How to Plan Your First Solo Trip Without Feeling Overwhelmed
Planning your first solo trip can feel like your brain has a hundred tabs open, especially if you’re a new digital nomad.
Budget friendly flights. Finding a place to stay. Managing work. Not spending a ton of money. Staying safe.
WHEW! I know, lol. So, let’s slow it all down.
You don’t need to plan EVERY SINGLE THING. You just need to plan out your basic needs well.
Solo travel for a leisure weekend is one thing, but when you’re a digital nomad planning to travel for an extended period of time I’d recommend checking out my How to Become a Digital Nomad: A Realistic Step-by-Step Guide after reading this to help you get an even bigger picture of the full roadmap.
Start With Picking ONE LOCATION
Please please please, do not get ahead of yourself and plan multiple countries, cities, or locations at once.
Choose one just one place to be and focus on:
- If they have reliable internet
- If the neighborhood and surrounding area is safe for solo travelers
- If the housing accommodations you’re considering are comfortable
- If you’re planning on working while you’re gone, making sure the place you’re staying has a work-friendly setup
Remember. Stability is your first priority. You can worry about the exploration part later.
Choose Flexible Housing
Your first place does not need to be anything overly luxury, don’t go spending a ton of money on an extravagant housing accommodation. Use that money for something else!
All you need is a place that is clean, comfortable, has wifi and as mentioned before.. is SAFE! Depending on how easily overwhelmed you get, consider short-term housing (a.k.a booking for only one week even though your trip is planned for two weeks total). This way you can feel out where youre staying, and if you like it you extend, if not you find something new. That’s what I personally like the most about short-term housing, the fact that it gives you room to adjust once you arrive.
Because let’s be honest for a second, feeling grounded matters WAYY more than IG worthy aesthetics ever could.
Another pro-tip I always recommend is to consider booking accommodations with flexible cancellation policies. It’s just another little added layer of wiggle room that can give you more time to explore different neighborhoods, test your routine, and make a more informed long-term decision once you’re more comfortable.
Set Up Work Before Adventure
For those of you who are solo traveling as a digital nomad rather than for a cute leisure weekend getaway it’s super important that before you start planning excursions, you make sure your work setup is efficient.
Prioritizing having the basics makes a huge difference once you start to get into your workflow again.
I always travel with a universal travel adapter and a portable power bank. They’re the easiest ways to always ensure that I have reliable access to power which means I can focus on quickly getting settling in and exploring the new location, instead of worrying about my devices dying or not being able to find/use the outlets.
Keep It Simple
Your work set up doesn’t need to be super intricate. Especially considering you may even want to work at a local coffee shop or something one day. Of course, the details of your job are pretty dependent on what you need for effective work set up but typically all I would say you’d need is a laptop, internet and somewhere quiet. Anything additional can, and will evolve as you gain more experience.
Expect Some Discomfort
It’s your first time traveling alone babe, there may be times where things can feel a bit awkward and THAT’S OKAY!
By no means necessary does that mean you’re failing, it’s simply an adjustment, and adjusting takes time.
The beautiful thing about allowing yourself to adjust is that it’s the exact thing that also boosts your confidence. Most people think you automatically have to be this super confident person to travel alone when it’s simple not true. Confidence comes from experience, not from being perfect from the start.
It’s a mindset shift, and a mindset shift this isn’t always super easy at that. If shifting your mindset is something that’s a bit challenging for you, check out my blog on The Mindset Shift You Need Before Becoming a Digital Nomad it’s a very helpful read that goes hand in hand with this.
You’re doing SO MUCH better than you think.
Until next time,
xoxo,
Dru <3