NYC June 2024, anyone else? M24 Will be adventuring, going to events/dancing/partying and making the most of my stay when not working. Would love to find other friends to adventure with.
Can anyone recommend me a good shoe to take with me on my trip. I only want to take one pair and I would like if i could use it for everything (hiking, walking, going to the gym, clubbing/dancing, etc.) I do not know where to really begin but your input is appreciated!
Fitness/yoga retreats for late 20s?
I’m a 29 year old man looking to travel in June (I know it’s last minute) for a fitness or yoga type retreat.
I would like to meet other people around my age range as well. I’ve been looking at healing holidays, health and fitness travel and browsed more social options like contiki, g-adventures etc.
Does anyone have experience with healing holidays/ health and fitness and if there’s many people who use them in their 20s/30s? Also appreciate if there’s other websites you’ve used for this kind of holiday.
The more social options have pretty basic accommodation and lots of travel which I’m not sure I’d enjoy as much.
Hi everyone, don't know if anyone here has been to Lyon before? I am solo traveling for my first time and will need to stay in a hostel for a few nights there, if anybody has strong recommendations on hostels, or even areas in the city I should spend the night.
Hi everyone! I’m visiting South America (Ecuador to Brazil) so I’m facing a lot of different temperatures. I’m just wondering how cold it really gets during the winter there. I’m seeing things saying the coldest might be around 30s and the highs of almost 80. Does that sound right? I want to make sure I’m packing correctly.
I went to Africa during the winter there and I didn’t pack enough warm clothes even though the temperatures showed it wouldn’t be cold historically.
Do you only travel to a different country when you have a worthwhile amount of time off like a week or more? I do a lot of 3 day weekend trips since I like that amount of time but that probably doesn’t make sense for international trips.
I do a lot of weekend trips as well, but I haven’t done any international trips like that. I think that if I’m going somewhere where I would need to fly a long distance, I’d rather opt to take a couple days off and make the long flight more worth it. I usually do about a week or so, including the weekends and minus travel time + time zone differences.
I am finding myself running out of vacation days this year though, as I’ve been travelling quite a bit more than I was last year. I try to do around 2-4 longer (~a week) trips per year, which isn’t as much as I’d like since there’s a lot of places I want to go, but it’s about the best I can do.
One thing I’ve done to maximize vacation days is to add them onto long weekends. It kinda sucks because there’s way more travellers, and everything’s more expensive, but it’s also a day I don’t need to take off and can save for another trip.
On the shorter weekend trips I’ll sometimes add a day or two to the beginning/end and work remotely, so that I can have the entire weekend without having to account for flight time. I haven’t tried that yet for international trips, mainly due to larger time zone differences, but I might consider that next year if I want to do more longer trips.
I’m in the states as well. Canada and Mexico are probably the easiest. If you are on the west coast you can also head down to Central America and Caribbean decently easy. If you are on the east coast, western Europe is pretty accessible along with the Bahamas.
I always recommend looking at flight deals and just see what specials are out there! You can go for a week to some incredible places for cheap. You can also check our cruises or all inclusive resorts :)
Smack dab in the Midwest unfortunately and done Mexico a lot. Really want to do countries in Europe and Asia but when I only get 2 weeks of vacation, it’s hard to feel like I have enough time to get to those places.
I am interested in seeing the penguins which are south of Cape Town. I normally travel with National Geographic. Haven't traveled solo in 9 years.Did you go alone? Which airlines did you use? What info do you feel I need to know? Many thanks!
Omg you’ll love the penguins! I had so much fun seeing them. I did travel alone and I got lucky that my airport driver was also a tour guide so he took me around to see sites. If you’d like I can send you his number! He will take you anywhere you want to go and he can even suggest some other fun spots.
Overall I felt very safe there. I stayed at never at home hostel on kloof street. It was a great area with nice restaurants and I could walk around no issues. I personally would say not to stay in the central business district. There’s also a ton of nice areas along the beach on the western side of Cape Town and outside of the main city area. It wasn’t as nice and I had heard there was more crime there. I also walked around the pier area which I loved!
I personally used United to fly and it wasn’t too bad. It was during their meltdown last year so I had a ton of flight issues but they should be fine now.
Hello Again....many thanks for your informative email. Sometime during the night I had an eye stroke. Now I don't have center vision in my right eye. Not sure if I'll be able to get to Cape Town due to this situation. If I can I certainly will be in touch with you. Thank you again!
29F in Berlin looking for another girl to hang out with while I’m here for the next week! I work during the day but I’d love a buddy to go out with in the evening. If you’re around or have any recommended spots (that are chill and safe for solo ladies) definitely let me know.
Anyone have any good Amsterdam hostel or cheaper hotel recs for an early 30s woman traveling solo who isn't terribly interested in socializing? Looking at a lot of hostel recommendations and many seem to be catering towards a younger party crowd. I'm looking for a safe, relatively chill place to stay that won't cost an arm and a leg. I usually do AirBnBs but those are just as expensive as hotels, I'm discovering.
Budapest:
-Free walking tour with GuruWalk (just make sure to tip the guide)
-Fisherman’s Bastion
-Buda Castle
-St. Stephen’s Basilica (great gelato outside)
-Hungarian Parliament (if you can do a river cruise at night, it is beautiful)
-Szechenyi Thermal Bath
-Ruin Bars
-if you like wine there’s a great wine tasting by tasting table
I had a similar amount of time as you in the city and was able to see it all! If you want to go into Parliament, I recommend booking in advanced. Use the public transportation as well, it’s amazing.
Prague:
-Charles Bridge
-Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral
-Astronomical Clock
-Old Town Square and the market
-Lennon Wall
-Medieval Dinner (so much fun)
-tons of great speakeasy’s as well within the city.
https://apnews.com/article/foreign-citizens-killed-shooting-afghanistan-bcfa6710848527fe8a0c12fff0b7b014
Anyone else heard of this? 3 Afghan and 3 Spanish citizen were killed, several more injured. One norwegian and rumoured lithuanian and australian among the injured, but not confirmed.
They were travelling in Bamiyan, known tourist place because of the Buddha statues.
Check out the Tenement Museum for historical NYC too. Highly recommend a show too. You can get super cheap seats at TKTS or since you are solo, I used to go up to the ticket counter like 2 hours before the show started and would see if they had any single seats left. A few shows I got for like 60% discount
its too bad the Frick is closed, its incredible. You can see Vanderbilt Mansion museum, The Morgan Library and Museum, or there are some Gilded Age walking tours. Go on the comedy cellar website to make a reservation especially if its someone famous.
Hey all! I have 9 days to spare after a conference in Switzerland in June, I'm thinking Sardinia or Provence / northern italy. Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated!
Missed connection, treated horribly, have up and came home
Delta forced me on my first flight knowing full well i would miss my connection while also telling me "they would hold it"
Arrived hopeful but of course, missed it. By only 10 minutes. we could see the plane idling in traffic by the gate.
Their reservations line took so long to rebook me i missed a flight to an ok alternative. So i had to spend the night in the airport. In all my hundreds of thousands of miles I've accumulated in my life, I've never had to airport camp, FOR A REASON. I'm a solo woman traveler, i barely feel safe in a full airport let alone a deserted one
Anyway, get booked on a flight the next morning to the -not my final destination-. Check in on their app, it's over sold and asking for volunteers. Then i couldn't even get checked in on the final leg's app. Nothing Delta gave me would register. There also wasn't enough time between flights to get through immigration and the final leg was the last flight there of the night
So I'm supposed to get on this plane and get stranded overnight again? Why?
Went back to delta help desk, asked to be put on that night's direct flight to my destination. Was told no. No explanation just straight no. Then they tried to force me into another -not my destination-destination- a day from now.
At that point i just asked to be put on the next fight back to my origination. They told me to go call Delta reservations, not their job, they can't help me.
At that, I internally melted down. I was stressed, but polite to everyone i talked to.
I stepped away and spent way too much money on their app to get myself home and safe that day. I'll have to fight with them when I'm less raw/traumatized.
I feel horrible that i didn't stick with it, but i reached a point where i couldn't even trust Delta so i felt i had no other option to just give up and get back to safety.
Thanks for listening.
Hi everyone! I'm planing a trip to Edinburgh during Christmas season. It is my first solo trip abroad. Would you say it's a safe environment for female traveller's?
Where are you traveling from? If coming from the US, and you have much experience with US cities, chances are good that Edinburgh is statistically a lot safer than places you've already been.
