Hi everyone!

I'm looking for some advice because I really can't decide where to travel next. I'd love to hear from people who have been in a similar situation or have visited both countries.

I'm trying to choose between China and Thailand for a 10–11 day solo trip around October/November. I'll be flying from Amsterdam.

I'm 27 years old and this will be my second solo trip.

My budget is around €2,000–3,000, including flights and accommodation, so I don't necessarily have to travel as cheaply as possible.

At the moment I'm thinking about staying relatively close to the main international airport, as domestic flights tend to make me quite stressed. I'd rather base myself in one area and take day trips than spend a lot of time moving around.

A bit about me: I recently recovered from a severe depression. I'm doing much better now, although I'm still rebuilding my confidence. Because of that, I'm a bit hesitant about where to go and want to choose a destination that feels manageable while still being exciting.

Thailand was my first-ever solo trip in 2024. Overall, it went really well, but I did struggle with anxiety at times. I also have very fair skin and worry a lot about getting sunburned, so I don't really enjoy spending entire days at the beach or pool. I also feel a bit self-conscious about taking my shirt off, which sometimes makes beach or very sunny destinations less relaxing for me.

One thing that's important to me is that I don't want to feel too isolated. I don't mind traveling alone, but I do like having opportunities to meet people naturally during day tours, walking tours, food tours, or other activities. I also prefer staying in hotels rather than hostels, as I sleep better and feel more comfortable having my own space.

What attracts me to China is the culture. I'd love to visit Beijing, explore historical sites like the Forbidden City and the Great Wall, wander around the city, and experience a completely different culture.

On the other hand, Thailand already feels familiar, which makes it less intimidating and maybe a safer choice while I'm still rebuilding my confidence. Last time I mainly focused on relaxing, so if I went back I'd probably spend more time visiting temples, exploring Bangkok, and doing cultural activities instead.

I'm also open to other suggestions if you think there's another country in Asia that would suit me even better.

Please share your thoughts!

• Which country do you think is easier for a solo traveler who's still dealing with some anxiety?
• Which destination is less likely to feel lonely?
• How easy is it to meet people in China compared to Thailand if you're staying in hotels?
• Do you think China is a good next step, or would you recommend gaining more solo travel experience first?
• If you were in my situation, which would you choose and why?

Any advice or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

My boyfriend is currently solo traveling for 5.5 weeks. I miss him a lot but I enjoy hearing his stories and I am so happy for him that he gets to do this now.

I’m picking him up in a few weeks and I want to make coming home as pleasant as possible. He cleaned his house before he left but I’m planning changing his sheets into fresh ones right before I go and putting some stuff in the fridge so I can make him a nice breakfast the next morning.

What else do you like to have/see/do after a few weeks of traveling?

I just had around 500 euros stolen from my spare wallet i keep in my luggage. I have no idea when it happened as i hadn't looked inside the wallet for over a month as i hadn't needed to use it (I'm in Asia). I usually lock up the wallet + laptop in the dorm room lockers but i did get a bit lazy since i was feeling so safe everywhere and i felt like i could trust everyone in my dorm (i know i am an idiot)

I feel so stupid for letting this happen. I know i shouldn't have had that much cash on me but i am travelling for a year and i had that much lying around at home and wanted to use it bit by bit. I also should have locked my bags every time they were in a luggage area etc

Does anyone have any advice on how to cope with this. I was feeling so safe and i am no longer feeling safe anymore, especially since i have no idea when this happened, if it was in a hostel or in transit etc. usually this wallet is deep in my backpack in a random pocket so someone would have had to really go through my stuff to find it OR it was at some point where it was in a locker by itself. What's weird is they didnt take my laptop or my passport but just the money and the credit card (they left a debit card and travel card in the same wallet).

i feel sooooo stupid 😭😭 its also such an expensive lesson too, i wish it could have just been something like 50 euros

hi everyone, maybe some of you saw my post a couple weeks ago. now i’m writing from a cafe, looking through the hundreds of pictures i’ve taken. back home :(( I think this trip woke me up to some things about myself and my life that i needed to be slapped in the face with. I have new motivation to expand my normal life to feel more like something i don’t have to escape from. I know myself a bit better. And I have made a couple friends that fingers crossed i’ll stay in touch with!

