Solo Travel for Beginners

Here’s why you should go it alone

There are plenty of reasons to travel solo. Long-term single. Newly single. Folk in need of headspace. People who want to try something that their friends and family don’t. Or maybe just some time alone for some proper, away-from-it-all me-time. The truth is, travelling solo is so fabulously freeing that the first time is rarely the last. Need convincing? Allow us to explain…

Shake off self-doubt

If your confidence needs a kickstart, achieving ambitious goals can give you the rush you need to give you that anything-is-possible feeling back. How’s this for a 2022 target: hike the highest mountain in North Africa on our Summit & Spices in Morocco trip. No time, you say? Excuses be gone! This trip is five days from start to finish. You’ll set off for Marrakech on a Thursday, ready to start your Atlas Mountains adventure the very next day. You’ll tackle this challenge with people your age (all our Edits trips are designed especially for guys and gals in their 30s and 40s), giving each other the morale boost you need to reach the summit.

Push the possibilities

Sometimes, we don’t give ourselves the opportunities to test our comfort zones. If you’re curious about what you can achieve, giving yourself the time and space to unleash yourself on the world can be precisely what you need. Our Eternal Summer in Iceland trip presents a challenge: brandish an ice axe and make your way across a glacier. The best solo adventures are those that have action-packed itineraries, and this one is no exception. After the glacier hike, you’ll take an ATV over black volcanic sands to an abandoned plane wreck. You’ll also experience 24-hour daylight, a glimpse of geysers, and a soak in the Blue Lagoon.

Make memories (and mates)

Sometimes, the stars don’t align. The friend who said they’d join you for a surf trip in Portugal can’t come now. Your Peloton training buddy who was up for that IRL cycling trip in Vietnam? Flaked on you. We say do it anyway. Our trips are in small groups, so you’ll have people to share the experiences and make friends along the way. You’ll meet people you’ll never forget – and that goes for the locals in fascinating locations, as well as the people you’ll make the memories with.

Our Street Food & Sunshine in Sicily trip is a great place to have your first solo adventure. There’s no venturing into the street food markets alone. Instead, you and your group join a local guide for a foodie adventure, finishing up with some world-famous Sicilian gelato.

Put yourself first

If time for yourself slips further down the to-do list with every day that passes, perhaps 2022 is the year to put that right. Maybe you’re a parent that hasn’t had some proper time-out for a decade? Or has focussing on your career put the rest of your life on the backburner? We’ve got the antidote. Step forward Desert to Dead Sea in Jordan. Swap your car and bike for a jeep and camel and venture across the desert. Scuff your knees as your scramble through canyons and experience the mystique of Petra. Stay in a desert camp. Then a forest cabin. Then a resort on the edge of the Dead Sea. Chat to local women making Orjan soap from olive oil and herbs and nibble on Jordanian delicacies at the Biscuit House.  This is a trip that more than makes up for lost opportunities.   

Find out something new about yourself

Who said that gap year backpackers should have all the adventures and the self-learning that come with it? Travelling alone in your 30s and 40s can tell you a lot about yourself – usually that you’re capable of much more than you give yourself credit for. And whether you want to start smaller in Europe, or want to go full-on in Bali, Costa Rica, or Nepal, Exodus Edits have got a trip for every first-time soloist.