Stressed out with work or uni? Wanna take a quick break? Go ahead, try solo traveling! Solo travel is when you go on a trip all by yourself to a new area or tourist spot. With today's tech, it's becoming super popular.

Traveling alone isn't always scary, ya. As long as you get all the necessary prep done. Here are a few solo travel tips for beginners. Check 'em out!

Solo travel tips for beginners

1. Research your itinerary and accommodation

The first and most important step is to research and choose your itinerary and place to stay. This research is meant to minimize the risk of unwanted things happening during your holiday, like visiting a raging waterfall during the rainy season or getting lost in a red light district because you picked the wrong accommodation.

It's pretty common for solo travelers to choose a budget-friendly homestay or guest house for a new experience. But that experience definitely won't be fun if that homestay is in a red light district, right?

2. Bring important documents

For a solo trip, especially overseas, you'll obviously need to bring important documents, like your ID card or driver's license, passport, and tourist visa. Besides your ID card, it's best to leave the physical copies of those documents at your accommodation so they don't get lost or stolen. On the flip side, just in case, save the digital copies of these documents on a cloud storage app like Google Drive or Dropbox so you can just download them if you need to.

3. Financial management

When it comes to money, here are a few solo travel tips for beginners:

1. Bring enough cash. Not every store or public transport around the world accepts credit or debit card payments. So, make sure you bring enough cash. Don't forget, if you're traveling abroad, exchange your cash right away into the currency of the country you're heading to.
2. Keep that cash in a few different spots. For example, IDR 300,000 in your wallet, IDR 500,000 in a small pouch inside your bag, IDR 400,000 left in your room, and IDR 200,000 in your jacket pocket. The goal is to be prepared in case one of those places where you keep your money gets lost.
3. Bring a debit and credit card with the Mastercard, Visa, JCB, UnionPay, or other payment network logos. Debit and credit cards are important to bring on a solo trip just in case you run out of cash. But you can't bring just any debit or credit card, because a debit card with the GPN logo can't be used overseas.

You can use an Honest credit card when traveling alone. Not only does the Honest credit card have the Mastercard logo (so you can use it anywhere), but it also comes with an app. This way, if it falls out, gets left on the train, or is stolen, you can immediately block it through the Honest Credit Card App.

4. Bring important stuff

The 4th solo travel tip for beginners is don't forget to bring important items. Besides documents and credit cards, some important things you need to bring are:

1. Clothes that suit the season and prayer gear (if applicable). Especially if you're visiting a country with four seasons.
2. Personal medication. Including medicine for motion sickness and colds.
3. Power bank. To make sure your phone stays on during the journey or at tourist spots. But, make sure you bring a power bank that follows the rules of the airline you're using.
4. Bags of various sizes. Adjust the type of bag based on what you need. This includes if you're bringing a carrier bag (backpack).
5. Security items. Just in case, don't forget to bring the security items you need, like pepper spray, a taser gun, and so on.
6. Cosmetic tools/products.

Oh yeah, if you're traveling overseas, other things you need to bring are a universal travel adapter and a portable bidet. This is because not all countries have the same type of wall socket/outlet as Indonesia, and many countries only use tissue to clean up after using the toilet, so a universal travel adapter and a portable bidet will be super necessary.

Also, don't forget to switch your internet provider to a local one as soon as you get to the airport. This is because Indonesian providers might not work overseas, obviously.

5. Don't trust strangers too easily

Interacting with strangers in an unfamiliar place is like a double-edged sword. On one hand, you can make new friends and gain insight if you meet good people. But on the other hand, the threat of crime is also lurking.

To minimize this from happening, trust your instinct and avoid telling people you're traveling alone. Don't forget to save emergency numbers, like a doctor's and the police, just in case something unwanted happens.

Solo traveling is nice, but it's challenging. By going everywhere by yourself, you can set your own pace without anyone bothering you. But with traveling alone, there's no denying that security issues can be a threat. So, plan your solo trip well and be careful so that nothing unwanted happens.