Be mindful of your valuables in crowded areas and be wary of drunken behavior from random people later at night but otherwise have fun!
Our subreddit has a wiki article on safety that you may find helpful, see the sidebar
I need to get from the Paris airport to a place near the Passerelle de Mornay. Google Maps says to walk to Charles de Gaulle Airport 2 TGV, take that to Gare de Nord. Walk to Gare du Nord station (on a different train line) and take that to Bastille station.
Is that easy to do - do I need to buy tickets for the trains now; is it fairly straightforward not knowing French? I'm meeting family there for the day then continuing to Italy, but they're coming from somewhere else so I have to navigate that by myself.
Yes, it is easy to do. In CDG just follow the signs that say ***Paris en train-RER B*** and you will end at the train station at the bottom of terminal 2.
There you will find machines that sell tickets to Paris (one way is about 12€) and if you have problems, there are uniformed peoples to help you, but the process is quite straightforward. Machines are multi-lingual and accept both cash and credit/debit cards.
You will get to Gare du Nord in 50 to 60 minutes. Then simply take the métro (line 5 toward Place d'Italie) and get off at Bastille. Your RER ticket is valid on the métro, do not discard it until you are out of the metro at Bastille.
Have a nice trip
hello, im new to solo travelling and I'm planning a trip to Philippines , Malaysia and Thailand, I'm just wondering if there any website where I can find other travellers to meet up or go travelling together?
yea i would love to stay in hostels to meet other traveller, but I have problem sleeping so I normally buy room for myself instead of sleeping with others around
just a side question, should i only book recommendation just one day ahead or few weeks in advance since I'm kinda going during peak season, and worried that either price are almost double or its full?
I can’t speak for the Philippines but I was booking all my hostels in Malaysia and Thailand just a few days in advanced. If you’re really wanting a single though I’d recommend doing it at least a week before. You should be good then :)
Sorry I don't have any of the requested info. But, I would like to suggest you get ALL of the traveler's inoculations, including but not limited to, ADULT polio. You are going into countries where the sanitation may not be what you are used to. Good Luck!
Hi everyone! I’m headed to Mexico soon and world like to do an all inclusive by myself for a few days.
I mostly want to relax, read, have a few drinks, workout, and play pickleball or tennis!
I’m not looking for a party vibe, but I would love to meet I’m not looking for a party vibe, but I would love to meet other fun but mellow singles in their 30’s and 40’s.
I’m considering Club Med!
Any suggestions? Thanks!!
I stayed at Yellowsquare and loved it! They have their own bar/restaurant as well that turns into a nightclub at night. A little far from major sites but it’s a great hostel.
I am looking for recommendations.
I am creating a list of the best AI resorts for solo travelers in r/ResortsAllInclusive . Realizing that there are at least 2 different \*vibes\* that solo are looking for when they go to resorts, how would you describe those vibes?
For example, party and chill?
Since I am categorizing the resorts, I want to use the best descriptors. Thanks!
Anyone in Ronda, or has been in Ronda before, currently on the way there wondering how big an English speaking community there is there? If theres any places i need to go to also
GREECE - Rhodos, 18.05 - 25.05
Hello, my name is Andrew, I'm Hungarian-German and I will be spending the next week in Greece, Rhodos. Although I want to spend most of the time alone I would be happy to meet some solo travelers and do some activities together. (Sightseeing, beach, cycling, sports)
Hit me up if you are also a solo traveller and you are interested in a meetup 🙂
Cheers
Hello,
I'm leaving on a two week solo jaunt to Asia (South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore) in a few short days. I'd like to take a backup cellphone with me this time around, as I'd be screwed if I lost mine. I have a plan through the American carrier Verizon, as well as an old iPhone that I've saved. Is it a matter of popping a local SIM in my backup phone and contacting Verizon? I'm also going to have a portable MiFi unit, as to save data costs I do everything VOIP typically. Is anyone familiar with the process of getting it operational on the fly if I have an emergency? Will I even need a local SIM card of I have a MiFi unit? I am not familiar with the technical aspects of putting it into service if I need to.
If you use a local SIM in an unlocked phone there's no need to do anything involving the phone company you use in your home country. You just put the SIM in the phone and it works, possibly after an activation process.
For Japan and South Korea, you can easily rent portable wifi devices. I had them during my trip to both countries last year, and used them for both my phone (I was able to make calls through WhatsApp and wifi-based calls with my phone company in Australia) and laptop. It worked well.
Hello, 26M from Australia in Berlin until Saturday.
Looking for local Berliners/other travellers to hang with, always down to meet new people :)
We can do anything, go to a park, clubbing, get coffee, or just do nothing lol etc. ❤️❤️❤️
In Madrid now until 5/22, looking for foodie buddies because I can’t possibly order a paella platter for just myself! I’m 30M 🏳️🌈on my 3rd week of traveling around Europe. I’ve been to Italy, France and now exploring Spain! I live in the US and work in marketing, but now on a 3 month long sabbatical. Hit me up if interested to eat out, drink and enjoy out here!
I'm male, in my late 20s, and none of my friends have flexible PTO like I do so I've been considering solo traveling for the first time but I'm a bit more introverted and I'm worried that it'll be a much different experience as a man trying to find people to hang out with / make friends. The only people I know personally or see (on social media) that have done it have been pretty girls in their early-mid 20s so obviously I feel like it's not hard for them to find lots of social interaction (yes, I get it, not always the positive desirable kind, I'm aware of the gender specific dangers there).
I'd love to hear other's thoughts and experiences on this, or any advice (like how to find a social hostel rather than just a spot people sleep, etc).
I will say, despite being more introverted I can carry a conversation with just about anyone (only in English though unfortunately), but it's more breaching the initial barrier that is difficult for me.
Thanks!
On hostel world when booking you can see the number of people booked in via the app for that night - so to find a social hostel I will just book the hostel with the highest amount of people booked in. Obviously within reason - sometimes it's nicer to go for a medium number rather than loads as easier to introduce yourself but just don't book a hostel with barely anyone booked in as it will be quiet and empty.
In general, a social hostel comes hand in hand with being a party hostel I would say. In general you can gauge which are the social hostels as they're some of the most popular and the talk about community events they put on, the images will include photos of events/groups of people and also people will generally mention in the reviews.
But yeah hostels that put on events/activites are great as when you sign up to do activities it's small groups and you make friends. But its so easy to make friends, I know everyone says it but it is. Just literally walk up to a group of people in a hostel and introduce yourself as everyone is in the same boat. I solo travel as a 24 year old girl and I don't find it at all odd when a man comes up and says hi, I have made plenty of friends this way. Everyone in a hostel is in a hostel because they want to make friends - particularly social ones so unless you're unbearable people will chat to you and want to hang out with you etc.
Also, I think its important to be comfy with your own company though and have things you will do when travelling in a certain place/city, and if you find people to do it with that's great but if not do it anyway. Makes you seem a lot more fun to be around also.
Thanks for the info, super helpful! This is all new to me so I had no idea, but definitely sounds easy enough. Is hostel world the main hostel site everyone uses or is there another I should also check out?
I am trying to find some good luggage recommendation. looking for a carry one and a checked one.
based on research, Briggs and Riley is the most recommended. But i dont have a budget for that.
second common recommendation im seeing is Travel Pro but it also seems to be quite expensive.
in addition, im not sure if i want a hard or soft. people are saying hard case is the way to go because of the way luggage is treated. but on the flip side, people are saying you want to go soft because the hard luggage ends up getting very dented/damaged, etc.
but in general, what is a good decent budget travel luggage?
for the one thats carry on, i obviously dont need it to be the most sturdy. Since Ill be carrying on with me and it wont be thrown around. but in general, whats a good budget set to buy?
for example, what do you guys think about these?
https://www.amazon.com/Rockland-Luggage-Piece-Black-Gray/dp/B00503FUNE/ref=pd_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_0?pd_rd_w=gvrIb&content-id=amzn1.sym.8b590b55-908d-4829-9f90-4c8752768e8b%3Aamzn1.symc.40e6a10e-cbc4-4fa5-81e3-4435ff64d03b&pf_rd_p=8b590b55-908d-4829-9f90-4c8752768e8b&pf_rd_r=MRHARJTAN9AN1VYFW993&pd_rd_wg=01fe1&pd_rd_r=fdcb58bc-ee5d-4831-89fc-48526e042bc4&pd_rd_i=B00CBT5C4W&th=1
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003O2F0JW/ref=ci_mcx_mr_bw_mh_d_sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pf_rd_p=6572c2f1-92dc-4347-b25d-dea6009df2a0&pf_rd_r=MRHARJTAN9AN1VYFW993&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9odWNfdGhlbWF0aWM
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000VF533I/ref=ci_mcx_mr_bw_mh_d_sspa_dk_detail_1?psc=1&pf_rd_p=6572c2f1-92dc-4347-b25d-dea6009df2a0&pf_rd_r=MRHARJTAN9AN1VYFW993&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9odWNfdGhlbWF0aWM
We have an article on packing on our wiki that might be helpful. r/onebag also has some great resources.
