My Top Solo Travel Destinations

I don’t like to count the number of countries and honestly, I don’t know how many countries I have been to, maybe 40-50 (?). For me countries are like people, I don’t exactly know how many people I have met in person, it makes no difference. There are places where I love to return and also places where I wouldn’t go back. 

My favourite country for solo travel is Australia, where I have been travelling for over 15 years with +24 months on the road, altogether. Malaysia is another country I love, and Italy of course, but that’ another story as Italy is the country where I grew up and currently live. I have been travelling locally since I was a kid, and have seen my country change a lot over the decades, yet It’s difficult to fall out of love with Italy.

How I Choose Where To Travel Next

It depends. Every trip has a different story and it is created differently. I love walking and hiking, so a nature escape with a hike in the nearby Dolomites at home, or wherever else is my top choice. It can be a cultural attraction: I love all kinds of modern art, including street art). It can be a culinary experience: I love Italian food, but also like to try all genuine local food.

I’ve just returned from a trip to Le Marche region in Italy, where my main focus was exploring ancient medieval townships with old castles perched on stunningly beautiful hills and food tastings. When I have my ingredients for my trip, then I let serendipity do the rest. The unexpected is always a surprise that spices the trip up.

I travel as often as I can. Now during COVID, I have only been travelling locally in Italy, between June and July, but I’m pretty sure I will be travelling on full mode soon again. Ideally I prefer short trips of 3-4 days to a maximum of 7 days when I travel locally. When I travel overseas, the length of my trips extends to 1 to 3 months at least. My longest solo trip was in 2015 on 5 months travelling solo around Australia with a 5-day break to Bali.

Some Of My Biggest Challenges To Travelling

While I don’t have any scaring travel moments in my memories, fortunately, I went through challenging moments too. But there is always a silver lining in all challenges and I always welcome them as a gift, an opportunity to learn and grow. And I use the take away to better plan and prepare for future trips. 

Time and money goes hand in hand. I pay for all my travels and now and then I get a sponsorship if I have to review a destination or an event. To have a suitable plan all the time isn’t possible, nor realistic. One of the biggest challenges is flexibility and the skill to quickly adapt to new situations.

Many things don’t work out or work out differently than expected so you need to readjust yourself to the situation and move on. I make sure that I’m well aligned with my purpose, this helps me a lot in all my plans. But challenges arise anyways along your way, so I train to adapt to the worst scenario, keep calm and deal with unexpected situations.

Travel Advice For New Travelers

Work and travel isn’t easy at all and it takes a lot of effort, especially as a newbie. Make sure you have a sustainable plan to start with and pace it to your own skills and strengths. Don’t overdo. I would plan at least the first 3-4 months to make sure you can try out a few months of work & travel experience and see if you like it and how it goes, in the first place. There are endless opportunities for digital nomads out there but living and working on the road isn’t something for everyone.