Here’s my take on how to make traveling solo a piece of cake.

Welcome to the wild side aka your truest self.  I don’t know about you, but prior to my solo traveling days I was a major square (well, let’s be honest.  I am still a bit of a square, but with a dash of flare!)  I lived in my little bubble; same restaurants, ordering the same thing, with the same circle of friends and more often than not talking about the same ole thing, or doing the  same safe touristy resort vacay.  I grew tired of this experience and wanted to experience something more.

We all have different ways of traveling but I challenge you to take on this new perspective when planning your next adventure.  I’ve compiled a list of things I’ve done when I started to travel solo and it helped me overcome the overwhleming feeling of OMG WHAT DID I JUST DO?! So, without further delay, let’s JUMP right into it!

1. What can’t you do online these days?  Online forums and communities about travel are an awesome way to interact with different kids of people,  get awesome local travel advice, but it also gives you the opportunity to meet and arrange a potential travel buddy at certain points of your trip (if it works out well). If you’re a female solo traveller, I’d highly suggest two of the following communities to join:  Girl Gone International , they’re a non profit organisation that empowers and connects woman who live overseas through their online magazine and local groups.  I’m actually a member of Rome community and they typically arrange once a month meetups. There is no cost to join the group, there are always new ladies who attend at every meetup and if there is an outing to a museum (for example), you’ll just need to cover your own expenses.  The other group is Girls LOVE Travel, it’s a closed group with over 200K followers on Facebook. This group shares so much positivity, support and major wanderlust.  Join with caution, my friends!

2. While traveling, one surefire way to make friends with the same interests is to signup for an excursion or tour group. BUT, if you seriously want to be a badass, you could do a drop-in class (like yoga or Crossfit) and meet locals! Anyhow, back to the topic at hand, there are an insane amount of interest based tour groups out there, s-e-r-i-o-u-s-l-y! Looking for some ideas? Try something like Tuscan Girls’ Getaway (Debbie Travis has a retreat, say what?! My Canadian readers will get the connection). Bloggers Travel Retreat if you’re a creative / blogger and looking for some relax, mentorship, networking and being a #GirlBoss. Then finally there’s adventure holidays with a tour company like Contiki, sure it’ll cost ya a pretty penny, but what doesn’t now a days?

            Photo Credit: Hostel Marina in Cagliari, Trip Advisor

 3. It’s all about affordable travel and great stories to tell when you get back home. Depending on your budget and comfort level,  dorms and hostels are great alternatives to staying at hotels.  As you can imagine, staying in a dorm / hostel environment gets you out & about and socializing pronto!

4.  Volunteer

If you’re ever sticking around in one place long enough, you could look into volunteering.  Living in Rome, I’ve been volunteering with the Sant’Egidio Community (Communità di Sant’Egidio)  for the past three years.  They have soup kitchen duties throughout the week (in various parts of Rome) and outreach (handing out care packs for the homeless) along with some food.  If you’re in Rome and would like more information send them an email info@santegidio.org.

Photo Credit: What If We

5.  “Walk with the Dreamers, the Believers, the Courageous, the Cheerful, the Planners, the Doers, the Successful people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground.” Wilferd Peterson

Ultimately, nothing beats walking to the sound to your own drum, but if you ever need a support group of creatives or #GirlSquad in Rome you could always join us! Estrella of La Casa Bloga created the Rome Bloggers chapter in Rome and if you’re itching for a collabo with a local, this would be a great place to start.

I hope you enjoyed reading on how I managed to connect with others during my travels.  I’m sure there are a million different ways you could spend your solo vacay and I’d love to hear about any other suggestions or things you tried when you went at it solo!

BREAK FREE FROM THE NORM, because  that sh** be boring. Who wants to be thaaat?”

xo,

Clarice