When you’re travelling, the most annoying thing you could do is act like an obnoxious tourist. We all know the type: they’re unnecessarily loud, disrespectful and just plain irritating. The good news is that there are some measures you can take to prevent becoming this tourist without even realising it.
Honestly, respect and sensitivity go a long way. Chances are you’re already doing some of these things, but it’s always better to be on the more prepared side of things.
I got the idea for this article when I was thinking about my previous travels and I thought about what went wrong and what could have gone better. In most cases, one of those things was the group of annoying tourists messing up the holiday for people around them. That’s why I decided to gather all of my knowledge on this subject and write this blog post to try to help the international travel community get rid of them.
You know how it’s incredibly easy to pick out the tourists in your home city? Yeah. It’s like that everywhere. If you want to avoid being treated like a lesser person and falling for tourist scams, it might be a good idea to consider mirroring the locals’ behaviour.
One thing you have to be very careful of when acting like a local is that you don’t take elements of their culture and use them as, say, a fashion accessory. This phenomenon is called cultural appropriation and it’s actually a remainder of colonialism. It’s often seen as a very racist and offensive thing to do.
If you want to do what the locals do, you’ll obviously have to do some research as to what it is that they do.
Books are a fantastic way to find out what’s really going on. Read a book about your destination (no, not a travel guide – an actual book) or find books or stories that take place there. For example, if you’re travelling to Dublin, James Joyce’s Dubliners would be a terrific option.
Another thing you could do is look up how it would feel to live there. Just by googling “Moving to (Insert your destination here)”, you’ll come across hundreds of websites and articles like “15 Things You Need to Know Before Moving To …” and “What It’s Really Like To Live In …”. Often, you’ll also find a Quora question on the first page of Google where a local explains what the city/country/region is like.
You’d be surprised by how many people have no respect for the culture of the country they’re visiting.
If you really want to get to know a country, you’ll have to experience it like a local does. And you can’t do that if you don’t even respect them.
When you’re at the entrance of a buddhist temple that asks you to cover your shoulders before you enter, it’s not the place or the time to make a point. You’ll find that the staff will greet you with a smile if you follow the few simple rules that are imposed on you.
Also, please set your phone to airplane mode, lower your voice and remove your headphones and hats. It’s just common courtesy.
Don’t discard a way of living just because it’s different than yours. You can learn a lot if you’re open to learn about the way that other people live their lives.
In some countries, talking about politics is always frowned upon. In other countries, it’s okay in some circumstances. Some countries just don’t give a hoot.
These are things you should know about before boarding the plane and travelling halfway across the world. Even if you’re not usually someone who exclaims their opinions about everything to anyone. You might be talking to a local and slip up about something.
If you do find yourself in a conversation about politics, just respect the person you’re talking to. Don’t expect to change their mind, because you’ll be disappointed and they’ll be annoyed at you.
Accept the fact that you’re probably not going to come to an agreement and you may actually have a conversation that’s worth having.
The whole point of travelling is to experience other cultures and become more open-minded about other people. You can never achieve that if you’re stuck with stereotypes about them.
It might seem harmless to believe that all Brits are obsessed with their royals, but if you’re travelling to the United Kingdom, you could very well offend someone without even realising it.
One of the best ways to act like a local is to eat like a local.
Since the rise of the internet, it has been easy for anyone with a smartphone and an internet connection to find literally anything. Why not look up where locals eat in the place you’re visiting?
You can use a website like Spotted By Locals to get a really in-depth guide to visiting your destination as a local would; you can use an app like LocalEats (Android / Apple) to find the restaurants outside the city centre that locals go to; or you can even ask a by-passer where his favourite food truck is.
One of the easiest ways for locals to recognise a group of tourists is by their fashion choices. Think about it: the Hawaii shirt, the cargo shorts, the fanny pack, the bottle of water and the hat that never seems to fit.
Don’t be that person.
When travelling to a summer destination (such as Cabo or Mallorca), a bikini or a pair of swim shorts is the perfect attire to spend a day relaxing by the hotel pool. However, consider changing into something more appropriate should you decide to head out to the city.
When travelling to a part of the world that has a strong religious connotation (such as Southeast Asia), you should DEFINITELY pack something to cover your legs and shoulders for when you visit a place of worship. As a traveller, it’s your duty to be considerate of the local culture.
It goes without saying that you shouldn’t go around wearing clothes that have offensive language or images on them. You should also not be wearing anything that portrays overly religious or political subject matter – especially not in more conservative countries.
You don’t want to be that one person stuck in a pair of short shorts and a tank top when rain is pouring down from the sky.
Even if the weather report says that there are going to be clear skies throughout your entire holiday, pack a raincoat just in case. Mother Nature is very unforgiving and unpredictable, no matter how hard meteorologists try to convince you otherwise.
Not only is having a bulky, expensive camera around your neck a great way to get robbed abroad, it might also offend some people at specific locations (see also Put down your camera once in a while below).
Locals don’t usually walk around with a camera strapped to them, so neither should you.
As a traveller, you have to be conscious of the cultural differences between your country and the country you’re visiting. You have to do this without assigning a value to these differences. Your culture isn’t better or worse just because you do something differently.
The 1899 novel by Joseph Conrad called Heart of Darkness tells the story of Charles Marlow, an English captain for an ivory trading company. His boat travels to the yet undiscovered inland of the African continent.
Marlow is quite possibly the worst example for travellers. He goes to Africa with a mind full of prejudice and stereotypes. This story is located during the time of imperial colonialism, though. Of course, that doesn’t make Marlow a better person, but it does help to give the reader some context.
All I’m trying to say is: don’t be a Marlow.
Mass tourism is ruining places all over the world, period.
The only one of the original Seven Wonders of the World, the Pyramids of Giza, were originally built on a rather small plot of land, but because of mass tourism, it’s been transformed to one of the biggest tourist hotspots in the world.
Like the Pyramids, there are hundreds of other landmarks that negatively impact local residents. Please, do some research to find out how the attraction you’re planning to visit influences locals.
