Years ago, I made a decision out of pure desperation. Not recklessness. Not wanderlust. I booked my first solo international trip. It changed how I approached travel forever. There are people who sit on the sidelines waiting for the perfect travel partner. Year after year, the excuses build and the trip you were so excited about slowly starts to feel out of reach. That was me. If you’ve been wondering whether solo travel is actually as liberating as people say, I’m here to tell you firsthand. It is. But not for the reasons you might think.
Let me be honest with you. I was tired. Not tired of traveling. Just tired of traveling with people who stressed me out. This didn’t happen out of nowhere. I spent a week in Istanbul miserable with the wrong travel companion. The compromises, the disagreements over simple things like lunch, the energy drains that turned what should have been a vacation into a negotiation. And it wasn’t just that trip. I made a similar travel partner mistake again on a trip to Jamaica. I reached a point where I decided I’d rather go alone than go through any of that again. Read my blog on The Myth of the Perfect Travel Partner for some insider insight.
My first solo international trip was to St. Lucia. And what I discovered changed everything I thought I knew about what it means to travel alone.
Solo Doesn’t Mean Alone
The single biggest misconception that keeps women from booking a solo trip is the fear of being alone. They picture themselves eating alone, navigating a foreign city without a safety net, feeling isolated in a place where nobody knows them. Everything feels daunting. It doesn’t have to be that way. Especially when you know how to build your experience and you choose your destination wisely.
There are a few tricks and tips that make solo travel work for you.
Be Intentional
For my St. Lucia trip, I stayed at The Body Holiday. This is a resort designed from the ground up with the solo traveler in mind. They have purpose-built single rooms with no single supplement, which means you’re not penalized financially for traveling alone.
Every evening, resort hosts arrange dinner tables specifically for solo guests so you are never sitting alone unless you want to be.
I treated myself to included spa treatments every single day. I woke up and chose how I wanted to spend every hour. Some mornings that included a hike, others it was something as simple as an archery class or horseback riding on the beach.
I didn’t sit in my room lamenting on the what could be if friends were with me. I took every opportunity to enjoy the experience. And days where all I wanted was rest, I would simply sit in a lounger on the beach with nothing to negotiate and nobody to compromise with except the server who was bringing me drinks.
I was nervous before I went. I won’t pretend I wasn’t. But the closer the trip got, the more that nervousness shifted into something else entirely. Excitement. Anticipation. A quiet kind of pride that I was actually doing this.
I came home with confidence I didn’t leave with. That’s the part nobody tells you about solo travel.
Remove Friction
The smartest thing a first-time solo international traveler can do is remove as many friction points as possible. This is not cheating. This is strategy.
What made The Body Holiday work as a first solo trip was the built-in structure. Activities. Meals. Spa treatments. A schedule that existed without me having to create it. I could opt in or opt out of anything I wanted, but the infrastructure was already there.
There are places like this all over the world. You just have to seek them out. Look for wellness resorts or spa retreats if you are in to a full body reset during your trip.
Just 3 years ago I did a solo trip to Bali and stayed at Revivo Wellness Resort in Nusa Dua. This was a different kind of solo experience. More intentional, more inward. Revivo took all of the decision-making out of travel entirely. Based on an intake questionnaire you complete before arrival, they plan your body treatments, your meals, your entire wellness program. They even give you tools to help you wind down at night.
I needed a break from the corporate grind. A full stop. Revivo gave me exactly that.
Both experiences taught me the same thing: solo travel is easier when you set yourself up to succeed. Choose your first environment carefully and let the structure of where you stay carry some of the weight.
How to Choose Your First Solo International Destination
Not every destination is the right starting point. Here’s what to look for when traveling solo internationally for the first time:
Reliable Infrastructure
How you move especially when traveling solo matters. In St Lucia, I booked a helicopter transfer from the airport. I didn’t want to take chances and the regular transfer would take far too much time. That decision took away a ton of stress and I had a mini tour of the island from above.
But infrastructure is more than how you get to and from the airport. It’s the entire system that works consistently that you can trust which is incredibly important when you don’t have a travel partner to problem solve with. You need a foundation you can trust.
Language Matters More Than You Think
Being someplace where English is the primary language might seem like a cop out but managing the amount of stressors on a trip can be the difference between enjoying the experience and struggling through it.
Start some place where communication is easy and you can read signs or maps. On your first solo trip, limit the amount of obstacles you must overcome to enjoy your time alone.
Places in the Caribbean or London are easy to get to and you don’t have to panic when you see your first menu. But you could go even more alluring. You could choose Australia or New Zealand or even places in Africa where the primary language is English.
Built in Social Structure
Look for places with a built in social structure. Resorts designed for solo travelers, wellness retreats, or guided tour options mean you can have company when you want it and space when you don’t.
It removes some of the decisions you need to make on a day to day basis and gives you options.
The Body Holiday was filled with options and most days I took full advantage of them. I took archery and sailing lesson. Took horseback rides and even participated in morning Tai chi. But there were some days where I only wanted to enjoy my own company. And that was ok.
The Practical Things That Actually Matter for Solo International Travel
Solo travel requires a different kind of preparation than traveling with a partner. Here’s what I always do:
Share your itinerary. Send your full travel details to someone back at home before you leave. That means flights, hotel name and address, excursion plans. Not from the airport. Before you leave. With today’s technology you should also share your location. You should agree on when and how you will check in on a consistent basis.
Get an eSIM before you land. Connectivity is not optional when you’re traveling alone. An eSIM means you have data the moment your plane touches down. No searching for WiFi. No vulnerable gap in communication. Worst scenario, purchase an international data plan before you leve home as a back up. Check out my Travel Tip about eSims for details.
Get travel insurance. When you’re traveling alone, you need a back up plan when things go wrong. A medical issue, a cancelled flight, a lost bag are easier to navigate with coverage. Don’t skip this.
Book your airport transfer in advance. The most disorienting moment of solo international travel is arriving in an unfamiliar airport and figuring out how to get to your hotel. Remove that stress entirely. Have transportation confirmed before you land. I’ve provided some tips on exactly what to do in video below.
My Perspective
Nobody can tell you this until you’ve felt it. But solo travel gives you something that traveling with others simply cannot. It gives you yourself. Unfiltered. Without performance. Without compromise. You eat what you want, move at your own pace, sit with your thoughts in a beautiful place. You get the opportunity to learn that you are actually very good company.
I came back from St. Lucia a different traveler than I left. Not because something dramatic happened. Because I proved something to myself quietly, privately, without an audience. That I could do it. That I was capable. That being alone in a new place was not something to fear. It was something to savor.
The confidence I built on that trip has carried into every international trip I’ve taken since. Over 60 countries later, it started in St. Lucia.
Start somewhere that sets you up to succeed. Choose a destination designed to welcome you. Give yourself the slow first day. Share your itinerary. Get the eSIM. Buy the insurance. Book the transfer.
And then go. Because the version of you that comes home will not be the same as the version that left. That’s the whole point. Solo doesn’t mean alone. It means yours. 🖤
Read my blog Solo Travel Secrets for some tips on how to make solo travel work for you.
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