At Deep Travel Magazine we’re embarking on a six-part series to find out more about female solo travelling. We will be interviewing the top voices in the industry who will be giving us expert first-hand knowledge to help our readers to best plan for their life changing adventure.

For the second interview Ellie Ireland sits down with expert traveller Taylor Haught to find out about more her life and experiences with solo travelling…

What drew you to solo travel?

Honestly, I was tired of waiting for people to travel with me, so I decided to forge
ahead by myself. I also have never liked traveling with groups, as you sometimes
feel like you have to keep up, or you have a different pace or tastes than others.
When you’re solo, the whole trip can be all about you, which is pretty sweet.

Do you have a favourite travel experience? Something you’ll always remember

Probably my first solo trip to Croatia. It was so spontaneous—I think I booked the
flight and accoms like a week before. I desperately needed to get away but I was so
terrified. I didn’t know the language, I didn’t know how to get to my place or what to
eat or anything but I will say, this kind of lights a fire under your ass and you
learn as you go.

I was afraid of being lonely and so far away from home, but it was life changing. I
did whatever I wanted all day. I ate alone at cafe’s, went to bars by myself, went to
museums and historical sights. This might sound sad to some who would rather
share their experiences, but it made me feel really confident and powerful—like, yes,
I can enjoy things by myself!

Eventually I did make friends (in Split) and I did a lot of fun things with them and a
few remain my very close friends/travel buddies to this day.

What one piece of advice would you give to solo travellers?

Do it afraid!! It sounds so insane to travel to a place where you don’t know the
language and you’re alone but it is incredibly freeing and transformational. Also,
(this is 2, sorry), stay at hostels. Or even if you don’t want to stay at the hostel, hang
out at them so you can meet other travellers and feel less isolated.

Which countries have you felt safest travelling in?

So many of them! I think coming from the States, people (my family, friends) have
this misconception that solo travel or traveling internationally is unsafe or scary. But I
always feel more safe out of the States, personally.

Rome and Split (Italy and Croatia in general) are super safe, even at night.
Switzerland, of course. Iceland was amazing—like a nearly non-existent crime rate.
Costa Rica is super friendly and even though people worry so much about Mexico,
I’ve had an incredible time every time I’ve gone (and I’ve gone a lot!).

What would you say is the most fulfilling aspect of solo travel?

I think it’s having the confidence to go and do it alone. That is such a freeing
feeling to only have yourself to rely on. I recommend it to everyone.

What would you say to someone nervous about solo travel?

As I mentioned before, feeling the fear and doing it anyway is a big one. But I
think researching and planning ahead of time is super important. I’ve taken a lot of
spontaneous solo trips but when I take the time to really prepare, it’s way more
smooth. Research safe neighbourhoods where you can stay wherever you want to
travel, places to avoid, how to get from the airport to your place (plan it so you’re not
arriving at night), grocery shops, hospitals, hostels—the whole shebang. It’ll help
curb pre-travel anxiety and being prepared= more confidence.

What has been the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome?

My anxiety. I have GAD and it’s not easy to do anything, let alone travel to another
whole ass country by myself. But facing my fears has been really good for my
anxiety. It pushes me out of my comfort zone and allows me to have experiences I
never would have had If I didn’t just take that leap of faith. And the more I do it, the
less scary it becomes.

Best/worst memories of solo travel

Wow—so many!

Best: Having a delicious bowl of homemade pasta and a Spritz in Rome at a fancy
restaurant of my choice. Going to a nude beach in Croatia. Volunteering at an animal
shelter in Mexico and then adopting one of the strays and flying him back to the
States with me (this was quite the journey). Meeting lovely people from all over the
world who make your trips completely worth it.

Worst: I’ve had phone issues in plenty of places. No service, my phone broke, etc.
Which can be really scary when you’re in a new place and have no idea where you
are. Maps Me is a great app to have for this in case WIFI isn’t working, and WhatsApp,
of course. You can also rely on the grace of strangers. Maybe just get a SIM card all
together. I almost got stuck in Mazunte Mexico and had to sleep on the beach
because they had a power outage and none of the ATM’s were working. So make
sure you think about all different kinds of scenarios— and keep cash on you just in
case. Being sick alone sucks too, so try to make friends who can run to the
pharmacy for you if need be.

Taylor Haught is a freelance travel and wellness writer who posts on LinkedIn about tips and tricks for freelance travellers (check out her page!).