Don’t be afraid to go solo

I recently found myself in a somewhat lonely situation. All my friends had decided go on holiday with their significant others, leaving me a loner. It was a simple choice – either don’t go on holiday, or go alone.

I love my holidays, so I took the plunge and went alone.

vittorio emanuele monument

Photo by skylark

Well, I say I went alone, I actually booked myself onto a group holiday and took off to Italy on a cookery holiday for a week. It was fantastic, and I met so many new people and friends, and I would certainly recommend this for anyone in the same boat as me.

I’ve since gone away to Turkey alone, albeit to a resort I’ve visited many times before, and I found many other people doing the same thing – male and female. It’s really just a case of pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, being comfortable with your own company, and talking to people you probably wouldn’t have before. Again, I met new friends, and spent most of the holiday in a large group of other women I met there.

You do have to keep your wits about you when you’re travelling alone, because obviously there are safety concerns, so always make sure somebody back home knows where you are, keep in telephone contact, keep your phone charged up and switched on, and don’t take any unnecessary risks with your personal safety. It’s common sense at the end of the day.

Keep stress levels to a minimum, which will help keep any solo travel nerves at bay, and make sure you book travel insurance! This is something many people overlook but it’s probably the single most important part of your travel plans, other than your flight of course! If anything should go wrong, even your bag being delayed off the carousel, then you’ll be kicking yourself from here to eternity and back again if you didn’t take just a few minutes out to book this vitally important service. Take my advice and purchase an annual policy, that way you only have to think about it once and you’re covered for your year’s travels.

Once your plans are in place, relax and look forward to your upcoming adventures. Check out real time information on the morning of your flight, or even the night before and you won’t have any surprises on delays etc. I did this last week, checking out Manchester Airport departures just before I left the house, and then I was aware of a half an hour delay prior to setting off, meaning no stress at the airport because I had already digested the information. Real time weather information, terminal information and things to do the in airport were also available to view, so I spent a bit more time enjoying my meal to make the time go faster. All in all, it was quite the relaxing day!

Step out of your comfort zone and experience solo travel, don’t be afraid of it, it really could be a holiday to remember.