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First time travelling Solo - Flight tomorrow - Feeling nervous & unprepared

Hello all :smile:

So I had been looking into the idea of travelling solo for a few years now, but had never been quite brave enough to give it a try. I can be quite shy, anxious and awkward. I am looking to push myself outside my comfort zone, and hopefully this will be that opportunity.

So about two months ago, I just felt like I'd take the plunge and book some flights and hostels for Spain & Portugal. This way there'd be no turning back. I felt pretty great about it until today - the day before my flight :tongue: I am still packing my bag and have not planned what I will be doing in each city.

My itinerary is: Barcelona-Valencia-Madrid-Lisbon

Which adds up to 11 nights. I've just booked train tickets, which have gotten pretty expensive! What I have left of my budget works out to about €40 per day, which I know is pretty tight.

So I am now feeling pretty nervous. I have not learnt any Spanish either, as I was hoping to.
I suppose I should expect uncertainty with a trip like this, but I'm starting to feel a little pessimistic :frown:

Was wondering whether anyone here could share any tips or share their experience of travelling alone for the first time ? :smile:

Thanks in advance.
I went to Dublin last summer and went alone. It wasn't that bad as I was expecting. The advantage for me, was that I could do what I wanted and go where I wanted. It, due to my health problems, was a bit difficult though and not something I'd want to do again.
Reply 2
Was the best experience of my life :biggrin:
Glad to hear it!
I'm off to paris this week solo travelling , first solo travel was back in 2005. It was the best thing I ever did- my self confidence grew so much.

You are going to be fine and your going to have a fantastic time.

If the 40 euros a day is for spending money/meals etc you will be fine. Take advantage of any free meals at the hostels you are staying in.
Original post by posthumus
Was the best experience of my life :biggrin:


Glad you enjoyed it. All of those cities are bloody marvellous. Especially Lisbon.
Original post by posthumus
Hello all :smile:

So I had been looking into the idea of travelling solo for a few years now, but had never been quite brave enough to give it a try. I can be quite shy, anxious and awkward. I am looking to push myself outside my comfort zone, and hopefully this will be that opportunity.

So about two months ago, I just felt like I'd take the plunge and book some flights and hostels for Spain & Portugal. This way there'd be no turning back. I felt pretty great about it until today - the day before my flight :tongue: I am still packing my bag and have not planned what I will be doing in each city.

My itinerary is: Barcelona-Valencia-Madrid-Lisbon

Which adds up to 11 nights. I've just booked train tickets, which have gotten pretty expensive! What I have left of my budget works out to about €40 per day, which I know is pretty tight.

So I am now feeling pretty nervous. I have not learnt any Spanish either, as I was hoping to.
I suppose I should expect uncertainty with a trip like this, but I'm starting to feel a little pessimistic :frown:

Was wondering whether anyone here could share any tips or share their experience of travelling alone for the first time ? :smile:

Thanks in advance.


My first solo travel experience was last year where I traveled around the US for three weeks. It went totally smoothly. Nothing went wrong and I was pleasantly surprised how organised it all was. I booked the whole thing myself and like you I felt really unprepared so I was kind of expecting something to go wrong. I was quite nervous about the logistics but it was fine. It was really good :smile:

My second solo travel experience was to Scandinavia a few months ago. I didn't feel any nerves at all. I figured if I did the US I could do a couple of countries in Europe. No issues, nice trip.

My third solo travel experience will be in just over a week where I'm going to Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea. Okay, I will admit I'm nervous :tongue: . Asia seems like a whole different ball game, and I've never had to switch flights before. But I figure, hey, if I don't do it now, when will I? And I'm sure, just like the above two, it will all work out okay :awesome: .

So yeah, it's normal to be nervous, but you'll probably be surprised how smoothly everything goes.

EDIT: Oh you've been? Okay this feels pointless now hahaha. Well I'll leave this in case anyone else is reading for similar reasons.
Reply 7
Original post by Airfairy
My first solo travel experience was last year where I traveled around the US for three weeks. It went totally smoothly. Nothing went wrong and I was pleasantly surprised how organised it all was. I booked the whole thing myself and like you I felt really unprepared so I was kind of expecting something to go wrong. I was quite nervous about the logistics but it was fine. It was really good :smile:

My second solo travel experience was to Scandinavia a few months ago. I didn't feel any nerves at all. I figured if I did the US I could do a couple of countries in Europe. No issues, nice trip.

My third solo travel experience will be in just over a week where I'm going to Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea. Okay, I will admit I'm nervous :tongue: . Asia seems like a whole different ball game, and I've never had to switch flights before. But I figure, hey, if I don't do it now, when will I? And I'm sure, just like the above two, it will all work out okay :awesome: .

So yeah, it's normal to be nervous, but you'll probably be surprised how smoothly everything goes.

EDIT: Oh you've been? Okay this feels pointless now hahaha. Well I'll leave this in case anyone else is reading for similar reasons.


I really appreciate hearing of your experiences too :smile: I came back home a week ago and I'm finding it pretty tough to settle back to normal life.

I keep thinking about all the experiences I had and people I met along the way, and wish I could do it all over again :frown: Yet there is no one to discuss the trip with or who was there throughout my journey.

I don't feel like I fit in back home and I know of absolutely no one else here who has travelled solo also. No one understands, it wasn't like previous 'holidays'.Have you ever had any similar experiences when coming back from your travels?
Original post by posthumus
I really appreciate hearing of your experiences too :smile: I came back home a week ago and I'm finding it pretty tough to settle back to normal life.

I keep thinking about all the experiences I had and people I met along the way, and wish I could do it all over again :frown: Yet there is no one to discuss the trip with or who was there throughout my journey.

I don't feel like I fit in back home and I know of absolutely no one else here who has travelled solo also. No one understands, it wasn't like previous 'holidays'.Have you ever had any similar experiences when coming back from your travels?


Yes!!! I know the feeling all too well. It normally takes me a while to adjust to reality again, and I do get a bit of 'post-travel depression', if I'm honest. You tend to snap out of it eventually though :tongue: . It is hard not being able to share your experience with anyone - I normally come back and I'm dying to talk about it, but to be honest no-one really asks or cares :lol: . I normally just start planning the next one to give myself something to look forward to!

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