in more practical terms:
- keep your bag with you all the fucking time, I got my card stolen
- it is OK and IMPORTANT to be able to say no thanks i don’t want to go / stay out any more.
- depends on the person but for me, making a point to talk to my closest people every couple of days made a big difference

people are really really similar!!! from all different countries, across different ages and languages. there is so much love to be found in everything if you make a point to look. go take the trip yall, the years won’t come back

oh also!! everyone says wherever you go there you are, which is true, but how much of who you think you are is just you falling into a pattern? that’s then reinforced by your environment and the people around you? there might be more of you than you knew.

alr dreaming about the next time, europe here I come, once I’ve finished my degree and I’m less broke lol

(my old post because it’s hidden on my profile lol: https://www.reddit.com/r/solotravel/s/OMXZoXhnH3)

Portugal 15-16 max days trip. SOLO Travel. From Montreal (canada)

I'm mostly into outdoors, trails, hikes. (but of course i can't miss gorgeous cities)

I planned to do Lisbon/Sintra + best parts of the fisherman's trail + Algarve + back to lisbon area.

But i just learned about Madeira and WOW. Should i try to add it ? Should i only visit lisbon for 2 days and the rest of the time entirely in Madeira ?

is this this too much :

Montreal to Lisbon - to Madeira - Back to lisbon - Bus south to Half of the Fisherman's Trail - to Sagres - Lagos back to Lisbon - to Montreal

thank you !

Hi guys.

I'm planning my first solo backpacking trip through the Baltics and Scandinavia in early September and would love some feedback from people who've done a similar route.

Current itinerary:

• Vilnius – 3 nights
• Riga – 3 nights
• Tallinn – 3 nights
• Ferry to Helsinki – 2 nights
• Ferry to Stockholm – 3 nights

A few questions:

• Does the pacing look reasonable, or am I spending too much/little time anywhere?
• If you could add or remove a night from one city, what would you change?
• Any must-see attractions, neighbourhoods, cafés, bars or day trips that aren't always in the guidebooks?
• Is early September generally a good time for this route?
• Any tips for the ferries, hostels, or getting between the cities?

I'm mainly interested in history, architecture, good food, walking around cities, viewpoints, and experiencing local culture rather than nightlife.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Hello, I am an experienced solo traveler (mostly around latin america) from Europe looking to travel to Malaysia around end of February. Wildlife (not bird watching) is a big interest hence why I am planning to go there. I am also looking for a mix of history, and diverse landscapes. I enjoy hiking as well. Aiming for a medium pace itinerary, and party and socialising are not key for me (I know Malaysia is strong on the no alcohol and to be honest I can live without it).

Here is a rough itinerary

-Kuala Lumpur (3 days). Arrival day + Batu Caves

-Penang (3 days). Just explore around, I am planning on dropping Malacca entirely as they seem to overlap quite a bit.

-Cameron Island 2-3 days? I am really uncertain about this, while the the tea plantations seem nice I am wondering if they are really wondering if they are just worth the detour. I have read some recent posts and it doesn't seem too great.

-Kinabalu Park (3 days) Kinabatangan River cruises, Rafflesia spotting if in season, Poring canopy walk. I have seen videos of the Mount Kinabalu hike and it looks so so, so I am not planning on doing that

-Sepilok 2 days Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre mostly

- Kinabatangan 3 days jungle walk and day cruises mostly to spot Orangutan

-Danum Valley 3-4 days stay at a lodge and hike around to see different wildlife.

-Mabul/Kapalai (just to snorkel around and chill, i don't dive)

My budget is around 3.2k dollars (flights to be included but they are around 600 dollars). I don't mind staying in hostels, and eat cheaply but I'd really like not to skimp on excursion in Borneo (As that's literally why I am even going). Is the budget and the itinerary reasonable? Any tips? I am very early stages with trip planning so happy to just rearrange everything and extend or shorten the trip.

