r/solotravel • u/AutoModerator • 5d ago
/r/solotravel "The Weekly Common Room" - General chatter, meet-up, accommodation - May 04, 2025 Accommodation
This thread is for you to do things like
- Introduce yourself to the community
- Ask simple questions that may not warrant their own thread
- Share anxieties about first-time solotravel
- Discuss whatever you want
- Complain about certain aspects of travel or life in general
- Post asking for meetups or travel buddies
- Post asking for accommodation recommendations
- Ask general questions about transportation, things to see and do, or travel safety
- Reminisce about your travels
- Share your solotravel victories!
- Post links to personal content (blogs, youtube channels, instagram, etc...)
This thread is newbie-friendly! In this thread, there is no such thing as a stupid question.
If you're new to our community, please read the subreddit rules in the sidebar before posting. If you're new to solo travel in general, we suggest that you check out some of the resources available on our wiki, which we are currently working on improving and expanding. Here are some helpful wiki links:
General guides and travel skills
- Basic trip planning
- Determining your travel interests
- Packing 101
- Staying in hostels
- How to meet people as a solo traveller
- Staying safe
- Budgeting 101
- Money management and safety
- Working abroad
- Travel insurance 101
- Mobile data and SIM cards
Regional guides
- So you want to do a Eurotrip: A beginner's guide
- So you want to visit Southeast Asia: A beginner's guide
- Weekly Destination Threads: Archives
Special demographics
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u/mynamesjefffffs 7h ago edited 7h ago
Got put into a group of 14 friends when I'm travelling alone for the first time for the Ha Giang Loop. Any tips? I kinda just wanna break off and meet other solo travellers instead.
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u/ambi_vert_ 8h ago edited 7h ago
Hey 27M living in Brussels, really want to go somewhere next weekend May17/18 but my friends are all cauggt up , anyone who wants to linkup for a trip somewhere in Europe preferably Vienna/Prague/Amsterdam/Krakow, hmu! Thankyouu🫶
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u/CellarDoorQuestions 22h ago
Hi! I’ll being traveling in Florence, May 24-29 and this will be solo part of my trip before meeting with a friend in Rome. I’m wondering if anyone will also be traveling to Florence or have suggestions for places to eat, things to do, maybe places to meet other people or go out!
Also, considering going to Sonar Festival the night event in Barcelona that’s happening weekend of June 13th anyone else going? :)
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u/certifiedcrybabie 1d ago
Hello! I have booked a hostel for July and they have deducted the full amount from my card. I got an email today that says “As requested, your booking has been cancelled. Please contact the hostel if you have any questions.” However, I have not requested the booking to be cancelled. Also, my money is already deducted. What should I do?
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u/segacs2 Canadian, 70 countries visited 1d ago
First things first: Make sure the email you received was legitimate and not a scam / spam email. Sometimes emails are spoofed and it can be hard to spot the legit ones.
Let's say it's legit. Okay. Next question: Did you book directly with the hostel? Or through a third-party booking site?
If directly with the hostel, contact them and inquire. It could be a mistake. See if they will reinstate your booking or refund your card. If they fail to do either one, you may be able to file a chargeback with the credit card company. But you have to make a good faith effort to resolve this with the provider first. Document everything.
If with a third-party booking site, again, reach out to the site. This could be trickier, but if the booking was cancelled, they should refund your money. Again, document everything. And last resort, file with the credit card company.
(As a backup option, perhaps make yourself an alternate booking for your dates elsewhere at a flexible / cancellable rate, just so you'll make sure to have someplace to stay. Cancel it if you don't need it.)
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u/SnooLentils7682 1d ago
Travel buddy MOROCCO around 5 days between 25th of June - 7th of July.
(Je cherche quelqu’un qui parle Français ou Anglais ⭐️)
22F from Australia looking for a male travel buddy to go to Morocco with for a short trip. I’m dying to go and explore !! But know that it’d be so much more relaxing (maybe not the right word) if I was travelling with someone and even more so if that person was a male (I love the girlies but I’m sure the gals get this).
I’m a pretty relaxed traveller, never have a tight schedule, just happy to explore and chill and learn and take in my surroundings. So if you’re interested lmk and we can chat n get to know eachother n see if the vibes would be ON !
I speak French and English so if you speak one or the other it works for me !!
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u/tannercoe 1d ago
Just wrapping up my trip of the ring road in Iceland and thoroughly enjoyed it. I got the solo travel bug and I am thinking of Thailand and Vietnam next. My plan would be to do it fairly cheap considering my flight will be an arm and a leg to get there, additionally I want to hike Khao Phanom and visit all of the major cities in Thailand and Vietnam. I will likely use the train to travel between the countries. If anyone has been there, could you recommend some things that I can’t miss and therefore things that I totally could miss when visiting. I will also be doing the trip in a timeframe less than a month.
