All of my travels are solo, so just about any post you read on this site will involve a solo trip. I can’t put every post under the “Solo Travel” category, so instead this category includes opinions and reflections about solo travel. That said, most of the time I see no difference between simply driving to the local grocery store alone vs. taking a plane or train to another country alone, so I struggle to offer “tips” about wandering the earth while female. It’s the same as doing anything.
Most travelers are aware of major guided group tour operators like Intrepid Travel or G Adventures. These companies are reputable for a reason – they run fantastic itineraries across the globe! But if you have a niche interest that draws you to travel, there may be other companies that are more specialized and dialed in to your preferences. Have you ever considered booking a trip with one of these unique tour operators?
Packing light for a multi-country trip that will include various climate zones is already tricky enough, but when your travel style includes long-distance wilderness trekking and camping, city tourism, and needing access to a computer to work remotely? That’s a whole new level of challenge – though not impossible. As a nomadic solo hiker who travels for months at a time, I’ve really had to hone my packing skills. Here is a packing list breakdown of how I tackle the conundrum of an all-purpose trip.
I’m a solo nomad with a budget-minded “dirtbag” travel style. As a result, I’ve had some rather “interesting” accommodation experiences.
A list of quotes about nature and hiking from classic philosophers like Rousseau, Nietzsche, Emerson, and Whitman, as well as modern conservationists and flâneurs like Leopold, Muir, hooks, and Gros.
The nomad life is the life for me, and for many years I would have fought anyone who suggested it might be anything less than perfect. In recent months, however, I’ve started to experience the effects of travel burnout. I’m in a place of reflection where I’m able to write a more balanced pros and cons review of solo nomad life.
When you’re first starting out with living in your car and boondocking, it can be hard to pinpoint which apps, groups, and organizations are legitimate and will be genuinely helpful for finding campsites and vanlife amenities. These are my favorites.
Every article about solo travel rehashes advice about how to stay safe and feel comfortable, but for those of us who already love to be solo, there is very little guidance out there about how to pursue a permanent nomadic lifestyle as a solo traveler. I have tried several travel-based lifestyles myself, all with their own unique advantages and disadvantages. Here I compare remote work, freelancing, vanlife, and more.
When people realize you’re a solo traveler, they often try to take your solitude away from you. Why can’t they grasp we’re solo on purpose?
If you desperately want to create a travel-based lifestyle but have not been able to dive in yet, it might be useful to think about what needs to happen for you mentally in order to do so. The hurdle to making big decisions in our lives is not always physical or financial. Is your self-prescribed identity holding you back from travel?
When trying to design an adventurous travel-based lifestyle for yourself, the first step is to figure out what type of work is going to facilitate this for you. For me, the top two most sustainable and reliable options have been seasonal work and online remote work. Of course, no solution is ever perfect. If you’re not sure which one is right for you, try to be honest with yourself about your personality as you read over the following pros and cons of seasonal work vs. remote work.