Solo Travel?
April 20, 2022 9:09 AM Subscribe
I'd love to travel more, mostly to other countries, and I'm wondering how to find places that are affordable to stay as a solo traveler. I know how to buy flights (though if you have pro tips for that too I'd appreciate it) but as a single person who hasn't found that many travel buddies I want to be able to initiate travel myself. How do I find cheaper but reliable hotels or hostels? Any other trips for solo travel?
Some specific countries I'm interested in going to but general tips also appreciated. Argentina, Chile, France, The Netherlands, Nepal, China, Japan, Mexico. Really, anywhere.
Some specific countries I'm interested in going to but general tips also appreciated. Argentina, Chile, France, The Netherlands, Nepal, China, Japan, Mexico. Really, anywhere.
I look for hostels within Hostelling International which (in my experience) have a good standard of quality. Many do offer private rooms - you just don't have your own bathroom and have to use a shared one.
posted by brainwane at 9:33 AM on April 20, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by brainwane at 9:33 AM on April 20, 2022 [2 favorites]
If you speak a little Spanish or can pretend to, a lot of really lovely and cheap places in Mexico and non-big-city Chile can't be booked online. Sometimes they have a website and an email address that their brother's kid made for them, but they won't be on hotels.com. Just showing up is usually the best option, if you can afford a night in an expensive hotel or a taxi if it doesn't work out. Google maps is pretty good these days in all but the smallest places.
There *are* a few places where you can get into trouble. In Chihuahua all the cheep hotels are basically in the red-light district and you genuinely have to be careful on the street there, even though the hotel keepers I've met are all kind and generous. But, for the most part, it isn't hard to find a cheap place by just walking in and smiling. A used guidebook isn't a bad guide to neighborhoods, although their advice can be needlessly timid if you're used to walking around in a city anywhere.
If you've got specific cities in mind, it might be worth mentioning them here. (You don't mention Mongolia, but Ulaanbaatar wins for as the extremest point on the three-dimensional nice/cheap/safe hotel chart for me. Private yurts with a patio and view of the stars, huge friendly guard dogs, cosmopolitan multilingual staff, giant breakfast included for 5USD/night. At least that was true ten years ago.) Cheers!
posted by eotvos at 9:42 AM on April 20, 2022 [2 favorites]
There *are* a few places where you can get into trouble. In Chihuahua all the cheep hotels are basically in the red-light district and you genuinely have to be careful on the street there, even though the hotel keepers I've met are all kind and generous. But, for the most part, it isn't hard to find a cheap place by just walking in and smiling. A used guidebook isn't a bad guide to neighborhoods, although their advice can be needlessly timid if you're used to walking around in a city anywhere.
If you've got specific cities in mind, it might be worth mentioning them here. (You don't mention Mongolia, but Ulaanbaatar wins for as the extremest point on the three-dimensional nice/cheap/safe hotel chart for me. Private yurts with a patio and view of the stars, huge friendly guard dogs, cosmopolitan multilingual staff, giant breakfast included for 5USD/night. At least that was true ten years ago.) Cheers!
posted by eotvos at 9:42 AM on April 20, 2022 [2 favorites]
On Kayak, and possibly other sites as well, there's a search you can do to travel wherever in the world on a chosen date (or chosen date range). This will help you find cheap airfares.
When you travel, you can save a lot of money staying in hostels. These are easy to find with straight up google searches for [city name] "hostel", or you can look on Tripadvisor (though be careful trusting the reviews on there, they can be easily bought or bots!). I would advise against AirBnB in general, it's no longer the bargain it used to be, and your interest in going off the beaten path is limited anyway since you're yet to cover the beaten paths for most part.
Organizations like Hostelling International and YMCA are the best bet if you're traveling to developing countries or places where you don't speak the native language or small rural districts without good connectivity where you may feel less safe walking into a random inn.
In general, however, my best tip for you is to read, read, read about the place you're traveling to. Read old fashioned dead-tree travel guides from Lonely Planet or whatever. Borrow a history book about the country. Watch a documentary. Read novels written by people from that place, watch a couple of movies set there. Scour the websites of their local tourism board. Click on the shitty graphics and take the virtual museum tour. Spend ten minutes on duolingo for a month or two before your trip. Be there before you ever get there. I'm not trying to pretend this makes you (or me) something other than a tourist - like, this isn't going native, it's still solidly in the tourism category of activities. But the idea is you're not a total rube when you get there. It's immensely rewarding to greet even just a few aspects of this new place with familiarity and recognition. It's also a way to stay safe. You're more of a target whenever you look extremely lost.
posted by MiraK at 9:52 AM on April 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
When you travel, you can save a lot of money staying in hostels. These are easy to find with straight up google searches for [city name] "hostel", or you can look on Tripadvisor (though be careful trusting the reviews on there, they can be easily bought or bots!). I would advise against AirBnB in general, it's no longer the bargain it used to be, and your interest in going off the beaten path is limited anyway since you're yet to cover the beaten paths for most part.
