Traveling alone??

[spectastic]

I was actually going to take sign language at my school, before this girl told me that it's one of the hardest classes she's ever taken. hehe

 

 If I have time, I might try to pick it up, but that's really easy to say and really hard to do.

[overworkedta]

I didn't have many issues in Europe at all and I travelled everywhere.  You can usually find someone to speak English to.  Well, outside of smaller cities in Italy.  I travelled to small places around Germany and could always find an English Speaker.  France was easy, I speak French, etc.  But Italy was awful for me. I would end up writing things out in French or speaking slowly in French hoping someone could understand me.  Sardinia was THE WORST.  Beautiful, lovely people, not user-friendly at all for those who don't speak Italian.  Rwanda was easier for an English and French speaker like myself by far!  haha

[TheGirlWhoLived]

You can indeed do europe by train. And that's actually an amazing and cheap way to do it. That's what I might do this summer!

There are unlimited train tickets around 500$ that you can use for a month. I am looking into this one: http://www.eurail.com/eurail-passes/global-pass

And you don't need to speak anything... You can always mime hehehe

The month pass is $838? There are also fees when booking (some trains need to be booked in advance). The fast trains and overnight trains cost an extra fee. I went back and forth on the whole eurorail pass. I found buses to be A LOT cheaper. We are just going to take the occasional train.

 

 

Also, I got around Southeast Asia fine and I only speak English. In most places, you will find English speakers. Americans just kinda suck in the fact that a lot of us don't bother to learn any other language. 

Edited March 5, 2014 by TheGirlWhoLived

[seeingeyeduck]

For bank fees, you could look into your local credit unions. Some of them have fee refunds every month, so they will charge you but then reimburse you, even overseas.

[nakuu]

I just want to point out that Tokyo is a very cash-based economy and a lot of places (even nice restaurants in malls) do not accept credit cards. Also, not every ATM will accept foreign debit cards so you can't even withdraw money if you have a card. You need to go to a 7-11 or a post office where they have ATMs which accept foreign cards.

 

They also don't speak a lot of English but luckily a lot of japanese places have pictures so you can point at stuff

 

If you can afford it (airfare + accomodation is quite costly in Japan, but still doable on a budget), i recommend Japan for a culture shock. Unless you're japanese, then it won't be much of a shock!

Edited March 5, 2014 by nakuu

[the_sheath]

^^Ditto on the Japan not using cards thing.

 

Also a lot of foreign cards (like my Chase debit for example) charge a fee for international transactions. I'd recommend getting some lump sum and converting it there for the trip.

 

They will try their very best to accomodate a lack of Japanese, and the most touristy places often are able to speak English, but for the most part, pictures and a bizarrely frequent number of English signs are trhe best bet to getting around (because their English is generally terrible). I actually went to a store in Akihabara once where they used google translate to try and communicate that they had no idea when a shipment would come in. It was embarassing but also pretty cool.

[overworkedta]

My capital one does not charge a foreign transaction fee.  You might want to look into the terms on your cards.  It's the card I almost always use abroad.

[Varangian]

I do most of my traveling solo. UK, France (a few times), Ireland - moved to Spain solo and lived there 2 years. Portugal, backpacked through Italy for a few weeks, Holland. Been to Israel but that was with a group. Turned out okay. 

[NatureGurl]

Yep, I went to the big island of Hawaii by myself for four days. Treated myself to a luxury hotel (where they all knew my name, weird), rented a car, and loved the freedom of doing whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. Beforehand, I consulted a travel book recommended by some friends who actually lived on the island and scheduled some planned excursions with a travel company to see Volcanoes National Park and the observatories on the top of Mauna Loa at sunset (otherwise, you'd need a four-wheel drive car). I avoided the crowded touristy areas and was able to spend lots of time by myself (literally) hiking down to a black sand beach, wandering along the shore, or eating dinner by candlelight on the beach. There were other people traveling by themselves, too. I sat next to one on the Mauna Loa trip, and we had great conversations on the drive up and down the mountain.

 

Of course, Hawaii is still the United States, so no worries about travel documents or currency, but it was foreign enough that it felt exotic in many ways. Like, when the plane was descending, the land around the airport looked like the top of a pan of brownies. Lava fields, waterfalls, soft white sand beaches... pretty foreign to me!