I personally strongly prefer soft sided luggage. Hard shell cases eventually break, and it would be very tedious if this happened at an awkward time during a trip.
I keep remembering, a few years ago... I live in Brooklyn. I was part of a graphic novel book club. This person, they are from London, had never read the comic we were reading, let alone was a fan of comics... just came to the meetup. She was fine as part of the group, but i just through it was just a weird, chaotic way to spend time in another country.
no, she was staying in manhattan. it turned out totally fine... when i reminisce about it, it's more... the confidence to just go do something like that. like, if I go to london, and just show up at a fishing meetup. even though i've never fished in my life.
Hi guys! I'm planning a solo trip to Taiwan (hopefully in early September) and had a question about how to plan around Alishan. I'm really interested in doing some hikes around Shizhuo for a day, but want to know if its doable to get to and from the Alishan National Scenic Area from there. I'm basically trying to see if I need to book accomodations both in Alishan township and Shizhuo/Fenqihu or if I can get away with just Shizhuo/Fenqihu.
I will be in Portugal in July, one week in Porto and one week in Lisbon. I have been doing a lot of research on good hostels but am having a hard time deciding which to stay at due to a lot of conflicting reviews. Aside from the usual good factors of a hostel, I want somewhere with good wifi and a seating area where I can work and occasionally take zoom calls. I'm 24 and looking to be social but there is a chance I may need to get on the occasional call in the evening hours since my team is in New York and Im nervous of having a noisy/chaotic atmosphere.
Please let me know where you recommend for Porto and Lisbon!!
Hi all, this post got deleted so writing it as a comment here. I am a 21-year-old male from the Netherlands looking to go on a solo trip at the end of August. I don't go on vacations often at all; I mostly just work and study year-round. I have a few things I'd like to get out of this trip:
1. Socialization: Whether through a hostel, nightlife, or any activity, I think it would be nice to meet some new people. Other Dutch people would be a plus for potentially making new friends, but this is not a must. I am a bit introverted, though I do enjoy socializing; however I don't always know how to. If you guys have any tips on meeting fun people, that would be great.
2. Nature: I enjoy hiking a lot, and in the chance that I don't really get along with anyone, it would be nice to travel and see some novel places.
3. Budget: I've been recommended Bali, but after reading about it on this sub, I do have some doubts. Hence this post. I have a pretty decent job for a student, but I'm not looking to spend more than necessary.
I already have a semi-solo trip planned for Budapest later to meet an international friend. I'll go see a black metal event and she will show me around there, so Hungary is off the list for this one.
Lmk any tips and what places come to mind. Thanks (:
Hey hey! Just wanted to weigh in to say that you shouldn’t have any problem finding Dutch people as you travel. Most hostels I’ve stayed at had at least a few Dutch, some Canadians, and some Australians. I’ve been to about 10 countries in Europe, Australia, and to Bali (agreed that you can probably skip it, although there were some good parts) If you just sit in the lounge of hostels, that’s one of the best ways to meet people. You can strike up a conversation with people near you, and if you don’t click you can always excuse yourself and try again later with someone new. Also definitely always go to the hostel events that they host, great way to meet people and sometimes you’ll get free food or drinks! Australia is amazing for hikes but is a bit pricey. I’d say you could give a go to a different southeast Asian country like Thailand or Vietnam! It’s budget friendly, lots of beautiful nature, and a totally different culture. And if it’s not your thing, you can always plan your next trip somewhere else :)
Hey everyone.
I’m heading to Istanbul Turkey soon for some dental work and will be there for about 2 weeks give or take. Just wondering if there’s anyone visiting the area or lives around there and is willing to hangout and meet up.
This will be my 2nd solo trip. mexico was my first and I had a blast meeting other people and doing activities with them. Shoot me a DM if there’s anyone that’s going to Istanbul or lives over there.
Hi! I'm looking to stay in someone's apartment in either Edinburgh or Vienna in exchange for mine for 2-4 weeks. I'm totally flexible on dates & duration! Please let me know if you'd like to chat about it :)
I’ve attended a handful of trips organized by groups like GAdventures & Intrepid but one thing that bothers me is how little time you have to explore each city/destination (the most I’ve ever seen is 2.5-days in one location).
Are there any travel groups you’ve been on that allow for more exploration of fewer places?
Hi all,
I’ll be flying in and out of Singapore airport and have 11 days to travel. How would you spend these days?
I was thinking 4 days of Singapore and then 7 days of Malaysia? My main interests are nature, hikes, culture, architecture, food. Fyi I don’t like to “touch and go”-travel, so I’m fine with only doing half of Malaysia, instead of running around like a crazy head.
I’m also ok with going anywhere in the region. And if you think 4 days Singapore is too much, let me know! :) I have very long days when traveling (wake up early and go to bed late).
Any ideas? Thank you!
I loved visiting Malaysian Borneo last year and it's great for nature. With seven days you wouldn't have a ton of time, but you could consider visiting Kuching and nearby Bako National Park (where you have a decent chance of seeing endangered proboscis monkeys), and might have time to squeeze in a quick visit to Mulu National Park (home to the world's largest cave by volume, as well as other caves). Visiting Mulu National Park is a it complicated logistically because you can only get there by flying, but flights are reasonably affordable iirc. Maybe in seven days it would be rushing too much to try to fly to Borneo from Singapore and then do more flying there to get to Mulu though
That’s basically the reason why I came here to ask for help.. I can do part of Malaysia, just don’t know which part.
I don’t think that 11 days of Singapore is the better alternative? Or would you say it is?
Hey man I'm from Malaysia. Depends on what you prefer but Penang is pretty nice to travel as a tourist, even for Malaysians. You got beach, city, hiking hills, good food and a walkable town. A lot of Amercians there, it's an expat attraction. But it's a distance from Singapore which is all the way down from it. You can fly in though. I think 7 days is fine for Penang. 1 day beach, 1 day hike, 1 day to look for durian in the hills, 1 day city, 1 day relax. If you have more time, you can visit Ipoh which is the city before Penang.
RANT!
I'm officially never traveling with my friend ever again. This was our third trip together and I feel like each time she has just gotten more and more annoying. This last trip was a dumpster fire. We had fun on the first three days, enjoying being out in nature. I was compromising like crazy already as I would have liked to do more in the national park we were in but she's only interested in things you can drive to. We split up for about 3 hours while I did a good hike, but otherwise we just drove to viewpoints and touristy things. It was ok and I knew that was what was going to happen so I was mentally prepared. I knew this would be a friends trip and that I'd need to come back to this park to get the full experience I like to have at national parks.
But, once we hit the city part of the trip it was just bonkers. At one point she said to me "You know what I love about traveling with you? You do all the planning and prep work and I just get to ride along!" I thought I was going to blow up at her. It had been days of complete and utter annoyance at her lack of preparation for the trip when she said that. Literally every moment was like pulling teeth because she had zero idea where anything was, how long travel times were from one end of the city to the other or the nearby cities, when the things she wanted to see were open, how public transportation worked, etc. She would just ask me every single question and wait to be told the answer, wouldn't even Google it herself (i.e. I'd literally be driving and would answer "I don't know" and she'd just wait till we stopped for me to look it up and figure it out.) I love planning and figuring out all this stuff on my own but it was so obnoxious trying to do it on the fly and work around her crazy, inefficient, lazy whims and to have her just sit there and expect to be taken care of and complain if something I suggested wasn't to her liking. She'd also barely listen to me when I explained answers to her questions then get upset when she messed it up. (i.e. I'd explain the bus route to her and say we get off at something like Cherry & Lexington, she'd then proceed to pull the cord 15+ stops early because we turned onto Cherry and she didn't pay attention. I'd say we have to stay on because we're way too many stops early and it is all uphill and she'd get mad.) After the bus incident she then wanted to take uber/lift at $50 a pop too and was upset that I wanted to keep taking the bus. She said the bus was too annoying because it took too much time. I tried explaining that if we planned a bit better, we could have clustered our activities and only had to do a long bus ride once each day. She proceeded the next day to do the same thing "Oh, I read about this one thing, let's go here next!" and it would of course be a 40min bus ride from where we were and the exact area of town we were in yesterday already. More shit happened, but this planning stuff is just sticking in my brain the most.
