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Traveling Alone or Family Travel Whether you want to travel alone, or travel with the kids, parents, or granny, this forum is for you!

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Old 05-02-2007, 07:10 PM   #1
Canadian Bacon
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Default Solo Backpacking

Shouldn't we make a sticky "solo backpacking" thread? Or is it in another section?

At any rate this is tips I came across to those (like me) who are about to backpack solo for the first time...



Solo backpacking means peace and quiet. No one to talk to means no words are put between you and the beauty around you. The miles just flow. It's entirely up to you to say when you eat or take a break. Want to jump in that alpine lake? It's your decision alone. It's a unique experience.


A solo backpacker also is vulnerable. Twist your ankle, and there's nobody there to help you. Have you ever been stuck alone without food for days? How can you make your solo backpacking trip safe? You can't. It's inherently more dangerous to go alone into the wilderness. What you can do though, is make it safer.


Some Solo Backpacking Tips

1. Tell someone where you'll be, and when you expect to return. It's probably best if you leave a map with them, and let them know who to call if you don't return on time.


2. Bring a cell phone. I don't do this yet myself, but many lives have now been saved by cell phones. Turn it off and put it in the bottom of your pack so it won't bother you.


3. Bring the usual safety items (matches, 1st aid, iodine tablets, etc), but double-check to see if they are there and in working order, as you'll have nobody elses supplies to back you up.


4. If you're not sure of your abilities, or have a bad knee or other potential problem, stick to well-traveled trails. On many routes, another backpacker will be by every hour. That's good to know if you're in trouble.


5. Learn well how to read a map and use a compass. If you are two miles off route and can't get a signal on your phone when your knee gives out, you're in trouble. Even if you like to wander, you should be able to know where you are on the map for safety.


6. Know your abilities. Don't plan on twenty-mile days if you haven't done them before.


7. Learn to lighten your load. When you're alone, you lose the efficiency of sharing the load for stoves, tents and other common items. It's easy - and dangerous - to become overloaded when yours is the only backpack. You might want to read up on ultralight backpacking.


Solo backpacking is riskier, but for some of us, it's well worth the risk. Try it, and you might agree. Just be sure to take the necessary precautions.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Solo-Backp...-Tips&id=44203
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Vincent: "So what you gonna do?"
Jules: "Well, basically, I'm just gonna walk the earth."
Vincent: "What you mean 'walk the earth'?"
Jules: "You know, like Kane in 'Kung Fu'...go places...meet people...get in adventures."

Trips (only counting recreational travel):
FIRST TRIP (2005): FIRST EUROTRIP EVER! UK, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Holland
SECOND TRIP (2007): First Solo Trip! Greece, Turkey, Syria, Spain
2008: China (Beijing, Shanghai, Yangshuo) ...right before the Olympics!
2009: Japan & HK, Southern Spain
[size=1]2010: All over Lebanon, Ibiza (Spain), Oktoberfest (Germany), Thailand.
2011: India (Goa), Jordan, Jerusalem, San Sebastian (Spain), Amsterdam (again), London, Driving from Vancouver to L.A. (stopping in Portland, Seattle, San Fran and all the little stops), Montpellier (France), Geneva and Lausanne (Switzerland)

"Bite off more than you can chew, then chew it."
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Old 05-03-2007, 08:13 AM   #2
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Thanks for sharing such wise tips with us ! And great idea to have a sticky for everyone to see and add their own ideas.

There is indeed a subforum on the topic that can be found in the «specialized travel» forum and I'm moving your thread into in right now.


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Old 05-03-2007, 11:18 AM   #3
Canadian Bacon
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Ahhh i see. My bad for not seeing this category of theads earlier....
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Vincent: "So what you gonna do?"
Jules: "Well, basically, I'm just gonna walk the earth."
Vincent: "What you mean 'walk the earth'?"
Jules: "You know, like Kane in 'Kung Fu'...go places...meet people...get in adventures."