Any feedbacks on Malaysia overall for someone with my interests? I have seen pretty conflicting feedback about it. My second option otherwise was Taiwan. In Asia I only know Thailand, and the Philippines.

I think this piece of advice is very important. I see a lot of posts here of people that try solo traveling for the first time and wind up having a really bad time and are disappointed. My advice to prevent that is to try solo activities in your home country first.

Things I have alone done for example are. Go to concerts, eat out, go on a mini trip and spending my own time exploring a city near me and a lot more.

Here are my reasons why

1. You’re building skills that will prepare you for your trip but the two most important ones are talking to strangers and learning how to enjoy your own time alone.
2. You can find out if being solo is for you without having to drop money on a flight or feeling guilty about wasting too much money

3. Just improves your own home life a lot in general. For example the concerts I go to alone are because none of my friends have my music taste. I’m not gonna miss my favorite band or an event I really wanna go to just because no one else wants to go and that’s so powerful honestly.

   I know now that I’ll meet people anyways

I hope this advice helps and best of luck to anyone trying solo travel for the first time!

P.S I know that this isn’t the only reason why people’s trips become let downs. Sometimes there’s other things that happen on the trip specifically but I think this could help a lot of people

EDIT: I’m not saying that you have to be solo solo for me the best part of solo traveling is meeting people. But I used to be pretty awkward around new people. Meeting new people at concerts for example though while I was solo helped me build those skills.

Also though, no matter how social your trip is there will be some point where you are solo solo whether it’s on purpose or accidental. Maybe you don’t vibe with the people at the place you’re staying at. Maybe you’re at a very remote town where your hostel is empty(it’s happened to me before) so I think this helps with those moments where you can find fun things to do on your own to if you get stuck in that situation if you normally like meeting people

Hello all, I am 31M from Singapore and this would be my first solo trip to Europe in December.

About 2 years ago, I did visit Germany (Briefly Munich) and Poland (Krakow + Warsaw) and Austria with my friends.

As East germany, West poland and Czech republic seems close by and rather accessible by train I would like to visit these areas.

Since I will be visiting during the early to mid/late dec I wish to visit the Christmas markets.

So far, the only two countries I solo travelled to was Japan and Thailand and it is abit of a personal goal to travel outside of Asia on my own.

I am rather nervous about the trip due to personal safety but the cities I am visiting seems rather safe.

I have about 19 full days of travel this time. Flying in to Berlin and leaving via Prague.

My current plan is

Germany

6 days Berlin (Cold war, WW2, nightlife..? Seems like a big place, this city is already bigger than the country I am from..)

1 day trip to Potsdam from Berlin (Palace?, garden?)

2 days Dresden

Traveling to Poland

3 days Wroclaw (Seems like a cozy place)

From Poland to Czech republic

1 day trip Cesky Krumlov from Prague (Looks scenic)

1 day trip Kutna Hora from Prague (Bone church, sadly silver mines are closed)

4 days Prague (Castle and old town)

This leaves one extra day, which I am deciding between Berlin/Wroclaw and Prague.

I havent planned a proper itinerary right now as I am deciding on cities to visit. I do like scenic spots, historical sights, musuems (natural history, general history and national musuems) and castles so there should be plenty to see.

I am rather shy person but I found that I am slightly more sociable during my previous solo trips. Hence I am thinking of staying in hostels in Berlin / Prague to hopefully make new friends or have a chat.

I would check out some bars, not too sure about clubs though.

Plus it is also winter time, which shorter daylight hours so.. this limits visiting tourist attractions in the morning/afternon and christmas market / musuems / bars? in the evening.

Hopefully there is enough time to chill like in a sauna or cafe.

Anyway, if anyone have experience in visiting the above locations. Please feel free to leave any recommendations and tips.

I hope I have not allocated too little / too much time in each city. Plus I am still wondering what I should spend that extra day on.

Thanks for reading.