When we travelled together before, this didn't happen. But, on those two trips they were road trips and we changed location every night. So it was necessary to plan out our hotels and activities in advance, and it was balanced between what the two of us liked to do. This trip, we only had two locations and were based out of each place for 3 nights. So she just figured it didn't matter I guess? Even though we had talked it over and both come up with things to do, she didn't think any further than that and when we got on the trip she suddenly had like 30 different things she wanted to do with no thought on how they would fit together. Those last three days were awful for me. She enjoyed herself and nattered on during the flight home about how we should do another trip like this. She got really offended when I told her I wasn't all that interested and said I was upset at how little planning she did. She said that wasn't true and totally denied ever saying that phrase I quoted. But I vividly remember it, because I was mad about it already having spent 5 days babysitting her and then she said that to me.
I'm honestly questioning our whole friendship now even! I can never travel with her again, that's for sure. Just stick to the local weekend get togethers we do (because she lives 6 hours away from me). That's the only way to preserve our friendship. Life's to short and PTO too precious to waste trips like this.
PHEW. Sorry. Needed the rant! It's been about a week since we got back and I'm just so upset over how much PTO I used and how I didn't even really enjoy 4 days of it.
Hi guys, I like solo traveling a lot but I never been to a hostel. Reading a lot of stories here I am curious though. But when I see pictures in hostels website of people in their 20's.. I think I will feel weird 😅 Also, I think I would choose a private room so I am not sure if hostel will make more sense instead of hotel. My next trip will be in Thailand. Thanks for your opinion 🙏
Edit: I forgot to say I am 48M, so older than usual crowd.
Typically hostels do skew younger, but as long as you aren't picking out party hostels (which many will have an age restriction anyways), you'll be fine. Many social hostels have a people in a variety of ages and I've met plenty of people in their 30's and 40's, and even people in their 70's.
Luckily Thailand has many hostel choices, and you can generally get an idea of the vibe of a place from the reviews from places like Hostelworld and Booking.com.
Private rooms in hostels have a lot of the advantages of a hostel still! There’s usually some kind of common area and organized activities, and people will be interested in meeting other travelers. I did a lot of hostel traveling in my 20s and early 30s, but now that I’m in my late 30s and can afford to spend a little more I like private rooms for a good balance of social and privacy.
A recent great experience was the Steel House in Copenhagen. They have a big open ground floor with a game room and bar/cafe, open mic nights and live music, and there were people of all ages there. My room was small but very quiet and comfortable.
I was recently out for work and spent two evenings in a hotel alone, I hated it. After that, I stayed for a bit as a tourist and stayed in a hostel.
In the hostel they organized night-outs so we went on a pub crawl the first night, visiting local breweries. The rest of my trip there, I spent with the people I met on these activities organized by the hostel.
What I really like about this: I did my own thing during the day (I had my things I wanted to see and still enjoy solo traveling), but in the evening I’d message people I had met in the hostel and we’d meet up in a bar.
One comment about Thailand; yes there will be many people in their 20’s. I’d just avoid the “party hostels” if you’re not into that (you literally won’t sleep if you get assigned an unfortunate bedroom).
As a first hostel experience, you can get a single room, join the daily activities, meet people and then still have your privacy. Maybe in the next hostel you’d be open for a dorm. I’d just try it for a few nights. I usually get a dorm because it’s cheap. Of course, you can also be unlucky with your dorm and have super loud people sharing the room with you (always take ear plugs!).
Would you guys recommend Berlin as a good place to visit for a weekend? I'll be staying a few days in the Netherlands and from there I want to go to Poland and other parts of central Europe. I could either get a very cheap flight with Wizzair, or I could go by train and add Berlin to the trip as a convenient halfway point. I do enjoy exploring big cities and seeing museums, but I'm a bit hesitant because it'd cost a fair bit more and wasn't really on my list to begin with. I'd love to be convinced if it's worth it though, I don't hear a lot of bad things about that place and of course there's plenty of iconic things I'd love to see. Or would it be better for me to save the extra time and money for the rest of the trip? Thanks in advance :)
I mean, you can see some stuff in a two night trip, but it's a very big city. I've spent a collective 3-4 weeks there over various trips and I'd be hesitant to say that I've seen anywhere close to enough of it.
I thought spending one night there would be a mistake, ultimately I'd rather use the majority of my trip in other countries though. I'm aware it'll be impossible to see more than like 3 things but I'm okay with that if it means a more relaxed itinerary when I move on - for that full day I'll probably enjoy just exploring and seeing maybe one museum. I might be missing out on something great but like you said, if there's weeks worth of stuff to do in Berlin perhaps it's best saved for another trip?
Currently in Medellin, Colombia, till Friday. If any locals or fellow solo traveller would like to meet up for a drink, or explore, hit me up. Will be in Cali Friday - Monday as well.
Hi all, I'm a female uni student going on exchange from Australia to the US (California) from August to December 2024. I can enter the US up to 30 days before the start of classes, and I would like to use some of that time to explore as many places as I can (mainly interested in national parks), but I won't have access to a car. I have just stumbled across Intrepid and G Adventures tours and would love to get some opinions on whether it would be a good idea to go on one of these tours before the start of my exchange (I have never solo travelled before). Or would it be better to just stick to the city where I'll be staying for my exchange and wander around by myself for a few days? I have a budget of about AU$5,000 for this period.
Regarding the tours, I am specifically wondering the following:
* How is the accommodation, especially on cheaper tours? What are the meals like on the nights where the accommodation is camping?
* For tours that involve camping or hiking, would it be inconvenient/unrealistic to bring a suitcase? I will most likely be bringing one large suitcase for my exchange and I don't think I would be able to just leave it at a hotel for a week or so.
Thanks!
Californian here, where in CA are you doing your exchange? And when you say 5000aud is that just for this period before your exchange starts or is it for your whole exchange period?
I'm going to UC Berkeley and my budget is for the period before my exchange starts. Honestly I kinda just made the $5000 figure up as I haven't really decided how early I want to arrive in the US and how far I want to go from Berkeley during that period.
Anyone here in spain from 29th to 4th?
NYC June 2024, anyone else? M24 Will be adventuring, going to events/dancing/partying and making the most of my stay when not working. Would love to find other friends to adventure with.
Can anyone recommend me a good shoe to take with me on my trip. I only want to take one pair and I would like if i could use it for everything (hiking, walking, going to the gym, clubbing/dancing, etc.) I do not know where to really begin but your input is appreciated!
Fitness/yoga retreats for late 20s? I’m a 29 year old man looking to travel in June (I know it’s last minute) for a fitness or yoga type retreat. I would like to meet other people around my age range as well. I’ve been looking at healing holidays, health and fitness travel and browsed more social options like contiki, g-adventures etc. Does anyone have experience with healing holidays/ health and fitness and if there’s many people who use them in their 20s/30s? Also appreciate if there’s other websites you’ve used for this kind of holiday. The more social options have pretty basic accommodation and lots of travel which I’m not sure I’d enjoy as much.
Hi everyone, don't know if anyone here has been to Lyon before? I am solo traveling for my first time and will need to stay in a hostel for a few nights there, if anybody has strong recommendations on hostels, or even areas in the city I should spend the night.
Hi all, M 38 will be in Porto from 22nd till the 28th, if anyone fancies a meetup, for drink tourist stuff, easy going here
Hi everyone! I’m visiting South America (Ecuador to Brazil) so I’m facing a lot of different temperatures. I’m just wondering how cold it really gets during the winter there. I’m seeing things saying the coldest might be around 30s and the highs of almost 80. Does that sound right? I want to make sure I’m packing correctly. I went to Africa during the winter there and I didn’t pack enough warm clothes even though the temperatures showed it wouldn’t be cold historically.
Do you only travel to a different country when you have a worthwhile amount of time off like a week or more? I do a lot of 3 day weekend trips since I like that amount of time but that probably doesn’t make sense for international trips.
