Scared to Travel Alone? 11 Tips That Are Most Excellent
If you’re feeling nervous or scared to travel alone, don’t worry — that’s totally normal! There can be some uneasiness with the unknown.
You probably have a lot of questions and would love some security and guarantees. Because as exciting as solo travel is, it can also be intimidating.
So these are my favorite ways to embrace the unknown and fall in love with traveling alone.
Let’s do this!
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Normal Travel Nervousness vs. Hodophobia
So, what is hodophobia?
Hodophobia, or “trip-a-phobia”, is an extreme fear of travel and transportation (like airplanes) that causes mental and/or physical anxiety symptoms.
But just because you’re scared to travel alone means you have hodophobia. Hodophobia may have more extreme symptoms or causes.
For example, some signs include:
Shaking
Dizziness
Sweating
Crying
Increased heartbeat or chest pain
Headaches
Of course, I’m no doctor or medical expert. So if you’re experiencing a strong fear of travel, it could help to speak with a professional about it.
Causes of Travel Anxiety or Nervousness
A lack of knowledge about travel and the countries you hope to visit
Inaccurate information about travel or where you’re going
Bad past experiences
Too much negative news
Incorrect expectations or assumptions
A fear of the unknown
11 Tips If You’re Scared to Travel Alone
Ready to nip that fear of traveling alone in the bud? Epic.
Here are my top tips.
1. Create A Traveler Alter Ego
As a musician, I use an alter ego all the time. It helps me embody a different persona and is great for boosting my motivation, confidence and creativity.
But an alter ego can also be helpful for improving your travel confidence.
Adopting an adventurer’s mindset and a traveler’s persona helps you overcome feelings of nervousness by embodying more ideal personality and character traits.
So here are some quick tips for creating a traveler alter ego:
List out the ideal character traits of a confident traveler
Use a travel creator you look up to for inspiration
Start embodying your ideal character traits (before you leave)
Start small and adopt changes slowly over time
Recommended: How to Create An Alter Ego
2. Have A Creative Project
I always have a creative project when traveling.
Besides adding more purpose to things, it’s also a great distraction from the potentially stressful parts of solo travel.
For example, I love to write music and make travel videos. This keeps my focus on capturing unique sounds and filming cool clips. I get totally immersed in my projects and live in the present moment.
This means I tend to worry much less about travel stressors.
Creative projects fill my days with creativity and engagement. It’s super fun and also artistically rewarding.
So trust me, if you’re nervous about traveling alone, consider having a creative travel project to work on — it'll help shift your focus.
Recommended: How to Create Travel Projects
3. Start Small With Quick Local Trips
Want to get more confident at traveling alone? Start doing it little by little.
Because small steps add up to big changes.
For example, you could:
Start with short solo trips to nearby towns
Then, start exploring farther out in your home country
Next, visit a travel-friendly, English-friendly international destination
Finally, visit your dream spots
In skill building, there’s a concept called the zone of proximal development. This means pushing yourself outside of your current expertise and knowledge, but not too far.
It’s the sweet spot for growth, because it’s not it’s not too much pressure, but also not too little.
So find your “zone of proximal exploring” and start there — it’s a solid strategy.
Recommended: How to Travel More
4. Choose the Right Destination
Some destinations are just better for solo travel. So if you’re nervous to venture out on your own, it’s helpful to choose a good place.
For example, navigating the chaos of a bustling city in India would be way more stressful than exploring a laid-back, more developed place like Okinawa.
So if you’re scared to travel alone, choose your destination wisely. My vote goes to Japan.
It’s super safe, super convenient and people are super friendly.
Plus, Tokyo is pretty affordable and there are plenty of English signs to get around. But there are plenty of other countries perfect for first-time travelers.
5. Stay At A Share House
Share houses are perfect for solo travelers. I always stay in them when exploring somewhere alone or staying for extended trips.
They provide an instant community, save you some money and are perfect for nomads and solo travelers.
