My Solo Travel Pre-departure Checklist

Q: Does solo travel require any extra planning?

A: Absolutely! Check out this pre-departure checklist before taking your first solo trip!

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While I’m all for spontaneity (including when I travel alone!), there’s a certain base level of safety precautions that make plain sense. The solo travel checklist below isn’t meant to be all-inclusive, but I hope it’s a helpful starter!

Here’s my pre-departure checklist while packing for my solo travels!

Money

One thing I like to pre-plan is my first few hours of arrival in a foreign place. That particularly includes somewhere with foreign currency. Once I touch down and get through customs, my first stop is the airport ATM. If I can take out some local currency before leaving the states, I’ll do that, but sometimes it’s not in the cards.

In any case, before stepping foot outside that foreign airport, I want petty cash in local currency. I’ll even suffer through the egregiously long queue at the incredibly over-priced currency exchange place before leaving that airport. I’ve been in too many situations in foreign countries with taxis, buses, etc. that don’t take credit cards. And in my experience, the absolute last thing you want to do after an exhausting 10+ hour long-haul flight is aimlessly walking around alone, stranded and searching for cash.

A couple of additional points regarding money are (1) Keep some of your home currency cash on you too; sometimes, ATMs are unavailable, and the old-fashioned dollar-for-dollar exchange works best! And (2) Spread out your money! It’s SO important to keep a secret stash (or two) of extra cash and an emergency credit card either in a separate bag, a shoe… just somewhere less obvious but still accessible.

Directions

Again, in the spirit of pre-planning a smooth arrival strategy, I always make sure to keep a very detailed printed itinerary on me. I’m talking confirmation numbers, train station addresses, the works — all on one hard copy. I stress the importance of a printed version because many airports make you pay for WiFi, and you don’t want to be reliant on that WiFi to figure out where you’re headed when you land. I also HIGHLY recommend including address and travel details in the local language. It’s much easier for a local or taxi driver to help with directions when you’re speaking (or showing them) their language!

Another HUGE tip regarding directions is to make sure you download the region’s google map ahead of time! You want to make sure you always have a means of finding your way when WiFi or cell service is limited. I’ve also found this really helpful for U.S. National Parks, which (favorably) tend to be in the middle of the wilderness with horrendous cell reception.

Important documents

Whether or not I’m traveling internationally, when I’m traveling alone, I always make sure to bring my passport and a scanned paper copy. Yes, I’ve tried to get back into the country without a passport, and NO, I do NOT recommend it!! Obviously, bring along your license or state ID card as well!

Foreign language

Similar to my comment above about pre-downloading the region’s local google map, I would also suggest pre-downloading the local language in your google translate app; let’s mitigate all situations where you’re potentially offline.

Electronics

First, invest in a fantastic global adapter that can come with you to ANY country and never think twice about it again! Second, I could never have too many portable chargers, and I re-charge them nightly while solo traveling. This is my absolute *favorite* portable Mophie charger (after trying quite a few)!! Last, I recommend synching up on “Find My Friends” phone tracking with someone you trust before your departure; hopefully, it’s insurance that’s never needed.

First aid

When traveling alone, I always make sure to bring a packable, travel first aid kit. The most I’ve used it for is a blister that required a band-aid, but better safe than sorry. I also recommend bringing an extra week’s worth of any prescription meds just in case.

Accountability

Before traveling solo, the final thing I do is share my itinerary with a family member or friend. While details of your trip may change mid-adventure, it’s important to have someone back home looking out for you to contact the appropriate hotel staff or authorities if needed during a worst-case scenario.

Want to ensure you cover all your bases? Let The Soloist do the heavy planning for you!