Trips (only counting recreational travel):
FIRST TRIP (2005): FIRST EUROTRIP EVER! UK, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Holland
SECOND TRIP (2007): First Solo Trip! Greece, Turkey, Syria, Spain
2008: China (Beijing, Shanghai, Yangshuo) ...right before the Olympics!
2009: Japan & HK, Southern Spain
[size=1]2010: All over Lebanon, Ibiza (Spain), Oktoberfest (Germany), Thailand.
2011: India (Goa), Jordan, Jerusalem, San Sebastian (Spain), Amsterdam (again), London, Driving from Vancouver to L.A. (stopping in Portland, Seattle, San Fran and all the little stops), Montpellier (France), Geneva and Lausanne (Switzerland)

"Bite off more than you can chew, then chew it."
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Old 05-03-2007, 02:23 PM   #4
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I have done most of my backpacking solo. Your 1st time it can be intimidating, but you will meet some awesome people and make great friends this way. A lot of backpackers I meet are solo anyway...

My best tip - if it is your first time - find a backpacker bus tour - much more social than other options. Also, there are plenty of companies out there that specialize in solo/independent travelers (Shameless Plug). At any rate - just taking the plunge and going for it is an awesome thing to do!

--Ben
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Old 06-24-2007, 03:48 AM   #5
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Default backacking solo bus trips?

whats that?
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Old 08-12-2010, 01:01 AM   #6
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Good article for those who are contemplated solo travel. While it is fun and you do meet people, depending on circumstances, it can be quite lonely -- which is not a bad thing. Alone time is rare, and getting to know yourself is something we rarely do.

CB

http://www.wisenomad.com/story/2003/11/21/15521/689

The Positives and Negatives of Solo Backpacking
By Paul Neville, Section Viewpoints
Posted on Fri Nov 21, 2003 at 03:52:01 PM PST
I had been the only foreigner during the entire trip from Banaue to Borocay, Philippines. There were even fewer travelers in the Philippines than Indonesia or Myanmar. Indonesia had a reputation for dangerous activity. Myanmar had difficult access. The Philippines had both.
In addition to these detractors, it was supposedly tourist "low-season" due to the unpredictable weather. What this meant was that I would spend less time with other Western backpackers and have more opportunities to get better acquainted with the local population. Indeed I had a few precious encounters with Filipinos that will forever make for endearing memories.



When I wasn't fraternizing with the natives I enjoyed some moments of solitude. It was good opportunity for journal writing and self-reflection. However, I soon found that the value of introspective dialogue went only so far. I ran out of things to talk to myself about. When several days had passed where I had only had a limited or superficial conversation with one or two people, utilizing my vocal cords for no more than ten minutes combined per twenty-four hour period, I underwent a bout of loneliness. I had been raised in a culture that emphasized the occasional private time, but this was too much. I felt like a traveling hermit. It was as if I had taken an involuntary oath of silence.

I was accustomed to being around people who were like me once in awhile. Sure, during my first year in Tonga as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer, lonely was my best friend and I longed for my old Seattle social life, but eventually I became close with my Tongan neighbors and by the second year I hardly ever had a moment to myself. If I needed the company of people with similar backgrounds then I could seek out other Peace Corps Volunteers down the road. It is important to note that in Tonga, however, I was not on vacation. I was aware of the emotional challenges that accompanied Peace Corps service and braced myself for times of those initial months of loneliness.

My big world backpacking tour, on the other hand, was not a time of work. It was meant to be the most amazing and fun trip I had ever been on, so the discomfort I felt on a few occasions when I was sick of being by myself for several days in a row meant there were times that I regretted the decision to travel solo. It was during my Philippines escapades that I finally came to the coherent realization for the first time since I had embarked on this journey four months previous, that if I had the choice, then I preferred companionship.

