Solo traveling has gained much popularity for young women in recent years. It has gone from a luxury for the rich and famous to everyday people because of how mainstream social media has made it. Gen Z is among the frequent travelers traveling for more than 29 days a year; there is a fantastic reason for that. Traveling, especially solo travel, is liberating. It allows you to explore new destinations, cultures, and food on your terms. Aside from the thrill and adventure, solo travel is a self-discovery tool. The transformative experience of solo travel provokes self-growth and unmatched independence. Its benefits are massive! Besides giving you freedom and flexibility, solo travel allows you to be mindful and reflective and build communities worldwide. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned traveler, you need to properly plan for your solo adventure to ensure a smooth and enriching experience. We discussed how young women can benefit from solo traveling in a previous post. We must tailor our planning guide to young solo travelers to ensure that young women benefit from solo traveling. Therefore, let’s dive into the planning for female solo travelers. 

Solo Travel Planning for Young Women

It is no secret that everything we do starts with an idea. However, to accomplish this idea, we must plan. Planning ensures preparedness and gives us a high chance for success. Although solo travel has a lot of benefits, you need a proper plan to ensure you reap those benefits. The success of your travel ambition will depend on how well you plan things out. We have previously discussed setting travel goals and what to consider when planning to travel in the new year. This post varies because it is for solo travel and young women. After all, one aspect of planning has to consider who the traveler is and the conditions in which you are traveling. 

As a young woman embarking on a solo adventure, three aspects of your identity put you in a vulnerable position. When you are a woman, there are extra precautions that you must take in your daily life, especially when deciding to travel. Being a young woman adds another layer to your vulnerability because youth comes with naivety. Being a solo traveler adds to that vulnerability because you do not have a support system where you are going, therefore feeling the pressure of being careful and protective of yourself. No matter how long I’ve been traveling, I always feel the weight of my movements when I travel solo. That is why I can only advocate for young women to embark on solo journeys if I give them a planning guide that I follow as well. Here are my four steps to prepare for solo traveling. 

4 Steps to prepare for solo traveling

1. Choosing the perfect destination for young female traveler

It is evident that the first step to take when planning is to choose the perfect destination. However, as a young female solo traveler, it is crucial to select the ideal destination for young female travelers. Some destinations are more perfect for young people than others. As a young woman, I’d prefer to go to a place where I could mingle with the community more efficiently. Therefore, if you plan to study abroad, choose a city instead of a small town because you will have more opportunities to see and experience different things. Whether you are studying, interning, or working abroad, cities are suitable for young female travelers because they offer much. Speaking from experience, I and other international students spent most weekends in Paris instead of staying in Rennes because Rennes was a dead town on the weekends. I’ve noticed that local students were returning to their hometowns on weekends, making Rennes, a college town, void because there weren’t few people. With the culture of mingling with friends in the afternoon on weekdays and leaving on weekends to be with their families, many international students would go to big cities because the big cities had more life. The worst feeling when you are a young female traveler trying to integrate into the local community where you landed is realizing there is no one around to talk to. Therefore, when planning, you should consider aspects of your life crucial to you as a young woman. Here are some things that I feel when going on solo adventures. 