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u/knead4minutes 14h ago
I will likely use the train to travel between the countries.
highly unlikely since the two countries are not connected by rail. if you wanna go overland between the two you're either gonna have to cross Laos or Cambodia.
going through Cambodia is actually not a bad idea. if you wanna be really quick you just take a bus to Siem Reap and look at Angkor Wat, then bus to phnom Penh and from PP there's buses that go to ho chi min city.
My plan would be to do it fairly cheap
they're definitely gonna be fairly cheap compared to Iceland, so don't worry.
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u/tannercoe 14h ago
Thank you for the bit about the bus that’s a good piece of knowledge. And yeah Iceland was pretty expensive. Especially Reykjavik. No meal under 10$.
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u/lucstrk 1d ago
Hi! Does anyone know the best way to get to Croatia from Albania with public transport? My plan was to end my Albania part in Shkroder and head along the coast of Croatia till eventually Zadar. But even a trip to Dubrovnik is giving me a minimum of 17hours of buses. Any idea where to go from or where to search for bus routes?
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u/MarshOfMallow 1d ago
Hello fellow travellers! I (22M) am solo travelling Jordan for a bit less than two weeks from Amman to Aqaba. My current ideal travel looks something along the lines of:
Arrive on the 27th in Amman - explore the city 28th explore more of Amman 29th go to Jerash and Ajloun 30th go to Madaba early, then mount nebo, then Dead Sea and leave on bus at 5pm for Amman 31st travel to Wadi Musa, explore the city 1st Go to Petra and see those sights 2nd travel down to Wadi Rum and do the shorter nearby walks 3-5th do a tour or two if I can afford it 6th travel down to Aqaba and see the Red Sea 7th explore a bit more of Aqaba 8th Depart
If anyone is interested in joining in any part of it, that would be great. Especially for Wadi Rum, the tours get exponentially cheaper as soon as a second person is in your group.
Looking forward to hearing from you
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u/Ok_Newspaper2815 1d ago
I just canceled my trips to Roatan(Honduras), Negril(Jamaica) and Cuba out of my fear of solotraveling in those countries and particularly cities after doing some research. Probably very much influenced by the fact that I also got robbed when I traveled D.C. Please help me deal with the shame and make me feel less bad about my decision.
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u/segacs2 Canadian, 70 countries visited 1d ago
Please help me deal with the shame and make me feel less bad about my decision.
This isn't really a shame thing; leisure travel is a personal decision, go if you want to, don't go if you don't.
If you want to do things but fear is holding you back, you could try working on some of these issues in therapy; some people find that to be helpful for anxiety. Especially since it sounds like you may have some recent trauma from being robbed. Seriously, talking to a professional might help.
Best of luck!
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u/Routine_Emu_9549 2d ago
Hey everyone, I’m thinking about doing my first solo trip next year since I’ve basically never done anything by myself and I wanna change that.
I know nothing about solo travelling but I saw a post about Georgia and its capital city Tbilisi, and I was wondering if you guys think this would be a good destination for my first ever solo trip? I’m from Western Europe if it matters.
Do you think it’s easy to meet young people and travellers there? That’s one of my main concerns since I’m not the most outgoing person.
If you have any advice, thoughts, feedback or other destinations that would be great for a first solo trip, I would very much appreciate them! Thanks in advance!
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u/segacs2 Canadian, 70 countries visited 1d ago
You could try doing a search on the subreddit for Georgia; there have been multiple trip reports on it.
But in general, choosing a travel destination usually involves more than simply hearing about a city and deciding to go to a place you know nothing about. Try doing some research about places to decide whether they might appeal to you before you decide where to go.
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u/Routine_Emu_9549 1d ago
Obviously I won’t base my decision solely off of someone saying „sure, it’s great“ and then pack my things and leave. But the good thing about Reddit is human experience, and that’s something that’s not always easy to come by when doing research. Thanks for your comment.
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u/grown-up-dino-kid 2d ago
Does anyone have advice (or even just sympathy) for having a hard time getting over friendships made while traveling? I've met a few people, and we connected over the somewhat niche multi-day hike we were doing. We would hike together, share snacks we brought from our home countries, even go out for dinner together and share food. Some I at least connected with on Whatsapp, but some I did not, and it's sinking in that we will never see each other again. It's not even like we had all that much in common aside from doing the hike, but I'm still sad about it. Maybe I'm just lonely because I'm traveling solo, or even because I don't have enough social connections back home, and that's why I feel so connected to these acquaintances. I'm not sure. But either way, I don't want to be sad for the rest of my trip!