Don’t haggle.
It’s pushing people who live in poverty down the ladder even further. While you’ll likely only save a marginal amount of money, their livelihood depends on the products and services they’re selling. If a bakery tells you the bread you’re trying to buy is $2, you wouldn’t say “How about $1?” either, would you?
Again, it all comes down to having some elementary respect for the trade and skills of the person you’re buying from.
Oftentimes, travellers are so busy trying to capture the moment that they forget to live in it. I must admit that I’m guilty of this too.
Although a memory of a moment is much less tangible than a picture or a video, it’s still more valuable.
What I’m ultimately trying to say is that it’s okay to want photos, but don’t forget to actually be there and enjoy your time.
Personal space is a concept that’s highly dependent on culture.
South Americans generally tend to be closer to each other physically than people from Europe and North America.
These differences in personal space could even help explain some cultural stereotypes (stand-offish versus intrusive people).
In the end, it basically all boils down to this: respect the local culture and you’ll get respect in return. After all, you reap what you sow.
Don’t be afraid to indulge in the occasional tourist trap. If you try too hard not to act like a tourist, you’ll likely end up not even enjoying your holiday.
Has a tourist ever annoyed you at home? Why?
Thanks for reading!
-S
Göteborg – also known as Gothenburg – is too often overlooked in Scandinavian travel itineraries. However, as the second-biggest city in Sweden, it boasts over 800,000 inhabitants. So there must be some things to do there, right?
If Göteborg isn’t on your bucket list yet, you should put it on there. Here’s why.
Note: I got these insights from Margot, who was in this magnificent Swedish city between August 2016 and January 2017 for her Erasmus stay. You can take a look at her beautiful pictures on Instagram. Margot, if you’re reading this: thank you so much for giving me your inside tips about Göteborg and for allowing me to adapt and use the information you gave me for this post!
Without any further ado, let’s get right into it.
If there’s one thing the Swedish are good at – besides cinnamon rolls – it’s the flea markets. One way or another, it’s always much easier than you’d expect to find beautiful, original things at a great price.
There is a flea market where people sell things out of the trunk of their cars in Slottskogen between April and October. This flea market is known as the Drive-In-Loppis.
A suburb of Göteburg called Utby hosts the Utby Promenadloppis at the end of August, which is a lot of fun because the whole neighbourhood joins in and holds a little flea market in their garden.
On the last Sunday of May, there’s a megaloppis in Majorna, which is very much worth a visit as well.
Göteborg is preparing for its 400th birthday (yes, 400!). That’s going to happen in 2021. One of the festive projects that the city is working on is the construction of the Jubileumsparken. Right now, there’s already an outdoor swimming pool and a sauna which is available free of charge (and which is one of the architectural highlights of the park). If you want to spend some time in the sauna, you do have to make a reservation.
Unless you’re a big fan of ice hockey, you probably shouldn’t do this every week. However, it can be a lot of fun to attend an ice hockey game. The Swedish are obsessed with ice hockey and every game turns into a spectacle. Also, you’ll score a lot of bonus points if you can chat to the Göteborgare about the Frölunda Indians or the Växjö Lakers.
The bottom floor of the modern and pleasant Göteborg city library at Götaplatsen hosts a large collection of board games. There are chairs and tables for you to play a game of chess, Scrabble, or whatever tickles your fancy. Employees are there to help you and explain the rules to you. You can also do some good old console gaming in the same room. Fun fact: the library is open until 9 pm on weekdays (6 pm on the weekend). There’s a nice little cafe on the first floor for lunch and fika.
Liseberg is Scandinavia’s biggest amusement park. It’s especially fun to visit during the Christmas period and around Halloween. It’s decorated in a very retro way, which makes you feel like you’re in a Swedish film from the fifties.
Göteborg is not only for people who want to chill in the park and spend some time in a sauna, though. It also has many things, like museums and art galleries, to offer for those travellers looking for a more cultured trip.
This museum, which literally translates to “Art Museum of Göteborg”, has a very varied range of temporary modern exhibitions (think Bruce Nauman and Tove Jansson). There is also a permanent collection, which includes an entire floor dedicated to Scandinavian art. Inside of the museum, there is something called the Hasselblad Center, displaying different works of photography.
Alongside the museum, you can find Göteborgs Konsthall, where more modern art is displayed.
Photo credit: rodasten.com
Art gallery Röda Sten, located right under the green Älvsborgsbron bridge, is an art gallery that often displays modern art exhibitions about relevant, contemporary themes. Every week, the gallery also organises a free workshop for art enthusiasts under 26. There is also a restaurant and cafe inside – if there isn’t too much wind, the terrace is located perfectly along the river banks.
This museum is for anyone who wants to learn more about the history of Göteborg. Margot, for example, saw an exhibition about Göteborg as a city of music, and she learnt that the city used to be the jazz centre of Sweden and that Håkan Hellström is far from the only Swedish musician worth learning about.
Since eating, drinking and fika are very important to the Swedish people, the following list of cafes, restaurants, bistros and other cosy places to go will be quite extensive. As such, there will not be any explanation as to why they’re in this post, because they really don’t even need any explanation. The places are listed by neighbourhood.
Are you a nature enthusiast? Do you get energy from hanging out in green places and breathing fresh air? If so, Göteborg is the perfect place for you. It has plenty of nature-related things to do and visit. In this section, I’ll give you a selection of them.
Photo by Margot
Palmhuset is an impressive 19th-century greenhouse right in the city centre. It’s incredibly popular among wedding planners and Instagrammers (seriously, just check the hashtag #palmhuset). In the central part of the greenhouse, you’ll find a stairway to an elevated platform where you can enjoy your home-made lunch in peace, surrounded by palm leaves. This platform can be a godsend on cold, rainy days when you just want to have an affordable lunch in an interesting location.
The park that houses Palmhuset is called Trädgårdsföreningen. Talk about a tongue twister. This park also has a rose garden, where you can find the Rosenkaféet, which also serves lunch and drinks.