• Diversity/Multiculturalism: As a young black woman, I must consider the demographics of the places I want to travel to. Diversity does not necessarily mean a “Black Friendly Destination.” When I plan to go to a particular place, I want to ensure that my destination is friendly to foreigners. It is made up of different cultures and welcomes people of various ethnicities. Although I have not experienced extreme rejection because of my background, I, like other BIPOC travelers, have experienced microaggression because I was American and a foreigner while visiting different towns in Europe. For that reason, as travelers, especially young women, specifically young women of color, considering your destinations’ diversity meter is crucial. 
• Networking opportunity: As a young woman, networking opportunities are another factor to consider when planning to live or study abroad. Some people think that just because they are going abroad for leisure, they cannot build an influential network, so they do not consider their networking. One advice I give young professionals is that you can create a network anywhere. Therefore, even planning to travel for a week, consider what networking opportunity you can make at the destination. I’ve met people and shared business cards with people abroad when I studied in France & Belgium and when I travel for leisure because the cities where I visited offered a networking environment. 
• Dating Feasibility: It is no secret that when traveling, single female travelers look for the potential to date and meet Mr. Right to accomplish the Hallmark fairytales. Dating abroad is a liberating experience because you go into it without expecting anything; therefore, you are more yourself. Being in an environment where you don’t care about being judged allows you to be spontaneous, more unrestricted, and date types you never thought you’d date. As a young woman, dating is essential to your self-growth, for it allows you to understand what you like and don’t like, as well as your hard lines and compromises. Being abroad will enable you to pick from an ocean of suitors without worrying about who’s watching. Therefore, it is vital to consider dating feasibility when planning to travel to a particular place. However, don’t forget to take some precautions when planning to date abroad. 
• Boredom Meter: Boredom is the one thing I detest more than anything. It drives me crazy and evokes anger. As a traveler, I do not pay to leave my comfort zone to be bored in a foreign land. Therefore, whenever I plan to go somewhere, I research what that place offers and whether I can live there for a specific duration without being bored. Checking your destination’s boredom meter is vital; you will determine your boredom meter based on your interest. You will probably get bored if you are into the outdoors/nature and go to a place without many nature activities.

Moreover, the score you give a specific place determines how long you stay there. For example, Milan is a great city, and I enjoyed my time there. However, based on things I like, it is not a city I will spend an entire week in again because I get bored quickly. Therefore, it is crucial to know what you like, consider activities you want to try and check your boredom meter. 

2. Travel Impact Goal

Secondly, to choose the perfect destination, consider your travel goal first. In this instance, your travel goal is not why you want to go to a particular place but what impact or outcome you want to have upon your return. Unlike many travelers, I view traveling as a spiritual tool that significantly impacts someone’s life. Therefore, when I think of traveling, I always think about what I want to gain from my travel adventures. I became confronted with this mentality after going through several study abroad scholarship applications. If you apply for the Gilman Scholarship program or the Fulbright, they will ask what you hope to bring back from your host communities to your local domestic communities. This impact is not just to serve your community but also to serve yourself. Some applications ask how going to this specific place will impact you, illustrating that there must be an impact on your time abroad, even when you travel for leisure. 

As a young female solo traveler, you must analyze what you want to experience and how having that experience will impact you. With the entire world at your fingertips, think about your revenue. What is going to country X going to do for you? What activities and attractions align with your passion? For example, when I chose to study in France and Belgium, I had to think about how learning in those cities would impact my career ambition as I hoped to work for international organizations. I also chose those two countries because of their larger Congolese diaspora community, which I was interested in interacting with. Therefore, before you embark on a solo journey, it is crucial to understand what you want to get out of it, create a list of potential destinations that cater to your interests, and analyze the impact you wish these destinations to have on you personally and professionally. 

3. Research safety & security guidelines

The third but most crucial aspect of planning your solo adventure is safety and security guidelines. As previously mentioned, your identity creates an environment of vulnerability as a young woman and solo traveler, thus requiring you always to consider your safety and learn about the security guidelines of the place you want to embark on a solo adventure. When planning to travel or solo travel, research is your best friend. You must read from other travelers to understand where you want to travel. Here are three aspects to include when conducting your research. 

