Boarding a plane alone to another country is often an emotional experience of excitement, anxiety, and anticipation.
It can be completely nerve-wracking.
When Angie Orth made the bold choice to quit her job and embark on a year-long solo trip around the world in 2011, her friends and family warned her about safety concerns. “Everyone was scared,” the Florida native told USA TODAY. “All I heard was fear.”
Based in New York City at the time, Orth began her 12-country solo journey in Fiji, before heading to New Zealand, Australia, and Southeast Asia. He then traveled through Europe including Greece, Spain and the United Kingdom, stopping in Turkey and Egypt before finally arriving in Kenya and South Africa.
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The trip wasn't always smooth. At times, Orth said he survived “by the skin of his teeth.” Ors was in Egypt during the Arab Spring, got incredibly ill in Thailand, and had a bicycle accident in Bali. She was also robbed of 400 euros. “She had been in Greece for 30 minutes and she had already been pickpocketed,” she said.
Still, for Orth, this solo trip was invaluable. “It's confidence, and I don't think there's any other way to get that confidence than by traveling alone,” she said, referring to the inherent problem solving that comes with solo travel. There is also compassion that can be gained by encountering and experiencing different cultures.
Now more than ever, more people are deciding to avoid companions and travel alone. Searches for solo travel packages on Google have spiked more than 200% in the past 90 days as of February 2nd.
Improved mobile phone connectivity has made it easier to feel safe, and social media shows that more people, especially women, are traveling alone around the world.
“Women aren't waiting for permission or their 401(k) to mature. If their husbands don't want to go, that's fine. Women are more confident,” Orth said. Orth is also the author of the upcoming book Flirting with Disaster, which chronicles her year-long solo journey.
Here's everything you need to know about traveling solo.
How to travel safely alone
Safety is always a top priority when traveling, especially for solo travelers who are responsible for their own safety.
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“Wouldn't it be fun to meet someone at a hostel and say, yeah, let's go hiking right now? It's fun, but it's also risky,” Orth said. “It’s about balance and doing stupid research.”
▶ To begin your research, visit the Department of State's website to see if there are any travel advisories for the destination you are interested in. These advisories are based on changing conditions and will also inform you about the specific area you are visiting.
For the most direct and up-to-date information, sign up for your travel agent's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP), a free service that sends you the latest information about your destination. It can also help you contact your local U.S. embassy or consulate in case something happens while you're traveling.
▶ One of the things we always search for is “destinations and scams” to see what to look out for when you're in a location. Many European cities are notorious for petty theft, such as pickpocketing at popular tourist attractions such as the Trevi Fountain or on public transport.
When doing research, you may feel like you have information overload. “There's so much information out there now that if you read 1,000 reviews, you'd get a lot of conflicting sources,” Orth added. “It's hard to comb through all of this and find reliable sources.”
▶ To vet everything, Oath recommends reaching out to others who have traveled to your ideal destination. She also recommended cleaning up your feed and only following travel content creators who “tell you the good and the bad.”
“Travel isn't necessarily magical, so you don't need anything shiny and glossy,” she said.
▶ The destination also requires at least a basic understanding of the language used there. Craig Ewer, search communications manager at Google, said: “Translation plays a huge role in safety, just by being aware of your surroundings.”
The Google Translate app provides direct translation between 133 languages, as well as pronunciation support. This is, according to Rose Yao, Google's vice president of product management, “a huge lifesaver.” You can also take a photo of your menu and have it translated in real time.
The Google app also has a feature called Lens that lets you search using photos of things like signs. “You'd be amazed at what you can do with a lens, whether it's a menu, what that building is, what that statue is,” Yao said. You can also capture screenshots of your social media feeds and search them on Google to incorporate them into your travel plans.
Staying healthy while traveling
▶ To protect yourself and others from preventable diseases as you explore new places, research the vaccinations recommended for the countries you plan to visit. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website is a good starting point, with detailed travel health notices and recommended vaccines and medications all in one place.
The CDC website also provides travel advice on managing non-preventable diseases, such as insect bite prevention to reduce your risk of contracting diseases such as dengue and Zika.
▶ Generally, you should allow at least one month before your trip to get everything you need from your doctor. If you don't know where to go, the CDC can also help you find a clinic.
Orth recommends enlisting the help of a doctor to prepare a medical kit with essentials and medicines for things like food poisoning. “It's helpful to have something on hand so that no one knows what you're saying when you're in a hurry on a remote island,” she says.
▶ When making major purchases during your trip, don't forget to purchase travel insurance in case the unexpected happens. Orth said she would never travel without this layer of protection. Travel insurance not only helped her pay for medical treatment from a bicycle accident, but also replaced a camera that was damaged in the accident. She also recommends her service called MedJet, which provides global security crisis and medical transportation assistance to its members.
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What are the most popular solo travel destinations?
According to Google, the most commonly searched destinations for solo travelers in the United States are:
- London
- alaska
- Hawaii
- puerto rico
- Italy
Tips for traveling solo
- Using the Google app's generated AI search, “you can ask very detailed questions, just like you would ask a friend,” Yao said. “Ask where it's secluded or less crowded. When is the best non-crowded time to visit the Louvre?”
- For your first solo trip, it's okay to start small and dip your toe into the solo travel pool. “Start with easier destinations, ones that are more familiar to you where you speak the language or don't have to fly far,” Orth says. “A lot of people see Eat, Pray, Love and travel content creators trekking around Borneo, but that’s not the point.”
- No matter what you see on social media, it's not always rainbows and butterflies. This taxi driver is expected to experience decision fatigue because he has to make many small decisions, such as whether it looks safe or not. “I think this probably hits women much harder than men because we never think about our own safety, whether it's going to a target in our hometown or getting on a plane. This is what happens when you take a ride to a remote island,” Orth said.
- Plan your itinerary by planning at least one thing each day. That way you don't feel aimless and leave room for flexibility, said Pietrowski, director of the U.S. brand for GetYourGuide, a marketplace for travel experiences. Each company on our list has been thoroughly vetted. . It can be casual, like wanting to eat at a particular restaurant for dinner, or more intensive, like a full-day tour. (Be sure to read the fine print and be aware of the tour's cancellation policy.)
Kathleen Wong is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Hawaii. Please contact kwong@usatoday.com..