Taking tram 11 heading toward Saltholmen will take you right to the quay where ferries go toward the Göteborg archipelago (Swedish: Göteborgs skärgård). The ferries are a part of the regular public transport network, so your season ticket, day ticket or three-day combo ticket should cover it. A regular ticket is valid for 90 minutes, which should get you a one-way trip, including the tram and the ferry, provided you have a little bit of luck with your timing. You can find more information about getting to the archipelago on the Swedish public transport website.
During the summer, you can take a trip to the archipelago to go swimming, but be cautious of the jellyfish. During the winter, you can go there to get some (really) fresh air. Styrsö, one of the main islands, has those pretty Pippi Longstocking houses (see pictures), as well as a vantage point called Stora Rös Café Öbergska at the Bratten quay.
Vrångö is a calmer island with nature reserves on either side (Norra & Södra Slingan), fit for short hikes with splendid views. On the east side of Norra Slingan, there’s a small sandy beach. Vrångö also has a vantage point called Lotsutkiken.
Fun fact: the inhabitants of this archipelago pretty much only move around using golf carts or motorised carrier cycles. And, if you’re lucky, you might even get to spot some wild animals.
Slottsskogen is Göteborg’s main park, featuring a free zoo that includes animals such as penguins and elk. Moreover, Slottsskogen is the best place to see the result of the Swedish paternity leave policy, as you can easily spot groups of men with baby buggies. A popular sport in this park is roller skiing, the off-snow equivalent of cross-country skiing (according to Wikipedia, at least).
Right across the street from Slottsskogen, you can find Göteborg’s botanical garden, entitled Göteborgs botaniska trädgård. It’s one of the biggest botanical gardens in Europe.
The gardens feature many small paths for visitors to explore, as well as thousands of species of plants to marvel at. Eventually, the paths will take you to the entrance of the nature reserve called Änggårdsbergen, where you can continue your hike. You could eventually make your way to Guldhedstornets Kafé, a fika place located on the top floor of a water tower that is still in use nowadays. This cafe, because of its high altitude, offers visitors a panorama view of the city.
At the east side of Göteborg is Delsjöområdet, a large nature reserve that is known for its many trees. Among local residents, it’s a popular place to go for a swim when temperatures allow it. Within this nature reserve, there are two lakes: Stora Delsjön and Lilla Delsjön. These lakes are easily accessible through public transport, although you’ll have to walk a fair bit to actually get there.
In the middle of Stora Delsjön, there is a rock right below the water surface. If you want to get an Instagram shot of you walking on water, this is your best bet. The two lakes are also the most accessible location to do some kayaking or hiking near the city.
Just like most other major cities around the world, Göteborg is full of history and interesting architectural concoctions. In the next part of this blog post, I’ll share some architectural places worth visiting with you.
The best vantage points to see the city itself are called Masthuggsberget and Ramberget. Both come with a considerable hike, but they’re definitely worth the effort. While both are located just outside of the city, Masthuggsberget is still a bit closer and will give you the most detailled view over Göteborg.
There are rocks around the church (Masthuggskyrkan) at Masthuggsberget, where you can take a walk and get a 360 degree view of the city.
Visiting Ramberget is very much recommended when there are fireworks along the river Göta älv. At that time, you’ll be able to see the entire skyline of Göteborg with fireworks in the background.
Skansen Kronan is also a popular vantage point due to its views and because it offers visitors an impressive look at the Oskar Fredriks kyrka (see below).
The most breathtaking walk in Göteborg has got to be the Göta Älv quay. Start your walk at Lilla Bommen (a very unique skyscraper that has been nicknamed “the lipstick”) and end in Maritiman (a free open-air museum with all kinds of old war ships), passing several landmarks on the way.
Those landmarks include Barken Viking (an old sailing ship), Göteborgs Gästhamn (old, red storage spaces where cafes and other hip spots can be found nowadays), Göteborgsoperan and some charming buildings with the typical copper-green towers.
Vasagatan is an avenue, named after king Gustav Vasa, filled with atypical but graceful late 19th century to early 20th century villas. At the junction of this street and Viktoriagatan, you will find a house called Tomtehuset, which roughly translates to “gnome house”. The house earned this name because of the mural paintings depicting gnomes as the first occupants of the house (an architect, a printer and a photographer).
In the middle of the street, there’s a walkway where you can go for a leisurely walk. If you do that, you’ll also pass the central university library, where you can go inside and take a quick look at the big reading room. The streets surrounding Vasagatan, such as Storgatan and Engelbreksgatan, also have some houses worth taking a look at. Outside the city centre, similar architecture can be found in the streets Berzeliigatan and Södra Vägen.
Feskekôrka is a word in Göteborg’s dialect, translated into English as “Fish church” – a very logical name for an indoor fish and shellfish market that looks like a church. It’s one of Göteborg’s most famous tourist attractions and it’s very likely that this is the only one that might ring a bell.
This is a beautiful church with a dark-red facade and copper-green and golden details. You’ll probably come along this church on your way to Masthuggsberget or you can see it from Skansen Kronan.
Göteborg is not only for architecture and nature enthusiasts, though. If you just want to find some good stores to hang out and buy some things, here’s a list of the best shops in Göteborg.
The most common shopping locations in Göteborg are without a doubt Nordstan (the biggest mall in all of Scandinavia, mostly featuring chain stores) and Inom Vallgraven (a larger area; the closer you get to Nordstan, the more chains you’ll come across). If you want to find stores that are less well-known to the general public, you might want to check out Magasinsgatan. For something between the two, you can probably get your fix in the streets between Östra and Västra Hamngatan.
For artisanal products, you’ll have to be in Kronhusbodarna (yellow houses around Kronhuset, Göteborg’s oldest building) and Haga (the old working-class neighbourhood; now a very touristy but convivial street with coffee shops and other stores). These neighbourhoods are great if you’re looking to buy souvenirs for friends back home (like winter sweaters and slippers).
