7 of 12

Illustrated by Seung Won Chun.

Age: 33

Occupation: Finance

City: Jersey City, NJ

Number of solo trips taken: 3

What's your best piece of solo travel advice?

Have in a mind a few solid places/events you want to go to, specific restaurants and content you want to build from the experiences prior to your arrival. Don't make your schedule too rigid based off of this because then they may start to feel like chores. But you have to ultimately remember you are solo so it will be up to you to accomplish your itinerary and make the best of your experience. It took me three times to get this right — the first two trips I found myself hanging out in my hotel room more because I felt socially awkward in certain scenarios or didn't have a friend reminding me we need to get up and go. But when I finally realized I'm on my own schedule for a reason, I took full advantage of that opportunity and everything I did on my third trip became effortless. I also gained the confidence to speak to strangers and own the fact that I chose to be solo — contrary to popular belief that being solo means you are a loner or didn't have anyone to join you. I was able to make friends from this experience and even hung out with different groups of people on different days. Having a plan and confidence is the key!