It could be out of fear for doing something beyond our comfort zones, or just a general fear of trying something out for the first time.

To ease your mind and give you that push, here are eight safety tips that you should plan well for your first ever solo trip:

1. Inform someone of your itinerary

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For safety purposes, informing someone of your itinerary can help shake your worries about going solo.

In case you’re going out especially into the wilderness or a remote area, you may also inform the concierge or your host of your whereabouts just in case something goes amiss.

But of course, here’s to hoping we won’t need to look for that information ever.

2. Research and choose destination wisely

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Choosing your destination wisely can mean a great deal of safety for those who wish to travel solo. But the thing is, we all have different ideas of safety.

What may be safe for you, may not be safe for me?

The best thing that you can do is to do some research first before actually deciding on where to go. You can list down a few places that you want to explore and then read on the safety level of each of the places.

After that, you can compare the information you have gathered and whichever you deem the safest could be your destination.

3. Familiarize yourself about the culture

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If you’re traveling all on your own, it’s best if you arm yourself with the right information about the place you are visiting. Why? You have no one to ask when you’re unsure of the choices you need to be making. Sure, you can always google about it, but it may be too late.

There are countries that are strict about how visitors should dress up, so if you visit that certain country without having any idea about their culture, then you might regret it in an instant. In this case, not bringing appropriate pieces of clothing can ruin your itinerary.

That’s how important learning about the culture of the place you are visiting is.

4. Don’t bring out valuable items

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Pickpockets can be anywhere. And the worst thing about them is that you’ll never know when their next attack is.

To avoid getting the attention of these rascals, don’t display any of your valuables. Being a foreigner and alone in another country is an easy invitation for these notorious bad guys to make you their next victim. If you have a camera with you, make sure to store them safely inside your bag when walking around crowded places. Don’t display it over your neck with a strap because you might lure pickpockets to come near you.

And for additional safety, just please leave your fancy jewellery at home. You won’t need them during your solo trip.

5. Avoid going into unsafe areas

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Your research isn’t only limited to knowing about the culture of the place, it can also be helpful in terms of giving you an overview of whether the place you want to go to is safe or not.

And since you now have an idea about the place, avoid areas that you feel are unsafe. Don’t expose yourself to situations that you will regret after.

6. List down emergency contacts

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Being alone could turn you into an overthinking machine. Thus, one way of making yourself feel safer is to keep a list of emergency contacts within your reach. That way, you can easily dial them up in case something turns up unexpectedly.

In fact, there’s an app that provides you with embassy information including numbers that you should call in times of trouble in over 180 countries. There’s also a passport within the app that you can utilize to find a variety of information useful for your trip, like customised tips and tools specific to the country you are visiting.

7. Talk to a life insurance agent

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Let’s be real, traveling alone can expose us to more risks than when we travel in groups or with a companion. Getting life insurance before you get on that plane can provide you with a sense of relief knowing that you’re covered no matter what happens to you during the trip. It can protect you from something as trivial as having a delayed or canceled flight to something serious like an emergency situation.

Just take note that most domestic insurance policies don’t cover deaths or deaths that happen overseas. You can always secure an international insurance policy for better coverage.

If you’re having trouble deciding which to get, research and then compare life insurance to help you pick one.

8. Always trust your gut

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Our instincts serve us our moral compass when we’re out of options. It’s likely the best way to decide on things, especially when we feel strongly about doing something out of the ordinary or choosing which road to take when you’re facing a fork.

Trusting our gut ranges from a lot of decision-making scenarios from identifying what our carry-on luggage dimensions should be to be able to bring all our necessities to deciding whether to take the train or book a cab when going around.

If you feel that something is amiss, don’t hesitate to follow what your heart tells you to do. Most of the time, it leads us to safety and that’s what matters most. 

And to top everything off, the most important thing that you should do before traveling solo is to remind yourself to savor every moment once you’re out there. If you have all of the items on the list above covered, there’s nothing much that you need to be stressing over.

Relax. Breathe in. And jet-set across the globe!