Typical Swedish delicacies can be found in Saluhallen, the indoor market, or in one of the Kronhusbodarna, a candy store called Göteborgs Choklad & Karamellbutik.
Though Göteborg may have a lot to offer to its visitors, you might still want to take a look at the surrounding areas. That’s where a day trip can come in handy.
Marstrand is a small coastal city just north of Göteborg. Even more north are Fiskebäckskil, Lysekil and Fjällbacka, which might be nice places to combine for a day trip from Göteborg. It should take you about an hour to get from Göteborg to Marstrand using public transport.
Tjolohölms Slott is a castle located right along the coast, about 40 minutes south of Göteborg. Fun fact: this castle was used as a set for Lars von Trier’s film Melancholia.
Visiting Skagen on a day trip from Göteborg is tough, but it’s so worth it. The ferry will take you to Frederikshavn for a very cheap price (if you’re not travelling by car), where you can take a train to the very north of Denmark. There, you can take the Sandormen (a tractor-slash-bus) to the place where Kattegat and Skagerrak meet and spot seals.
Skagen is also famous as the central city of the Skagen Painters (including Krøyer), whose paintings can be visited in Skagens Museum.
Last, but not least, you can also visit “den tilsandede kirke“, which literally translates to “the sand-covered church”. The only part of this church that is still visible today is its tower, while the rest of the building is covered in dune sand.
That was it from me. If you’re going to Göteborg soon, I’d love to hear from you on Twitter or Instagram, and I’m sure Margot would, too.
Once again, Margot, thank you so much for letting me use your insider tips and insights to create this guide for people who want to visit Göteborg.
Thanks for reading!
-S
PIN IT!
While solo travel often leads to unforgettable experiences (how about sleeping in a temple on top of a cliff?), it can tend to become a bit lonely if you don’t meet people to share the adventure with. It doesn’t have to be, though. This article will give you invaluable insights to help you when making friends as a solo traveller on the road.
As a solo traveller, the type of accommodation you choose can make or break your entire trip. For example, staying in a hotel probably isn’t your best bet if you want to make friends. However, there are three terrific alternatives for you to choose from.
If you haven’t heard of hostels by now, I’m pretty sure you’ve been living under a rock for the last decade. Nowadays, hostels are no longer the unkempt, shady places where people go to be murdered. You can get a bed in a shared dorm room for a fraction of the price of a hotel room.
Especially for solo travellers, hostels are a trendy, social, and – most importantly – cheaper alternative for hotels. They almost always have communal spaces where you can meet like-minded people and are therefore the perfect place for make friends as a solo traveller.
In case you’re not convinced yet, hostels often have a guest kitchen where you can cook your own food and save some money, are generally located around the city centre and the staff are mostly young travel enthusiasts with lots of information about local happenings.
One of the best ways to find hostels online is by browsing hostel websites, such as Hostelworld, Hostels.com and Hostelbooker.
Through Couchsurfing, you essentially get to stay with a local for free. Not only does this mean you get free accommodation, which is usually a considerable chunk of any travel budget, it also means that you get to stay with a person who can tell you all about the culture of the place you’re visiting.
Many people come to Couchsurfing for the free accommodation but stay for the people they end up meeting and because they want to give back to the travel community by hosting their own house or apartment for other surfers.
A widespread concern about surfing with somebody you’ve never met is safety. After all, you’re staying in somebody’s home, exposing yourself to many possible dangers.
However, most Couchsurfing hosts are people who were surfers themselves at some point. They’ll understand what a first-time surfer is going through and will undoubtedly try their best to make you feel comfortable in their home. The website also has several safety checks, such as official ID verification and reviews from fellow surfers.
As long as you use common sense when selecting your host and during your actual CS experience, you should be fine.
Airbnb is one of the most famous websites for short-term property rentals, and it’s very often used among travellers. The most obvious advantage of this website is that you’re usually getting a fully furnished home for a very fair price.
On the subject of price, Airbnb prices tend to be somewhere between a standard bed in a hostel dorm room and a room in a hotel. That being said, it might not be the best choice for solo travellers. However, if you can’t seem to find a good hostel, hotel or CouchSurfing host, you might want to consider looking on this website for accommodation.
You might think that renting an Airbnb as a solo traveller is not very likely to make you any friends, but I’d have to disagree. When I went to Malta, I had to look for an alternative for my CouchSurfing host who bailed on me at the last minute, and I ended up sleeping in Daniel’s home.
He and his girlfriend were renting out rooms and beds in communal areas to travellers from all around the world. Daniel ended up being one of the best parts of my trip because he was able to show me all around and give me cool insider tips.
Food and drinks are one of your main costs as a (solo) traveller, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t have some fun and make friends while eating. On the contrary, it might just be one of the best ways to make friends.
If you’re staying somewhere for longer than a couple of days, becoming a regular at a bar or restaurant might be an option for you to meet new people. The staff will start to recognise you and other local regulars may strike up a conversation with you.
Another risky tactic you could use is to approach another person who is eating alone and saying something along the lines of “Hey, I noticed you were eating alone. Mind if I join you?” This is risky because that person may actually want to eat by themselves and turn down your company.
But hey, it’s worth a shot, right?
There are several apps and websites that aim to connect (solo) travellers with people that can offer an authentic representation of local cuisine. This experience is often called “social dining”. Doing this can be an amazing way to both get a taste (pun intended) of what the food in your destination is actually like and maybe make a local friend.
A few examples of these websites are WithLocals, EatWith (Android / iPhone) and MealSharing. Moreover, you might get lucky and find a local that will cook for you on Couchsurfing or Airbnb.
Whether you just want to play board games and get to know some fellow travellers or you want to indulge in beer and tequila for a memorable night (or, more accurately, a night that is unforgettable but hard to remember), hostel bars are the place to be.
That being said, it’s a good idea to comb through guidebooks and browse the internet to find out what kind of hostel you’ll be staying at. It’ll be way easier to find people to go out with at a party hostel than at a boutique hostel. That’s just another choice you’ll have to make.
