Embracing Solo Travel as a Young Woman: My Journey and Tips
Looking to travel alone as a young women? Yeah, its intimidating, let me give you my best tips on how I did it.
A foreign country, a language I didn’t know, 19 years old, completely alone. The summer after my freshman year of college I knew I wanted to do something big. All of my friends were going home for the summer to their hometowns to do the same things they always do, simply waiting until the next semester. While that is fine to do, I’ve always been an over achiever and I knew I wanted something more. So I decided I was going to travel. Where, when and how had all seemed irrelevant at the time.
But, after I make up my mind there’s no stopping me. So with hours of web surfing and not telling anyone about my plans (don’t recommend), I signed up for a program in Peru with the money saved from my high school job. I would be working at a free clinic, living with a host family, and exploring the country, sounds like a movie..
Did I speak Spanish? No. Had I ever traveled alone before this? No. Did I really know how to get through an airport? No. Did I think I had the funds to do it? Also, No.
If you want to know more about why you should take a solo trip as a women, check out my other blog Why Traveling Young is Important. Today I am focusing on how I did it.
Money, Money, Money
Assuming you don’t have hundreds of thousands in the bank to cash out on one summer, money plays a huge factor in if you can travel as a young women. The first thing you need to do is start saving. I paid for majority of my entire summer abroad trip with money I had saved from high school. You could also ask for help form parents, mentors, friends, a lot of people believe that traveling young is a mandatory thing for young adults and will help them do so.
Though, if you think your funds are still tight — let me tell you, there are a hundred ways to travel for a lot cheaper than what you think. There are many ways to travel on a budget. Check out my blog here on How to Travel on a Budget.
Do Your Research
Learn from my mistakes, I did not do as much research as I should have before going to Peru. Your research is especially important for traveling alone. The main things you need to research are -
What language is primarily spoken where you are going?
What are the cultural norms for the country?
Are there any big political problems going on in the moment?
How much to everyday items costs?
What do people wear on a day to day in this country?
What should / shouldn’t you eat?
I was advised not to eat meat in Peru as my body would not be as accustomed to some of their practices.
Find testimonials from people like you who have traveled there before.
Have a plan for your phone
While traveling alone as a young women is feasible, traveling alone without a phone is not. If you’re really looking for a disconnected feel and don’t want to have a phone, get a pay by the minutes phone that you know will have service in case of emergencies.
Though, I assuming most of us want access to our phones to talk to friends and family as well as stay up to date on our socials. There are a few options, — first check out what your current phone plans international fees are for where you plan on traveling. If you determine in this moment that you don’t want to pay those fees, your next step is to be getting a new SIM card in that country. If you have a SIM card in that country you will have access to their services, Check out.
International Currency
The easiest and best way to pay for things abroad is cash. Do a bit of budgeting on how much money you think you will need while there and then add another 20% to it. There are much more odds you spend more than spend less. There will be options to get international currency at the airport or even at ATMs in the country, though it will be much easier if you can have that all figured out before you leave.
Side tip — Do NOT walk around will all of the money that you have in cash. You are traveling alone. You will feel much safer keeping majority of the money In a safe place wherever you are staying, you can even bring a little safe with you.
Hate Cash? Fine you got us, cash can be annoying. While we do recommend this as your main source of payment, there is another option — Credit cards. Walking around with your debit card is like walking around with all the money you have in your pocket in a place you don’t know very well, and what did we just say? Leave most of your money at home. If you want to carry around a card for bigger purchases or anything really, do it in the form of a credit card. It might even be a good idea to simply open a travel card to take with you.
Stick it Through
Alrighty, we established we want to travel alone, we have the money and the budget plan for it, we did our research, we will have access to a phone and have international currency, what now? Have fun! Traveling along can be scary, the first few days I was gone I cried… a lot.
I called my mom wondering if I could even do it and questioned everything. My mom even offered to buy me a flight home. By the end of the first week, I had great friends, a ton of mini trips planned and I was dreading when I had to leave.
So, stick it through. No one said traveling was easy, but you will never regret going.
Write about everything!!
Today we have 100 ways to remember things, pictures, vlogs, posts. Find your medium and stick to it. I wrote an entire journal for two back the whole time I was abroad. I know have something that I can look back on and remember the small details that I have trouble remembering.
In the world today with our phone you can capture anything, so if you don’t have enough time to sit and write about your experiences, capture them. You’ll never say you have too many pictures!
Keep in Contact
People have lives. I mean we all know how hard it is to keep in contact with people in our lives. Make sure to keep in contact with people that. You meet while traveling. Not only will you love to reminisce one day on your adventures, but its great networking. Figure out what people do, add them on your socials and start accumulating an interesting network system. Everyone has something to offer.
xx Kait