Solo Travel Tips

Today we’re sharing our first Traveler Takeover post in which WanderWell Travelers friend Amy shares her top four solo travel tips.

Hi! I’m Amy–tech marketer, borderline animal hoarder, and avid traveler! I started solo traveling nearly 20 years ago when I (impulsively) packed up and moved to Prague for 3 years. And while I love traveling with groups, family, and friends, I’ve found there’s nothing quite like the excitement and insights that come from traveling by myself. 

Here are a few pieces of advice, tips, and recommendations I’ve picked up or been gifted from others in my two decades of solo traveling!

Tip 1: WANDER. One of the best parts of solo traveling is that you set your own agenda and can pivot as much as you want. Stay at the great cafe/bar and have a second drink. Follow random people to the delicious looking street food. Turn down that interesting looking street—there are surprises around every corner, so go find them.

Tip 2: NOT ALWAYS ALONE. Solo travel doesn’t always equal companionless travel. Sometimes you might go out in search of true peace, quiet, and solitude. However, sometimes you might want to meet new people and make friendships along the way. Or, maybe you have a perfect, non-human best friend who likes to join you in your adventures. (I love traveling with my chichi bestie and camping buddy, Mona Lisa Sapperstein) 

Tip 3: POPULAR ISN’T BAD. Don’t skip the “popular” destinations/activities. I held a bizarre misconception for far too long that I needed to ONLY go find the hidden destinations, the “not-yet-discovered” spots, and carve out an experience that was somehow mine and mine alone. And while this is absolutely fine, remember that the popular spots are popular for a reason - THEY’RE AMAZING! So carve your own path, blaze your own trail, but don’t forget to make time for the must sees!

Tip 4: DON’T BE SCARED. Don’t be scared, but be prepared. Don’t let a fear of the unknown keep you from experiencing new things or waiting to take that trip you’ve always wanted. It is completely possible to plan a perfectly safe trip, even across the globe, even for folks who have never traveled before. It’s also especially helpful to have a team of trusted professionals in your corner, like WanderWell. They can make planning easier, help you develop itineraries and secure bookings in advance of your trip, and can be an essential resource to you in-country should something unexpected arise.

Thank you Amy for sharing!

Visiting the Statue of Liberty - Know Before You Go!

Lady Liberty! This symbolic site is a meaningful place for both children and adults to visit. And yet, even as I grew up outside of, and then LIVED in NYC, I had never gone to Liberty Island until last month. My eldest daughter requested a trip there as part of her 10th birthday NYC weekend, and I couldn’t say no. Here are some tips and things to know before you make the trip yourself.

1. Free to visit…kind of. While there’s no charge to be on Liberty Island and for the museum onsite, you have to pay to get there. This means paying for a ferry service. Statue City Cruises is the only authorized ferry with service to Liberty Island (and also Ellis Island!). Additionally, there are separate fees for going UP inside the statue. If you want to climb to either the pedestal or crown levels, expect to pay more (price is rolled in with the ferry price so it’s just one ticket). Don’t want to pay or don’t have the time? Simply take the free Staten Island Ferry and do a drive, err, sail-by.

2. You can go from New Jersey OR Manhattan. Cruises from Manhattan leave from Battery Park, and those from New Jersey leave from Liberty State Park in Jersey City. Since we were driving from DC to NYC, we decided to take the ferry from Jersey City since it was on the way, and then drove into NYC afterwards. We also opted for this because, as we had a car, parking at Liberty State Park is abundant and inexpensive ($7), whereas it is much more difficult near Battery Park. However, not everyone feels comfortable driving in NYC! If you are taking the train to the city or coming from a different direction, it probably would make more sense for you to take the ferry from Manhattan.

3. Go as early as possible. I was so thankful my daughter and I took a morning ferry (11 am — we left DC around 6:30, got in at 10 am, which gave us enough time for a snack and bathroom break before going through security and waiting in line). It was crowded in the morning, but even more so when we left a few hours later. Also, even though the sailing only takes about 15 minutes, be prepared to spend a lot of time waiting in line for security and boarding beforehand. Plan to arrive at your selected terminal at least 45 minutes in advance.