Organizations like Hostelling International and YMCA are the best bet if you're traveling to developing countries or places where you don't speak the native language or small rural districts without good connectivity where you may feel less safe walking into a random inn.
In general, however, my best tip for you is to read, read, read about the place you're traveling to. Read old fashioned dead-tree travel guides from Lonely Planet or whatever. Borrow a history book about the country. Watch a documentary. Read novels written by people from that place, watch a couple of movies set there. Scour the websites of their local tourism board. Click on the shitty graphics and take the virtual museum tour. Spend ten minutes on duolingo for a month or two before your trip. Be there before you ever get there. I'm not trying to pretend this makes you (or me) something other than a tourist - like, this isn't going native, it's still solidly in the tourism category of activities. But the idea is you're not a total rube when you get there. It's immensely rewarding to greet even just a few aspects of this new place with familiarity and recognition. It's also a way to stay safe. You're more of a target whenever you look extremely lost.
posted by MiraK at 9:52 AM on April 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
You don't mention this so I would recommend you also look into 'small group' travel e.g. Intrepid. Other options are available.
Basically, somebody else has organised accommodation and local travel and some activities. You turn up, you travel with a small group of strangers. Most will be nice or at least not unpleasant. There is always the odd person who rubs people the wrong way and, very rarely, a truly unpleasant person but such is life. If you don't feel like doing the 'activity' you can always sit it out.
Typically, you can share accommodation with a same sex fellow traveller or you can pay an upgrade for solo accommodation. That is still normally cheaper than trying to make your own arrangements for a similar class of accommodation because the tour companies can negotiate a better rate than you.
posted by koahiatamadl at 9:59 AM on April 20, 2022 [7 favorites]
Basically, somebody else has organised accommodation and local travel and some activities. You turn up, you travel with a small group of strangers. Most will be nice or at least not unpleasant. There is always the odd person who rubs people the wrong way and, very rarely, a truly unpleasant person but such is life. If you don't feel like doing the 'activity' you can always sit it out.
Typically, you can share accommodation with a same sex fellow traveller or you can pay an upgrade for solo accommodation. That is still normally cheaper than trying to make your own arrangements for a similar class of accommodation because the tour companies can negotiate a better rate than you.
posted by koahiatamadl at 9:59 AM on April 20, 2022 [7 favorites]
For Japan, cheaper flights/hotels are found in mid-January, February, October, or November. (Sometimes December before the end of the year.)
The major holiday times are early January (New Years), 'Golden Week' (end of April-May) and 'Obon' (August). There may be lots of public crowds in April because of the lovely flowers.
Although not on your list, I live in England and the summers are usually mild, but don't expect air conditioning everywhere, even if the building is new. If you stay at a cheap hotel, check first.
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 10:12 AM on April 20, 2022
The major holiday times are early January (New Years), 'Golden Week' (end of April-May) and 'Obon' (August). There may be lots of public crowds in April because of the lovely flowers.
Although not on your list, I live in England and the summers are usually mild, but don't expect air conditioning everywhere, even if the building is new. If you stay at a cheap hotel, check first.
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 10:12 AM on April 20, 2022
Stay in hostels. South america (peru, argentina) are super cheap, go to the hostel bar and make friends.
posted by sandmanwv at 10:17 AM on April 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by sandmanwv at 10:17 AM on April 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
Hostels are the best for solo travelers because you can pick up a group at breakfast for any activity you'd rather not do alone. Your comfort level for dorm rooms may vary, but I generally pack earplugs and a big Turkish towel that I hang up "to dry" as a curtain on a lower bunk bed. It's also worth it to practice your quick morning routine at home with all toiletries in a bag, that way you know when you're forgetting something and you don't get confused when there's a 10+ person queue behind you. Many hostels have smaller rooms too, sometimes even with private bathrooms. Food options vary, but for example in Milan I lucked into a hostel that offered breakfast, lunch and dinner, and either cooking for yourself or getting hostel food at communal tables are great for meeting people.
For hostel choice, I haven't been steered too wrong by reviews on booking.com and hostelworld. Not the number/star rating, but reading the reviews in depth for at least three pages and trying to deduce what kind of traveller the hostel is suited for. I personally pick the ones where the complaints are "boring" and "staff too strict", with "outdated decor" optional, which results in non-party places where I can get a decent night's sleep. Most of these sites mark reviewers by country, so I prioritise good reviews from in-country people and honestly I discount most things written by Americans because the kind most motivated to write bad reviews are usually the sort offended by the fact the hostel workers don't depend on tips to survive.