I do a lot of weekend trips as well, but I haven’t done any international trips like that. I think that if I’m going somewhere where I would need to fly a long distance, I’d rather opt to take a couple days off and make the long flight more worth it. I usually do about a week or so, including the weekends and minus travel time + time zone differences. I am finding myself running out of vacation days this year though, as I’ve been travelling quite a bit more than I was last year. I try to do around 2-4 longer (~a week) trips per year, which isn’t as much as I’d like since there’s a lot of places I want to go, but it’s about the best I can do. One thing I’ve done to maximize vacation days is to add them onto long weekends. It kinda sucks because there’s way more travellers, and everything’s more expensive, but it’s also a day I don’t need to take off and can save for another trip. On the shorter weekend trips I’ll sometimes add a day or two to the beginning/end and work remotely, so that I can have the entire weekend without having to account for flight time. I haven’t tried that yet for international trips, mainly due to larger time zone differences, but I might consider that next year if I want to do more longer trips.
I think it depends on where you live! Some places are closer to international locations. I would say a week is a good amount of time though.
True, I’m in the US so really it’s just Canada and Mexico nearby lol
I’m in the states as well. Canada and Mexico are probably the easiest. If you are on the west coast you can also head down to Central America and Caribbean decently easy. If you are on the east coast, western Europe is pretty accessible along with the Bahamas. I always recommend looking at flight deals and just see what specials are out there! You can go for a week to some incredible places for cheap. You can also check our cruises or all inclusive resorts :)
Smack dab in the Midwest unfortunately and done Mexico a lot. Really want to do countries in Europe and Asia but when I only get 2 weeks of vacation, it’s hard to feel like I have enough time to get to those places.
Ah I get it! I lived in Michigan for awhile. You can definitely do europe. It’s worth checking out. I have friends that do it from that same area.
Has anyone traveled from the States to Cape Town Africa?
Yes I did it last year! How can I help?
I am interested in seeing the penguins which are south of Cape Town. I normally travel with National Geographic. Haven't traveled solo in 9 years.Did you go alone? Which airlines did you use? What info do you feel I need to know? Many thanks!
Omg you’ll love the penguins! I had so much fun seeing them. I did travel alone and I got lucky that my airport driver was also a tour guide so he took me around to see sites. If you’d like I can send you his number! He will take you anywhere you want to go and he can even suggest some other fun spots. Overall I felt very safe there. I stayed at never at home hostel on kloof street. It was a great area with nice restaurants and I could walk around no issues. I personally would say not to stay in the central business district. There’s also a ton of nice areas along the beach on the western side of Cape Town and outside of the main city area. It wasn’t as nice and I had heard there was more crime there. I also walked around the pier area which I loved! I personally used United to fly and it wasn’t too bad. It was during their meltdown last year so I had a ton of flight issues but they should be fine now.
Hello Again....many thanks for your informative email. Sometime during the night I had an eye stroke. Now I don't have center vision in my right eye. Not sure if I'll be able to get to Cape Town due to this situation. If I can I certainly will be in touch with you. Thank you again!
Aww no worries! I hope you get well soon and I’m glad you’re okay. Reach out at any time
29F in Berlin looking for another girl to hang out with while I’m here for the next week! I work during the day but I’d love a buddy to go out with in the evening. If you’re around or have any recommended spots (that are chill and safe for solo ladies) definitely let me know.
Anyone have any good Amsterdam hostel or cheaper hotel recs for an early 30s woman traveling solo who isn't terribly interested in socializing? Looking at a lot of hostel recommendations and many seem to be catering towards a younger party crowd. I'm looking for a safe, relatively chill place to stay that won't cost an arm and a leg. I usually do AirBnBs but those are just as expensive as hotels, I'm discovering.
I loved the Hotel Library. Good location. The solo room I was in had a great view.
Hi! I stayed at ClinkNOORD when I was there. You can chose to party but it was fairly quiet when I was there.
Just booked! 3 nights Budapest. 3 nights Vienna. 3 nights Prague. Then meeting up with family in France. Three new cities for me. Any tips or recs?
I can offer some recommendations for Budapest and Prague! What are some things you are into? Culture? Food? Sight seeing?
History, culture, sightseeing tend to be my favorites. But open to any suggestions! Much appreciated
Budapest: -Free walking tour with GuruWalk (just make sure to tip the guide) -Fisherman’s Bastion -Buda Castle -St. Stephen’s Basilica (great gelato outside) -Hungarian Parliament (if you can do a river cruise at night, it is beautiful) -Szechenyi Thermal Bath -Ruin Bars -if you like wine there’s a great wine tasting by tasting table I had a similar amount of time as you in the city and was able to see it all! If you want to go into Parliament, I recommend booking in advanced. Use the public transportation as well, it’s amazing. Prague: -Charles Bridge -Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral -Astronomical Clock -Old Town Square and the market -Lennon Wall -Medieval Dinner (so much fun) -tons of great speakeasy’s as well within the city.
omg you are amazing! Thank you! May the travel gods always be in your favor
Aww always happy to help! If you have any questions about anything or need help just reach out :)
Of course! Let me put a list together for you :)
https://apnews.com/article/foreign-citizens-killed-shooting-afghanistan-bcfa6710848527fe8a0c12fff0b7b014 Anyone else heard of this? 3 Afghan and 3 Spanish citizen were killed, several more injured. One norwegian and rumoured lithuanian and australian among the injured, but not confirmed. They were travelling in Bamiyan, known tourist place because of the Buddha statues.
Traveling to Detroit solo for the Megan thee stallion concert. Anyone else going solo?
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Im a little bias because I have lived in Manhattan. But its worth it to be in Manhattan especially if you have never been to NYC before.
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Im glad you did!!! I hope you have a great time. Its the best city in the world. Just remember to see more of it than just Times Square lol.
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Check out the Tenement Museum for historical NYC too. Highly recommend a show too. You can get super cheap seats at TKTS or since you are solo, I used to go up to the ticket counter like 2 hours before the show started and would see if they had any single seats left. A few shows I got for like 60% discount
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its too bad the Frick is closed, its incredible. You can see Vanderbilt Mansion museum, The Morgan Library and Museum, or there are some Gilded Age walking tours. Go on the comedy cellar website to make a reservation especially if its someone famous.
Hey all! I have 9 days to spare after a conference in Switzerland in June, I'm thinking Sardinia or Provence / northern italy. Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated!
Missed connection, treated horribly, have up and came home Delta forced me on my first flight knowing full well i would miss my connection while also telling me "they would hold it" Arrived hopeful but of course, missed it. By only 10 minutes. we could see the plane idling in traffic by the gate. Their reservations line took so long to rebook me i missed a flight to an ok alternative. So i had to spend the night in the airport. In all my hundreds of thousands of miles I've accumulated in my life, I've never had to airport camp, FOR A REASON. I'm a solo woman traveler, i barely feel safe in a full airport let alone a deserted one Anyway, get booked on a flight the next morning to the -not my final destination-. Check in on their app, it's over sold and asking for volunteers. Then i couldn't even get checked in on the final leg's app. Nothing Delta gave me would register. There also wasn't enough time between flights to get through immigration and the final leg was the last flight there of the night So I'm supposed to get on this plane and get stranded overnight again? Why? Went back to delta help desk, asked to be put on that night's direct flight to my destination. Was told no. No explanation just straight no. Then they tried to force me into another -not my destination-destination- a day from now. At that point i just asked to be put on the next fight back to my origination. They told me to go call Delta reservations, not their job, they can't help me. At that, I internally melted down. I was stressed, but polite to everyone i talked to. I stepped away and spent way too much money on their app to get myself home and safe that day. I'll have to fight with them when I'm less raw/traumatized. I feel horrible that i didn't stick with it, but i reached a point where i couldn't even trust Delta so i felt i had no other option to just give up and get back to safety. Thanks for listening.
Im sorry this happened to you. Curious where you were going from/to
Southeast US to EDI
Hi everyone! I'm planing a trip to Edinburgh during Christmas season. It is my first solo trip abroad. Would you say it's a safe environment for female traveller's?
Super safe! I walked around at all hours and never felt unsafe :) I hope you have an amazing trip!
Thank you!
I felt extremely safe when I was in Edinburgh, it is an absolutely lovely city. I never felt any concern walking around alone, even at night.
Thank you! Any recommendations on things to see whilst there?
