Hope. Fear. Excitement. Traveling for the first time provided me with wave of conflicting emotions. When I left to travel the world, I didn’t know what to expect. I wasn’t well traveled and was as green as they come. No one I knew had ever done this before. To compensate for my lack of preparedness, I followed my guidebooks and wet my feet with tours. I was young and inexperienced, and I made a lot of rookie travel mistakes.
A big sign hung over my head that said “I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I’M DOING.”
Now, with 10 years of travel under my belt, I know better. If I could sit my younger self down before he left for his world trip, I would give him this advice:
Don’t be scared.
Fear is a powerful deterrent. Taking the leap into the unknown is scary, but you aren’t the first person to travel the world. You aren’t discovering new continents or exploring uncharted territories.
There is a well-worn travel trail out there and people to help guide you along the way. If millions of people can make their way around the world each year, so can you.
You may feel scared and nervous but you’re just as capable as anyone else.
Don’t live by your guidebook.
Guidebooks are useful for a general overview of a destination, but you’ll never find the latest off-the-beaten-path attractions, bars, or restaurants in them. For the best stuff, connect with locals to find out what is hot right now. Ask other travelers or the hostel staff for recommendations.
People are your best resource for up-to-the-minute travel information. Unless a guidebook is digital and updated often, it’s probably out of date, so don’t live and breathe by it.
Travel slow.
It can be tempting to try to see it all. With limited vacation time, we are always trying to squeeze everything in — rushing through 20 cities in 20 days, or 100 countries on our round-the-world trip. In the end, all we have to show for it are photos, stress, and a whirlwind of experiences but no real knowledge of the places we went.
(After you try to rush through Australia, you’ll be burnt out and realize you saw everything but nothing at all. You’ll wish you did it slower.)
Don’t rush your trip. Make time to spend a relaxing day in the park or just sitting in a café people watching. Slow down. It gives you time to drink deep from a culture and take it all in.
Get people’s contact information.
You will make a lot of friends on the road. Some of them will become lifelong friends. But sometimes you don’t get their contact information and you regret it forever (you’ll still wonder what happened to that amazing couple you met in Panama!). Facebook and e-mail make it easy to stay in touch with people for years after your trip, so get people’s contact information! Don’t let your new friends fade into memory.
You don’t need a lot of gear.
When you went to Costa Rica in 2003, you brought a bag filled with tons of stuff — hiking boots and pants, a fleece jacket, too many clothes, and more toiletries than a CVS. It all sat in your bag, taking up space, as you lugged them across the country.
The lesson: Pack light. You’ll have less to carry. Buy a small bag so you aren’t tempted to pack everything under the sun. If you truly need something, you can pick it up as you go.
Trust me, you won’t need as much gear as you think!
Get a phone.
You’ll meet a lot of people on the road who you will want to see again. While Facebook can be handy for staying in touch, it isn’t ideal for planning meet-ups when people are constantly on the move. Did your friends get the message? Will they be there?! Who knows!
Cheap phones and SIM cards are available worldwide. Invest in one so you can stay in touch with your new friends. That way you won’t wonder if you were stood up or if your friends just changed their plans and went to Rome.
Go with the flow.
When every day is planned out and there are timetables to follow, you get stressed. Very stressed. You rush. And when you plan too much, there’s no room to experience the happy accidents of travel.
Put some flexibility into your schedule and go with the flow. Plan one or two activities and let the rest of the day happen. It’ll be a more enjoyable and less stressful experience. You’ll be surprised by what happens (like when your friend invites you to an island in Thailand and you stay a whole month).
Let life unfold.
Take extra money.
Travel isn’t as expensive as you think — you’ll travel through Asia on $15 a day or Europe on $40 — but you’ll learn there are always unexpected expenses.
Have a cushion! No matter how well you budget, you can never plan for all the disasters or itinerary changes (like how you’ll suddenly fly to Fiji and learn to scuba dive). No matter how well you plan, something can always come up and throw your budget out of whack.
Take more money than you think you’ll need. You’ll be happy you did.
Don’t be so shy.
I know you are an introvert. I know you worry about what people think. It takes courage to talk to strangers but everyone is in the same boat. All around you are other solo travelers looking for friends. They want to meet new people too.
Just say “hello” and everything else will fall into place. Ask to join people’s drinking games and conversations in hostels. No one ever says no. Take the first step. Take off your headphones, turn to the person next to you, and say hello.
You have nothing to lose and, in the process, this is how you’ll get over your shyness, make new friends (and end up at a few weddings), and get better at conversation.
Be adventurous.
I know you don’t like heights. I know you don’t like sports. And while you’ll hurt your tailbone, you won’t regret jumping off the boat in the Galápagos. You may have screamed like a girl, but you loved that canyon swing. And, in the end, didn’t those maggots taste good?
