Solo Lessons from Travelling

My last post was about my trip to Naples, Italy, which was good. This post is for anyone interested in solo travelling and doesn’t know where to start. I mentioned before, I had never travelled anywhere internationally, that wasn’t my country of origin or to visit family in the neighbouring country. So, planning this trip was huge, even though it was 4 days. Here is how I planned it and the lessons/tips that I learnt and will apply next time.

Solo: Planning

Flights and hotel

I booked this trip at the end of 2023, for July 2024. I spent two days looking at TripAdvisor reviews to choose a hotel. When I booked the flights and B&B, I got them as a package. I believed that was a great idea since they all were in my Expedia app. The only part I struggled on, was my way back because of the global software issue that happened. I used my credit card to pay for this, so then if anything went wrong with any refunds and Expedia couldn’t help, then my credit card could step in (as the backup).

Activities

I did not book any of my tours/day activities until the month before my trip. Some of the tours were number dependant, so if not enough people booked then they wouldn’t happen. I booked Mount Vesuvius on Viator (TripAdvisor company), which got cancelled because of booked people. They ended up putting me on a different tour free of charge. I was grateful for that, because the website was not being very forgiving with the refund policy. They made sure the tour was similar to what I had booked originally, but it meant I did book onto a separate Vesuvius tour, since the new tour didn’t cover it.

Miscellaneous

Even with this change, I got to see the Amalfi Coast, which was an added bonus for the solo experience. Since my planes in the UK were at awkward times, I booked a car parking spot at the airport, to save having to wait for the trains or rely on someone picking and dropping me off. This did mean I had to pay extra due to changing my flight, which wasn’t too bad.

Solo: Experience

Getting around

I had to pinch myself the entire time, because I honestly couldn’t believe I was in a different country, solo! It was crazy, and in a country I had 0 clue about culture and language. Which is a mistake I will rectify next time: learn some key phrases. I didn’t have any Italian vocabulary on me which was my fault for getting excited but not preparing. I think I said 50 English words total, across the 4 days. It was embarrassing.

I did, however, take the time to figure out better transport routes and walk similar paths. This was because the B&B I picked was very central, so I could access those things by walking to it or by metro, which was very close to the B&B. Once I figured out more efficient ways to get around, I utilised them, like the airport bus. It was 50 euros for a 20-minute taxi ride, but it was 5 euros for 30 minute bus ride. Since things got weird with my return flight, I used the bus 3 times, so only 15 euros was spent, rather than 10 times that, had I taken a taxi each time.

Money and spending

I took cash currency and a Ramsdens Mastercard with euros on it. I tried to keep my cash in hand in small change, and used the card for larger purchases like meals or cash withdrawals. Next time I will take all my cash in hand. I looked around the ATMs in Italy, and I got charged for each withdrawal. And since my first taxi took nearly half of my cash in hand, I was not impressed making that first withdrawal. Also, Ramsdens takes a cut on each spend, so my money wasn’t stretching as much. It would be better to have a credit card that can be used abroad and cash in hand for the local vendors. The Ramsdens card is not worth it in my opinnion, no matter how they sell it to you.

Speaking of cash, I went roughly 100 euros per day as an estimate. This was to cover food and the fact I was in a tourist hotspot. These places inflate prices by stupid amounts, because they know tourist will be there. Tell me why I bought a hat for 25 euros (roughly £20)? A typical sun hat that could easily cost me less than half of that, had I bought one in the UK. I do recommend going to a place that has tourists spots on the first trip though, but be aware the prices will be inflated (pretty much everywhere) because they know they can do that.

Research

I did do my research about experiencing Naples, and the internet and people told me to watch out for the pick pocketers. Maybe I went over the top with preparations, but from previous experiences, Naples wasn’t too bad. I got myself a cute little bag, that sits on my front (not a bum bag), that would have been hard to steal from me. But I recommend you stay vigilant and be prepared. Always research before you solo travel, but from what I experienced, it was very subtle.

I had not researched the weather when I went either. I knew it was hot, and that Italy can be known for its wildfires in the summer. One person had told me, it was so hot that they took 3 showers each day. What no one proceeded to share was that it’s not the heat that’s bad, it’s the humidity. As a person of African heritage, handling heat is fine. But the nation I come from does not experience humidity like that! I constantly felt like there was a cloud trying to suffocate me. The only thing that saved me was my 2 cold showers a day and the A/C in vehicles and my suite. Also, with each shower I changed outfits, so for 4 days I needed 12 outfits. So, July is mega humid, might try an October trip next time.

Food

I threw myself into the whole experience with food, and tasted everything. I knew Italian food in the UK would be different to authentic Italian food, so I was excited to taste their real flavours. But my tastebuds don’t like the UK or authentic Italian cuisine. I much prefer to cook my own version of Italian food, but I only know that now from tasting it. This will not stop me from tasting Italian food in other cities/areas either, I just have a better understanding of what to expect. I made sure to never go hungry, and always had a bottle of cold water on me.

The water would sit in a plastic bag with a wet face cloth in my bag. I would use this to dab my face and neck of sweat and cool me down simultaneously. Blowing a fan wasn’t practical, but this was for me. I will bring more towels next time, but also, I will travel to Italy at a different time, to experience a different climate.

The wine was lush though, and it devastated me that the brands I like weren’t sold in the UK. But I would go back for a more in depth wine experience. And gelato (though there was no way of going wrong with that).

Solo: Damage control

The day I was due to fly back was the day we all woke up to a global software crisis that affected lots of computers, especially planes. This was something I had not planned for, but I was aware events like this can happen. I had insurance in place, but they don’t cover if the issue was software based (perfect wording unfortunately). If this is to happen to you, do not panic. When the brain panics it does not think rationally. I travelled with my credit card, in case I ran out of cash since it has good exchange fees, but it came in handy for this exact situation.

The first thing I did was book my hotel for the night. Naples is not a 24-hour airport, so I would have stayed on the street if not. I used my Expedia app to find a last-minute booking, which was a struggle since everyone’s planes either were delayed or cancelled. I used the Expedia app, since I could pay in GBP, rather than having to use my remaining euros.

Whilst waiting to get the bus back to the hotel, I browsed for flights since my plane provider couldn’t rebook me, and booked one on my credit card (again if anything went wrong, credit card could refund me if the airline didn’t). Once I had my plane booked and I was checked into my hotel, I relaxed completely. All I could do was sit and wait until my plane, and lowkey hope that the software issue didn’t get worse overnight.

For that last 24 hours, I used my credit card for every purchase since all of them were unexpected expenses. I chose to deal with that situation when back home, rather than try to figure out my remaining balance in a tense situation.

TL;DR

• Book flights and hotel early, then activities closer to the time
• Learn some word in that language – it will make things less awkward and might make the experience more bearable
• Explore – Take the time to get to know your little local area when you are there, it helps with the experience
• Watch out for tourist spots – Anywhere that is well known will be a tourist hotspot and will sadly have a lot of inflated prices, and perceived stealing rates
• Always research before you go – the weather, the locals, the sights, the general vibes
• Travel with your credit card – Just in case. You never know when you might need some emergency money available (that’s why their exchange fees when abroad tend to be attractive)