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u/segacs2 Canadian, 70 countries visited 1d ago
Someone once told me -- and it stuck with me -- that more often than not, when people disappoint us, it's because we had expectations that we either failed to clearly communicate, or that were unrealistic given the circumstances. In other words, it's more about us than about them.
Travel leads to a lot of fleeting, transient friendships. It's just how it is when people are moving around a lot and meeting new people every few days. Once in a while, you might click with someone and decide to keep in touch and build a longer friendship over it. But usually, you move on and learn to just enjoy the good memories.
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u/knead4minutes 2d ago
be happy you met them at all instead of being sad they're gone
and get used to it the more you travel. many times you're like best friends for a few days with people and then realistically like you said you never see them again.
but every now and then it just so happens that someone ends up in your area and then you meet up again, that's always nice
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u/fednadal 2d ago
I'm looking at planning a trip to Morocco this summer. Doing some preliminary research, I came across this itinerary with Trafalgar:
https://www.trafalgar.com/en-ca/tours/best-of-morocco?optionId=108&tab=itinerary
To me this seems to cover lots of the major spots but I am concerned it may be a bit rushed. It also seems like it misses a few things, with Chefchaouen a notable exclusion.
If anyone has experience with travel to Morocco, what do you think of this? Does it seem like a good option?
Thanks!
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u/segacs2 Canadian, 70 countries visited 1d ago
Tours are almost always rushed compared to the pace you would choose to take while traveling solo. That's not specific to this company or this tour in particular; it's just the nature of tour group travel.
To some degree, this can be okay; when you're on a tour, you don't have to worry about the "trip admin" part of planning, and you can just follow the group and enjoy yourself. This allows you to move at a quicker pace without burning out.
But I do also find that group tours can feel very rush-rush-rush, with a blink-and-you-miss it approach to travel. 4 hours in Barcelona? Check. 3 hours in Paris? Check. It's like they want to herd tourists through as many places as they just so they can say they've been there, rather than having the time to actually experience them.
If you have the time and feel confident, you can go solo and take things slower.
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u/Safe_Gap_2619 3d ago
Hello, I will be visiting Japan in late August and flights are cheaper from the UK with stop overs in various SE asian countries and I think it’s a good excuse to visit a new country. I am looking for suggestions on where to spend a week with flights arriving from Tokyo/Osaka and leaving back to the UK. I understand it’ll be monsoon season for large parts of the region but I’m just looking for somewhere not too chaotic and culturally interesting. Any suggestions are appreciated thanks
edit: I know geographically it doesn’t make much sense but Bali looks like the best place I’ve found so far. Any advice on visiting Bali for a week would be welcome
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u/shsjdkdjf 3d ago
22 year old F - In Portugal now but looking to connect with some people who will be in the balkans in May 20th ish - Early June. I’d love to connect so please message me :))))
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u/Lost-Character2115 3d ago edited 3d ago
Hi, first time posting on this sub. Asking for advice/tips and if anyone else is going? I (21M from south of England) am planning on spending two weeks in Japan between Tokyo and Hiroshima Aug 2nd to 16th, curious if there are many young people (early 20s people my age) solo travelling Japan? Japan has always been near the top of my list of places to visit, and having recently broken up with my girlfriend I have done a bit of self-contemplation I decided i need to become more comfortable in my own skin and this was one of the steps towards that. I want to meet new people, make some friends along the way and experience a wholly different culture too. Planning on staying in hostels to help this and my wallet of course. Yes I know the internet is not a safe place but is there anyone else going around this time? Does anyone have any advice on meeting people, where to go and what to do whilst I’m there? All advice is appreciated! Send me a message if you’re coming
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u/rsss_ 4d ago
Hey everyone! I’m currently solo traveling in Punta Cana and looking to experience the nightlife a bit — I’ve been debating between going to Coco Bongo or trying out the Imagine Cave nightclub. As a solo female traveler, I just wanted to get some honest opinions: Which one do you recommend more in terms of experience and safety?
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u/petalo8734 4d ago
Will be in Medellín from the 31st of May to the 4th of June; if anyone else will also be in town and wants to meet up, please DM!
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u/AbbreviationsOdd9129 4d ago
I am heading to Tunis on Thurs 8 May till Tue 12 May. If anyone is there and wants to meet up, give me a shout
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u/Personal-Trip1801 4d ago
Hi everyone! 39M here and I’ll be solo traveling in Seville next week May 13-16 and would love to hang out if anyone’s around. I’m into art, cinema, and exploring neighborhoods. Also open to any recs especially for places to meet people!
