VI
EN
Furthermore, solo travel can also have a positive impact on personality and mental well-being. Traveling alone makes you more mature, improving your adaptability and self-care skills. The experiences gained from solo travel not only enrich your personal life but can also be shared with the community of travel enthusiasts and adventure seekers.
SOLO TRAVEL: BOTH EXCITING AND CHALLENGING
The concept of "solo travel" has been popular worldwide since 2009, but it only truly became a trend in Vietnam about 10 years later. With this style of travel, travelers embark on solo trips to various destinations, making their own decisions about the trip, from food and accommodation to activities at destinations, according to their personal needs, preferences, and financial capabilities.
Travel blogger Nguyen Thuy Trang (Trang Cho) is well-known for her solo trips filled with exciting experiences.
Nguyen Thuy Trang (Travel blogger Trang Cho) is well-known for her travel experiences and fascinating stories. Solo travel accounts for approximately 70% of her trips since 2017. Traveling alone allows her to be more flexible with her time, finances, and personal preferences. Furthermore, her solo travels, both domestically and internationally, over the past six years have given the travel blogger the opportunity to better understand herself and improve essential skills.
Of course, traveling alone also presents many challenges. First, the cost of solo trips is often higher than group trips. When visiting distant lands with diverse cultures, the language barrier is a major challenge. Or, most fundamentally, and a perennial problem with solo travel, it's easy to fall into a state of boredom. But for Thùy Trang, if you learn how to balance your emotions and plan everything to suit your capabilities, all these difficulties can become opportunities for personal growth.
Traveling alone can still be enjoyable when you connect with others.
Travel blogger Thuy Cho recently celebrated getting her second passport with a two-week trekking trip in Nepal last November. "Because I had no trekking experience, this was the most challenging solo trip I've ever taken. I experienced altitude sickness along the way, but I eventually successfully conquered the 4,500-meter Mardi Himalaya. Even though I went alone, the trip brought me many new friends and lovely stories. On some evenings, I had dinner with two different local families," Thuy Trang shared.
HOW TO DESIGN A SOLO TRAVEL PLAN?
Besides preparing physically and mentally, designing a solo trip is also crucial for a fulfilling journey. "There are two ways to design a solo trip. One is to create a detailed itinerary and try traveling in your imagination based on that route. The other is to build the itinerary as you go, based on your mental state and actual circumstances," Thuy Trang revealed.
You can plan your itinerary as you go, allowing you to enjoy your trip more once you have experience.
When she first started traveling solo, she chose the first approach. This allowed her to do thorough research and prepare everything necessary for the trip. If you lack experience, this is the optimal way to ensure a safe trip. Once she accumulated skills and more experience, she became more relaxed with her itinerary by "planning as she goes." She only needed to research a few key points of the trip beforehand, and then adapt flexibly to her abilities.
You can do some preliminary research and then improvise to the best of your ability.
Thuy Trang's recent trip to Nepal is an example of her spontaneous solo travel style. She was able to apply the skills she had accumulated to handle problems that arose during a trip with little preparation. Regardless of the approach, the travel blogger's top priority was always maximizing the experience with minimal cost. Next came safety during the trip, the destinations, the food, and so on.
With the help of travel apps, planning and budgeting for a trip has become easier than ever. She uses many different apps to find airline tickets such as Agoda, Airasia, Vietjet, Traveloka, Skyscanner... along with features for booking hotels, bus tickets, and train tickets on apps like Agoda, Booking.com, and Traveloka.
"I'm a loyal Agoda fan, so 99% of my accommodations are booked through this app. I also use Agoda to book flights for some of my trips," suggests travel blogger Thuy Trang.
Additional information:
From December 8th to 24th, 2023, Agoda – a digital travel booking platform – in collaboration with Travellive Media Group and Travel Content Creator Vinh Gấu, organized the "Solo Travel Dream Deals Contest: Design Your Itinerary – Win Amazing Prizes" for solo travel enthusiasts. The prize for the winner is up to VND 60,000,000, allowing them to experience booking services, including round-trip flights, up to 10 nights of accommodation, and sightseeing tickets through the Agoda app.
You can participate in the contest by following the instructions here.linkFor a chance to win this amazing prize! Let Agoda help you design your itinerary and fulfill your passion for travel!
View program details and register here.This.
