On solo travel
I’m still building up on my solo travel experience - a lot of my trips have been permutations of some sort, meeting friends and tagging a short solo segment, or travelling somewhere I know people so even though I am travelling solo there is some social interaction. But there truly is no better way to open yourself up to new experiences than to go solo, and it is an experience I am increasingly embracing.
Of the places I’ve been to, the following are great to start out with for solo trips: (from perspective of a SG female)
Melbourne would be by far the best place to start solo travel! Getting from the airport to the city is easy via the shuttle (which can be booked on Klook), and you don’t even need to figure out the transport system from there - you can take a tram for free within the city centre and they mark out the free tram zone very clearly. If you are going beyond that just get a myki card from one of the tram stops. Language is not an issue, and the city is so international that one doesn’t feel too out of place. It is also convenient given stores open fairly late in the city (10-11pm).
Beijing, China is a close second. Booking attractions and train tickets take a bit more effort to figure out and take some pre planning, but as a solo traveller the safety is top notch. There are bag checks by security at every subway station. Systems are efficient. And once you figure out the local apps, China feels affordable and easy to navigate. And of course as a Singaporean Chinese, never have I ever blended in more during a trip.
Third to the list I’ll add Almaty, Kazakhstan. Although a bit more off the beaten track, and with a language barrier, Almaty is convenient and easy to navigate. Getting in from the airport to the city is cheap and easy. Sim cards are affordable and there is good connection. You can take Yandex everywhere affordably and booking via the app circumvents the language barriers. Almaty is an international city so you can get good coffee and cafes as well as international food. And the tourism is is developed enough that you can join short group tours if you want to get out of the city. Locals also do look Asian, so one doesn’t stick out too much (at least until they realise you can’t speak Kazakhstan / Russian).
There are various ways to start solo travel that I’ve also been exploring:
The easiest is group trips: joining a tour such as G adventures and Intrepid Travel. In SG, we now also have many different agencies organising adventure trips for solo travellers, and this gives you a group to fly with from SG. For now, I’ve tried to book more with in country or international organisations to meet travellers from other regions.
You could also go for trips and arrange one or multi day tours, which allows for a mix of self exploration.
Or you could just wander and self explore
On solo travel in Africa, I did a G adventure group tour but if you are looking to do a solo self organised one with some guided trips, you can check out the below for hostel stay and activities
in Namibia: Chameleon Safaris and Tours
in Cape Town: CURIOCITY Green Point Cape Town