• Research Local Laws & Custom

As an independent traveler, being proactive to protect yourself and minimize potential risks is vital. To do so,  you must familiarize yourself with the laws and regulations of the country you want to visit. You must know their emergency contact number, the legal procedures to take for an incident, and what service you can get from your embassy when there is trouble. When someone broke into my Airbnb in Marseilles and stole my American passport, I did not know I could get an emergency passport from the U.S. embassy. I spent hours crying and stressing about how I was going to return to the United States without one. At 20 and a first-time solo traveler, I was unaware of exactly what the U.S. embassy did. I knew it was a representative institution, but I needed to determine what I could get from them. I decided to call because the Marseilles Polic took 6 hours before showing up, so I did not know what to do. The reassurance that the embassy would help me put me at ease amid a stressful incident. Also, you must understand cultural norms, appropriate behaviors, and local customs to know how to integrate and lose your foreignness for safety measures since scammers and people who target foreigners look for signs of weakness before attacking. 

• Stay Updated on Travel Advisory

The second thing to consider in researching and planning is staying updated on a travel advisory. During the pandemic, this was a massive deal because countries’ security levels were changing daily. Although the pandemic is over, staying updated on travel advisories on the country you want to visit is crucial because you never know what is happening. Always check official government travel websites for up-to-date information on safety alerts and travel advisories. American travelers should check the State Department travel page and enroll in the STEP program. Remember that when you travel, register with your embassy or consulate so they can reach you in emergencies.

• Trust your Instincts

One of the crucial things to always have is your instincts. While solo travel is generally safe, trusting your instincts and using common sense is essential. You must be mindful of what you read and analyze your plans. If you reach out to people for testimonials on their experiences, you need your instinct to decipher the information and decide. If you have doubts about a place, feel uncomfortable, and are not up to taking a considerable risk, trust your instincts. The same advice applies when you are abroad. If something feels risky and uncomfortable, remove yourself and seek assistance if necessary. Always remember, when traveling solo, you are your only advocate; listening to your instincts will tell you what you need to advocate for. 

4. Financial Planning for Solo Trips

Lastly, no plan is complete without considering finances. Financial planning is the most significant factor in choosing where to go, what to do, and what experience you will have. We have extensively spoken about how to be financially conscious and manage your finances if you are frugal; therefore, I’d summarise those ideas in bullet points. Here is how to financially plan for your solo trips: 

• Set realistic goals: One of life’s lessons is being realistic. Nothing forces you to be realistic more than traveling and being conscious of your finances. If you have little money to go to DisneyParis, don’t include It in your travel planning. To be realistic, you must assess your needs and wants. We neglect our needs because we focus so much on our wants, which can negatively affect your solo travel journey. When setting realistic goals, focus on your needs because that is where the most significant reward resides. 
• Find affordable accommodation: Accommodation is the second thing to consider in your financial planning. Finding affordable accommodation is crucial in assessing your finances. You want to find a place you can call home without breaking the bank. When I look for accommodations, I go for hotels that include breakfast on Booking.com because that way, I save money. 
• Plan your meals wisely: Restaurants are one of travelers’ most significant expenses. Whether staying in an Airbnb or an apartment, planning your meals wisely is essential. Cooking for yourself ensures you save money and stay healthy while abroad.  
• Take advantage of free activities and attractions: Another way to be financially responsible is by taking advantage of free activities. Europe’s most fantastic sale is that young people can enjoy places like Versailles and Louvre for free. That is why you should not put too much money into attractions and focus on getting your needs situated when making financial plans. 

Use travel rewards and discounts: Last, utilize travel rewards and discounts. In Europe, you are considered young until 25 in some countries and 26 in others; therefore, you get a youth discount for transformation and attraction. Research your destination’s incentives for young people and utilize them to ensure you save money.

In conclusion, solo traveling is an exciting experience and rewardful for young women. It offers you a space to think, grow, and have some of the most incredible adventures of your life. However, nothing starts and is successful without preparation. Traveling is one of the most exciting experiences young women can have, but she must be well prepared to enjoy it. Should you follow the steps listed, you will ensure a smooth solo travel journey. By choosing a destination, conducting research, planning your finances, and analyzing your travel goals, your preparation will guarantee your success abroad.

Thank you very much for reading. Please let me know if you need any other planning advice, or send us any questions in the comment box below.

Until next time, have a safe planning session!

xoxo,

Cy