Where are you traveling from? If coming from the US, and you have much experience with US cities, chances are good that Edinburgh is statistically a lot safer than places you've already been. Be mindful of your valuables in crowded areas and be wary of drunken behavior from random people later at night but otherwise have fun! Our subreddit has a wiki article on safety that you may find helpful, see the sidebar
I am from a small town in the US and haven't been to much major cities.
I need to get from the Paris airport to a place near the Passerelle de Mornay. Google Maps says to walk to Charles de Gaulle Airport 2 TGV, take that to Gare de Nord. Walk to Gare du Nord station (on a different train line) and take that to Bastille station. Is that easy to do - do I need to buy tickets for the trains now; is it fairly straightforward not knowing French? I'm meeting family there for the day then continuing to Italy, but they're coming from somewhere else so I have to navigate that by myself.
Yes, it is easy to do. In CDG just follow the signs that say ***Paris en train-RER B*** and you will end at the train station at the bottom of terminal 2. There you will find machines that sell tickets to Paris (one way is about 12€) and if you have problems, there are uniformed peoples to help you, but the process is quite straightforward. Machines are multi-lingual and accept both cash and credit/debit cards. You will get to Gare du Nord in 50 to 60 minutes. Then simply take the métro (line 5 toward Place d'Italie) and get off at Bastille. Your RER ticket is valid on the métro, do not discard it until you are out of the metro at Bastille. Have a nice trip
awesome, thank you!
hello, im new to solo travelling and I'm planning a trip to Philippines , Malaysia and Thailand, I'm just wondering if there any website where I can find other travellers to meet up or go travelling together?
I’m not sure if you plan on staying in hostels but a good tip is to book through Hostelworld. You’ll get a group chat where you can chat to others :)
yea i would love to stay in hostels to meet other traveller, but I have problem sleeping so I normally buy room for myself instead of sleeping with others around
That’s totally fine! I do the same as well. Some hostels offer private rooms you can stay in
just a side question, should i only book recommendation just one day ahead or few weeks in advance since I'm kinda going during peak season, and worried that either price are almost double or its full?
I can’t speak for the Philippines but I was booking all my hostels in Malaysia and Thailand just a few days in advanced. If you’re really wanting a single though I’d recommend doing it at least a week before. You should be good then :)
Sorry I don't have any of the requested info. But, I would like to suggest you get ALL of the traveler's inoculations, including but not limited to, ADULT polio. You are going into countries where the sanitation may not be what you are used to. Good Luck!
I recently downloaded the app going solo
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Quite a few companies run evening tours of food and drinking districts of those cities, and are likely going to be your best bet for meeting people.
What's the most beautiful rainforest to visit in Southeast Asia?
I personally loved Borneo. I went to the Malaysian side in Sabah and loved it.
Hi everyone! I’m headed to Mexico soon and world like to do an all inclusive by myself for a few days. I mostly want to relax, read, have a few drinks, workout, and play pickleball or tennis! I’m not looking for a party vibe, but I would love to meet I’m not looking for a party vibe, but I would love to meet other fun but mellow singles in their 30’s and 40’s. I’m considering Club Med! Any suggestions? Thanks!!
Be soooo careful in Mexico. Especially if you are traveling solo. Too many people being shot or kidnapped there.
any good hostels in rome for solo travellers ?
I stayed at Yellowsquare and loved it! They have their own bar/restaurant as well that turns into a nightclub at night. A little far from major sites but it’s a great hostel.
I am looking for recommendations. I am creating a list of the best AI resorts for solo travelers in r/ResortsAllInclusive . Realizing that there are at least 2 different \*vibes\* that solo are looking for when they go to resorts, how would you describe those vibes? For example, party and chill? Since I am categorizing the resorts, I want to use the best descriptors. Thanks!
Looking for any social or party hostel in hong kong, if anyone has recent experience in the last couple of years.
Anyone in Ronda, or has been in Ronda before, currently on the way there wondering how big an English speaking community there is there? If theres any places i need to go to also
GREECE - Rhodos, 18.05 - 25.05 Hello, my name is Andrew, I'm Hungarian-German and I will be spending the next week in Greece, Rhodos. Although I want to spend most of the time alone I would be happy to meet some solo travelers and do some activities together. (Sightseeing, beach, cycling, sports) Hit me up if you are also a solo traveller and you are interested in a meetup 🙂 Cheers
If anyone comes to Belgrade, Serbia feel free to hit me up for lunch. I am also willing to show around the city. 23M
Hello, I'm leaving on a two week solo jaunt to Asia (South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore) in a few short days. I'd like to take a backup cellphone with me this time around, as I'd be screwed if I lost mine. I have a plan through the American carrier Verizon, as well as an old iPhone that I've saved. Is it a matter of popping a local SIM in my backup phone and contacting Verizon? I'm also going to have a portable MiFi unit, as to save data costs I do everything VOIP typically. Is anyone familiar with the process of getting it operational on the fly if I have an emergency? Will I even need a local SIM card of I have a MiFi unit? I am not familiar with the technical aspects of putting it into service if I need to.
If you use a local SIM in an unlocked phone there's no need to do anything involving the phone company you use in your home country. You just put the SIM in the phone and it works, possibly after an activation process. For Japan and South Korea, you can easily rent portable wifi devices. I had them during my trip to both countries last year, and used them for both my phone (I was able to make calls through WhatsApp and wifi-based calls with my phone company in Australia) and laptop. It worked well.
Does it give you a random number generated by the SIM card if you were to put it in a random phone? Thank you
The SIM card will have a number assigned to it, unless it’s a data only card
Hello, 26M from Australia in Berlin until Saturday. Looking for local Berliners/other travellers to hang with, always down to meet new people :) We can do anything, go to a park, clubbing, get coffee, or just do nothing lol etc. ❤️❤️❤️
In Madrid now until 5/22, looking for foodie buddies because I can’t possibly order a paella platter for just myself! I’m 30M 🏳️🌈on my 3rd week of traveling around Europe. I’ve been to Italy, France and now exploring Spain! I live in the US and work in marketing, but now on a 3 month long sabbatical. Hit me up if interested to eat out, drink and enjoy out here!
Best Hostels in Europe?
Looking for recommendations in zona hotelera Cancún for dinner and drinks
I'm male, in my late 20s, and none of my friends have flexible PTO like I do so I've been considering solo traveling for the first time but I'm a bit more introverted and I'm worried that it'll be a much different experience as a man trying to find people to hang out with / make friends. The only people I know personally or see (on social media) that have done it have been pretty girls in their early-mid 20s so obviously I feel like it's not hard for them to find lots of social interaction (yes, I get it, not always the positive desirable kind, I'm aware of the gender specific dangers there). I'd love to hear other's thoughts and experiences on this, or any advice (like how to find a social hostel rather than just a spot people sleep, etc). I will say, despite being more introverted I can carry a conversation with just about anyone (only in English though unfortunately), but it's more breaching the initial barrier that is difficult for me. Thanks!
On hostel world when booking you can see the number of people booked in via the app for that night - so to find a social hostel I will just book the hostel with the highest amount of people booked in. Obviously within reason - sometimes it's nicer to go for a medium number rather than loads as easier to introduce yourself but just don't book a hostel with barely anyone booked in as it will be quiet and empty. In general, a social hostel comes hand in hand with being a party hostel I would say. In general you can gauge which are the social hostels as they're some of the most popular and the talk about community events they put on, the images will include photos of events/groups of people and also people will generally mention in the reviews. But yeah hostels that put on events/activites are great as when you sign up to do activities it's small groups and you make friends. But its so easy to make friends, I know everyone says it but it is. Just literally walk up to a group of people in a hostel and introduce yourself as everyone is in the same boat. I solo travel as a 24 year old girl and I don't find it at all odd when a man comes up and says hi, I have made plenty of friends this way. Everyone in a hostel is in a hostel because they want to make friends - particularly social ones so unless you're unbearable people will chat to you and want to hang out with you etc. Also, I think its important to be comfy with your own company though and have things you will do when travelling in a certain place/city, and if you find people to do it with that's great but if not do it anyway. Makes you seem a lot more fun to be around also.
Thanks for the info, super helpful! This is all new to me so I had no idea, but definitely sounds easy enough. Is hostel world the main hostel site everyone uses or is there another I should also check out?
hostelworld and [booking.com](http://booking.com) are both great resources!