Once you find likely places, plot their locations on the map vs sites you'd like to see, the party districts and red light areas, and public transport. It might be worth it going a little out of the way in, say, Tokyo, since it's big enough that you'll need a transit pass of some kind anyway. And don't overthink it, tourist areas usually have plenty of hostels with generous cancellation policies, so at the worst you're out one bad night.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 10:18 AM on April 20, 2022 [4 favorites]
For hostel choice, I haven't been steered too wrong by reviews on booking.com and hostelworld. Not the number/star rating, but reading the reviews in depth for at least three pages and trying to deduce what kind of traveller the hostel is suited for. I personally pick the ones where the complaints are "boring" and "staff too strict", with "outdated decor" optional, which results in non-party places where I can get a decent night's sleep. Most of these sites mark reviewers by country, so I prioritise good reviews from in-country people and honestly I discount most things written by Americans because the kind most motivated to write bad reviews are usually the sort offended by the fact the hostel workers don't depend on tips to survive.
Once you find likely places, plot their locations on the map vs sites you'd like to see, the party districts and red light areas, and public transport. It might be worth it going a little out of the way in, say, Tokyo, since it's big enough that you'll need a transit pass of some kind anyway. And don't overthink it, tourist areas usually have plenty of hostels with generous cancellation policies, so at the worst you're out one bad night.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 10:18 AM on April 20, 2022 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: I speak very good Spanish and rusty French.
posted by azalea_chant at 11:02 AM on April 20, 2022
posted by azalea_chant at 11:02 AM on April 20, 2022
Rick Steeve's Through the Back Door. This is a whole series of books on different locations. The guides include personal contacts connected to Steeves. I booked lodgings with families in Amsterdam, Bruges, Ghent, Madrid, Barcelona, and Rome. I advance booked online with the people I stayed with. Really unique locations, out of the tourist crush, for a fraction of the cost. Rick also has a channel on YouTube of different locations. I hope some of this is helpful information.
posted by effluvia at 11:28 AM on April 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by effluvia at 11:28 AM on April 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
I choose destinations using Scott's Cheap Flights and look for accomodations on Booking.com, using price range inputs. You can Google the accomodations and book directly.
posted by DarlingBri at 11:35 AM on April 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by DarlingBri at 11:35 AM on April 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
I generally book a better (more expensive) hotel for the first night in a place that may be dicey. Then I check out my next day/cheaper lodging and the surrounding nabe IN THE DAYTIME, when I can escape/book something else if need be. And when paying cash, never, ever give someone your money until you have a look at your room, lest you find yourself screaming in bad French for a refund because you have inadvertently booked yourself into a bedbugged brothel where, as a bonus, your door does not lock. In Bamako. At midnight.
posted by cyndigo at 11:51 AM on April 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by cyndigo at 11:51 AM on April 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
I don't love hostels, so I generally always stay in a private AirBnB room, with the owner living in the unit/on the property. It can be as cheap as a hostel, but often I get my own bathroom, access to a kitchen, and I stay with lovely locals who give awesome recommendations!
posted by Robocat at 12:01 PM on April 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Robocat at 12:01 PM on April 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
A slightly off the beaten track option:
I had an absolutely lovely experience with WWOOF - World Wide Organization of Organic Farmers. Specifically, I stayed at two farms in Provence, France. First was a vineyard/ dairy farm, where every day I'd harvest grapes, the second was more about preparing the land for winter (I went in October), and doing things like planting garlic. I wanted to work on my French, so picked farmers that listed themselves as only speaking basic English, but back when I did it (2009 I think?), there were a number of options ranging from "fluent in English" to "French only." At the first farm, I ate some of the best food I'd ever eaten, learned that testicles are nice braised in butter and tomato, and befriended the patriarch of the family (despite my mediocre French). The second farm was less idyllic, but I had my afternoons free to explore nearby towns.
Anyway, I'd recommend it if you are either a) interested in working on your Spanish or French, b) interested in organic farming, c) enjoy learning about the daily lives of different people. It doesn't allow for much sight-seeing, but it does allow for a much more intimate experience with a culture/family. I loved it.
posted by coffeecat at 12:39 PM on April 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
I had an absolutely lovely experience with WWOOF - World Wide Organization of Organic Farmers. Specifically, I stayed at two farms in Provence, France. First was a vineyard/ dairy farm, where every day I'd harvest grapes, the second was more about preparing the land for winter (I went in October), and doing things like planting garlic. I wanted to work on my French, so picked farmers that listed themselves as only speaking basic English, but back when I did it (2009 I think?), there were a number of options ranging from "fluent in English" to "French only." At the first farm, I ate some of the best food I'd ever eaten, learned that testicles are nice braised in butter and tomato, and befriended the patriarch of the family (despite my mediocre French). The second farm was less idyllic, but I had my afternoons free to explore nearby towns.
