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Check out top tips for a fun-filled solo trip.

Traveling unlocks new parts of ourselves. In the Shondaland series Traveling Well, we’re inspiring new journeys and revealing how to make the most out of your next trip. Our collection of travel tales and inspirational guides will sweep you away and motivate you to discover new possibilities around the world.

Katrina Warren took her first solo trip after getting stood up by a friend group. Studying abroad in the United Kingdom and growing impatient while waiting for travel partners to join her, she took solo jaunts to Ireland, Scotland, and Italy. In the decade since, she’s traveled to nearly 40 countries, the majority on her own terms, and she most recently completed a solo cross-country road trip in the United States.

“Spending this much time alone has helped me enjoy my own company,” Warren says. As a Black woman exploring the globe, she noticed, though, that there weren’t many other solo travelers who looked like her, which inspired her to start Alexandrian Consulting, a firm that teaches others how to travel, with a honed niche in solo international trips.

Soloists have emerged as a fast-growing segment in the travel industry during the past decade. Back in 2015, Pinterest pointed to the trend, with the social media platform seeing a 350 percent increase in women pinning solo travel ideas. By spring 2022, one in four Americans indicated they were planning to take a trip alone in the next six months, according to the “Portrait of American Travelers” report published by marketing firm MMGY.

Like Warren, some of the most seasoned solo travelers will tell you they didn’t initially set out to adventure on their own. Their friend groups were eager during the vacation planning phase but never could sync up their PTO calendars and dropped out one by one. Or a couple’s trip was planned, a breakup happened, and one of them thought, “The heck with it. I’ll go alone.” Along the way, many get hooked on this independent style of traveling — freely wending their way through countries on their own itineraries (or lack thereof) and enjoying the serendipity of meeting fellow travelers on hiking trails and in hostels.

“When you travel solo, you invite the world in,” says Juliana Broste (aka TravelingJules), a travel filmmaker based in Denver, Colorado, who was hired by Bumble to swipe while globe-trotting — dating, yes, but also using the BFF and business modes as she explored Singapore, Bali, and Whistler, Canada. The pandemic cut the gig short, though she still travels on her own.

“It’s great getting to organize my day based on my interests,” Broste says. “I don’t have to wait for anyone or ask anyone what they want to do. I can be spontaneous and make things up as I go.”

Interested in experiencing the solo travel magic for yourself? Here are some tips to make your first adventure seamless.

With so many places to travel, it can be overwhelming to pick your first solo travel destination. Start by giving your trip a focus, whether it’s an activity you’ve been wanting to try like hot air ballooning or a destination that’s long been on your list, suggests Broste. Or maybe it’s a hybrid trip where you visit a friend and then continue on a solo adventure.

As you’re shaping your itinerary, you’ll find lots of online travel guides and lists filled with superlatives. But Broste suggests leaving room to discover some restaurants, museums, or sunset spots on your own, following the recommendations of Uber drivers, concierges, and others you cross paths with on your trip. Doing so will help you build confidence because you’re not checking off someone else’s curated checklist, she says.

“Leave yourself a lot of time so you can wander and be spontaneous,” Broste recommends.

Another thing: If you feel overwhelmed in the planning phase, start with a domestic trip or perhaps an international trip to a place where locals speak your language, suggests Sosha Adams, a travel consultant with Clever Nomad who has traveled to more than 20 countries on her own and created a passport wallet with RFID-blocking material. When she started solo traveling in 2006, she booked a trip to see Niagara Falls, then went to London next before broadening her scope to other parts of Europe.

When you’re planning a trip, Warren suggests checking out the U.S. Department of State’s travel advisories. For added context, though, she likes to read up on destinations on news sites like Al Jazeera and BBC.

Other safety tips she practices include sharing her location from her iPhone with a trusted contact and downloading maps ahead of time in case cell phone service goes out.

Warren also recommends that her clients traveling internationally enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP), which is a free service that allows U.S. citizens to receive security updates from the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate when they’re traveling abroad.

If you are heading into the wild outdoors alone, always make sure someone else knows where you are going and when they should expect to hear back from you, recommends Rax Suen, a digital nomad who runs the travel website Nomads Unveiled and hosts the Chat With Nomads podcast.

“This could be letting your family or friends know via messages, your local accommodation host, or park rangers,” Suen says.

Also, while you’re traveling, resist the urge to share your travels in real time, says Nneya Richards, a digital content creator and journalist who has been solo traveling for a decade.

“In this age of social media, we want to share where we are and what we’re doing, but when you’re traveling alone, it’s a good idea to be more guarded with that information because you don’t know who’s watching,” Richards says. “Wait until you check out to share the pictures of your hotel.”

She also likes to travel with a door stopper equipped with an alarm so she’ll be alerted if anyone tries to open her door.

Much of the travel world is set up for couples and group travel — with rates based on double occupancy and single supplement fees on cruise ships.

But more cruise lines, including Holland America and Virgin Voyages, have singles cabins. Accommodations-wise, mid-luxury three-star hotels can be affordable options for solo travelers, Richards says, and she’s found they’re far more common in Europe than they are stateside.

Also, if it’s been a while since you’ve stayed at a hostel, you might be surprised by how much they rival boutique hotels these days, and many come with the added benefit of meeting fellow travelers, with hosted events and walking tours. Adams recommends checking reviews on sites like HostelWorld before booking.

“Hostels are amazing for networking and socializing, and many have options for single rooms if you don’t want to share a space,” Adams says.

As you set your trip budget, give yourself an extra 10 percent cushion, Warren recommends. That way, if (or rather, when) plans change, you’ll have ample wiggle room in your budget.

Mini, packable tripods and wide-angle lenses are trusted tools to help you capture good photos of yourself. But if you want to take your solo travel selfies to the next level, Broste recommends getting comfortable with your camera settings.

As an example, Canon’s Camera Connect apps allows you to set up your shot on your mobile device to shoot with your Canon camera. From your phone, you can zoom in, set the self-time, and change up your exposure, Broste says.

The interval mode on your camera will let you set up a time-lapse so you can program your camera to get 10, 50, or even 100 shots in quick succession without having to run back and forth to reset your camera in between photos. If your camera doesn’t have this mode, you can buy an intervalometer, Broste says. The device plugs into your camera and controls how often, how long, and how many shots are taken.

The beauty of solo travel is that you can have time by yourself, but you can also link up with other travelers, whether it’s on group tours or on apps like Travello, which is a social media platform used in 180 countries that connects travelers.

Suen, for instance, has enjoyed the solitude of wandering the ancient Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza in Mexico and exploring southern Croatia’s Krka waterfalls in the off-season when it was tranquil, feeling like he had the place to himself (along with the cats who reside there). But he’s also enjoyed the company of new friends along the ancient Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru.

Suen’s advice? “Trust that you will learn to enjoy your own company, and alone time is underrated,” he says. And when you meet people you click with, be open to adventure.

Brittany Anas is a Denver-based writer specializing in travel, health, food, and adventure. Her work has appeared in Women's Health, Men's Journal, TripSavvy, Apartment Therapy, Denver Life, and USA Today. Follow her @brittanyanas.

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