Travelling alone? This is for you

We all have different reasons for travelling alone, and we’re not talking about business-related trips here. We’re talking about a sojourn, that urge to discover things on your own, with your own thoughts as company. Some of us have tried it and discovered more of ourselves with the places we’ve explored. And some have yet to experience the surreal feeling of travelling alone.

Whether you’ve done it or not, these are just a few benefits of exploring the globe by yourself:

• You’re free. You don’t have to wait for anyone or hesitate to do whatever you want. You’ll be in full control of your time, you can slow down your pace or just skip anything that doesn’t interest you.
• You’re more open. Since you’re by yourself, it becomes easier to interact with locals and fellow travellers. You’ll learn to rely upon and develop your social skills in different situations like engaging in small talk or simply asking for directions.
• You’re fully immersed in your experience. Since you won’t have companions to distract you, you’ll be able to spend time doing the things you love and go to any place you can think of, spontaneously.
• You’ll find yourself. Not that you haven’t yet, but, sometimes you discover more about yourself when you’re left to your own thoughts. You might discover aspects of your personality that you didn’t explore before. Have you ever thought about how independent you could be? It might just surprise you.

Travelling alone is amazing, but how ready are you?

Safety comes first, it’s easier to be reckless when you’ve got friends travelling with you but remember, that it’s a totally different case when you’re by yourself. Simple things like leaving your stuff/luggage at a restaurant table unattended while you go to the restroom will be challenging. If you wanna be prepared and strategic about travelling solo, you can use the pointers below to be mentally ready.

Never compromise safety

Make sure you’ve got back up; hidden cash for an emergency, a list of emergency numbers, a spare phone, and most importantly, travel insurance. Having cover while being overseas can be a lifesaver, as medical care or hospitalisation can be drastically expensive in some countries.

Pack your essentials

A first aid kit and medicine are next on this list, it’s reassuring when you know that you’re able to self medicate when you need to.

Keep yourself connected

Travelling solo does not mean disappearing from people in your lives, because they will likely worry about you. Sure, take some time during the day to disconnect, but also make yourself contactable in case of emergencies. It’s ideal to have sufficient roaming data.

Keep it light

Bring what you can carry, remember that you’ve only got your own two hands. Keep in mind that you may need to take stairs, go through various modes of transportation, baggage check and the works. Remember, that you’ll need easy access to essentials like your phone, wallet and passport. Having too many things on you might be a challenge, so think about what you really need to bring.

BONUS TIP

Since you are alone, keep yourself entertained through books, card games, sketchbooks etc. If you love taking photos, don’t forget to bring a tripod just in case you’re inspired to take a photo of yourself in some jaw-dropping backdrop.

Planning for a trip by yourself is not an easy task, that’s why insurers like FWD make it fast and easy for you to get a travel insurance quote online, and even submit claims online too. We’ve got more tips about travel insurance in this link that can help you choose the best protection for you.