Challenge yourself. Take risks. Try new things. You may hate some, but you won’t regret any of it. You’ll walk away more self-confident.
You aren’t stuck.
If you hate traveling and aren’t having fun, stop and rest. Spend a few extra days in Amsterdam or Sydney. Relax. If you still hate travel when you get back on the road, go home. There’s no shame in that.
It’s better to try and fail than never try at all. Always remember you can go home if you aren’t having fun. You aren’t stuck with your decision to travel.
You are not alone.
Wherever you go, there is a network of travelers who will be your friends, give you advice or tips, and help you out. They will guide you, point you in the right direction, and be your mentors. You aren’t out there on your own. You will make friends. You will be OK. Though you are traveling alone, you will never be alone.
I know you’re nervous about heading out into the unknown. That’s normal. It’s human nature to worry, but you make it on your trip and become a better person because of your travels.
So take a deep breath, relax, and enjoy!
READ NEXT —> 61 TIPS TO BECOMING A MASTER TRAVELER
Renuka
Great tips for new travelers! I love this – “Make time to spend a relaxing day in the park or just sitting in a café people watching. Slow down.” After traveling for over 6 years now, I too feel that it’s so important to slow down and experience things deeply rather than rushing through them. Most of all, I believe, it’s valuable to interact with your fellow travelers, locals and basically any random person – your cabby, a vendor or a waiter. You never know what you may learn about the place!
Laura
This post is just brilliant! Last year I was always in a hurry and dying to see everything, carrying with me a notebook with pretty much every hour planned. It’s much better when you just go with the flow, like you say. The unexpected experiences tend to be the ones I remember the best.
Jen
Solid advice and so incredibly true. We sold everything to “travel the world” (ha!) for 6 months, two years ago. Now we are long-term travelling and this time around, everything you’re saying rings true. We rushed SO much the first time, squashed by that urgency to see as much as possible in a “short” period of time. We were so used to the two-week-a-year-vacation mentality. It is much more enjoyable to really embed ourselves in a place without caring about how long we’ve been there, just enjoying and exploring and not country counting. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this, I hope it will inspire other newbie travellers 🙂
Sonja
This is really great advice, thanks Matt! I do tend to plan out a whole itinerary worth of things to do and places to see, but when I get to my destination I fully expect my plans to change. It helps to have a list in advance, though, so that when your plans do change, you’ve already got some cool ideas of things to do, and you don’t have to spend an hour checking the guidebook. I’ll always make sure I “plan” some “unplanned” activities, like wandering a town, or just chilling on a patio somewhere. The important thing is that you are doing what YOU want to do, not what everyone else says you SHOULD do. If you feel like spending another day snorkeling and don’t want to go see that famous museum, then go snorkel!
Great tips, and thanks for the post! 🙂
Katya
I can sign under every single tip! So to the point and true 🙂
I’ve personally made the same conclusions after my own experiences and mistakes – trying to see too many places in once, forgetting to take people’s contact info, packing too much, traveling with a precise itinerary and in the end getting stressed and being shy to approach other travelers.
While I still think every traveler goes through their own mistakes no matter what – hopefully these tips of yours will have an impact! 🙂
Dave Looch
Wow, this is great timing! I was reading the blog for the first time this week, and today I said @&%$ it, I’m buying a ticket, first step is always the hardest. Headed to Lima in june, and I’m taking 6-7 wks in S. America and Australasia. Thanks for the motivation Matt. Excited to make my passport promiscuous! So excited. Thanks for pushing and aiding us!
Michelle
I love this list and I would also add that people try to do so much on trips that they can miss the point which is to be in the moment. When I travel I understand that I am not going to do everything that is on my list-and that’s ok. I had to talk to a friend of mine who was hosting me once and he was so concerned that I do everything that he thought I should do while in his town. I finally said “Look, I want to experience your city slowly. I am perfectly ok missing certain things…I’ll have a reason to come back!”
Elena
Totally on board with not planning. I’m a procrastinator in the extreme. I don’t usually open the guidebook until I’m on the plane! But a general idea of what you’d like to do is good – and then wait for circumstances to change and run with it! 🙂
Anne
I remember the first time my husband and I travelled to Europe, we planned things almost down to the hour! It was enjoyable, but 12 years later, we fly into SEA with only the first night arrival booked and just kind have a general idea of what we want to do. Any guidebook is almost always 2 years out of date, so although the maps and history infor are valuable, we usually look to the hostels BESIDE the ones recommended…usually much better prices.
