Are you planning to travel solo? The brilliantly lit Eiffel tower, the narrow cobblestone bicycle paths of Amsterdam, the mysterious Pyramids of Egypt, and the vibrant lifestyle of Istanbul never fails to bring a tinge of excitement and a slight smile to lips whenever we think or read about them.
Imagine getting a chance to be there, studying, observing, and enjoying these attractions amongst many others and unraveling hints of a mysterious and historical past. Being a tourist and on top, a solo traveler has its fun and challenges. Solo traveling calls for plenty of time and planning at hand with leisure time as we want. It gives a lot of scopes for planning to result in seeing maximum and miss minimum.
Most of the solo- travelers end up planning months before the trip but still end up having regrets of not being able to enjoy the place to its fullest. Why does this happen? It mainly happens because, at the time of planning & traveling, we end up skipping some necessary steps that we often overlook, resulting in mismanagement during the tours.
This article focuses on understanding some core pointers that a solo traveler can follow while traveling or taking a vacation to enjoy any attraction to its fullest, creating memories that will last a lifetime.
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Table of Contents
Researching:
This step is one of the most critical steps solo-traveler should do before traveling to any destination. It’s kind of a stepping stone to make sure that you enjoy entirely, and your visit is worth the money and, at the same time keeping yourself safe. Proper research of each place before visiting will not only give you an idea of what you are getting into but also give you an insight of do’s and don’t of that place.
You should make sure that they know everything about the place, as researching will give you a peek into the safety concerns. Researching about the attractions like monuments, palaces, etc., know about the places you are going to stay, and the area of your hotels will give you an insight into the history of that place, allowing you to appreciate the attractions better.
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Eating options:
Apart from visiting the place, the one other thing which excites us more than anything is the food. Local food with its local flavors is something that every tourist looks forward to. Tourist places often have offerings of flavourful and gastronomical cuisine that is mouth-watering to many. But, researching the various eating options beforehand is a good idea as it will give you the knowledge of alternatives that you can find there. Especially vegetarians, vegans, etc. should research the eating options carefully as the restaurants serving such food are specific and limited to certain areas.
Thus tallying your eating options before visiting a place is essential as you cannot appreciate anything when starving.
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Know the routes:
They say, ‘In Rome, Do as Romans Do.’ Taking local transport like buses, trains, etc. is always better than traveling in a taxi. Going locally will help you get a jest of directions and help you understand the place better. Walking around is again a great option to cover many things which will give you experiences of a lifetime – like a road performance or street dancing, etc. Knowing the routes is a significant factor to enjoy a destination as it gives you a sense of safety and conscious thinking important for a tourist to experience a place whole-heartedly.
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Comparison between peak season and off-season
Every tourist destination has got its peak season when it becomes favorable to welcome tourists in huge numbers. Peak seasons are a hot favorite for any seasonal tourists as they flock around to check out every tourist attraction. While tourist peak seasons are the best time to visit any place a lot of other alternatives for entertainment also crops up. Still, it is also true that due to dense crowd, many times you end up skipping a place as getting a ticket or long hours in the queue becomes too much to bear. Thus, the answer to this problem is, visiting the site during the off-season, when lesser people attract huge exciting deals, and sight-seeing becomes a ‘piece of cake.’ Also, off-season offers some great deals on the services which you can avail as all these attractions are looking for is some business.
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Early birds win the race:
The fact that you are traveling solo will allow you as much freedom as you want. Waking up early in the morning during a vacation is a fact; many cannot justify as holidays are for relaxing, right? But if you wake up leisurely and reach the attractions later than when it opens immediately, the queue and the crowd are only going to make your visit sweaty and annoying.
Therefore, starting early will help you visit the place well before the flocking of tourists and families starts giving you ample time to enjoy the attraction thoroughly. Moreover, it will also give you enough time to head to other attractions, enabling you to plan your day smoothly. Thus, the next time you head off to your favorite vacation, don’t forget to set the alarm to get up early and notice the difference yourself.
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Local regulations and customs:
An essential step for a solo traveler before choosing a destination is to do well-planned research regarding the regulations and customs of that place so that you don’t end up in trouble. For example, countries like Australia are stringent on animal products, and anything of that sort can put a tourist into quarantine until further notice.
Similarly, many countries have a limit on alcohol per passport that is allowed to be carried or for places like Vatican City, wearing tight clothes is a protocol. The point here is, knowing and respecting the customs and regulations will help you travel smoothly, making you enjoy each place to the fullest.
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Too many to see- too little to spare:
Planning your vacations in a cluster with too many things at one go is blunder many of us do. It will not allow you to enjoy any destination at peace with anxiety and hurry to dominate your mind. Each goal has innumerable options to offer to tourists, and visiting every single place is not possible. But if you can’t spare proper time for the most popular ones without helping thinking about the next visit, then you should slow down, enjoy the place and then plan your next vacation, taking things slow, enjoying any moment will help.
Conclusion:
Solo- traveling is not just about going to a place and seeing all the tourist attractions and coming back; it’s about soaking up the experience. That needs to be enjoyed at every step to cherish it for a lifetime. Thus, rushing through it is only going to make this experience sour. Therefore, next time before planning to travel solo makes sure you go through these steps for an unforgettable and treasurable experience.