Fun fact: in most party hostels, you’ll be able to spend time in the communal areas (e.g. the bar), even if you’re not sleeping there yourself.
Fun conversations over dinner or lunch have a way of forming new friendships between strangers. Whether it’s a bowl of pho in Vietnam or pizza in Italy, chances are that you’ll meet new people over food.
Besides, there are many ways to share food with others. You can share some snacks in a hostel bar with other travellers, you can eat with locals through the aforementioned apps and websites or you can approach someone eating alone at a restaurant. The possibilities are endless.
The most important thing to do when you’re trying to make friends as a solo traveller is to be open-minded and accepting. After all, if you’re not going to accept other personalities, lifestyles and cultures, what’s the point of travelling at all?
On the road, especially as a solo traveller, it’s more important than ever to adopt a tolerant attitude. Not only because you should show respect for the culture you’re visiting, but also because you could miss out on a lot of special friendships from people all around the world.
So, next time somebody approaches you while you’re waiting for the bus or you’re standing in line to visit a museum, don’t just shrug your shoulders. Have a conversation and see where it leads. Who knows? You may just have made a new friend.
Nowadays, having a plan that tells you where to go is essential while travelling. You probably don’t want to be aimlessly wandering around a destination and go back home just to realise you haven’t actually seen anything.
While it’s nice to have a plan to fall back on, this plan shouldn’t be an absolute must, but rather a general guideline with wiggle room. This way, if somebody should invite you to a rooftop barbecue or ask you to go visit a temple together, you don’t have to turn them down.
It’s also good practice not to overplan your holiday. For example, you could leave one day a week without any plans as a buffer for any unexpected things that may have come up.
As Neale Donald Walsch put it so eloquently, life begins at the end of your comfort zone. This quote implies that you need to have the courage to leave your comfort zone in order to really experience life.
You probably wouldn’t even be travelling by yourself if you had stayed in your comfort zone. You’re heading in the right direction. Now, it’s time to take that one step further, especially if you’re an introverted solo traveller.
It’s not easy to put yourself out there and be vulnerable in front of strangers. If it pays off, it’s that much more rewarding, though.
The comfort zone is overrated, anyway.
Drinking in hostel bars or having a chat with a stranger on a tour are far from the only ways of making friends abroad, although they might be the most conventional.
You can meet people in transit. During a long train ride between two destinations, on a plane, or even on a short-haul bus ride.
Related: How to survive a long-haul flight
Better yet, you could just end up having a conversation with a traveller who’s heading in the same direction as you, which means you’ve already made a friend before even arriving at your destination.
Anywhere you go, plenty of activities will be organised for travellers like you and locals alike. These activities are the perfect place to meet new, like-minded people, and thus pose the ideal opportunity to shoot your shot.
Making friends as a solo traveller has never been easier.
If you’re planning on staying in a hostel during your solo trip, you’re in luck. Not only because it’s incredibly easy to meet new friends, but also because most hostels make an active effort to organise trips and activities for the less extroverted and enthusiastic among their guests. They often have years of experience, so they know what can get people to talk to each other. Joining these activities is a surefire way to make new friends, or at least get to talk to someone.
Another platform that aims to bring its people together is Airbnb. Through their “Experiences” programme, they try to unite locals and travellers so that both can enrich their lives through a unique experience that the destination has to offer. For example, you can play football with locals in Barcelona or attend a traditional tea ceremony in Kyoto.
Additionally, you could just browse through Facebook Events in your destination while you’re visiting.
Related: The best solo travel destinations in Europe
First of all, it’s very likely that you’d only take a class if you’re interested in the subject of the class. As a consequence, it’s also very likely that the other people in the class are interested in its subject.
Quick situation sketch: you’re in a room with a bunch of people, trying to learn something – let’s say you’re learning how to make pasta. In this scenario, it’s impossible for you not to have anything to talk about, because you can always fall back on pasta – the thing you’re learning about – should the conversation not go as planned.
Another plus that you can’t neglect is that you’re learning a new skill. Now, give me one good reason why you shouldn’t take a class.
Admittedly, I’m going out on a limb here.
Imagine you’re on a city trip to Dublin, walking around the city centre when suddenly you see this guy across the street wearing a t-shirt of one of your favourite bands. What do you do?
As a solo traveller, the only right answer is to approach the guy and ask him about it. Best case scenario: you start talking about the band because you’re both massive fans and you become friends. Worst case scenario: the guy looks at you like you’re an alien because he borrowed the t-shirt from someone else and you feel awkward for 30 seconds. Oh well, it was still worth a try, right?
Finding something to share a conversation over doesn’t have to be difficult. It can be something as small as a pin on your luggage, an iPhone case or a sticker on your laptop.
The point I’ve been trying to make in this whole post is that solo travel doesn’t have to be lonely. If there’s one thing that proves that, it’s that you can still go on a group tour.
Obvious advantages include meeting other people and not having to plan everything yourself.
Two fantastic companies that organise group tours (both for solo travellers and for people who are already travelling in a group) are Busabout and TourRadar. Busabout uses a hop-on-hop-off system where you get to choose your own itinerary, giving you the flexibility of solo travel and the convenience of a group tour. TourRadar creates very professional group tours in small groups so that solo travellers and introverts would feel included as well.
We live in the twenty-first century. There’s nothing taboo about meeting people online, whether it be a date on Tinder or another traveller who you can take a tour or have some fun with.
Using an app is a godsend for introverted solo travellers.
Here are some of my favourite solo travel apps to use in 2020.
Backpackr (Android / iPhone) lets you input your date and location and shows you all travellers who are there at that time. An algorithm will decide if your interests match enough and let you message each other to meet up or to travel together. The app will also send you push notifications every time someone new is on their way to your destination.
If you’re looking to date while on the road, you may want to check out TourBar (Android / iPhone). The app is something between Tinder and the aforementioned app. You select someone based on their profile and strike up a conversation if it’s a match.
