Haralambos Bobby Geroulanos, Student, on Traveling Alone

Whether you’re in college or you’ve been out of school for quite a few years, traveling alone can be an incredibly rewarding experience. Traveling alone may seem daunting and not much like something you’d like to try, but if you do it properly, you’ll have a wonderful time. It also doesn’t mean that you have to go to a foreign country and not understand anything about the language and culture. You can travel on your own for a few days in a city or town within your own country. No matter where you go, here are some tips to make your solo travel a true success.

Research your lodgings

As you begin planning where you’ll travel and stay, make sure you do adequate research before booking anything. Check the reviews on any hostels or hotels you’re staying in and make sure they’re safe, clean, and have everything you’ll need. The last issue you want is to show up somewhere, tired, and find out your room is dirty and you’re sharing it with five other people.

Learn about the culture

No matter where you’re traveling to, there’s going to be a slightly different culture from what you’re used to, even if it’s within your native country. Take time to read blogs from other people who have traveled to your destination and learn about the people and their customs. If most people speak another language, learn a few key phrases you can use to communicate with locals.

Share your plans

It’s important to be as safe as possible when you’re traveling alone, so share your itinerary with family and friends before leaving and then regularly check in with them while on your trip. Make sure you take other safety precautions, such as being aware of your surroundings and having emergency numbers saved in your phone.

Talk to people

While traveling alone, you’ll find that it’s much more rewarding to connect with other people. Whether you’re talking to other travelers or learning from locals, forging new connections can lead to discovering incredible new things and making great memories. You never know what you could learn or how someone you meet once on a solo trip could turn into a fantastic friend or professional connection in the future.

Take lots of pictures

Since you’re on your own, you’re going to want to commemorate your trip in order to share your experience with friends and family once you get back home. Take pictures of everything so you remember it. You’ll sincerely enjoy sharing your experience with others once you come home and pictures are the best way to remember your trip yourself long after you come back.

Organize your days

When you’re traveling alone, make sure you actually take time to plan out your trip. Know what you’d like to do in each place you visit and motivate yourself to get an early start. Avoid staying in bed all day and just meandering the entire time you travel. While a day of doing whatever you feel like can be nice, you want to make the most of your travel opportunity.

Haralambos "Bobby" Geroulanos is a student at the University of Miami. He's majoring in finance and business and hopes to use his degree to help small businesses properly manage their finances in order to successfully run the business. Haralambos Geroulanos believes that careful planning of business and finance can lead to incredible and innovative ideas in business and benefit anyone that business touches. He also participates in philanthropic efforts and enjoys sports and traveling