My packing idol is Jack Reacher (the herol of so many Jack Reacher novels) who travels with only a toothbrush and a passport. He just buys clothes as he goes! I’m not quite that zen yet.
Cara
Great post! I’d also add that it’s good to try to learn some of the language of the people living wherever you are travelling. If the opportunity arises, stay with someone who’s lived there for a few months or longer. And if you’re into punk or metal, check out metal/punk bars and venues (I like metaltravelguide.com). Play a song in the jukebox, talk to the dj, bartender or door guy about a song you’re into that’s playing. It’s a great way to make fast friends.
Marilynn
When you stop to take a picture, please take time to really look at what you are seeing. Friends were amazed that I traveled for 2 months across Europe with NO camera. I am a rare one because I am an artist whose memories are caught on watercolor paper or in my sketch book. Take fewer pictures and LOOK around. A good way to really see a new place is just to wander, get lost, who cares? Have a map of where you are staying and meet locals by asking directions. It will be amazing the interesting things you will see that are not i. Any guide book. Matt good advice, especially to slow down and relax.
Geri
I especially support the “get people’s contact information”. So many people I know don’t even consider keeping contact with friends they made accidentally. I just don’t get it. Why? Is it so hard to write a letter or just call to check up how and where are they? What do you think? Why people are so static sometimes?
Ethan
I would totally agree on no. 2 (re: guide books) and 3 (travel slow). I just had my first ever solo trip last year and I would really recommend these two to my younger, untravelled self. Eventhough I prepared my itenerary in full details before the trip, these two just fall into my experiences and these advices made my journey truly memorable. I even got lost in an unfamiliar city ( where most people dont speak english) for an hour or two and not remembering that I have a guidebook at hand to bring me home. I just let my senses take in the new sights and sounds until the sun sets at twilight and until i miraculously found a familiar place that guided me back to my hotel. Hahaha.
Kirsten
Wow, this article could not have come at a better time. Yesterday was the very FIRST day of my year-long RTW journey (I’m in Barcelona), I’ve never traveled without friends before and I was kinda freaking out a little, wondering if I had made a bad decision. But, you’re right — I just gotta take a deep breath, relax and enjoy it!
Ramblekat
Matt, an excellent article. You helped inspire me on my RTW trip with my 17 YO son for his senior year of school. Was it scary to take him out of school and go on a trip I had four months to plan? I had a general outline of where we wanted to go, and just planned the first step. The rest naturally followed. And we can attest to all your advice in the article.
Åsa
I do agree completly, to rush through a bucket list makes the memories fade away. Relax, lean back, talk to people, remember the view, the food, the smiles, the warm winds, the snow, or whatever you are exploring.
Bob Merrick
Great advise for new travelers and season travelers as well. I particularly like the Travel Slow suggestion. I have been on trips with a fast pace and it was not very satisfying. I find that it is better to take more time on your trip or do less things so that you can immerse yourself in them and enjoy yourself better.
Roser
I feel very lucky because my parents took me on trips overseas since I was 3. Also, it’s much easier to see many countries when you’re in Europe as everything is close by unlike in North America.
Those are very great tips. Especially travel slow: the only thing I didn’t like about travelling was sleeping so little, having to see all the main things… Now that I’m travelling indefinitely I love being able to say “no, I didn’t see the David this time, there was a massive queue and I really wanted to chill in a coffee shop and finish my book, but I’ll see it when I go back to Florence”.
And I think the don’t pack too much stuff is also very, very good advice, especially for new travellers! I love travelling with just a backpack 🙂
Skye Class
My god this is a great post! Exactly the kind of things I try to get across in my own blog. Traveling is the best thing in the world, and you can never have enough experiences or meet too many friends when on the road. I also think people should have goals in mind for what they want to do in their travels, and don’t give up until they achieve them. But just getting out of one’s own country from time to time is vitally important for everyone on the planet!
Paul
I absolutely agree regards you are never alone. I was shy when I started travelling and people asked how I could travel alone to new countries all of the time. The truth I told them is that you are always with other and new people. You stay in the local youth hostel and within minutes are already talking to new fellow travellers. There is always a great community to become a part of.
Heather
When the first time you travel alone, your entire purse is stolen… you quickly learn most of the above. plan for extra cash and emergencies. obviously my plans had to completely change while I attempted to get cash and obtain a temporary passport so that I could continue the rest of my trip. Met a girl named Mel, who kept me entertained and my mind of my troubles and helped me get money from overseas. We exchanged info. Turned out, we were both heading to Paris right after London, so we met there and wasted and entire afternoon in a park just because we wanted to have a little picnic. I added a day in Paris because she wanted me to go to Disney World with her, so I did. We still keep in contact 3 years later and are still trying to plan a reunion that will include a Disney World somewhere, as we share a love for Disney and I have already been to the 2 in the US. I now make a list of things I definitely want to see, but I leave most of my time for sleeping, wandering, making friends, and seeing things the locals and other travelers suggest. After losing everything on your first trip out.. everything is a breeze.