Anyway, I'd recommend it if you are either a) interested in working on your Spanish or French, b) interested in organic farming, c) enjoy learning about the daily lives of different people. It doesn't allow for much sight-seeing, but it does allow for a much more intimate experience with a culture/family. I loved it.
posted by coffeecat at 12:39 PM on April 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
Chile and Argentina are generally very safe to travel in. I've also traveled by myself in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador and never felt unsafe. If you speak Spanish, you're fine.
If you come to Chile and need advice let me know. If definitely recommend going to Chiloé, as it's fairly unique.
posted by signal at 2:37 PM on April 20, 2022
If you come to Chile and need advice let me know. If definitely recommend going to Chiloé, as it's fairly unique.
posted by signal at 2:37 PM on April 20, 2022
I realize my post above left off a crucial detail with WWOOF'ing: you agree to work a "full day" (which will vary country to country, farmer to farmer), and in return get free room and board. Most farmers will also give you a day off every week.
WWOOF requires you buy a pass for a specific region - basically it's a small fee to get the contact info for all the farmers in a given continent. But otherwise, it's free.
posted by coffeecat at 5:09 PM on April 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
WWOOF requires you buy a pass for a specific region - basically it's a small fee to get the contact info for all the farmers in a given continent. But otherwise, it's free.
posted by coffeecat at 5:09 PM on April 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
Japan is the best for the solo traveler. The small rooms of business hotels (w/ bath/shower/toilet), or hostels with tiny rooms and shared plumbing, down the hall. Certain (but not all) restaurants are configured for the single diner.
posted by Rash at 6:44 PM on April 20, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Rash at 6:44 PM on April 20, 2022 [2 favorites]
Search Facebook for groups with names like "[COUNTRY/CITY NAME] digital nomads" or "[COUNTRY/CITY NAME] expats". Join them. They will sometimes lead you to WhatsApp groups and/or Slack channels, and you should join those, too. With remote work becoming the norm, there is a huge culture now around digital nomading, and you'll have sort of an instant network, especially in certain hotspots. You'll meet tons of people through these groups, and make friends easily.
I did this recently during a monthlong stay in Buenos Aires, and I didn't eat alone once — unless I wanted to. I also found an awesome group of people that I wound up backpacking through Patagonia with. Still friends with them, in fact.
Also, I wholeheartedly recommend Buenos Aires, and Argentina in general. It's ridiculously cheap, the food and wine are great, and there are a ton of things to do. Oh, and you speak Spanish? Bonus! Why aren't you there already? Go and book your flight!
posted by panama joe at 11:29 AM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
I did this recently during a monthlong stay in Buenos Aires, and I didn't eat alone once — unless I wanted to. I also found an awesome group of people that I wound up backpacking through Patagonia with. Still friends with them, in fact.
Also, I wholeheartedly recommend Buenos Aires, and Argentina in general. It's ridiculously cheap, the food and wine are great, and there are a ton of things to do. Oh, and you speak Spanish? Bonus! Why aren't you there already? Go and book your flight!
posted by panama joe at 11:29 AM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
r/solotravel on reddit is great for this!
posted by changeling at 2:51 PM on April 21, 2022
posted by changeling at 2:51 PM on April 21, 2022
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2. I just read lots of reviews of places I find. I find that single rooms in hostels offer me some security if “other people around/could meet people” but also I’m in my 30’s and don’t want to share a dorm room anymore (or with COVID I’d imagine that’s changed quite a bit).
3. Depending on the place I try to choose an activity each day or other day that’s a group experience so I feel like I got some interaction. I’m the past this has been cooking classes/ATV tours/hiking trips.
4. Figure out what you like and don’t like to do alone. I hate museums and old churches on my own. But an “active” activity like ATVs or walking around doesn’t bother me on my own.
5. I don’t mind eating by myself at restaurants and reading my kindle. I think eating out alone and hotel rooms are often the biggest hurdle for travelers
6. Create a safety net back home for yourself- people who have your itinerary and scan of your passport. Get the traveling phone plan so you can call if something goes wrong. Be ready to be on your own, but have the support back home in case soemthing goes wrong that you might usually get from a companion.
(I only like to challenge” myself moderately when traveling alone. I went to Peru- didn’t know the language but I speak French and have traveled a lot. I booked through the more expensive tourist bus because it was easy versus getting a cheaper public bus. Somewhere like India might be too challenging for me on my own and that’s ok! In the words of a friend, “it’s a vacation! It’s supposed to be fun!”
posted by raccoon409 at 9:19 AM on April 20, 2022 [4 favorites]