 

What I liked best about traveling by myself was how much time I had to reflect, think, and absorb the experience without worrying about appeasing somebody else (or taking care of other people, if you're traveling with children). I would do it again in a heartbeat! Not sure about traveling abroad yet, but I'm meeting all sorts of international friends in grad school, so maybe I will visit them one day and have them show me around.

[AKJen]

If anyone is planning on Europe, consider buses.  I spent seven weeks last summer hopping around Central and Eastern Europe and I found many times the cost of a train ticket to be two or three times the cost of a bus.  Sometimes buses are even quicker!  Going from Wroclaw to Prague would have taken almost six hours by train, but was only 5 by bus.

 

Another tip for planning, the website http://www.rome2rio.com is awesome for planning.  It shows you all the different travel options between locales and the approximate prices.  It helped me figure out by far the least expensive option to get from Barcelona to Rome was flying.  There are a lot of low cost carriers in Europe, so it really pays to look around!

 

I love traveling solo.  Not only can you pack each day with exactly what you'd like to see, but you can also take a slow, lazy day without feeling guilty you're slowing your travel companions down.

[AwesomeBird]

I'm preparing to drive cross country... NY to LA... by myself, well, with my 3 year-old english bulldog. Has anyone done this before (with or without the bulldog)? Any advice for saving money, conserving time, places to stop, best route, how to not lose sanity stuck in a car alone for days, safety...? Anything?

[rising_star]

Yes, I've driven cross-country four(?) times, including the last time with a dog. There are lots of petfriendly hotels and a website dedicated to traveling with pets (petfriendly.com, I think). When in doubt, you can always stay at a Motel 6 for no pet fee. Avoid driving on I-10 all the way through Texas if you can. There are definitely more scenic routes (really, anything is more scenic than that!). I noticed that some of the welcome centers when you cross into a new state have designated off-leash, fenced areas for dogs, which can be nice to let your pup out. I tried to limit my driving to 8-9 hours a day, for both my sanity and my dog's. When it was just me, I think the longest I drove was... 11 hours in one day, but that was related to driving 9 hours, not finding any available hotel rooms under $200/night, and then driving 2 more hours to get to the next town (why yes, I do loathe I-10 in West Texas).

 

A few times, I would get out of the car for a meal. Pre-dog, that meant actually going into and sitting down in a restaurant, just for a change of scenery. With the dog, that meant ordering a sandwich (fast food or deli) then eating it in a park where the dog could sit out in the sun (leashed to the table). I also stopped once during a long-ish day of driving (~10 hours) at a dog park to let my dog run for a few hours. She loved it and I actually met some cool people there who were disappointed that I was only stopping through! So definitely use the internet to see if there are any dog parks relatively near your route (this one was maybe 7 min off the interstate so not very out of the way) if your dog is into those. Or, if not, look for parks or open spaces where you can take your dog on a walk.

 

As for not going insane, it's a combination of things. I've abused the free weekend minutes and speakerphone on my cell phone to use the drive to catch up with old friends. I've also caught up on months of podcasts, listened to mix CDs dating back to my long ago undergrad days (you know, back when people gave you a mix CD as a birthday present) and laughed because I have no clue what's on them anymore, and also used the time to sort of zone out and just think about life, the universe, and everything. I actually came to like the alone time. Also, since my dog sleeps the whole time, driving with her in the back is pretty much like driving alone. I will say that I had a foster dog that I never could've taken on a road trip but that's because she is scared of cars and literally peed every time she got in the car. Driving her across the country would've been hellacious. With my dog though, it's easy. Hopefully it will be for you too, AwesomeBird!

[AwesomeBird]

Yes, I've driven cross-country four(?) times, including the last time with a dog. There are lots of petfriendly hotels and a website dedicated to traveling with pets (petfriendly.com, I think). When in doubt, you can always stay at a Motel 6 for no pet fee. Avoid driving on I-10 all the way through Texas if you can. There are definitely more scenic routes (really, anything is more scenic than that!). I noticed that some of the welcome centers when you cross into a new state have designated off-leash, fenced areas for dogs, which can be nice to let your pup out. I tried to limit my driving to 8-9 hours a day, for both my sanity and my dog's. When it was just me, I think the longest I drove was... 11 hours in one day, but that was related to driving 9 hours, not finding any available hotel rooms under $200/night, and then driving 2 more hours to get to the next town (why yes, I do loathe I-10 in West Texas).

