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7 Of The Best Places To Travel Solo For The First Time

Decided to travel solo for the first time? Nervous about travelling solo? Well these are 7 of the best places to travel solo for the first time to get your started!

Deciding to travel solo for the first time can be a rather nerve wracking experience! How do you meet people when travelling solo? What will it be like? You probably have heaps of questions!

One of the most important though is what are the best places to travel solo? If you’re nervous the chances are you don’t want to get stared in the middle of nowhere in Mongolia – you’ll want somewhere which is a bit less extreme, to ease you into your solo travel adventure.

So to help get your started here are my suggestions for he best places to travel solo for the first time…

 

7 Of The Best Places To Travel Solo For The First Time

It’s Not Hard To Meet New Buddies In Oz!

Australia

Australia is easily one of the best places to travel solo for the first time. English is their first language, tourism is a huge industry and the whole place is geared up for backpackers!

Whether you choose to wing it whilst you’re out there or sort out a flexible East Coast package deal before you fly to help with plans and budgeting Australia is the obvious choice.

If you’re going all out and doing a working holiday visa you can even kickstart your trip with an OzIntro package which sorts your airport pickup, accommodation and all the essentials like bank account and SIM card. It’s not for everyone but if you want that support to get you started it’s a solid option.

 

New Zealand

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Solo Travel In NZ? No Worries Bro

New Zealand is a great place to travel solo for many of the same reasons that Australia is. They speak English, tourism is a big industry and heaps of other backpackers are heading that way to travel or use their working holiday visa.

With heaps to see and do, loads of hostels to choose from and a wide range of destinations New Zealand is one of my favourite places to explore and no matter what your budget or time frame you’ll be able to pack a lot in.

Hop on, hop off bus passes like the Kiwi Experience and Stray New Zealand are a great way to get around (keep an eye out for their sale fares!) as well as meeting heaps of new people – plus they have the flexibility of being able to travel for up to 12 month so it’s the best of both worlds!

 

Thailand

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Thailand – It’s Easier Than You Think!

If you want a bit more of a culture shock in comparison to Oz and NZ then Thailand is somewhere you should seriously consider for your first solo travel trip.

It’s the gateway to South East Asia and is well equipped for backpackers – from a huge variety of places to stay, to heaps of amazing destinations to explore Thailand has a huge abundance of travellers and booking onward travel is usually as easy as speaking to the front desk at your guest house or hostel!

Not only that but Thailand is super budget friendly too – so if you do decide to treat yourself you won’t be breaking the bank!

It might not be the obvious choice but seriously travelling around Thailand is waaaaay easier than most people think it will be.

 

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Kicking Back After A Hard Day Of Diving!

Fiji

Although Fiji might look slightly out of place on this list these beautiful tropical island are a hotspot for solo travellers – especially on a longer around the world gap year as a stop between Australia/New Zealand and the USA.

The Yasawa Islands are by far the most popular place to visit so if you want to meet heaps of fellow backpackers in paradise then an island hopping pass is the easiest and most budget friendly to combine meeting people with experiencing this beautiful country.

If you head this way I highly recommend getting into the big blue snorkelling with the friendly reef tip sharks or the majestic manta rays…and getting involved in a traditional kava ceremony too!

 

Bali

Take The Plunge Into Bali For Sunsets Like This!

Ok I know, Bali isn’t the country – Indonesia is! But Bali itself is well equipped for travellers and spots like Canguu, Ubud, Uluwatu, Kuta and neighbouring island such as Gili Trawangan are hubs for those looking to explore more of Indonesia and what Bali has to offer.

It’s not quite as easy as Thailand – but you’ll have no worries meeting heaps of fellow travellers when ticking all the activities off your bucket list! Surf lessons, island hopping, snorkelling with turtles and the monkey forest are all must see spots!

Again, like a lot of South East Asian countries booking onwards travel is usually as simple as chatting to the front desk of your guest house or hostel, but shop around a bit to get the best price.

 

Peru

Peru was actually one of the first places I really travelled to solo and I had an absolute blast – despite speaking pretty much no Spanish…seriously my Spanish skills are pretty terrible!

For those going solo hostels such as Loki and Flying Dog are always popular and have spots all over the country – they can easily sort your onward travel too, which is super handy.

Quick tip from me – pay the extra cash to upgrade to the nicer buses, they’re a lot safer and more comfortable, so it’s well worth the extra few dollars.

And of course you’re bound to meet heaps of other travellers when you tackle the Inca Trail!

Sure it’s not an obvious choice for a list of the best places to travel solo, but given the fact it was my first real solo stop and I coped ok (and back then I wasn’t the seasoned traveller I am now!) I think it should be considered!

 

Western Europe

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Somewhere In Europe…!

Ok so I’ve cheated again slightly and gone with half a continent rather than a specific country! I’ve also not travelled heaps of Europe, but after chatting with my buddy Stephen from A Backpackers Tale (who’s from America) he strongly urged me to add it to the list of best places to travel solo, especially if you’re not from Europe and heading off on your first adventure.

With a range of hostels, the ease of train passes and heaps of cheap internal flights to choose from he definitely rates Western Europe as good place to start.

And again for those worrying about the language barrier English is widely spoken throughout Europe, so you should be able to get by pretty easily.

Check out his epic Backpacking Guide To Europe for tonnes of useful info and tips.

 

Don’t Be Afraid To Go Solo!

Basically what I’m trying to get across here is that you shouldn’t be afraid to travel solo for the first time and there are plenty of options to choose from all over the world!

I know going on your own can seem scary, but seriously once you hit the ground those fears will soon disappear and you’ll wonder why you even worried to begin with!

If you’re still unsure about taking the plunge or still can’t decide the best place to travel solo there are heaps of awesome intro style tours which can help you find your feet and meet some new travel buddies too – check out my other site RTW Backpackers for a range of small group tours in the likes of Thailand, Bali, Vietnam, The Philippines, Australia, New Zealand and more.

And of course if you need any advice or help drop me an email!

 

 

Have you gone solo already?

Which countries would you recommend as the best places to travel solo?

 

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