Afraid of Travelling Alone? 9 Common Solo Travel Fears (and How to Overcome Them)

If you’re about to embark on your first solo travel journey, but you’re feeling all of the fears, you’re not the only one.

My solo travel journey didn’t begin intentionally; it was actually something that happened out of circumstance.

It started in Thailand, after three months of backpacking around Southeast Asia with two friends, where we honestly had the best time.

It had got to a point where we had all reached a crossroads, as we all wanted to visit very different destinations. One friend had his sights set on China, another on New Zealand, and I on Indonesia. 

And suddenly that meant I had a choice to make. Go home. Or go solo.

At 22, I was honestly afraid of travelling alone. What if I couldn’t make friends? (as a highly introverted person at that time) What if I wasn’t safe? And lots of other similar unhelpful thoughts. 

The doubts were at the forefront of my mind, but deep down, I knew I had to keep travelling because going back to rainy old England just wasn’t an option.

So it meant that it was finally time to overcome my fears and get out of my comfort zone (an absolute blessing in disguise). 

The thing is, these worries are so common. If you’re scared to travel solo, you’re not the only one. In fact, according to research, 84% of solo travellers are women, and I can almost guarantee that many of them once felt exactly like you and me, excited, but anxious about what could go wrong.

Fast forward over a decade, and I have now solo-travelled to more than 40 countries, and solo travel has officially become one of the best parts of my life. And I no longer have a fear of travelling alone (for the most part).

But before I could discover that freedom, I had to push through the fears that almost stopped me.

In this post, I’ll share the 9 biggest fears I had to overcome before solo travelling and how you can overcome them too.

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1. Fear of Travelling Alone as an Introvert

One of my biggest fears before travelling solo was that I wouldn’t make any friends. As an introvert, I imagined myself sitting alone in hostels while everyone else bonded instantly, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. 

What surprised me the most (as an introvert) is that it actually felt easier to meet people while travelling. 

This is because everyone I met already had something in common with me, this was because we were all there for the same reason: we loved to travel. This meant that striking up a conversation felt so much easier.

One of the unexpected benefits of this is that I got to choose when I wanted to be social and when I wanted to recharge (something less common when I was travelling with my friends).

2. Being Scared to Travel Alone as a Woman (concerned for my Safety)

This is probably the most common fear we women have when we contemplate travelling solo, and it was one of my biggest solo travel anxieties

As women, we’re raised with a heightened sense of caution, and we have so many rules to follow. Don’t walk alone at night, always watch your drink, and keep your guard up.

Travelling solo can feel like having your guard up even higher, and always being switched on (which can become draining). 

Yes, safety is something you have to take seriously, but it doesn’t have to stop you from travelling, and once you weigh up the pros and cons of solo travel, you’ll see that the rewards often outweigh the risks.

With the right precautions, solo travel can be just as safe as exploring your own city (and sometimes even safer).

When travelling solo, you’ll quickly learn to trust your instincts and here are a few simple things you can do to help keep yourself protected: 

• Always trust your instincts (if you feel something is off, remove yourself from the situation).
• Booking accommodation with lots of good reviews (especially from other women).
• Share your travel plans with a friend or family member so that someone always knows where you are.
• Avoid walking alone down dark or isolated streets at night.
• Carry yourself with confidence (even if you have no idea where I was going).

Back when I first started solo travelling, tools like eSIMs and easy travel insurance weren’t available and going online often meant finding an internet café or waiting until you were back at the hostel to connect to the very slow Wi-Fi (gosh, I feel old even typing that out).

These days, it’s SO much easier, and I never travel without a few essentials that give me peace of mind:

• SafetyWing Travel Insurance – Reliable coverage for medical emergencies and unexpected travel issues. Having it means I don’t have to worry about what I’d do if something went wrong abroad. The best part is that you can renew it monthly, and you can take it out even if your trip has already begun. Plus, the payouts are SO quick. Plus, the payouts are super quick (I’ve had to claim on it 3 times in the last year). 
• Airalo eSIM – Affordable mobile data as soon as I land is so handy, as it makes it easy to message family, check maps, or book transport straight away. 
• Offline maps (Google Maps or Maps.me) – A backup that’s saved me countless times when I’ve had no signal. Downloading maps in advance means I can always find my way.
• Translator App (Google Translate) – A lifesaver when I don’t speak the local language. It’s helped me to translate menus, communicate with taxi drivers and more. 

Over the years, I’ve built up confidence and experience, and I can now proudly say I’ve safely solo-travelled to almost 40 countries, including destinations some people consider “challenging” for women, like India, Namibia and Oman. 

Remember that the best you can do is to learn how to mitigate risk, because it’s absolutely impossible to eliminate them completely.

3. Fear of Eating Out Alone

This one felt so silly compared to bigger fears like safety. But at 22, the thought of sitting in a restaurant alone absolutely terrified me. I was convinced everyone would stare and silently judge me for being that poor girl who had no friends to eat with.

But I quickly realised that no one cares at all, and if people are silently judging you in their head, that’s them projecting their own insecurities onto you, and wishing they had the same confidence as you do. 

Here are some solo dinner life hacks that might help you feel less awkward when you start doing it for the first time:

• Bring a book or a journal so you have something to do. 
• Sitting at outdoor tables or counters where solo diners are more common.
• Reminding myself that most people are far too wrapped up in their own meals to notice me.

And now I actually love eating out alone (and sometimes often prefer it). 

4. Fear of Planning the Entire Trip Alone & Making The Wrong Choice 

Another huge fear I had before my first solo trip was the idea of planning everything by myself. Flights, hostels, activities, safety… the responsibility felt overwhelming.