4. Items inside the Statue are highly restricted - bring a quarter! We were surprised that we weren’t allowed to bring our stainless steel water bottles with us for the climb up to the pedestal level, and were told to rent a locker. These are 25¢ each. Bring a quarter - we experienced the change machines to all be broken, and had to rely on the kindness of a stranger! (Other restricted items include food, all drinks except in clear water bottles, backpacks, and strollers).

5. It’s a National Park Site. This means, for kids, that it is also a place where they can take part in the Junior Ranger program and earn a badge. The activities are best for kids ages 5+.

6. It’s not ideal for very young children. Not going to sugar coat it - this is a place where you really need to watch young ones. The ferry can be tight and crowded, and difficult to use a stroller, so if you are bringing a little one, baby-wearing is the way to go. While I want all my children to experience the Statue of Liberty, I felt much more at ease not making this a trip where I’d have to worry about my highly energetic toddler!

7. Don’t miss the museum! I’m so glad we didn’t rush things and went into the museum. My daughter loved soaking up the history of the construction of Lady Liberty and seeing the original torch, inspiration for the statue, replicas of the face and feet, etc. The visitor center is also inside the museum.

Flying A Budget Airline? An Honest Take From A Mom

When my husband and I first started discussing possible spring break plans, part of our calculus was the price of flights. With five tickets to purchase, this is an understandable constraint for many families! After some research and number crunching, it was undeniable that flying a low-cost airline - Frontier, to be precise - would be literally a fraction of the cost of major carriers. Here’s how we decided to bite the bullet and try out Frontier plus an honest review of our experience.

The Cost

All in all, our 5 round-trip tickets from BWI to PHX plus the cost of 2 checked bags came out to just over $500. Total. Yup, you read that correctly. And bonus - the flights were direct, which many big carriers did not offer. The cost was the tipping point for us and we decided that we could 100% handle a less cushy flight experience in order to get this deal. Are flights always this much of a bargain? Nope. I checked for flights to Omaha, where my brother’s family lives, and they were far more expensive than other carriers. Finding these deals really depend on your city of origin and final destination.

Another way we were able to score such great deals is by taking advantage of Frontier’s Kids Fly Free ticket options. We got 2 of our 3 kids’ tickets completely for free because we had flexibility in our dates and could choose the less-desired days of the week to fly, when these Discount Den fares were offered.

Logistics At The Airport & Tips

When we arrived at BWI to depart, there was virtually no line at Frontier. This of course isn’t always the case (there was a massive line when we departed Phoenix), but it gave us a positive start! Here’s what we did to make sure the processs was as seamless as possible:

1) We made sure our luggage fit the necessary criteria. This meant bag dimensions and weight. We checked two bags and weighed our bags beforehand at home to ensure we wouldn’t have to do any last-minute shuffling at the airport. With flying a budget airline, bag fees are how they make extra money, so make absolutely sure you are within the necessary limits and you will be just fine. While we had to pay for 2 checked bags (each way), we each were allowed a “personal item” for free. This is similar to basic economy on other airlines where it needs to be a bag you can fit under your seat.

2) We printed out our boarding passes in advance. If you need assistance doing this at the airport, you will be charged. Another option is to download the Frontier Airlines App to get your boarding passes (which we did for our return flight since we had no printer at our AirBNB).

3) Tag your own luggage. There are self-service kiosks where you print out and tag your own checked luggage. To be completely honest this one threw me off a bit, but it’s easy once you’ve done it.

4) Tag gate-check items. We brought my son’s convertible car seat and car seat travel cart (which got loads of compliments from two other traveling families!). Like other airlines, you can gate-check car seats and strollers for free. Just ask for the blue gate-check tag at the baggage drop or at the gate and the staff will gladly fill it out for you (but you must attach yourself).

The Flights

Real talk? The flights were FINE. Zero complaints. The seats aren’t as plush as some other airlines but for a 4 hour direct flight, none of us found any fault in them. The staff were friendlier than I was expecting, having heard a lot of negativity about Frontier and other budget airlines beforehand. Like with luggage, Frontier will charge you for everything they can on the flight. But when you realize this is how prices are kept so low, it’s really understandable. Complimentary water is offered, and you can purchase other drinks and snacks. We simply brought one “personal item” bag full of snacks each way. I also appreciated how the flight attendants came through the cabin several times in order to collect trash (which was much appreciated as my kids were devouring Z-bars and apples and lollipops!). I also generally dislike checking luggage out of fear something will happen to it when out of my sight, but we had no issues and our luggage arrived at the baggage carousel pretty promptly.

