My First Experience of Solo Travel

Last month, I bought myself tickets for a trip to Italy. It will be only my second ever solo trip, only a few months after my first. It seems like forever ago now, but back in October I took the leap and travelled abroad, on my own, for the first time. And now I’ve kind of caught the travel bug.

When you read other’s experiences of first-time lone travelling, many say that research is essential, you should plan your trip and choose a destination carefully. The only way I could make it was to do none of that. I knew if I thought about it, I would over-think it and eventually be put off.

I had wanted to travel abroad for ages at that point, as I hadn’t been away from the UK for years. The problem was that I had no one to go with, and I lacked the courage to go alone. Friends at work had also been encouraging me to take some time away from work, but I had no reason to do so.

Fortunately, another friend tagged me into a social media post advertising the first (and possibly only) European tour of one of my favourite artists. I’m not usually someone who would be interested in music events, but the chance to see Lindsey Stirling live was too tempting. And she was coming to London in November!

I mentioned it at work the next morning though and everything changed. And when it was discovered to be a European tour, a number of cities were named. “Bruges is nice”. “Have you ever been to Belgium? Brussels is on there”. For a fleeting second, southern Europe seemed appealing, but soon the conversation faded and changed.

That evening, I logged on to my laptop and went to buy my tickets for London. As it was her final tour date, I scrolled past many other cities – Bruges was there again, Brussels, Vienna, Barcelona… Then southern Europe suddenly popped into my head. I couldn’t travel alone though, could I? For a split second I thought “maybe”, and before I could change my mind and keep scrolling for London, I bought the ticket!

“Sh*t! I’m going to Barcelona!”. I still remember that thought very clearly. I could’ve gone back to refund my ticket, but I had it now and wanted to keep it, no matter how scary that thought was.

Although I had the ticket now, I still had nothing else ready. No travel plans, no accommodation booked, and being epileptic, I felt finding travel insurance was an extreme necessity. Travel planning was no problem though. Having epilepsy, I have plenty of experience with public transport. Trains, coaches, buses. In the UK, they’re easy, so how much more difficult could air travel be? As it turns out, no more, and nor is Spanish public transport. Even if the thought of using it seems daunting to start with.

In reality, the whole experience is slightly daunting. Sometimes scary even. I think that not having at least a modicum of trepidation can be risky. Others may disagree, but often caution does help. However, I don’t think that should ever put anyone off taking that leap. I have discovered that solo travel can be rewarding and sometimes life-changing – even if only the smallest of ways – particularly for an introvert like myself.