Travel Solo: Preparation

After I had resigned from my job, I was in need of some soul therapy. I needed to lift myself up again and find my confidence. I told myself that travelling solo to a new place is one way to push myself out of my comfort zone. Not only that, it'll force me to rest my weary soul and have my own quiet time with fewer negative thoughts. 

I spoke to my husband about this idea, and he was in full support of it. Even so, I felt nervous about going to an unfamiliar place alone. I even entertained some negative thoughts about going missing somewhere in the forests of Tasmania...

Before my trip, there are some items that I planned which might help you as well in your travel.

Budget up!

It is important to note whether you will go during the peak or off peak season. I chose the week after the school holiday because flights and accommodations decreased in price generously. Once your budget for flight, tours, car hire and housing is finished, you can move on to food and other items. I have a list of things that can be budgeted in advance here.

Choose your accommodation wisely

I arranged my accommodation based on distance to the city centre and tourist attractions. For me, comfortability is quite important especially since I'll be travelling alone. I managed to get a good price for a  4.5 stars hotel, but I also opted for hotels with shared bathrooms due to its price and proximity to tourist attractions.

Create an itinerary

I'm a planner, but I always try to create a really rough draft plan because there are certain things that I can't control (e.g. weather). I usually open up the Google Maps and browsed through some destinations that I wanted to visit. Then I'd saved those places to the maps to help me navigate. Another way is to create the whole itinerary through Google Maps. 

Communicate and share your location

I can't speak enough of the beauty of Google Maps. They also enable the location sharing that you can do using your phone. You can set up location sharing using your Android / iPhone here. 

Plan what to bring

Unfortunately, I won't have my husband helping me with luggage, so I had to be wise in choosing what to bring. For two weeks winter travel to Tasmania, I took a backpack and a tote plus a small hard case luggage to be checked in. It is also important to bring documentation that might help you down the track.

I was still nervous today, and tomorrow I'll be flying to Tasmania. I'm sure I'll be okay, and I hope this write-up can help give a little push to some other nervous souls out there that have been wanting to give a solo trip a try.