Solo Travel For Men: 10 Tips

Traveling alone can be intimidating. I remember my first trip to Europe and how anxious I was. That was 17 years ago. Since then, I’ve picked up a few tricks along the way. Here are ten tips for solo travel for men that will help you.

Solo Travel For Men

1. Travel to Places Where You Look Different Than The Locals

When I travel, I want to meet people. But I’m an introvert by nature. One trick I’ve found is that people start conversations with me when I’m in a city where I look different from the local guys. People will talk to you too.

This is great if you want to talk to girls. If you’re a single guy, you will meet many girls because they will want to know where you’re from. You are the new shiny object in their country.

2. Travel During “Shoulder Season”

The best time to travel is in May or September. Spring and Fall are called shoulder seasons in the travel industry.

Specifically, I’m talking about Americans looking to travel to Europe. It would be best to travel in May because it is cheaper, less crowded, and has good weather. May is after the cold winter but before the summer crowds.

As for September, this is also cheaper, less crowded, and better weather because it’s just after the summer crowds, and before the cold winter.

If you’re not traveling to Europe, just remember, the best time to travel is in those two windows.

3. Pack light

The first time I went to Europe I packed a suitcase with almost everything I owned. On the airport scale, the suitcase was 50 lbs exactly. Please don’t make this mistake.

As guys, we are lucky. We don’t need a bunch of stuff. Here is all you will need:

2 pants, 5 or 6 shirts
2 pairs of shoes (wear one on the plane)
toiletries.

Tip: If you ever need anything more, you can buy anything and everything anywhere in the world.

4. Buy a good over-the-shoulder bag or Backpack

There are some things you can pick up on the cheap when traveling. For example, spend $3 on a simple two-prong socket adapter when you go to Europe. Don’t spend $40 on a complex all in one adapter.

But don’t on luggage. As a solo traveling man, don’t buy roller suitcases. Instead, buy a good over-the-shoulder bag that will fit in the overhead compartment on planes. Or you can get a good travel backpack. Not a hiker backpack, but a Tortuga Backpack, or something like it. And buy a good one because there is nothing worse than the shoulder strap or strap hook breaking walking through the airport with your bag.

5. Back up your Passport

Your passport is the most important document you will have when you travel. I always keep my passport in my right front pocket. I remember once sitting on a bench in Budapest, Hungary, feeling for my passport and noticed it was gone.

My wallet was on the ground right under me. Thankfully.

You never know when something could happen. It is good to email a copy of your passport to yourself, have a photo on your phone, and email or text one or two copies to your family and friends.

6. Find Cheap Good Flights on Skyscanner and Google Flights

Solo travel for men is much easier. We can take any number of inconvenient flights to get somewhere. So take advantage of this flexibility.

Skyscanner.com

I have been using Skyscanner.com for 10 years or so. Skyscanner is a simple, intuitive flight tracking site. The one feature that I love most about it is the “search everywhere feature.

It will bring up all the cities from your destination. The destinations will come up listed in cheapest destinations first. You will always find the cheapest flights to your destination on this site. They piece together your schedule with different airlines and times.

You could do all of this yourself, but it would take you a long time. Skyscanner.com does this for you.

GoogleFlights.com

I’ve recently started using Google flights. The best thing about Google Flights is the price tracking feature. When you can switch on the price tracking feature, Google Flights will email you when the price of the flight your tracking changes. When the price drops to a price you were waiting for, you can just buy it.

7. Use Seat61.com for Train Tickets and Help

Tip: One way to travel cheaply is to take trains when you’re in Europe.

Train travel is a way of life for Europeans. All Europeans take trains unless they absolutely have to fly. And you should too.

If you need help with train travel advice, schedules, and just about any question answered, go to the wonderful website seat61.com. This site will help you with all your train travel needs.

I used this site when I booked my first train trip in Europe back in 2016, and I’ve used it every year since.

8. How to Get from the Airport to Your Hotel

A few things in life are certain – death, taxes, and being ripped off by taxis. It doesn’t matter how much of a veteran traveler you are; you will get ripped off by taxis.

Before you land in a new city, always check to see if a train or shuttle can take you to the city center. I’d say about 50% of the time there is. If not a train or metro, usually there’s a bus or something designated by the airport to get you to the city center. Take these.

Sometimes you have no choice but to take a taxi. For example, if you land somewhere at 2:00 am, a taxi is your only option. Always google what an average taxi fare should cost, and if there is more than one taxi, you can keep trying to find a fair one.

But don’t feel bad, because you probably will not get a deal.

9. You Can use Your credit card anywhere

I remember my first trip to Europe in 2006. I went to my local bank and took out about $300 in Euros, Pounds, and Swiss Francs. This is unnecessary now.

In 2022 you can use your credit card almost anywhere in the world. Just grab $50 in cash at the airport ATM (not currency exchange) in case you need transportation from the airport. But other than that, (and small souvenirs) you’ll use your credit card everywhere.

Pro Tip: Some stores, restaurants, etc., might ask you if you want to run your card in the local currency or your home currency. Always say local currency.

10. Stay in Hotels and not Airbnb (Usually)

There has been a longstanding debate about whether solo traveling guys should stay in Airbnb or book a hotel. Unless you are staying more than seven days, book a hotel.

In a hotel, there are more chance meetings with people. You can meet people in the lobby, lobby bars, and lounges. Also, you can eat in restaurants.

Also, you have the usual comforts of a hotel, such as clean sheets, cleaning the rooms, etc.

Finally, these days, Airbnb is often the same nightly price as hotels, so you’re not even saving money with an Airbnb.