3 Tips to Building Your Confidence to Travel Solo

Hello fellow wunderlusters! One question that I get often is how did I start travelling on my own? Aside from just doing it, how did I ACTUALLY do it?

Honestly, I had to start small. Like, really small. To see some of the steps I used to gain confidence in travelling solo, see below!

1. Going out on my own in the city. I used to be so scared of going out on my own. I figured that this was something I had to get over if I wanted to travel solo. So I started small and began going out to events in my city alone to build my CONFIDENCE (major key). Toronto, Ontario is a tourist hub which gave me ample opportunities to visit various fairs, events, music shows, plays, etc. Going to these events alone made me realize that yes, I can have fun on my own, and no — nobody is looking at me crazy because I’m out by myself. (Yes, I had these crazy thoughts. Lol). The best part of doing this was that it gave me the confidence to not only have fun on my own, but to also know that if at any point I felt uncomfortable, I could always go home and try again another day!
2. Research. I did a lot of research to solo travelling. I searched travelling solo as a woman, travelling solo as a Black female woman (yes there is a difference), best countries to travel solo as a woman, worst places to travel solo as a woman, activities to partake (and not do) as a female solo traveller, best times to travel as a solo traveller and the list goes on! I did all of this because I was preparing myself to travel solo. I’d heard a few bad things about travelling solo and I needed to build my CONFIDENCE to prepare myself to do it anyway! All the research that I did helped me feel confident in my decision to see the world on my own whenever the opportunity came in a way that was not only fun, but safe for me to do.
3. Booked my ticket. Yes, it’s that easy. I actually booked my ticket. I stopped thinking about travelling solo and put my money where my mouth is and booked my airfare overseas. Once I did this my CONFIDENCE (and let’s be honest, fear) soared, and I booked my hotel room the next day because I realized that I needed a place to sleep ASAP. Lol!

My first solo trip was to the Netherlands, Amsterdam. Best decision ever. If you haven’t already be sure to check out my posts, and other travel related posts on my blog under the travel category (which can be found under the lifestyle tab).

If you’re interested in travelling solo, where would you like to visit first? Let me know in the comment section below!