Every airline has its positive and negative reviews and experiences, but my husband and I both came away feeling really pleased with our decision to give Frontier a try. We would absolutely fly them again if the price and flight path was the most favorable. In my opinion, we would most likely only use them again for direct flights.

Have you tried a budget airline (domestic or abroad)? Would you do it again? Let us know!

How to explore more and pay less using a simple Google Flights tool

Do you know about the Google Flights “open jaw” or multi-city flight search? This type of search gives you the ability to search the price of flights into one city and out of another. While these types of flights aren’t always less expensive, the search often does produce cost savings when you plan to fly into a secondary or smaller city first and then out of a larger hub.

Last summer, our family took advantage of an amazing IcelandAir multi-city flight itinerary that got our family of 5 great tickets flying into Bergen, Norway and out of Copenhagen, Denmark for the same price as a roundtrip ticket to Copenhagen alone. That meant we didn’t have to waste any of our precious vacation days trying to get back to Copenhagen and could, instead, make a relatively linear trip from Bergen to Oslo to Copenhagen- with a few other places sprinkled in between.

These less expensive “open jaw” flight options nearly always require a layover of some sort on at least one leg of the trip. They also tend to be most common on airlines that have one main European hub, such as IcelandAir, PLAY and TAP (airlines on which we suggest you consider paying for space and baggage upgrades, so make sure you take those extra costs into consideration), but can also be found on the large code-share partners if you play around with dates and cities.

More exploring, less backtracking. We like the sound of that.

Traveling With An Anxious Child: Part 2

Last week, I explained how one of my children suffers from Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and how this necessitates an extra level of planning when taking a vacation. But once the planning is done and you are on-site, what happens then? There are 5 tips we have utilized in our travels that have truly helped manage my child’s anxiety when far from home.

Just Say Yes

Ok, not yes to everything, but make your anxious child as comfortable as possible in little ways. We used to be a no-screen travel family. (Yes, I bet a lot of you are rolling your eyes right now!) When my child started to express extreme anxiety about flying on airplanes last year, for the first time ever, my husband and I decided to make some changes. While long/international flights typically provide in-flight entertainment, we also wanted to be sure that there were familiar options for our child.  We purchased tablets and it ended up being a great tool to have in our back pocket. There may be small changes you can say “yes” to that will go a long way in providing comfort in an otherwise anxious situation.

Acknowledge Feelings

Empathize with your child, reassure, and give them space to express their feelings. Children with anxiety can express these big feelings in any manner of ways, and it’s important as parents and caregivers to allow them to feel safe enough to let these feelings be known.

Give Some Autonomy

Some kids will find decision making to be paralyzing, others will find it helpful. For my child with anxiety, we allow strategic times for autonomy. Parents are in charge of the big picture, but we are fine handing over some smaller detail planning. This can look like, "Which gelato shop should we go to today?" or "Should we eat lunch before or after we visit that cool playground?" Of course with multiple children this can be tricky, but always look for ways to give a child with anxiety some level of control if/when possible. 

See Their Perspective, Literally 

Give them a camera! This helps to reorient children to be on the hunt for things that interest them at the new place. Instead of focusing on a fear, this can help a child to literally look for interesting things and help build memories at the same time. Incorporate these photos into discussions in your daily debrief.

Daily Debrief

A tradition we have as a family is to record our family’s highs and lows for each day of vacation. This is simply achieved over a dinner conversation or evening gelato. For your child(ren) with anxiety, probe a little deeper. What went well? What was an unexpected highlight? What caused big feelings? What made you feel uncomfortable? While you may not always be able to change things in your schedule, it is helpful to ascertain if there is any way you can adjust things to be more palatable for your anxious child. 

We hope these tips are helpful for you and your family!

Disclosures:

1)We are not medical professionals or therapists. The suggestions made here are from a parent’s point of view for what we personally have found to be helpful.

2) This post contains affiliate links, which may earn us a small commission from purchases made (at no cost to you). Thanks!