I’ve always been prone to decision paralysis, where I would overthink every option until I couldn’t choose at all. So when it came to solo travel, I worried I’d freeze up, make the “wrong” choice, and ruin the trip.

What I actually discovered is that it’s really important to zoom out. When you’re having to choose between going to the beach for a few days or hiking on a beautiful mountain range, there really isn’t a bad option (and it’s very much a first-world problem).

Yes, I’ve made a few mistakes (and sometimes still do). Things like booking a dodgy hostel or deciding to visit a city I ended up hating, but one of the best parts of solo travel is that you can always change your plans, and nothing is set in stone. So, if I didn’t like a destination or a hostel, I simply moved on.

And another point I’d like to add is that you really don’t need to plan everything down to a T. Yes, this will definitely be helpful when you’re in the first month or two of your solo travel trip. 

But once you’ve found your rhythm and built your confidence, I think it’s super important to leave room for spontaneity and unplanned adventures. 

5. Fear of Getting Lost or Stuck

The thought of getting on the wrong bus and ending up stuck in a town I’m not meant to be in, in a place where I didn’t speak the local language, was a huge fear of mine. But after 10 years of solo travel, I’m happy to report it hasn’t happened yet (I hope I haven’t jinxed myself by saying that). 

I do, however, know plenty of other solo travellers it has happened to, so it’s a very valid fear of something that happens more often than you’d think to our fellow travellers. 

What I’ve learnt from fellow travellers is that getting lost rarely ever ends up in these dangerous movie-like scenarios that you’re probably conjuring up in your imagination. 99% of the time, you’ll find that most people are kind and willing to help if you ask.

Nowadays, tools like offline maps (Google Maps, Maps.me) and eSIMs make navigation so much easier. I always make sure to download maps before heading somewhere new, and make sure I always have access to data with an eSIM.

6. Fear of Getting Lonely

When you’re used to travelling with friends (like I was), there’s always someone to chat to and laugh with. I worried that solo travel would mean endless stretches of downtime with no one to share it with.

To be totally honest with you, I very rarely get bored/lonely when I solo travel (both back when I was 22, and now as a 33-year-old).

It gives me more opportunities to try new things, meet new people and allows me to get out of my comfort zone, so that I don’t experience too much loneliness. 

When I do experience extended periods of being alone, I make sure to fill that time with hobbies I love to do, like photography and content creation or people-watching from cafés.

Plus, if and when I do want company, I’ll join a free walking tour or chat to other solo travellers in my hostel.

Of course, there are moments when I miss my friends, family and my boyfriend, whom I don’t often get to travel with, but those moments are so small compared to the amount of joy I get from travelling.

Learning to enjoy your own company is one of the best parts of the whole experience (at least it was for me).

7. Fear of Missing Out on Shared Experiences

When I first started travelling solo, I worried that I’d miss out on the shared experiences that make trips so memorable. 

The thought of creating memories with strangers didn’t feel as meaningful as making them with friends because I knew most of those strangers wouldn’t be around years later to laugh with me nostalgically about all the stupid things we’d done.

To be completely honest, there were and still are times when I miss having someone I know around me to share these super cool experiences with, but being on your own often leads to new experiences that don’t usually happen if you’re travelling with a close friend. 

When I’m by myself, I’ll always end up chatting to locals, making better connections with other travellers. This is because when you’re solo, you’re more open to saying yes, and those yeses often end up being some of the fondest memories from your trip.

8. Fear of the Language Barrier

One of the fears I had before solo travelling was the language barrier. I imagined myself stuck in uncomfortable situations, being unable to communicate. 

In reality, it was way easier than I expected. Most people I met either spoke English or were patient and kind when we didn’t speak the language. 

When the barrier was there, it was always easy to find a way to communicate, and normally that would mean unintentionally playing a game of charades (which was always kind of fun). 

Plus, nowadays, we all have access to translator apps like Google Translate, which can solve a lot of our language barrier problems. 

9. Fear That I Wouldn’t Enjoy It

One of my biggest worries when I entered my first solo travel adventure was that I might not actually enjoy the solo travel experience (because of all the other fears I’ve mentioned above).

But as you have probably already guessed from this post, actually, the opposite happened. Once I got past the initial nerves, I found that I loved the freedom of deciding exactly what I wanted to do, when I wanted to do it, and not having to compromise one single bit! 

Of course, not every day was “the best day ever”, and there were some challenging moments, but overall, the highs far outweighed the lows. 

Looking back more than a decade later, I can honestly say solo travel has been one of the best decisions of my life.

Final Thoughts

Looking back, I can’t believe how many fears nearly stopped me from taking that first solo trip, but I’m so glad I managed to overcome all of these worries, because I’ve had so many incredible experiences over the last 10+ years.  

So if you’re afraid of travelling alone or still a little scared to travel alone, remember that those feelings are normal.

What’s important to remember is that you shouldn’t confuse fear or anxiety with gut instinct, because they are two very different things. Feeling fear doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t travel solo because it’s quite a natural human response; the only way to shrink those fears is to face them.

I’ve now solo-travelled safely through nearly 40 countries, and I can honestly say it’s been one of the most incredible parts of my life. If 22-year-old me could do it (who barely had any common sense or brain cells), then you can do it too. 

If you need a little more convincing, be sure to check out my guide on getting the courage to travel solo and the reasons why every woman should solo travel once in her life.  

As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out or take a look at my solo female travel hub for more tips and advice.