops and just readin the library, like, it is so fun to
take yourself out on little adventures,and solo traveling kind of opens up
that door of like, hey, I don't haveto wait for someone to want to do this

(56:16):
with me, I can just do it because I wantto, and no one is going to think twice.
Weird of it.
No one is gonna look twiceat you for being alone.
Like you can go out to eat by yourself.
You can go to a cafe.
You can do whatever you want by yourself.
Totally.
That is such a good point.
I think that when you travel byyourself you really start to realize
that nobody cares what you'redoing in like a positive way.
Everyone's kind of caught up intheir own world and like, you know,

(56:39):
nobody has time to worry about youeating alone at a restaurant or
going to a concert by yourself.
They're like too focused on themselves andthat's kind of a very freeing mentality.
it is completely.
Well, Sky, this has been such a wonderfulconversation about solo female travel.
I mean, I'm inspired by all of yourexperiences and I can't wait to see See
what you do next and where you go next.

(57:01):
Thank you.
Thank you so much for having me.
This has been such a fun chat.
And it was such a joy to hear yoursolo travel experiences as well.
I love hearing otherpeople's experiences too.
Yeah, before we go, I do just want togive another quick shout out to Tortugo
Backpacks for sponsoring this episode.
They are wonderful.
Definitely go check them outif you can and if you're in the
market for a good travel backpack.

(57:21):
I also want to plug, we have a lot ofgreat episodes on our podcast, Betty and
Nate just did a really great episode abouttraveling to Europe as an American, so
what to know, when to go, and how to plan.
So that's a really, really greatepisode for anyone who's listening
to this and thinking that maybethey want to solo travel to Europe.
If you are American, definitely checkthat podcast episode out, it'll have a
lot of great tips and tricks for you.

(57:42):
But that's it for today onthe Travel Living podcast.
Once again, I am your host, Laura.
I was joined here today by Sky.
Thank you so much for listeningand see you next time.