Tourlina (Android / iPhone) works on the same concept as Backpackr, but it’s the first of its kind to only feature women. New profiles are checked thoroughly and only verified accounts can talk to one another.
Aside from dedicated apps that help you meet a travel companion, there are several other ways to use the internet and social media to your advantage as a solo traveller.
Facebook is one of the big ones. For starters, you can write a post to tell your friends where you’re going. They might know someone there. (You can obviously also do this on other social media, such as Twitter and Instagram).
Secondly, you could check out dedicated Facebook groups of your destination. Nowadays, there’s pretty much a group on Facebook for everything, so chances are you’ll find what you’re looking for.
Moving on from Facebook, you can also find interesting events on Couchsurfing. You can select where and when you’re going and you’ll instantly get a list of activities happening in your area. Who knows? You might end up going to a house party, hiking a mountain or sailing in the middle of the ocean.
The most important lesson to be learnt from solo travel is that your own company is more than enough. Being abroad by yourself really has a way of making you appreciate your own personality and everything you stand for.
Nowadays, too many solo travel tips (including this blog post) focus on meeting new people as a solo traveller. That’s why I think it’s important to add that you don’t have to go out and meet people just because the internet is telling you to.
The whole point of travelling alone is to figure out what you want and who you want to be. That includes deciding whether or not you want to make new friends.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading and learnt something. If you used these tips and met some new people, I’d love to hear about it on Twitter!
If you have any tips to make friends as a solo traveller, feel free to leave a comment down below.
Thanks for reading!
-S
You might think finding cheap food and drinks when you’re travelling is difficult. You might even think it’s unnecessary. What if I told you it’s easier than you might think and it will change the way you travel?
Latest update: 29 November 2018
Note: this post uses insights from my ebook “The Insider’s Guide to Solo Travel on a Budget“, dedicated to helping solo travellers save money on the road.
As such, this post is the third in a miniseries of blog posts about cheap solo travel. I’ve also written two blog posts about how to find cheap accommodation and how to find cheap transport (including flights) as a solo traveller.
You’re not here to watch me babble on about my book, though. You’re here to learn how to find cheap food while travelling. Let’s take a look!
Being a food lover myself, I find it hard to imagine being frugal about food and drinks. Fortunately, you don’t really have to. If you have any brains at all, you’ll know to plan ahead and find ways to save. And that’s exactly what I’m here for.
On average, food and alcohol is the third biggest cost of a holiday. That means that it’s definitely possible to find cheaper alternatives for the more expensive chunks while still enjoying your holiday to the fullest.
In the following article, I’ll share my top 7 ways to find cheap food on the road with you.
Many blogs, websites and Instagram accounts are entirely dedicated to bringing you the best food that a culture has to offer.
Blogs are mostly used to help give you some inspiration as to what you’re going to cook. There are entire blogs about Thai food, Mediterranean food and even Nigerian food. It can be tempting to spend hours of your day looking at blog posts and recipes on these websites.
Of course, there is also an abundance of drool-worthy Instagram accounts that post food pictures and videos. My favourites are @sproutedkitchen, @chefjacqueslamerde, @lilydiamond and @pastrywithjenn. (These accounts don’t only make me jealous of their photography skills, but also of their cooking. Nice.)
Other useful websites are TripAdvisor and Foursquare. Both give you the option to sort nearby restaurants and bars by price, which makes it incredibly easy to pick out the cheapest places to eat and drink in your destination. On Foursquare, you can sort from $ to $$$$ under “Price”; on TripAdvisor, you can choose between “Cheap Eats”, “Mid-range” and “Fine Dining”.
Photo by Lan Pham on Unsplash
For many people, street food is one of the most exciting parts of travelling. To them, a trip abroad isn’t complete without eating street food. You HAVE to eat pastizzi when you’re in Malta, drink boba tea in Taiwan and eat poutine in Canada. You just have to. There’s no getting around it.
For starters, it’s cheap. In many regions of the world – especially in typically cheap regions like Southeast Asia and Latin America, it’s very easy to find a food stall that will serve fresh street food for barely any money.
Secondly, it’s delicious. Enough said.
Thirdly, street food gives you a taste – pun intended – of other cultures. You’re not getting a dumbed-down version of the food like you might get in a hotel, but you’re getting an authentic look into what life is like for the locals. Street food usually presents the best of the local cuisine, as some food trucks and carts can sustain their business for 30-40 years with recipes passing down through generations.
The truth is that there isn’t a real way to consistently and systematically safety-check street food vendors. However, that doesn’t mean that you’ll get sick and die when you get pad thai from a food truck in Thailand.
There are some ways to avoid getting food poisoning from street food.
All in all, street food is a fantastic way to get to know a culture and eat delicious meals for little money. If you keep your wits about you, you should be more than fine.
Being prepared for your solo trip and doing your research really pays off. Going into a new city with no idea what you’re doing and no idea what you should look for is just about the worst way you could start your holiday, and you’ll probably spend more than you want to.
It’s a well-known fact that in most destinations, the prices of restaurants and bars around the city centre and main tourist areas tend to be cranked up quite a lot. If you really want to save money, you’d be well off going to the restaurants and bars that the locals go to. To find those, your best bet is to just ask one of them.
If you don’t have access to any locals for some reason, it’s more than worth it to just wander around little streets and less-known areas in search of some cheap restaurants that serve decent food.
Local food is cheaper than imported food, period. When in Thailand, you’ll find cheaper pho than in America and anyone who wants to eat good mussels for a decent price should be in Belgium. After some quick research, you should be able to find out which foods are common at your destination and adjust accordingly.
Added bonus: eating local foods is more environmentally friendly since it doesn’t have to be flown halfway across the world.
A quick Google search can tell you a lot. Just by searching “Cheap food in [destination], you can find out where the cheap restaurants are, you can locate great food stalls and you may even come across some events that offer cheap food. Now that’s something you’d want to know about, isn’t it?
Photo by photo-nic.co.uk nic on Unsplash
In general, I’d actually advise against drinking alcohol when you’re travelling alone. You don’t have to take account of your travel companions, so you can do whatever you want to, but there’s also nobody that can help you when you need it. Getting drunk is one of those times when you might need it.