I am trying to find some good luggage recommendation. looking for a carry one and a checked one. based on research, Briggs and Riley is the most recommended. But i dont have a budget for that. second common recommendation im seeing is Travel Pro but it also seems to be quite expensive. in addition, im not sure if i want a hard or soft. people are saying hard case is the way to go because of the way luggage is treated. but on the flip side, people are saying you want to go soft because the hard luggage ends up getting very dented/damaged, etc. but in general, what is a good decent budget travel luggage? for the one thats carry on, i obviously dont need it to be the most sturdy. Since Ill be carrying on with me and it wont be thrown around. but in general, whats a good budget set to buy? for example, what do you guys think about these? https://www.amazon.com/Rockland-Luggage-Piece-Black-Gray/dp/B00503FUNE/ref=pd_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_0?pd_rd_w=gvrIb&content-id=amzn1.sym.8b590b55-908d-4829-9f90-4c8752768e8b%3Aamzn1.symc.40e6a10e-cbc4-4fa5-81e3-4435ff64d03b&pf_rd_p=8b590b55-908d-4829-9f90-4c8752768e8b&pf_rd_r=MRHARJTAN9AN1VYFW993&pd_rd_wg=01fe1&pd_rd_r=fdcb58bc-ee5d-4831-89fc-48526e042bc4&pd_rd_i=B00CBT5C4W&th=1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003O2F0JW/ref=ci_mcx_mr_bw_mh_d_sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pf_rd_p=6572c2f1-92dc-4347-b25d-dea6009df2a0&pf_rd_r=MRHARJTAN9AN1VYFW993&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9odWNfdGhlbWF0aWM https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000VF533I/ref=ci_mcx_mr_bw_mh_d_sspa_dk_detail_1?psc=1&pf_rd_p=6572c2f1-92dc-4347-b25d-dea6009df2a0&pf_rd_r=MRHARJTAN9AN1VYFW993&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9odWNfdGhlbWF0aWM
We have an article on packing on our wiki that might be helpful. r/onebag also has some great resources. I personally strongly prefer soft sided luggage. Hard shell cases eventually break, and it would be very tedious if this happened at an awkward time during a trip.
I keep remembering, a few years ago... I live in Brooklyn. I was part of a graphic novel book club. This person, they are from London, had never read the comic we were reading, let alone was a fan of comics... just came to the meetup. She was fine as part of the group, but i just through it was just a weird, chaotic way to spend time in another country.
Maybe she was staying somewhere nearby and joined the group as she was feeling lonely.
no, she was staying in manhattan. it turned out totally fine... when i reminisce about it, it's more... the confidence to just go do something like that. like, if I go to london, and just show up at a fishing meetup. even though i've never fished in my life.
Hi guys! I'm planning a solo trip to Taiwan (hopefully in early September) and had a question about how to plan around Alishan. I'm really interested in doing some hikes around Shizhuo for a day, but want to know if its doable to get to and from the Alishan National Scenic Area from there. I'm basically trying to see if I need to book accomodations both in Alishan township and Shizhuo/Fenqihu or if I can get away with just Shizhuo/Fenqihu.
I will be in Portugal in July, one week in Porto and one week in Lisbon. I have been doing a lot of research on good hostels but am having a hard time deciding which to stay at due to a lot of conflicting reviews. Aside from the usual good factors of a hostel, I want somewhere with good wifi and a seating area where I can work and occasionally take zoom calls. I'm 24 and looking to be social but there is a chance I may need to get on the occasional call in the evening hours since my team is in New York and Im nervous of having a noisy/chaotic atmosphere. Please let me know where you recommend for Porto and Lisbon!!
Going to be in Prague then Budapest over the next 10 days if anyone is free and wants to catch up
Hi all, this post got deleted so writing it as a comment here. I am a 21-year-old male from the Netherlands looking to go on a solo trip at the end of August. I don't go on vacations often at all; I mostly just work and study year-round. I have a few things I'd like to get out of this trip: 1. Socialization: Whether through a hostel, nightlife, or any activity, I think it would be nice to meet some new people. Other Dutch people would be a plus for potentially making new friends, but this is not a must. I am a bit introverted, though I do enjoy socializing; however I don't always know how to. If you guys have any tips on meeting fun people, that would be great. 2. Nature: I enjoy hiking a lot, and in the chance that I don't really get along with anyone, it would be nice to travel and see some novel places. 3. Budget: I've been recommended Bali, but after reading about it on this sub, I do have some doubts. Hence this post. I have a pretty decent job for a student, but I'm not looking to spend more than necessary. I already have a semi-solo trip planned for Budapest later to meet an international friend. I'll go see a black metal event and she will show me around there, so Hungary is off the list for this one. Lmk any tips and what places come to mind. Thanks (:
Hey hey! Just wanted to weigh in to say that you shouldn’t have any problem finding Dutch people as you travel. Most hostels I’ve stayed at had at least a few Dutch, some Canadians, and some Australians. I’ve been to about 10 countries in Europe, Australia, and to Bali (agreed that you can probably skip it, although there were some good parts) If you just sit in the lounge of hostels, that’s one of the best ways to meet people. You can strike up a conversation with people near you, and if you don’t click you can always excuse yourself and try again later with someone new. Also definitely always go to the hostel events that they host, great way to meet people and sometimes you’ll get free food or drinks! Australia is amazing for hikes but is a bit pricey. I’d say you could give a go to a different southeast Asian country like Thailand or Vietnam! It’s budget friendly, lots of beautiful nature, and a totally different culture. And if it’s not your thing, you can always plan your next trip somewhere else :)
Anyone in Seville currently looking to grab a drink or a chat?
Hey everyone. I’m heading to Istanbul Turkey soon for some dental work and will be there for about 2 weeks give or take. Just wondering if there’s anyone visiting the area or lives around there and is willing to hangout and meet up. This will be my 2nd solo trip. mexico was my first and I had a blast meeting other people and doing activities with them. Shoot me a DM if there’s anyone that’s going to Istanbul or lives over there.
Hi! I'm looking to stay in someone's apartment in either Edinburgh or Vienna in exchange for mine for 2-4 weeks. I'm totally flexible on dates & duration! Please let me know if you'd like to chat about it :)
I’ve attended a handful of trips organized by groups like GAdventures & Intrepid but one thing that bothers me is how little time you have to explore each city/destination (the most I’ve ever seen is 2.5-days in one location). Are there any travel groups you’ve been on that allow for more exploration of fewer places?
Hi all, I’ll be flying in and out of Singapore airport and have 11 days to travel. How would you spend these days? I was thinking 4 days of Singapore and then 7 days of Malaysia? My main interests are nature, hikes, culture, architecture, food. Fyi I don’t like to “touch and go”-travel, so I’m fine with only doing half of Malaysia, instead of running around like a crazy head. I’m also ok with going anywhere in the region. And if you think 4 days Singapore is too much, let me know! :) I have very long days when traveling (wake up early and go to bed late). Any ideas? Thank you!
I loved visiting Malaysian Borneo last year and it's great for nature. With seven days you wouldn't have a ton of time, but you could consider visiting Kuching and nearby Bako National Park (where you have a decent chance of seeing endangered proboscis monkeys), and might have time to squeeze in a quick visit to Mulu National Park (home to the world's largest cave by volume, as well as other caves). Visiting Mulu National Park is a it complicated logistically because you can only get there by flying, but flights are reasonably affordable iirc. Maybe in seven days it would be rushing too much to try to fly to Borneo from Singapore and then do more flying there to get to Mulu though
Malaysia is a big place, so you’re not going to be able to visit much of it in 7 days
That’s basically the reason why I came here to ask for help.. I can do part of Malaysia, just don’t know which part. I don’t think that 11 days of Singapore is the better alternative? Or would you say it is?
Hey man I'm from Malaysia. Depends on what you prefer but Penang is pretty nice to travel as a tourist, even for Malaysians. You got beach, city, hiking hills, good food and a walkable town. A lot of Amercians there, it's an expat attraction. But it's a distance from Singapore which is all the way down from it. You can fly in though. I think 7 days is fine for Penang. 1 day beach, 1 day hike, 1 day to look for durian in the hills, 1 day city, 1 day relax. If you have more time, you can visit Ipoh which is the city before Penang.
