Hey everyone,

I'm 28F and have a 2.5 week trip to Japan booked from the 1st December. It was originally planned with my now ex-partner and since the breakup I've lost almost all excitement for it. It's somewhere I've always wanted to visit and I spent months looking forward to it but life has changed quite a bit recently and now feels a little overwhelming.

The breakup came with a fair few unexpected expenses, including car issues and the costs of moving out of our shared place and getting myself settled again. I've spent the last few months trying to get back on my feet financially and while I'm doing okay now, this trip would mean coming home with most of my savings depleted.

For context, I work full-time in an office job and also study at university. It's not a particularly high paying job but I've also recently stepped into a role with more responsibility at work, so things have been particularly busy and demanding lately. I wouldn't be splurging on this holiday but I also wouldn't need to stress over every dollar while I'm there. It's more the thought of coming home with very little savings after everything that's happened.

Uni wraps up in mid-November and I'd be flying out not long after. Between the increased responsibilities at work, exams, the breakup, moving and just generally trying to get my life back together, I'm feeling pretty exhausted. November is already such a busy time of year and I can't tell whether I genuinely don't want to go anymore or whether I'm just overwhelmed by everything.

My flights are non-refundable but I can still cancel all of my booked accomodations.

Part of me thinks I should go, enjoy Japan and make new memories for myself. The other part wonders whether it would be more sensible to cut my losses, rebuild my savings and visit another time when I'm in a better headspace.

Has anyone gone ahead with a big trip after a breakup or during a financially stressful period? Did you regret going or were you glad you pushed through? Would love some outside perspectives because I'm genuinely torn!

About 6-months ago, I returned from a 6-month solo travel trip across Oceania and SE Asia. The first few weeks of the trip were with my (now ex) girlfriend, but the remainder was solo. I'm in my early 30's, so a bit above the average age of most solo travelers (but rarely felt old). I was solo through Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, and ended in Nepal. The trip itself was incredible. Incredible in the positives and negatives. I think being alone in a country where you know no one, can't speak the language, and are struggling can be such an empowering feeling once the dust settles.

I was looking through some photos a couple days ago and felt nothing but immense sadness and longing. People say you change doing a trip like this - and you definitely do - but it's interesting how easy it is to fall back into the same routine that you tried to leave behind. I love the person I am when traveling, it truly is the best version of myself. Seeing these photos of that time highlight how different of a world I live in day to day. It's like seeing photos of a friend you're no longer in contact with.

I'm not sure if I'm looking for advice or just looking to vent. I'd love to hear about how folks have incorporated their 'travel-selves' into their non-travel selves and what changes they've made to capture the awe of travel in their day to day lives. Eh, maybe I am looking for advice ;)

Anyway, if you're reading this and on the fence about traveling - do it. I have 0 regrets. The world is your oyster. It's more doable than you think, and will change the course of your life.

I have been with my wife for 10 years. Except for our honeymoon all my international trips have been solo. My wife is a terrible traveler, and was an anxious wreck any time we had to travel from one location to another.

Next year I have to attend a conference in Europe. My wife has decided she wants to meet me somewhere in Europe.

I really enjoyed solo traveling and kinda winging it. My wife would have a meltdown if we tried that.

Any advice for someone used to solo traveling and now traveling with another person?

Hellooo r/solotravel, I, 24M, recently embarked on my first solo trip to the Netherlands and Croatia in the summer flying in from Mumbai.

And since I had such a gala of a time I’m here to eat your ear about it. So without further ado, drumroll TRIP REPORT

BUDGET

I shelled out around 3-3.5k USD in all, inclusive of my flights, hostels, transit, food, alcohol and all my experiences.

Could it have been cheaper? Yes, if I wasn’t dumb enough to pick two European countries poles apart then perhaps the flights in between the two wouldn’t have cost me just as much as the Mumbai-Amsterdam round trip.

Why did I do it despite such a reality? Because the heart wants what the heart wants, and sometimes the heart feels like giving the wallet a little kick in the nuts. Long story short, I’d romanticised the trip in my head before I worked out the logistics and then I refused to back down. This is a warning. Logistics first, romanticisation second.

LENGTH AND LOCATION

16 days. 6 in Amsterdam, 10 in Croatia split as 3 in Hvar, 3 Dubrovnik and 4 in Split.

ACCOMMODATION AND ACTIVITIES

I stayed at 4 hostels - 1 in each city and this was basically what made my trip. I’ll elaborate below.

TRIP DETAILS

I basically rolled into Amsterdam shitting myself. I remember after checking into the OneFam Amstel, I stepped out for lunch by myself and thought that I was a gigantic dumbfuck for having done this all alone for the first time. I was overstimulated and anxious.

What broke this feeling was making my first friend. There was an American dude just loafing around in the common room, but he was super nice and we spoke for a bit. One of the hostel volunteers, their newest addition was also super nice and made a genuine effort to speak with me.

And things kicked off from there. That feeling of comfort compounds and soon I’d made fast friends who kept me company day and night till I left the city (I miss them terribly, still in touch). I thought I’d under-planned the trip by only having a couple of to-do items on my list but boy you see these 20 something year olds in hostels really pull up across the globe with nothing but their underwear.

So what did I end up doing?

The answer to that is what didn’t I do?

And the answer to that is: a lot of things actually.

The thing is when you put a bunch of hapless 20 something year olds with different interests and budgets together, you get not a lot of sightseeing, but a tonne of sidequesting.

But I’ll give you the gist below that has a bit more je ne sais quoi than simply saying that we got high in the day and drunk in the night.

