Travel is essential. It is liberating. It is beautiful. And needless to say, it is one of the most alluring things about life that anyone can do. It can set the bird free within your heart, one that thanks to a barrage of ceaseless deadlines and stringent timelines and other societal commitments often stays caged.
And that told, one of the best forms of travel is solo travel; when you are at no one else’s mercy. You get to do all that you set out to do. But even then, there’s got to be some method, some structuring and scheduling in solo travel-right?
Which is why it is important to take cognisance of some important solo travel hacks. Let us visit some very essential ones here that will keep you in good stead:
Get A Business Card
One of the first and foremost solo travel hacks is to always remember to carry a business card of the hotel or the hostel where one stays.
Venturing out of the place of one’s stay in the company of the address is helpful and necessary at all times. Kindly do not underrate this simple fact. It will help you to figure out your destination or place of rest in the event of some uncertainty or if you are lost, which can happen particularly when one visits a brand new travel destination.
Simple and light, carrying a business card is not any kind of hassle either. What do you reckon?
Choose Hostels On Your Solo Trip
Money. Finances. The bucks! Call it what you may, but the whole point of travel, irrespective of whether one travels in huge groups or by oneself, is that it all revolves around money. It all comes down to money, which is what one of our best solo travel hacks is about.
And that told, the biggest advantage in solo travel is that you needn’t really check in into expensive hotels and salubrious stays. When one travels by the self, it may no longer be necessary to always spend mega bucks by opting for some really uppity place or to put it simply, a place that ends up burning a big hole in your wallet.
That being said, one of the most important advantages of staying in a hostel is that you get to meet other travelers and lodgers who may actually share the same passion for a particular destination as yourself.
Exchange notes. Make new friendships and forge good bonds!
Have The Freedom To Pack Light
When you travel by yourself, you can always have the freedom to pack light and go easy. Who wants to pack heavy luggages and drag them otherwise? As it is, if the weather is a touch extreme in the travel destination where you intend to visit, then in such a circumstance toiling hard whilst carrying a heavy luggage may only add more needless pressure than anyone would want.
Isn’t that right?
Travel Simple
One of the best solo travel hacks that you could ever come across is related to that thing that’s often underestimated: simplicity.
So make it a point that you travel simple wherever it is that you wish to go. And just what do we mean by that hack?
Well, avoid carrying any particular article that’s a bit too expensive or glitterling or flashy.
To simplify it further, avoid carrying anything that may end up attracting needless attention to yourself; keep it simple and keep only that which you will end up using. In such a scenario, you may want to be bereft of expensive jewellery and those sorts of things.
Get The Basics Of The Local Language
Go vocal for local! Not just some exciting catchphrase; but something that actually has a lot of logic attached to it.
If you are in Italy or Germany, then knowing a few local expressions of Italian or German will only add more value to your visit. You’ll not appear an absolute dud and will manage to get around without having to struggle that hard.
It has also been noted that those who are able to find their way around a local lingo or language are able to connect and bond better with the locals of a particular country or destination.
One wonders, who wouldn’t want that?
Let Your Well Wishers Know About Your Travel Plans
One of the most essential solo travel hacks is that you must always be mindful about telling some member of the family back home (if not everyone) or a set of very close friends who monitor what’s going on in your life about your travel plans.
What that will do is that if by any chance something untoward or sudden happens to you which, for instance, you weren’t prepared for, there would be someone back in your den who’d be aware of your whereabouts.
Instead of leaving your loved ones by a thin thread of surprise as to whatever happened to you, the same people would be in the know of things where it comes to you.
Explore and Explore; That’s The Whole Point Of Solo Travel
It has been seen in several cases that even if one travels as a couple, regardless of how romantically close or inclined a duo is, there are always those differences of opinion that come into play when visiting a particular destination.
For instance, you may be inclined at the exact same time towards a war museum when your mrs asks you to accompany her to the local flea market.
What do you do then defines to a good extent the nature of your trip. You may want to eat some local delicacy and explore the place out there whilst your better half may just want something more laidback such as ordering in room dining.
So these are things that don’t occur when you solo travel, coz that’s when you have the true and absolute freedom to do whatever you wish to.
One no longer needs to dance to another’s tunes or beats!