Backpacking solo is liberating at first. You are completely free from anyone, anything, or anywhere that knows you. Every time you meet someone you begin at scratch with a clean slate. They know nothing of your past, your mishaps, your mistakes, or your misdeeds. You present only yourself in your rawest form. All anyone has to go on when forming an opinion about you is your personality and what you choose to tell them. It's like multi-national masquerade ball. There are no rules. You can be whomever you please. In addition, traveling solo frees you from being restricted by compromise. You can go wherever whenever without having to consult anyone or appease anyone else's preferences. You rule your world around the world, and that can be immensely gratifying and empowering.

The sacrifice of solo backpacking, however, is that you will most likely have to endure the feeling of being a loner at some point or another. You must brace yourself for those discouraging moments when you are forced to eat yet another meal alone, while the locals wonder who deserted you and other travelers at a table across the room are laughing and carrying on. Should you finish the book you are reading, so help you God. Staring at the coagulated saltshaker is about the loneliest feeling in the world.
It is important to remember that going solo does not necessarily mean going alone. I had been in Southeast Asia for four months, but I probably spent no more than two weeks of it completely by myself, and one of those two weeks could be accounted for exclusively in the Philippines. Finally, it should not be understated that solo independent backpacking promotes life-changing cultural immersion opportunities and maybe most importantly, something that seems to be lacking from too many people all over the world, a chance to get to know, understand, and appreciate yourself. After I had put it in this perspective I quelled any regrets I had for going at it alone. My next major trip to Africa, India or wherever, may be with someone I know and who knows me, but for now, I told myself, I was going to appreciate being on my own and make the best of this experience because I knew that, solo or not, it would no doubt hold enormous value to me for the rest of my life.
__________________
Vincent: "So what you gonna do?"
Jules: "Well, basically, I'm just gonna walk the earth."
Vincent: "What you mean 'walk the earth'?"
Jules: "You know, like Kane in 'Kung Fu'...go places...meet people...get in adventures."

Trips (only counting recreational travel):
FIRST TRIP (2005): FIRST EUROTRIP EVER! UK, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Holland
SECOND TRIP (2007): First Solo Trip! Greece, Turkey, Syria, Spain
2008: China (Beijing, Shanghai, Yangshuo) ...right before the Olympics!
2009: Japan & HK, Southern Spain
[size=1]2010: All over Lebanon, Ibiza (Spain), Oktoberfest (Germany), Thailand.
2011: India (Goa), Jordan, Jerusalem, San Sebastian (Spain), Amsterdam (again), London, Driving from Vancouver to L.A. (stopping in Portland, Seattle, San Fran and all the little stops), Montpellier (France), Geneva and Lausanne (Switzerland)

"Bite off more than you can chew, then chew it."
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Old 12-28-2010, 11:41 AM   #7
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Default Solo Backpacking

With the traveling I have done, I must say I enjoy solo backpacking over any other form of traveling and Canadian Bacon's advice is very worthwhile to anyone else looking to do the same. Yes, it can get lonely at times on the road, but with all of the people you will meet if you're outgoing, you will enjoy the lonely times as this allows for personal reflection.

I work for a group travel agency for students, and thus get surprisingly large groups of friends who travel together. The one's I most enjoy are those who hop on by themselves, as this is what I did when I was a student. As most of you pointed out, the wonderful thing about traveling alone is that you can join group travel, or stay at hostels, and meet everyone that you are missing by traveling alone. In addition, when you are traveling with someone else, you are missing out on all of the opportunities to meet new people because you already have a friend. When you are alone you are forced to meet new people, and in many cases some of the best friends you will encounter.

As BadAss Ben and Canadian Bacon point out, is that your first time will be intimidating. I started with a simple trip to Greece, then moved to Istanbul, and eventually moved onto the whole of Southeast Asia then to South Africa for the World Cup. Get your confidence up and embrace how incredible solo backpacking is.
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Old 10-07-2022, 07:09 AM   #8
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Great to know the travel tips. Any more suggestions, please let me know.
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