Solo travel for the first time: a step-by-step guide

Step 1, start even if it's scary

Nobody can confirm what it's like until you live it, and once you make your first solo trip you won't be able to stop. Mine was in March 2015 to Guayaquil, to visit some friends I had started talking to on Twitter, and I tell it in Ecuador 2015: the trip that turned me into a backpacker.

Step 2, choose a destination that excites you

I don't choose my destinations based on safety. I go where I want to see, and many times the destination is set by a concert or a specific event.

Step 3, do your research before arriving

Only once did I go to a totally unknown destination without booking or researching anything beforehand. It went well, but I missed things I didn't even know existed. That's why, once the destination is decided, I look for the safest or best located areas of the city and read reviews before booking accommodation. Once you have a date, the countdown timer shows how much time is left and what is worth doing at each stage.

Step 4, choose carefully where to sleep

In hostels I check that the reception is open 24 hours, that there are lockers to store my things and I look for shared rooms with cubicles or curtains, to have some privacy. When I stay in an Airbnb, I almost always book the entire space, unless I'm with someone. More details in Safest countries to travel solo as a woman.

Step 5, calculate your budget with a margin

On my first trip I took a $150 budget for 10 days and it wasn't enough. Between Quito and Salinas I ended up asking for $150 more. That's why I recommend setting aside an amount for your trips as soon as you receive your salary. My real numbers for Colombia and Europe are in How to travel without spending much: my real costs and what I never cut.

Step 6, pack a light bag

Before leaving I already have all the ideas of what I'm going to wear, because otherwise my suitcase fills up with "just in case". My trick is knowing what I'm going to wear each day, and I explain it in What to pack when you travel solo: my list and my trick.

Step 7, check the weather

One of my days in Guayaquil it poured and I ended up soaked. Something as simple as looking at the forecast would have saved me.

Step 8, listen to the warnings and live it yourself

Before traveling to Mexico City, almost everyone told me to be careful. My experience was completely different, I even spent an entire day alone walking around the city. Listen to the warnings, but form your own opinion from what you see in person, always finding out about the area where you're staying and keeping your eyes open. I tell it in Mexico City solo: why I stopped listening to the warnings.

Step 9, adjust your guard to the place

No country is 100% safe. In Rome, one of the most touristic cities in the world, my wallet with my passport and money was stolen without me noticing. Traveling solo isn't about finding the perfect country, it's about learning what to check, adjusting your guard to the place and continuing to go. That story is in Rome: pistachio, drinking fountains and the time I got robbed.

Step 10, save a day to go at your own pace

In Mexico City my last day was solo at Chapultepec and there I lived one of the most memorable stories of the trip. A day at your own pace, with no plan, leaves room for those things.

What I take away

My 10-day trip to Ecuador is still the one that defines me most. It was the first, the most uncertain and the one that proved you don't need to have everything figured out to begin.