Solo travel, especially for women, can seem a bit daunting. Hearing all kinds of stories makes us feel uneasy, unsafe and the question that we often ask ourselves is – what if something happens to me on my trip? You can trust me in saying that I was asking myself the exact same question before my first ever solo trip. I was very excited, yet nervous at the same time. I had absolutely no idea what to expect.

The idea for me to take a solo trip, stemmed from not really being able to rely on people. I don’t mean it in a bad way necessarily. It was my 26^th birthday coming up, so I thought it would be amazing to celebrate in another country, especially one that I’ve never visited before. I pitched the idea to some of my friends and although the initial response was positive, as the time came to booking the trip, most of them couldn’t make it. I didn’t take it personally at all, but saw it as a perfect opportunity to take that plunge and finally travel solo. I felt like I had no excuse this time and if I didn’t do it now, I probably won’t do it for a long time, if ever.

Four weeks before my birthday I went ahead and booked my flights to Barcelona – there was no going back now. The flights weren’t particularly expensive but having spent that money I knew I wouldn’t let it go waste. All that was left was securing my accommodation and planning what I was going to do out there. I’ve never been to mainland Spain and I’ve heard amazing things about Barcelona, so my research about things to do was very exciting. All the pre-planning and booking in advance, really has made my trip a lot easier. I booked tickets to Park Güell and Sagrada Família, which saved me from having to wait in a line and I kid you not, the lines to buy tickets for the attractions were ridiculous!(I went mid-November, so I can only imagine what it would be like in the summer) I also purchased a four day Hola BCN! travel card in advance and that was a great idea as I was able to pick it up from the airport’s information centre and use it on all my journeys in Barcelona and the journey from and to the airport. So that was a few things sorted which I hoped would make my trip a little bit more organised. In terms of accommodation, I was very keen to do Couchsurfing. I’ve done it once before a few years ago (a story for another time so stay tuned in) and I found it the most amazing experience. For those who have no idea what it is, Couchsurfing is a platform for members to ‘surf’ on couches by staying as a guest at a host’s home, host travellers, meet other members, or join an event. It really is a great website and it’s free! That was one of the reasons I chose to do it. As a Masters student I’m not that well off, so I always look for ways to save my pennies. One thing I would say, if you decide to Couchsurf, is to make sure that you carefully select your host. For instance, make sure they’re verified members on the site that they have positive reviews from previous couchsurfers and their accommodation arrangement really does suit you. You can never be too careful and this is the place where you’d be staying, so be vigilant and ask as many questions as possible until you feel comfortable. Also it’s very important that once the arrangements have been made, you let someone back home know where you will be staying and all of your host’s details. From experience, I would also say, have a back up plan in case your host cancels. Sadly only a few days before my trip, the member who offered to host me has cancelled so I had to frantically search for another accommodation for my stay. That was so unexpected!!! Only two days before my trip, I booked my stay through Airbnb. Luckily I came across a very good deal so I booked right away.

Now that most of the logistics were sorted out, all I had to do was make sure I had printed off all the bits and pieces that I needed, which included attraction tickets, travel documents and maps. In terms of packing – I packed the night before.

That was me set on my journey. I had my passport, travel documents, suitcase and I was ready to finally take that plunge.

To be continued…