Luciano
Excellent post. Winston Churchill once said that the only thing to fear is fear itself and that is so true. I feel that most people never reach their potential because of the fear that keeps them bound. I recently returned from a six day trip to the coffee region of Colombia. Although, I did not see everything I wanted to, it was so nice to be able to spend quality time with my friend and some new friends that we made. Often times, the connections we make emotionally with people are much more important then the things that we see in our travels.
Svetla
Don’t be shy – this was the key to everything else when I first started travelling. I made myself come and talk to strangers, be at parties with strangers, just push myself to go and talk with the locals. Well, this has always revealed amazing experiences ad opportunities for me and usually made things happen that turned crucial for my entire trip. Fate or coincidence – nobody knows, but daring to go into the unknown makes wonders.
Ása Steinarsdóttir
I couldn’t agree more on this “realize you saw everything but nothing at all. You’ll wish you did it slower”
Sometimes when you enter a new country and read about all the things that is possible to do, you somehow want to do them all! But sometimes the best days were when you where just relaxing on a café looking at the locals walking by or just sitting in a park reading a good book. Thank you for this great article! 🙂
Gemma
Great advice, all stuff I’ve learnt from traveling. I can be pretty shy, and I found smaller hostels are better at making friends and meeting people. Also, I found it weird that anyone was interested in me when I started traveling, I was an unexciting pasty Brit who didn’t know what the heck she was doing, and I wasn’t quite sure how to react to people I’d just met who wanted to be friends. Why did they want to be my friend? The truth is though, every traveller was that first, scared, what am I doing? backpacker, and are just being friendly and trying to help! I wish I’d embraced it more, and try to do so now. 🙂
Munna
Nice article Matt. I guess I should have read the article before. I am an introvert and too shy to talk with new people when I travel. I still remember saying hi to my next seat passenger in nepal who became my friend and we’re still connected on facebook. This is so crucial.
Deepika
Sound advice and very true. First time Traveling is a whirlwind of emotions. I am traveling to Europe for the first time next week and I can feel every word of what you said. But in the end what you said makes me feel relaxed for a bit. After all it is always good to know that you are not alone in this! 🙂
Layla
Thanks for this! I’m planning to go traveling and am just starting to read travel blogs again (Finally! Travel blogs make me feel inspired again instead of stuck and bitter.) One teeny thing I noticed in your wording is the words introvert vs. shy. It’s “shy” that has to do with worrying what people will think, introvert has to do with whether you get your energy from alone-time or from social time.
Shinobi Mia
A tip i would give to those wanting to travel is to go into it with a positive mind frame and everything else will fall into place. Be adventurous go to places you wouldn’t have thought about going to and come back and be the first among your group to say you did it. Don’t be afraid to put your self out there, say hello to strangers or other travellers where you’re staying they might be in the same situation as you, be friendly and kind towards everyone you come across and positivity will find you. Lastly i would say enjoy it to the fullest as who knows when you will be back in that place therefore you should soak up every moment which comes your way when on your travels.
Lisa Jordie
Thanks, Matt! Reading “You will make friends. You will be OK.” made my heart really warm. Because seriously, you hit the nail on the head with “Fear is a powerful deterrent.” It is THE deterrent for me. I’m a general anxious person, so fear has been the biggest thing that held me back from traveling in the past. I’m admittedly a traveler with an intense fear of flying. Conquering that was huge for me, and definitely not easy.
brandon
This sounds so very awesome. I am used to traveling right now as I have lived in Europe before moving back to the United States and have been to Guatemala about 8 times. I am actually getting ready for my next trip which will be to Chile in September for two weeks. It was a trip that I told my friend i would do once i graduated college and got on my feet and with some people i know dying recent, i decided to go ahead and click the book button for my trip. I have some friends that live there so I am excited to be traveling further south this year. I definitely want to take my time with this trip and just enjoy being south of the equator for the first time in my life.
Suzie
This is all brilliant advice, and I only wish I’d been told some of these things before I first travelled solo. Although you learn these things on the way it’s nice to be reminded, because we always seem get swept away and don’t take the moment to appreciate where we are and the sights and sounds around us!
NomadicMatt
Hey everyone! Due to the age of this post and the difficulty in moderating thousands of posts for spam, comments for this post have been turned off. If you would like to continue the discussion, head over to the forums at http://forums.nomadicmatt.com and chat there! I frequently post and reply to threads over there! Thanks! – Matt