Traveling solo can be a rewarding and exciting experience, but it can also be a little scary if you’ve never done it before. Many people who want to travel alone worry about safety, especially if they’re young. So, what age should you be to travel safely alone?
You can safely travel alone when you reach eighteen years of age. However, depending on your maturity level as a young adult, you might feel more confident once you have become more independent. In such cases, you can travel solo safely in your early twenties.
In the rest of this article, I’ll discuss why you need to be 18 to travel alone, and give some of the best safety tips for traveling alone. So get your passport ready because, by the end of this article, you’ll feel confident in your ability to travel alone safely!
Why Do You Need to Be 18 To Travel Alone?
In the introduction, I mentioned that you need to be 18 to travel alone safely. This section will discuss the reasons behind this in more detail:
- People over the age of 18 can make informed decisions. When you reach 18, most countries classify you as an adult, and allow you to make your own decisions about your health, education, and more. At this age, you should also have the maturity to travel alone, ensure you’re on time for flights, and judge when a situation isn’t safe.
- You can take out travel insurance. It’s a good idea to have travel insurance when you leave the country, as this covers you for medical mishaps, travel delays or cancellations. As an adult, you can take out your own travel insurance policy.
- You can have a credit card. As an 18 year-old, you can have your own basic credit card, as long as you qualify. This can make traveling more convenient as many hotels require a credit card.
You can safely travel alone as long as you can take care of yourself, so don’t think that you have to be in your twenties to travel alone! Many people embark on solo travel in their 40s or 50s and are perfectly safe.
What Is the Best Age to Travel Alone?
There is no perfect age to travel alone, but the best age is when you have a rare combination of maturity and freedom. This combination doesn’t happen for very long in most people’s lives because once people meet maturity, the traditional life path is to find a partner, get married, and start having children.
Therefore, the best age to travel is when you’re mature enough to act responsibly and safely but young enough to still enjoy freedom and independence. Many people choose to travel solo between the ages of 18-25 because, at this point, they’re adults who can take care of themselves but don’t have a set career, spouse, or children yet.
Traveling while you’re young is also beneficial because you can reap the benefits of that experience for a longer period of your life. There are many benefits of traveling alone, including:
- An enhanced sense of self
- Improved confidence
- Global connectedness
Furthermore, solo traveling alleviates stress and depression. The experience can help you determine a life or career path, so the sooner you can have it, the better.
Additionally, there are some physical components of solo travel that people may find more difficult as they age. For example, many solo travelers stay in less-than-luxurious accommodation or take long bus rides to save money. A nineteen-year-old is more likely to feel comfortable sleeping in a hostel room with twenty other people than a forty-year-old.
Safety Tips for Solo Travel
Solo travel is safer for mature people who have experience living independently, but it is never completely safe for anyone. There are always risks that come with traveling alone, but there are some things you can do to keep yourself safe.
Here are my best safety tips:
- Stay connected with loved ones and share your travel plans. You should share your itinerary and accommodation details with loved ones back home so they can inform authorities where you were should something happen.
- Let your accommodation know where you’re going. If you’re taking a solo trip during the day, let someone at your hotel or hostel know before you leave when you expect to return. This way, if you don’t show up at that time, someone will know that something hasn’t gone according to plan.
- Buy travel insurance. In many cases, the insurance you have at home won’t apply internationally, so be sure to get some insurance before you head out. This way, if you get injured or sick, you can get medical help.
- Keep your valuables safe. You should never walk with your phone in your hand because this makes it easier for someone to snag it as they walk or drive by. Try not to carry too much cash on you. I recommend having a photocopy of your passport in case your passport gets lost or stolen.
- Trust your instincts. If a person or a place feels off to you, leave! Even if the situation was perfectly safe, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
- Schedule all your arrivals to new cities during the daytime. It’s not safe to walk around alone at night, so try to schedule your flights or buses so you arrive at your destination during the daytime.
- Don’t walk around alone at night. If you want to go out at night, try to find at least one other person to go with you. Hostels are great places to make new friends and travel companions.
- Learn some of the local languages. If you’re traveling internationally, it’s important to grasp the basics of the local language. This way, if something happens and you need help, you know how to ask.
- Research your destination before you arrive. There are many travel blogs online that can tell you the safest places to go and give specific tips based on the destination. I also suggest looking at reviews for accommodation before booking to gauge the safety of an area.
By following these tips, you can still reap the benefits of solo travel and keep yourself safe while doing so.
Conclusion
There isn’t one specific age when it becomes safe for everyone to start traveling alone, and safety is never guaranteed during solo travel. However, it is safe for most people in their twenties to travel alone. Still, there are many safety tips for solo travelers that anyone embarking on their own journey should be aware of.