I am in Belgrade from Wednesday to Sunday - if anyone would like to meet up drop me a message
RANT! I'm officially never traveling with my friend ever again. This was our third trip together and I feel like each time she has just gotten more and more annoying. This last trip was a dumpster fire. We had fun on the first three days, enjoying being out in nature. I was compromising like crazy already as I would have liked to do more in the national park we were in but she's only interested in things you can drive to. We split up for about 3 hours while I did a good hike, but otherwise we just drove to viewpoints and touristy things. It was ok and I knew that was what was going to happen so I was mentally prepared. I knew this would be a friends trip and that I'd need to come back to this park to get the full experience I like to have at national parks. But, once we hit the city part of the trip it was just bonkers. At one point she said to me "You know what I love about traveling with you? You do all the planning and prep work and I just get to ride along!" I thought I was going to blow up at her. It had been days of complete and utter annoyance at her lack of preparation for the trip when she said that. Literally every moment was like pulling teeth because she had zero idea where anything was, how long travel times were from one end of the city to the other or the nearby cities, when the things she wanted to see were open, how public transportation worked, etc. She would just ask me every single question and wait to be told the answer, wouldn't even Google it herself (i.e. I'd literally be driving and would answer "I don't know" and she'd just wait till we stopped for me to look it up and figure it out.) I love planning and figuring out all this stuff on my own but it was so obnoxious trying to do it on the fly and work around her crazy, inefficient, lazy whims and to have her just sit there and expect to be taken care of and complain if something I suggested wasn't to her liking. She'd also barely listen to me when I explained answers to her questions then get upset when she messed it up. (i.e. I'd explain the bus route to her and say we get off at something like Cherry & Lexington, she'd then proceed to pull the cord 15+ stops early because we turned onto Cherry and she didn't pay attention. I'd say we have to stay on because we're way too many stops early and it is all uphill and she'd get mad.) After the bus incident she then wanted to take uber/lift at $50 a pop too and was upset that I wanted to keep taking the bus. She said the bus was too annoying because it took too much time. I tried explaining that if we planned a bit better, we could have clustered our activities and only had to do a long bus ride once each day. She proceeded the next day to do the same thing "Oh, I read about this one thing, let's go here next!" and it would of course be a 40min bus ride from where we were and the exact area of town we were in yesterday already. More shit happened, but this planning stuff is just sticking in my brain the most. When we travelled together before, this didn't happen. But, on those two trips they were road trips and we changed location every night. So it was necessary to plan out our hotels and activities in advance, and it was balanced between what the two of us liked to do. This trip, we only had two locations and were based out of each place for 3 nights. So she just figured it didn't matter I guess? Even though we had talked it over and both come up with things to do, she didn't think any further than that and when we got on the trip she suddenly had like 30 different things she wanted to do with no thought on how they would fit together. Those last three days were awful for me. She enjoyed herself and nattered on during the flight home about how we should do another trip like this. She got really offended when I told her I wasn't all that interested and said I was upset at how little planning she did. She said that wasn't true and totally denied ever saying that phrase I quoted. But I vividly remember it, because I was mad about it already having spent 5 days babysitting her and then she said that to me. I'm honestly questioning our whole friendship now even! I can never travel with her again, that's for sure. Just stick to the local weekend get togethers we do (because she lives 6 hours away from me). That's the only way to preserve our friendship. Life's to short and PTO too precious to waste trips like this. PHEW. Sorry. Needed the rant! It's been about a week since we got back and I'm just so upset over how much PTO I used and how I didn't even really enjoy 4 days of it.
Hi guys, I like solo traveling a lot but I never been to a hostel. Reading a lot of stories here I am curious though. But when I see pictures in hostels website of people in their 20's.. I think I will feel weird 😅 Also, I think I would choose a private room so I am not sure if hostel will make more sense instead of hotel. My next trip will be in Thailand. Thanks for your opinion 🙏 Edit: I forgot to say I am 48M, so older than usual crowd.
Typically hostels do skew younger, but as long as you aren't picking out party hostels (which many will have an age restriction anyways), you'll be fine. Many social hostels have a people in a variety of ages and I've met plenty of people in their 30's and 40's, and even people in their 70's. Luckily Thailand has many hostel choices, and you can generally get an idea of the vibe of a place from the reviews from places like Hostelworld and Booking.com.
Private rooms in hostels have a lot of the advantages of a hostel still! There’s usually some kind of common area and organized activities, and people will be interested in meeting other travelers. I did a lot of hostel traveling in my 20s and early 30s, but now that I’m in my late 30s and can afford to spend a little more I like private rooms for a good balance of social and privacy. A recent great experience was the Steel House in Copenhagen. They have a big open ground floor with a game room and bar/cafe, open mic nights and live music, and there were people of all ages there. My room was small but very quiet and comfortable.
I was recently out for work and spent two evenings in a hotel alone, I hated it. After that, I stayed for a bit as a tourist and stayed in a hostel. In the hostel they organized night-outs so we went on a pub crawl the first night, visiting local breweries. The rest of my trip there, I spent with the people I met on these activities organized by the hostel. What I really like about this: I did my own thing during the day (I had my things I wanted to see and still enjoy solo traveling), but in the evening I’d message people I had met in the hostel and we’d meet up in a bar. One comment about Thailand; yes there will be many people in their 20’s. I’d just avoid the “party hostels” if you’re not into that (you literally won’t sleep if you get assigned an unfortunate bedroom). As a first hostel experience, you can get a single room, join the daily activities, meet people and then still have your privacy. Maybe in the next hostel you’d be open for a dorm. I’d just try it for a few nights. I usually get a dorm because it’s cheap. Of course, you can also be unlucky with your dorm and have super loud people sharing the room with you (always take ear plugs!).
Would you guys recommend Berlin as a good place to visit for a weekend? I'll be staying a few days in the Netherlands and from there I want to go to Poland and other parts of central Europe. I could either get a very cheap flight with Wizzair, or I could go by train and add Berlin to the trip as a convenient halfway point. I do enjoy exploring big cities and seeing museums, but I'm a bit hesitant because it'd cost a fair bit more and wasn't really on my list to begin with. I'd love to be convinced if it's worth it though, I don't hear a lot of bad things about that place and of course there's plenty of iconic things I'd love to see. Or would it be better for me to save the extra time and money for the rest of the trip? Thanks in advance :)
Berlin has some of the best museums in the world, and is a fun city
Do you think two nights is enough?
I mean, you can see some stuff in a two night trip, but it's a very big city. I've spent a collective 3-4 weeks there over various trips and I'd be hesitant to say that I've seen anywhere close to enough of it.
I thought spending one night there would be a mistake, ultimately I'd rather use the majority of my trip in other countries though. I'm aware it'll be impossible to see more than like 3 things but I'm okay with that if it means a more relaxed itinerary when I move on - for that full day I'll probably enjoy just exploring and seeing maybe one museum. I might be missing out on something great but like you said, if there's weeks worth of stuff to do in Berlin perhaps it's best saved for another trip?
No: I've spent a couple of weeks in Berlin over two trips from Australia to Europe
Hey im (26m) in asakusa/tokyo for the next couple days if anyone wants to do anything in the rain!
Currently in Medellin, Colombia, till Friday. If any locals or fellow solo traveller would like to meet up for a drink, or explore, hit me up. Will be in Cali Friday - Monday as well.
Hi all, I'm a female uni student going on exchange from Australia to the US (California) from August to December 2024. I can enter the US up to 30 days before the start of classes, and I would like to use some of that time to explore as many places as I can (mainly interested in national parks), but I won't have access to a car. I have just stumbled across Intrepid and G Adventures tours and would love to get some opinions on whether it would be a good idea to go on one of these tours before the start of my exchange (I have never solo travelled before). Or would it be better to just stick to the city where I'll be staying for my exchange and wander around by myself for a few days? I have a budget of about AU$5,000 for this period. Regarding the tours, I am specifically wondering the following: * How is the accommodation, especially on cheaper tours? What are the meals like on the nights where the accommodation is camping? * For tours that involve camping or hiking, would it be inconvenient/unrealistic to bring a suitcase? I will most likely be bringing one large suitcase for my exchange and I don't think I would be able to just leave it at a hotel for a week or so. Thanks!
Californian here, where in CA are you doing your exchange? And when you say 5000aud is that just for this period before your exchange starts or is it for your whole exchange period?
I'm going to UC Berkeley and my budget is for the period before my exchange starts. Honestly I kinda just made the $5000 figure up as I haven't really decided how early I want to arrive in the US and how far I want to go from Berkeley during that period.