However, if you want to drink some alcoholic beverages without getting completely wasted, you might want to consider drinking during happy hour.
Just in case you don’t know what happy hour is: it’s a period of time in which a venue (restaurant, café, bar, etc.) offers some kind of discount, mostly on alcoholic drinks. These discounts come in many forms: “buy two, get one free”, “two for one” and free appetizers, among others.
Obviously, there’s not one set international time for happy hour. You’ll have to do some quick research to find out which venues are offering discounts. Locating venues with happy hour is easy enough: apps like Loople can help you with that.
Those bottles of water that you buy add up. Let’s say you buy two bottles of water a day, at $0.75 each. If you’re travelling for one month, that’s $45 worth of bottled water. Is that really worth it?
Of course, it is if the tap water at your destination isn’t safe to drink. After a quick Google search, you should have an idea of where you can and where you can’t drink tap water. This infographic can be a good place to start.
Some other tips to save money on water:
Most travellers have a sandwich or something similar for lunch, and then go out for dinner. Restaurants know this, and they adjust their prices based on it. Now that you know it as well, you can adjust your eating habits.
Usually, restaurants serve the same food at lunch and at dinner, with only one big difference: the price. Seeing as it’s the same food, you’re not compromising quality for a few bucks, but rather saving money by being smart and avoiding the masses.
For an even better chance to find cheap food, be sure to ask your waiter if they have any lunch specials as well.
Eating out at restaurants every day during your trip is one of the best ways to burn through your budget. Cooking your own food while travelling can counter this problem. Even at home, cooking is less expensive than eating out. Why shouldn’t it be on a holiday?
Having access to a kitchen at your lodging is obviously essential if you want to cook your own food. Most hostels and Airbnb‘s nowadays have kitchens, and even in some hotels, you can access some kind of kitchen. At the very minimum, you’ll want to look for accommodation with a fridge and a stove or an electric burner.
Although cooking in a hotel room without access to a kitchen is possible, I’d still recommend looking for a place where you can cook without having to lug around a rice cooker.
Make a meal plan for an entire week (if you’re travelling for longer than one week). If you won’t be abroad for longer than a week, plan out the meals of your entire holiday.
By planning out your meals, you spend time thinking about your food and you make healthier and cheaper choices. It also prevents you from having to throw away leftovers you didn’t know you still had, because you know exactly what you’ll be eating and when you’ll be eating it.
Finding cheap food in a supermarket is surprisingly easy. I have some tips to help you:
This post marks the end of the Cheap Solo Travel series. I hope you enjoyed and learned something by reading my blog posts.
If you have any tips to find cheap food and drinks as a solo traveller, be sure to let me know in a comment.
Thanks for reading!
-S
PIN IT!
Finding cheap transport while travelling solo can be more challenging than it would be if you were travelling with other people. If you use these tips, however, you’ll be sure to find those cheap flights and other modes of transport you’ve been looking for.
Note: this blog post uses insights from my ebook “The Insider’s Guide to Solo Travel on a Budget“, where I teach everyone how to be a better solo traveller and spend less money on the road.
This blog post is the second in a miniseries of three dedicated to cheap solo travel. You can also learn how to find cheap accommodation or cheap food and drinks while travelling solo. I created this series to help you travel by yourself and spend less while doing so. It uses things I learned myself during my solo trips and tells you things I wish I had known when I started travelling alone.
One of the most expensive parts of many trips is the flight. Everyone that wants to travel has to spend money on transport, but it doesn’t have to be as expensive as you think.
There are many ways in which you can save money on transport, which just means that you get to spend that money on other parts of your trip, like accommodation or food.
The majority of this post will discuss how to find cheap flights because that’s the biggest cost in most cases. It will also include information on how to find cheap buses and trains, and solo alternatives for rental cars (which tend to be very expensive for solo travellers).
Many travel experts have their own tips and tricks for finding cheap flights. Everyone has a favourite flight metasearch engine, and there are so many that finding cheap flights nowadays is really not as difficult as you may think. I’ll help you with it.
I’ll divide these tips into two main categories, both filled with extensive knowledge and subcategories:
You’ve probably already used one (or more) of these flight search websites while looking for a flight. On one page, they conveniently list the results from dozens, if not hundreds, of airline websites. They scour through these websites, looking for the best offers in a matter of seconds.
Nowadays, there are plenty of flight metasearch engines to search from. There are so many that it may be hard to know where you should start. All of these websites have advantages and disadvantages, which is why you shouldn’t perform all of your searches on just one website.
In this section, I’ll give you an overview of my personal favourite flight search websites, along with their (dis)advantages and why I use them. These are listed in bullet points for your convenience, so you can quickly scan through them.
Of course, there are other ways to find cheap flights than to scour metasearch engines in search of the best deals. Here are some more tips.
Being one of the busiest industries in the world, the travel sector is bound to make some mistakes. These mistakes don’t always mean that your flight gets delayed or cancelled. In fact, you might even get a cheaper flight out of them.
An error fare is a flight for which incorrect information was entered into the system. For example, an employee can forget to take fuel costs into account, use an incorrect currency or forget a zero at the end of the price tag. In other words, error fares always come from human mistakes.
There are some things you should keep in mind when you’re considering booking an error fare.
If you’ve considered all of the above, and you still want to find error fares, go for it. In that case, here are some websites that often post about error fares. I recommend subscribing to their mailing lists to make sure that you never miss one. (Cheap Flights Lab, Secret Flying, Fly4Free, Airfare Watchdog)
This is arguably the most famous trick for people trying to find cheap flights. If you’re browsing through airline websites or metasearch engines, make sure you do it in incognito mode. (Control/Command + Shift + N on Google Chrome, Control/Command + Shift + P on Firefox, Command + Shift + N on Safari)
You’ve probably been there. You’re looking for a flight to your dream destination, and you check some websites every day. However, after two or three days, you find out that the prices are going up.