Most share houses get you a private room, but you’ll share the common areas (like the kitchen, living spaces and bathrooms).
It’s the best of both worlds (privacy when you want it, community when you don’t).
Recommended: Share Houses 101 (my experience)
6. Step Outside Your Comfort Zones More Often
Travel gets you out of your comfort zone — especially solo travel.
It’s amazing for growth and something you’ll never regret. It’s just uncomfortable to get started.
So getting more familiar with discomfort is a great strategy.
Here are some quick tips for stretching your comfort zones before traveling:
Define your current comfort zones
Learn new skills (being a beginner is outside of comfort)
Do more things that feel awkward or embarrassing
Practice present moment awareness
The easier discomfort gets, the less nervous you’ll feel while traveling alone.
Recommended: How I Get Out of Comfort Zones
7. Research Your Destination(s)
Spontaneous travel and planning on the fly is an advanced move.
So if you’re scared to travel alone, do your research first. This will help you feel more secure and confident about where you’re going and what to expect.
For example, you can:
Learn the language basics
Study the etiquette
Watch YouTubers and creators who live in your destination
Research safety and tourism info
Make an international travel essentials checklist
Don’t save packing for the last minute
8. Know Your Personal Stressors (+ avoid them)
Knowing why you’re nervous to travel alone is great for self awareness. But it’s also a smart way to manage things.
Everyone will have different reasons for worrying about solo travel. These are your personal solo travel bottlenecks.
The first step is to identify them. Then, you can either find a solution or avoid them.
For example, if safety is a big reason you’re scared to travel alone, then a simple solution would be to visit a super safe country.
But if meeting people is your biggest concern, opting for a country with a more outgoing culture and a friendly expat community would make sense.
Recommended: What Type of Traveler Are You?
9. Do What You Want (not what you “should”)
Hopping on a longhaul flight, trekking to your accommodations and staying in a different country for your first time is already an awesome achievement.
So pat yourself on the back.
Now, do whatever you want. Take this time to have a guilty pleasure holiday — even if that means you miss out on the top recommendations or things “you simply cannot miss!”
If grabbing coffee every morning at a local cafe and watching YouTube is your bliss — then I say get it.
Push yourself to try new things, but don’t stress about it either.
Recommended: Do More of What Makes You Happy
10. Practice A Carefree, Chill Mindset
A main theme for this site (and my life) is carefreeness.
It helps me make better music, have more fun, stress less and travel better. It’s an asset and a way of life.
You should do it. For me, carefreeness means:
Not worrying (because why suffer twice?)
Not caring (unless it truly matters)
Doing more of what you love
Laughing more
The less I care and worry about stuff, the more I enjoy life. Also, the more I realize that most things don’t matter and most problems have more than one solution.
So kick back, have fun and stumble with a smile.
Recommended: How to Be More Chill
11. Consume Inspiring + Helpful Content
Social media can get a bad rap. But there’s a ton of awesome, inspiring content out there.
So let’s take advantage of it!
If you’re scared to travel alone, then now is the perfect time to be alive.
You can watch YouTubers live streaming walking tours around foreign cities, content creators doing in-depth reviews of where to shop or stay and everything in between.
It’s super helpful. You can digitally visit your neighborhood and hotel before you ever go. This can boost your inspiration and ease your nerves.
A big part of travel nervousness is a fear of the unknown. So this nips that problem in the bud.
Later ✌️
Feeling scared to travel alone is totally normal. There’s an uneasiness when it comes to the unknown.
While there can be specific reasons for fearing solo travel, there are helpful ways to approach. I recommend having a creative travel project, taking baby steps, choosing the right destination(s) and doing research beforehand.
The more you travel, the better you’ll get at it (and the more you’ll realize there’s nothing to be afraid of).
Just use your instincts and common sense to stay safe. And of course, practice more laid-back living — because a carefree attitude is my favorite modern asset.
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