A few years ago I decided to travel to Europe for a two month stay solo. I remember sitting in my coach seat, getting lost in what was then Radiohead\u2019s new album, and it dawned on me, I was about to embark on an 8 week European adventure alone.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
My heart kind of sank, and I started questioning whether I had made the right decision. Of course when I arrived in Athens and began exploring I realized that being by my lonesome didn\u2019t actually mean I had to feel lonely. These are some of the ways I got through my solo journey without singing the travelin\u2019 blues.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1) Keep a journal:<\/strong> Whether you\u2019re documenting your travel experiences or simply your feelings, a journal ensures that you\u2019re never really alone.\u00a0 It not only enables you to end your trip with a great account of what went on during your journey, but it also gives you the chance to vent and reflect without any worry of being judged.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n 2) Talk to people:<\/strong> Just because you\u2019re alone, doesn\u2019t mean you have to be anti-social. If you spot another solo traveler, strike up a convo! You may find they have some valuable travel advice to offer, or maybe an adventurous tale to share. Regardless, the human interaction will feel good. Don\u2019t be too shy when it comes to approaching groups either; you may walk away with some great new friendships.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 3) Participate:<\/strong> Seek out some solo traveler activities. This will remind you that you\u2019re not the only one out there who ventured out to explore the world alone. Look for tours, specials, and other things that cater to solo travelers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 4) Stay in a hostel:<\/strong> Even if your goal is to stay introverted, staying in a hostel will ensure that you\u2019re surrounded by people. You don\u2019t necessarily have to interact too much with those around you, but having other travelers around you, will prevent you from feeling alone.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n 5) Stay connected:<\/strong> Update those at home on your travel experiences. Let them know how you\u2019re doing, see how they\u2019re doing, etc. With social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, it\u2019s almost impossible to ever really feel lonely these days. If you have a blog, keep your readers posted! Just knowing that someone else is participating in your experience will help to keep you feeling connected. Chat with your friends from back home if you\u2019re feeling bummed out one day. Just remember, you didn\u2019t come all this way to sit in front of a computer screen! So while social media interactions are helpful, get out there and explore as much as possible!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A few years ago I decided to travel to Europe for a two month stay solo. I remember sitting in my coach seat, getting lost in what was then Radiohead\u2019s new album, and it dawned on me, I was about to embark on an 8 week European adventure alone. My heart kind of sank, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61,71],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98881380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured","category-general"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98881380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98881380"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98881380\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98897245,"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98881380\/revisions\/98897245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98881380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98881380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98881380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}