My First Time Solo Traveling Abroad: Dos and Don'ts from my Experience

This past weekend, I took a leap of faith and went on the first real solo trip of my life. As someone doing an internship abroad in Dublin, I have most of Europe at my fingertips this summer, and I couldn’t wait to explore another country on my weekend off. I ended up having an amazing weekend in Edinburgh, Scotland! I’ve been to London before, but this was my first time anywhere else in the United Kingdom. I absolutely adored Edinburgh’s architecture, food, and overall friendly culture during the three days I spent there.

If you’re going to be studying or doing an internship abroad, I would 100% recommend traveling somewhere on your own at least once. As someone who thought I was independent already, this trip continued to push the limits of my self-sufficiency, allowing me to explore both new parts of the planet and myself. Solo traveling isn’t easy, though, especially when you’re young and still learning how to navigate the world around you. After my first weekend away, here are some do’s and don’ts to solo traveling that I’d recommend for anyone thinking of going solo while abroad.

What You Should Do

• Do travel somewhere that’s easy to get to. Part of the reason why I went to Scotland for this solo trip was because the Dublin Airport has short, direct flights to Edinburgh every day. Because of this, I didn’t have to worry about missing a connection or my checked bag getting lost between planes, and I spent the least amount of time in the airport as I could, maximizing the time I had to explore Edinburgh once I arrived. It would have been a lot harder to go somewhere farther away or more rural, where I would have more time waiting at the departure gate or riding a bus than checking things off my bucket list.
• Do book the safest accommodations you can find, not just the cheapest. As a young woman, there’s so much fearmongering about staying safe when you’re traveling alone, so this was personally at the forefront of my mind when I was finding a place to stay. I ended up booking a room in a traditional hotel rather than a hostel or AirBNB. While it was definitely a little pricier, it put my anxious mind at ease to know I’d be safe in that hotel with my private room and a 24/7 support staff.
• Do find accommodations close to the area you want to explore. Before going to Edinburgh, I heard that it was a small and walkable city, so I booked a hotel room as close to the city center as I could get. I can’t imagine how hard it would have been to stay in the suburbs. I would have spent significantly more money on transportation, and I wouldn’t have found many of the cute shops and cafes I stumbled across while walking around the city. While I chose to walk everywhere in Edinburgh, I’m also glad I was near public transportation stops in case I did want to venture outside the city center.
• Do pack as much as you’ll realistically need. I’ve seen so many posts on social media of people encouraging viewers to ditch their checked bags and pack everything in a single carry-on, but I’ve accepted by now that I’m not a light packer. I need options. In my checked bag, I brought a full extra outfit, packed another pair of shoes, and left room to bring souvenirs home. And guess what? I needed all of it. I also knew before taking this trip that I’d be doing it solo, so I already needed to bring more items that my parents or friends would usually pack, such as Advil or extra snacks. Having a bigger suitcase to fit those items made me feel more prepared to tackle a foreign country on my own.

What You Shouldn’t Do

• Don’t go without some kind of plan. It can be so easy to put off planning until the last minute or just hope everything works out when you get there. However, especially if you’re going to a big city, you might be overwhelmed once you arrive by the amount of things to do. You won’t have friends’ ideas to bounce off of or family to follow around; everything is entirely up to you. Even a list in your notes app of activities or places can narrow down your options and give you a sense of direction. Personally, I went a step further and plotted all the places I’d written down onto a Google My Map, which showed me which spots were close together so I could visit them back-to-back. This prevented me from wandering aimlessly around Edinburgh when I could have been visiting places I wanted to see.
• Don’t follow a strict itinerary. I know I just said to come with some form of plan in mind, but don’t force yourself to follow it to a tee. Being a highly type A person, I created an overly detailed itinerary for myself before I arrived, but I ended up using it more as a vague guideline once I was in Edinburgh. For one thing, I was expecting each day’s itinerary to take me from breakfast until after dinnertime. Both the Friday and Saturday of my trip, I’d gotten through everything on my itinerary by four o’clock. Plus, there were so many little shops and picturesque streets I came across that weren’t on my itinerary that I ditched the plan to check out. It’s important to find that balance between having a plan and going with the flow so you can get the most out of your travels.
• Don’t be afraid to be alone in public! Ask that stranger to take a photo of you, even if you’re scared. Get a table for one at the sit-down restaurant instead of eating takeout in your hotel room. Be proud that you can go into museums, walk around parks, and go shopping with no one else holding you back. At times, it felt weird to be all alone in Edinburgh, but the reality is that nobody cares that you’re alone. They’re too focused on their own life to worry about the lone college kid crossing their path. Don’t be embarrassed that you’re on a solo trip. What you’re doing is cool, brave, and something a lot of people don’t have the luxury of experiencing.
• Don’t expect that everything will go according to plan. You’re young, you’re in a foreign country, and you’re going to make mistakes! Right after getting to Edinburgh, I realized I’d lost my key to my housing in Dublin and would have to replace it once I got back, which would become a 24-hour process. Later that day, I was parched and spent an absurd amount of money on a bottle of water, just to take a sip and realize I’d bought sparkling water (gross) instead of still. On my way back into Ireland, I had to explain to the customs agent in three different ways that even though I’m American, I’m staying in Ireland for the summer and had already been approved to stay here. She barely believed me. However, I knew some things would go wrong because I’d never traveled alone before, so when they inevitably happened, they weren’t as shocking or frustrating. I could laugh them off knowing I wouldn’t make the same mistakes again.