How to Plan Your First Solo Trip

Planning your first solo trip is the hardest one. Once you've done it, every trip after gets easier — because you already know you can. Here's how I'd approach that first one, based on what worked for me and what I've learned since.

Baby steps

Your first solo trip doesn't need to be a big step. It needs to be a first step. Something close to home. Something short. A place where you speak the language, or where you can manage in a language you already know. Enough newness to feel like a trip, not so much that it overwhelms you.

My first solo trip is a good example of that. I'm from Argentina, and I had gone to Rio de Janeiro for a dance course with a group of people I knew. When the course ended, I wasn't ready to go home. So I used that as my chance to try something on my own: I took a bus to Ubatuba — a coastal town about four hours from Rio, still in Brazil — spent three or four days there by myself, and then went back to Argentina.

It was the perfect first solo trip because it was small. Same country I was already in. Four hours by bus, not a long-haul flight. I speak Portuguese, so the language wasn't a barrier. Close to home, short, in a country I sort of knew already. When I came back and realised nothing had gone wrong — that I felt safe, that I'd figured everything out on my own — I knew I could do it again. My next trip was Brazil again. Then the US. Eventually Indonesia. But it all started with three days in Ubatuba.

Book your accommodation ahead of time

Not everything — but definitely where you're sleeping.

I always book my hotel before I arrive, and I check the neighbourhood carefully. I want a place where there's foot traffic, restaurants around, life. Not a dead street where you feel exposed the moment you walk out.

I use satellite view and street view to actually see what the block looks like. I read reviews from other female travellers — real experiences, not just star ratings — and pay attention to what they say about the area, walking around at night, and how welcoming the staff was. If the neighbourhood makes me hesitate, I keep looking.

Think about your arrival time

This is one nobody tells you.

Try not to arrive at night. If you can help it, book flights that land during the day. It's easier to find your way, easier to spot problems, and honestly, easier on your nerves.

If your flight has to arrive late, prepare for it:

Have a transfer already booked — a taxi, a private pickup, whatever your hotel recommends. You don't want to be negotiating with random drivers at 1am.

Check if your hotel's reception is 24-hour. Some smaller hotels close at midnight. If you arrive at 2am and there's nobody there, you're stuck outside with your suitcase. This is exactly the kind of detail nobody thinks about until it happens.

What to book, what to leave open

This is personal, but here's what I do.

Booked in advance:

Accommodation for the whole trip

Airport transfers if I'm arriving late or somewhere I don't know

Any tour or experience that fills up fast (a specific day trip, a cooking class, tickets to something popular)

Special restaurants I really want to go to — I'm a foodie myself, so the ones on my bucket list I always book ahead

Left open:

Everyday restaurants — I decide day by day

Some free afternoons for wandering

Any tour or activity where I want to see how I feel that day

Depending on the destination, I might book more or less in advance. In some places I like the structure. In others, I want the freedom to change plans.

The point is: enough structure to feel safe and know where you're sleeping, enough space to have the trip surprise you.

Before you leave

A few practical things I always do before a solo trip. Nothing complicated, just the kind of preparation that saves you the day something small goes wrong.

Share your flight and hotel details with someone you trust. I give my flight numbers, dates, and where I'm staying to a friend or a family member who's not travelling with me. With just the flight number, they can track my plane in real time online — for free. It sounds like a small thing, but it means someone always knows where I am.

Get internet the moment you land. I always buy an eSIM before flying — I usually use Holafly, but there are plenty of options. Not having internet when you arrive somewhere new makes every small problem ten times bigger. Getting online should be sorted before you even leave home.

Download Google Maps offline. Before I travel, I download the map of the city and any nearby area I might visit. Even if your internet fails, you can still navigate, find your hotel, and pin key locations. This one has saved me more times than I can count.

Bring more than one charger and a power bank. Losing your phone battery in a place you don't know is the worst timing. I always carry a spare charger and a small power bank, especially on long travel days.

What I wish I'd known before my first trip

Not every hotel has 24-hour reception. This one caught me by surprise more than once. Smaller hotels, boutique places, guesthouses — many of them close reception at midnight or 1am. If your flight lands late and no one told you, you'll end up outside with your suitcase waiting for someone to open the door. Always check the reception hours before you book, and if you're arriving late, message the hotel directly to confirm someone will be there.

Airport taxis are often the most expensive way to get into the city. In most places there's a fixed-rate taxi, an airport shuttle, a train, or a rideshare app that's a fraction of the price of the first taxi you grab. Ten minutes of research before you land can save you a lot of money — and the horrible feeling of being scammed on day one.

The wrong neighbourhood ruins the trip. Even a beautiful hotel in a bad area feels stressful the moment you step outside. You can't relax if you don't feel safe walking to get a coffee. Neighbourhood matters more than the hotel itself — spend the time to get it right.

The mindset

The first solo trip is not about proving anything to anyone. It's about proving something to yourself — that you can do it, that you enjoy your own company, that the world is not as scary as it looks from home.

You'll make mistakes along the way — everyone does. Wrong buses, missed reservations, hostels that turned out to be very different from the photos. That's part of it. What matters is that you learn from each one and keep going. That's how you go from first-time solo traveller to someone who does it comfortably.

Keep it small. Prepare well. Go. And when you come back, you'll already be planning the next one.

Have you experienced this while travelling solo? Share your story with the She Wanders Safe community soon.