“Well, yes, but how can an incognito window help me with this?”
These websites use files called cookies against you. They know your browsing history, and when they see that you repeatedly look at the same flights, they will increase their prices. This way, they make it seem like seats are selling out and you should book sooner rather than later if you still want to be on the plane. In reality, this is not happening.
If you use an incognito window – which doesn’t track cookies – you’ll see that the price stays exactly the same. You can also use this technique to buy other products online.
It’s only logical that budget carriers offer cheaper prices than other airlines. They save money in various ways, including limited or no onboard luxury features, multifunctional staff, in-flight service and flying to alternative airports.
Some of the biggest budget carriers include Ryanair, EasyJet, Southwest Airlines, Vueling and Norwegian Air.
I’ve already mentioned joining mailing lists as a way to find cheap flights before, but here it is again. Just because it really is one of the best ways to find great deals on plane tickets.
Mailing lists often include results that can’t be found on the metasearch engines I mentioned above or on the airline’s websites. You’ll receive emails whenever flights are really cheap or when a particular flight has dropped in price. In some cases, you can even select your favourite airport(s) and only get updates about flights from there.
Some good places to start are Scott’s Cheap Flights, Airfare Watchdog, The Flight Deal and HolidayPirates.
After signing up for frequent flyer programmes, you can track and save miles and use those miles to pay for your next flight. This is a great way to save big on flights and even get to fly for free. Nowadays, most airlines have a frequent flyer programme, and some of them even team up, so that you get to spend your miles at different airlines.
The biggest frequent flyer programme in Europe is Miles & More, launched by Lufthansa in 1993 and used by twelve European airlines. This programme allows you to save miles for flights with all Star Alliance members.
Especially in Europe, both trains and buses are popular options for long-haul travel. Because of that, there are many websites and companies dedicated to transporting Europeans, and more competition means cheaper prices. Yay!
The Man in Seat 61 has a very extensive website filled with information about train travel all around the world. His website even includes information about which trains to take in North Korea and how to plan a trip on the Trans-Siberian Railway.
Some things you should keep in mind when looking for cheap train tickets:
If a cheap bus ticket is what you’re after, there are plenty of options. Especially in Europe, many companies offer bus rides that are sometimes even cheaper than flights (although it will take you longer to arrive at your destination).
Some great European bus companies are FlixBus (all through Europe), Avanzabus (in Spain), MeinFernbus (mostly Germany), Ouibus (mostly France, Italy and Spain) and Alsa (mostly Spain and Portugal).
There are also meta search engines for bus tickets, including Wanderu, Comparabus and Busradar.
Even if you’re travelling with other people, rental cars tend to be more expensive than public transport. Of course, they do offer more flexibility. As a solo traveller, you can still find alternatives for rental cars that are cheaper and more flexible.
If you didn’t know, BlaBlaCar is a long distance carpooling service that allows drivers to ‘sell’ spots in their car to travellers on a budget. On the website, you can enter where your trip starts and ends and when it’s going to happen. With any luck, you’ll find a driver who’s going to take you there.
Of course, the trips from bigger cities will have more options.
You’ll not only get a cheap drive down to your destination (without having to do anything!), you might also have some great conversations and even make a few new friends. If you’re not a big talker, you’ve still got nothing to worry about. Most drivers are completely fine with silence or putting some music on.
Photo by rawpixel.com on Unsplash
Hitchhiking is basically a free alternative to the BlaBlaCar system, without any guarantees that you’ll actually get a ride. If you don’t mind risking the possibility that you may have to wait for hours until somebody picks you up, hitchhiking can be a great way to get around.
However, hitchhiking isn’t safe – or even legal – everywhere. Here are some tips to make sure that you have a safe hitchhiking experience:
If you don’t feel comfortable sharing a car with somebody you don’t know, you could still rent a car. However, if you do, take a look at some package deals. Some websites (like Expedia, Kayak, Booking, Travelocity and Orbitz) offer deals if you book your flight and your rental car with them. That may lead to some small savings.
Note: this (obviously) only works if you haven’t booked your flight yet.
Everyone knows that transport prices, and flight prices in particular, change. They change often, they change quickly and they change quite dramatically. However, if you understand how the system works, you can try to get around it.
There’s a general rule of thumb that says that you should book your flights (or other transport, for that matter) in advance. For flights, this seems to be somewhere between 25 and 150 days before takeoff. Some people say it’s between 45 and 60 days before the flight, some say it’s exactly 54 days before. However, as long as you avoid the “Early bookers” and “Last minute bookers” windows, you should be fine.
Photo courtesy of cheapair.com
There are three main age groups that can benefit from discounts: children, students and seniors.
People who are travelling with children may not be reading this, but I’ll throw this tip out there just in case. Children often get reduced entry fees at museums, theatres, tours, etc. It would be foolish not to use these discounts if you’re travelling with kids.
As a student, you’re more likely than anyone not to be able to spend a lot of money on travel. You can counter this problem by using the various student discounts that are available all over the world. Just be sure to take a valid student ID card with you (sometimes, even a document that looks like a legit student ID is enough) and you’re good to go.
There is often some kind of discount available for senior citizens as well. These discounts start at ages as early as 50 years old. There are cheaper tariffs available for public transport, nature reserves, airlines, cathedrals, and much more.
Although taking an overnight bus, train, flight or boat may be a bit more expensive than its daytime equivalent, you won’t have to pay for accommodation. In most cases, that’s still a pretty good deal and a great way to save some money on the road.
You’re going to have to sacrifice your quality of sleep for one night, but that’s nothing compared to the money you’ll save. Just be sure to bring an eye mask, earplugs and a neck pillow.
Well, that was it. You can also read about how to get cheap accommodation as a solo traveller and how to find cheap food and drinks as a solo traveller or you can download my free ebook on cheap solo travel.
Do you have any cheap transport tips for solo travellers that I missed? Let me know in a comment!
Thanks for reading!
-S
PIN IT!
Design by NXNW.