 

A few times, I would get out of the car for a meal. Pre-dog, that meant actually going into and sitting down in a restaurant, just for a change of scenery. With the dog, that meant ordering a sandwich (fast food or deli) then eating it in a park where the dog could sit out in the sun (leashed to the table). I also stopped once during a long-ish day of driving (~10 hours) at a dog park to let my dog run for a few hours. She loved it and I actually met some cool people there who were disappointed that I was only stopping through! So definitely use the internet to see if there are any dog parks relatively near your route (this one was maybe 7 min off the interstate so not very out of the way) if your dog is into those. Or, if not, look for parks or open spaces where you can take your dog on a walk.

 

As for not going insane, it's a combination of things. I've abused the free weekend minutes and speakerphone on my cell phone to use the drive to catch up with old friends. I've also caught up on months of podcasts, listened to mix CDs dating back to my long ago undergrad days (you know, back when people gave you a mix CD as a birthday present) and laughed because I have no clue what's on them anymore, and also used the time to sort of zone out and just think about life, the universe, and everything. I actually came to like the alone time. Also, since my dog sleeps the whole time, driving with her in the back is pretty much like driving alone. I will say that I had a foster dog that I never could've taken on a road trip but that's because she is scared of cars and literally peed every time she got in the car. Driving her across the country would've been hellacious. With my dog though, it's easy. Hopefully it will be for you too, AwesomeBird!

 

 

Thank you sooooo much for your response! I feel a little less crazy now for wanting to do this. If you don't mind me asking, about how much did the drive cost you? And how many days did it take?  I am planning on using motel 6 due to their pet policy, but do you think I should make reservations before I leave and stick to a driving schedule that accomodates? Or should I just locate them along the way whenever I'm ready to stop? I kind of want to just wing it and locate them on the way, but I don't know how concerned I should be about them being at capacity or not being open if I stop at 3am or not being able to locate one anywhere in the area I find myself in.

[rising_star]

I never made reservations in advance. It isn't a problem unless there's a dog show in town, in which case you might have trouble getting a room and/or rates may go up. There are also lots of other pet-friendly hotels depending on the individual owners. I also stayed in a Days Inn, Belmont Inn, and something else I can't remember. The website I mentioned before will let you search for pet-friendly accommodations in a city AND tell you if they charge a pet deposit or fee. I didn't book in advance because I like the flexibility of stopping sooner than planned or driving longer if I'm not tired. That said, I also never arrived anywhere at 3am. I did the bulk of my driving during the day, with an effort to avoid rush hour in any city I was driving through. So, I'd wake up at 8am, hit the free breakfast (if there was one, there isn't at Motel 6) or get breakfast, then get on the road around 9. Stopped between 12:30 and 2pm for lunch and then the dinner stop was usually wherever I was staying for the night.

[victorydance]

I only travel alone. No commitments, no sacrifices, whatever you want to do, you do.

 

The thing that people don't realize is that you are never 'alone.'

[AwesomeBird]

I only travel alone. No commitments, no sacrifices, whatever you want to do, you do.

 

The thing that people don't realize is that you are never 'alone.'

 

 

I like that.

[ahlatsiawa]

I traveled solo for the first time when I went to Pakistan for my undergrad. That was my first experience living alone as well. The first few months were absolute hell. Although I am Pakistani but have been living in Saudi Arabia since I was four. So getting adjusted to the desi lifestyle was hard. And although they are some of the most hospitable hosts you will ever come across, Pakistanis do have a tendency to sometimes overlook or ignore your personal space, resulting in an introverted person like myself further shying away from making friends in a new place. Similar to hazing in the United States, we have what is called 'ragging' in our country. New students are made to do crazy/stupid stuff like drinking 'cocktails' (a vile concoction of snack-edibles like samosas and chutney mixed with soda), chat up girls (Pakistan is still a very conservative country) and do awkward pole dances for seniors. Getting through that phase was pretty tough. But when all of that was behind me, I really started to enjoy living alone. Pakistani parents tend to be very protective of their children. And while their good intentions can not be questioned, they often result in the children developing an entitled attitude in life where they expect each and every single one of their needs to be taken care of by someone else. Most of the guys don't even know how to cook a simple meal or do their laundry well in their twenties. So I was very lucky to have been put into a position where I was able to operate by myself and get to experience everything first-hand in life. While I did not do well in my studies during the four years I spent in Pakistan (too long a story to explain), it definitely helped me in becoming a more independent person. I hope all of the skills acquired during that time will help me when I travel to the United States this fall for grad school. Cheers and apologies for the long post.

Edited March 26, 2014 by mtalhaawais