AMSTERDAM
Cycling through the afternoons, hitting the coffeeshops, hunting for stroopwaffels and delis and Dutch fries. Nights meant rage cage in the hostel to pregame followed with by trips to pubs and clubs. I didn’t return to the hostel sooner than 3am on any given night and never sober and because of this I don’t know what an Amsterdam morning looks like. Spent a week there.

I also did the Van Gogh museum, Anne Frank House, not one but TWO canal tours (I was dragged by my hostel friends to an unlimited wine and cheese one. We were a group of seven, noisy as hell and pegged as such by the tour guide. Felt like I was back in school for a moment. I kept it classy though, no noise from me). So yea paid respect to the culture too.

CROATIA
I’m gonna bundle Hvar, Split and Dubrovnik together because I don’t want to bore you guys with excessive details and because my fingers are gonna hurt after a while.

I did the boat parties, the island hopping, the Dubrovnik city walls, the Game of Thrones walking tour, caught the Croatia-England game in a fanzone (Croatia lost 4-2 and the English lads weren’t being gentlemen about it, heard knives were pulled but I kept my distance from the scene, spectating from safety).

I’m dropping a line to here to say that Dubrovniks Old Town is probably the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen. And I’ve done a decent amount of travelling.

I remember feeling awful leaving Amsterdam and entering Hvar my first stop because what do you mean I need to leave all my friends behind? I missed them terribly and the idea of having to repeat the process all over jaded me out.

It didn’t help that my first night in Hvar had a flirtationship go sideways and I had some really odd company. Met my first “lads on tour” from Essex. Lovely chaps really, very warm but uh interesting at times.

But the travel Gods smiled on me and I made some wonderful friends the next day. Happened by sheer luck that some people I’d spoken to in the common room earlier sat beside me on the steps outside a Hvar bar.

Even luckier that two of them would keep me company (separately) in my next two stops in Dubrovnik and Split. It was sooo much easier heading into those cities knowing that I’ve got a social anchor ready for me. And yes long story short, I had a fantastic time in no small part thanks to the people I met.

WHAT I LEARNT

1. Being open minded and friendly takes you a long way. People aren’t dying to be your friend, but I’d say most solo travellers aren’t opposed to making a friend either. It does take a bit of initiative and first impressions do a lot of work in these situations so present well.

2. Be patient. It won’t all fall into place by the get-go and there will be times you won’t feel too good. But honestly it can be so incredibly liberating once you’ve gotten comfortable. This sounds generic as hell but unfortunately it’s true.

3. Plan if you wanna sightsee and hold firm. I don’t regret caving into a second canal tour or a boat party even if they were repeat experiences because I genuinely enjoyed them. But like it came as a trade off against spending that time elsewhere. This wasn’t a problem for me, but people have done a lot more in the same amount of time as me. I didn’t go to Utrecht, I didn’t go to Krka or Plitvice. I might have missed out but honestly no regrets.

TRIP VERDICT

11/10. Amsterdam and Croatia were both wonderful. Dubrovnik was gorgeous and I could have spent more time there.

Please ask me questions and let me gush.

Hey!!
I’m a Canadian 22F first time solo traveller. I intially planned to travel for 6 months due to my friends wedding being in India late Feb. my plan was to start in thailand, then to the banana backpack trail throughout SE asia then end in india.

I’ve been in thailand for 2 months now and have absolutely loved it and everyone. The only thing is my anxiety is at an all time high, my tummy is always turning, it’s hard to eat and i always feel sick.

For the past week i’ve been really debating going home to be with my dog, go back to work and see my family. But i don’t want to regret missing countries and experiences and also disappoint my friend getting married.

I would really love some advice because im really stuck between these two feelings.

Hello!

I'm planning to spend a few days by myself in Malaysian Borneo in November. I know this isn't the best timing weather-wise, and isn't really enough time to fully see the island, but my schedule isn't very flexible. I'm planning to choose one general, and spend my entire time there.

I'm particularly interested in conservation, nature, and hiking. Although I would love to see some of the unique wildlife found on the island, I'll be satisfied exploring the rainforest, even if I miss the big five.

Normally, I prefer challenging, less-curated, (cheap) itineraries and I'm often willing to skip the more famous sites to see more remote, unusual locations. However, after research into Borneo, it seems like many of the best locations for enjoying nature, such as Kota Kinabalu, Danum Valley, Kinabatangan River, require guides for some or all trips into the parks, and many of the non-guided locations are quite crowded and touristy. So for the first time in my life, I'm considering if it might be worth it to book a guide and even stay at a place like the Danum Valley Field Center, leaving most of the trip plan to someone else.

It seems like there are three types of trips I could do:

• Fully curated trip in a more wild, remote park, likely Sabah
• Independent trip to accessible, well-hiked areas, likely Sarawak
• Hybrid, where I book a guide for a day or a few hours at a time on the edges of the larger natural areas, and do a few independent hikes

I'm wondering if anyone has experience with guided or unguided explorations of the island. Would hiring a guide give me a mass-market overly curated experience, or would skipping the guide force me to visit only the most well-worn tourist trails? Should my limited time and the likelihood of bad weather change my calculations?

I (23M) am doing 6-7 weeks in portugal/spain/morocco before Christmas, and would love any suggestions from anyone more familiar with the regions and what they are like during this time of year. rough itinerary;

🇵🇹 porto-braga-guimaraes-coimbra-sintra-lisbon-lagos-tavira

🇪🇸 donana national park-cadiz-seville-cordoba- jaen-granada-ronda-gibraltar (yes technically 🇬🇧)

🇲🇦 tangier-rabat-fes-atlas mountain hiking-marrakesh-agadir-tagazhout (if i have time)

have a bigger trip to india and east asia planned after christmas, so dont wanna spend thousands and thousands on this trip. any advice or recommendations greatly appreciated!