I was recently a guest on my friend Stephanie May Wilson's podcast, Girls Night… for the third time! We had a ton of fun chatting all about travel, especially solo travel! In listening back to the episode, I felt a few things: 1. Proud of myself for having said yes to my dream of travel so many years ago, even knowing how nervous I was at the time, and 2. Excited about the opportunity to encourage others to start traveling the world, too… even and especially on their own!

I’ve been solo traveling now for a few years, and still get asked constantly about why I choose to do it solo, all of the details about exactly how I do it, and — my personal favorite — if it’s as scary as they think it is (spoiler alert: it’s not scary, like, at all). So I thought it would be fun to dispel some of the most common myths about solo travel.

After getting countless emails, comments, and DMs full of questions about solo travel over the last few years, I finally decided to whip up a blog post (and podcast episode) answering all of the most popular and frequently asked questions. So if you’ve been considering solo travel but have some hesitation or want more tips from someone just a few steps ahead of you, consider this post written just for you. Alright, let’s start this Q+A, shall we?

One of the greatest accomplishments of my life so far was paying off all of my debt a few years ago. Not only was that a huge moment in general, but it also signified a turning point in the trajectory of my life when I was able to really and fully assess where I was versus where I wanted to be, which led to quitting my day job to pursue what would eventually become a few years of solo traveling. And now that I am on the other side of debt, I am often asked about how I actually did it…

Being an experienced solo traveler, I regularly am asked about the ins and outs of planning a solo trip. From saving money to how to stay safe while traveling solo and everything in between, I love getting to answer so many questions around planning a solo holiday. In this post, I’ve laid out some of the most important things I’ve learned along the way, so whether you are taking a trip for four days or four months, here are some of the things you should keep in mind when planning a solo trip of your own.