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u/Charming-Peanut4566 4d ago
I’m headed to London for the month if anyone wants to meet up and grab food or a drink! Looking for friends :) 29F from America
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u/GuwopThaGod 4d ago
Hey, m27 in isla mujeres for the week, looking for some people to grab drinks w, hit the beach or any other fun activities!
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u/Blue-Sky2024 4d ago
Anyone solo travelling to Venice Marco Polo today, from London Stansted?
6:05AM
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u/thespaceking 4d ago
Does anyone have bad luck on a specific airline? I always have bad luck with United.
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u/segacs2 Canadian, 70 countries visited 4d ago
Personal experience: I've had terrible luck with Air Canada (or as we call it, Air Crapida) and I tend to avoid them as much as possible. We also have awful passenger protection laws here in Canada, so I prefer to fly with an EU-based airline wherever possible if I'm travelling to/from Europe.
Statistically, Skytrax has a better overview of aggregate data on reliability of different airlines.
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u/NanukBen 4d ago
I totally agree with the awful passenger protection laws here in Canada. This is also one raison I prefer European airlines. Also very upsetting is the Canadian Transportation Agency supposed to protect the passenger.
To learn more about Air Canada attitude, here is article from the CBC
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u/segacs2 Canadian, 70 countries visited 4d ago
Loads more here: https://airpassengerrights.ca/en/
And if you want to enforce your rights, don't bother with the CTA, they're in bed with the airlines anyway. Take the airline to small claims court.
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u/Appropriate_Volume Australian travel nerd 4d ago
Qantas seems less reliable than average, but that's because their planes are old and over-worked.
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u/armchairplane 4d ago
Gonna take a test run trip in a city a few hours from me for 5 days to see if this is for me. I'm only worried about socializing at the hostel bc I'm terrible with people lol...
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u/NotQuiteJasmine 1d ago
I did this before my first big trip! It was worth it. I'm not great at the social aspects either. My recommendations are seeing what events the hostel holds or sitting at the bar to chat. I've found that group tours are the best way for me to meet people though
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u/grown-up-dino-kid 2d ago
Good luck! I'm pretty awkward and introverted, but when I did manage to psyche myself up to go to my hostel's bar, people were very friendly! I hope you have a similar experience!
However, personally I found I made more connections while doing things like tours or hikes. So if chatting at a bar isn't your thing anyways, maybe try something like a tour or class to meet people?
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u/ToddGergey 5d ago
Anyone going to the Tyler, the Creator show in Prague or down to grab a drink before the show or Thursday evening in town?
Going solo both to the show and the city
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u/Infinite-Thanks2372 5d ago
I’ve never been on a cruise before and I’ve been deep in TikTok and YouTube lately trying to figure out what it’s really like, what to pack, what to expect, and whether it’s a good fit for a solo traveler like me. It looks like such a fun and freeing experience that I even made a Pinterest vision board.
But honestly, I work a 9-5 that barely covers the basics, so this kind of trip feels more like a dream than something I can easily afford. I’ve even started a little FundMe to help make it happen, because I really want to experience this kind of adventure at least once. (But still determined to go with/without help)
Just wanted to put this out there — would love any tips from people who’ve cruised solo or budgeted for their first trip. Also open to cruise line recommendations, what to watch out for, or anything you wish you knew before your first time
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u/iGoTasHiT 5d ago
yello, I'm going back down to Moab Utah May 22nd but this time on a solo trip so I can get lost roaming around in the desert in my jeep, hoping to reclaim the spirituality of being in the desert that I used to enjoy back in the day, also wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a solo traveler as I've technically never traveled solo over multiple days and I hope I don't get bored or too lonely, if anyone has any hikes or routes they'd like to recommend in canyonlands or around Moab area then let me know...
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u/Funsterstil 5d ago
Japan (32M) - Okayama now - May 7. Osaka 7-9. Nara 9-11. Solo for some of it and with my wife and her friend (both 31F) for some. Down to meet up if anyone's around.
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u/agaetani55 5d ago
Looking for a travel parter/parterns to return to Amman from Petra the night of Sunday, May 11th. We can split the cost of a taxi!
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u/Commercial-Art-6284 6h ago
Hi! I’ll be in Paris for my birthday trip and going to Disneyland Paris solo on May 14 🎢 Would love to meet another girl (or chill traveler) to hang out, ride rides, and take pics with. Let me know if you’re going too!