Tips For Beating Solo Traveler Anxiety & Fear Of Traveling Alone

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Leaving the comfort of friends and family back home, of all things familiar, in order to go travel alone is no easy feat.

For the majority of people, solo travel is an incredibly challenging decision. That being said, the rewards for going off on an adventure alone outweigh any solo travel fears you might have before leaving.

If you’re scared of travelling alone, you’re not the only one. Solo travel anxiety is extremely common, but it shouldn’t put you off your solo adventures.

If you’re planning your first solo trip and you’re not sure you can step out of your comfort zone and take that step out of the door, here are our top solo travel tips for beating those fears.

Tips For Overcoming Solo Travel Anxiety

1. Bring a book when eating alone

It can be surprisingly stressful to find yourself alone with no one for company or anyone to talk to and make decisions with.

When I first travelled solo, I used to get so anxious when I would have to check in at a hostel or go and find food by myself. At least for me, there was nothing weirder than going and eating dinner alone in a restaurant.

The great thing was that after a while, you get used to it. I think for the first year I used to always get takeaway food and bring it back to wherever I was staying to eat as I was so self-conscious. I got over this anxiety in two ways.

First, I forced myself to go eat out alone when I was traveling. If there was a good restaurant I wanted to try, I would go, whether or not I had someone with me. Otherwise I worked harder to make friends wherever I was staying, be more outgoing and talk to people.

Oftentimes I would end up out to dinner with people I just met, sharing great food and conversations with new people in an amazing place.

Second, I bought a book with me. When eating alone, the biggest anxiety, at least in my experience, is people looking at you. Take a book to get absorbed in and tune out of those onlookers. Guess what? They’re not looking at you anyway.

2. Always have a backup

I used to get nervous about the fact that I didn’t have anyone with me in case something went wrong or if I needed help with something.

This could be anything from trying to figure out where to go on a map, interpreting a phrase in a foreign language, to getting sick on the road.

While there isn’t a simple solution to this,…