Tips for Exploring a City When Traveling Alone

While it can be quite exhausting to even consider traveling alone, be wary of falling into the pitfall of staying in your hotel room, defaulting into turning your vacation into a staycation all because the brunt of the planning falls on you. Instead, refer to this thoughtful, curated list from Elite Daly of the best things to do when you find yourself alone in a new city with an itch to explore.

Begin by recognizing how much of a leap it is for anyone to venture out on their own to book a solo trip and ride that extroverted spirit to see all the sights that the city has to offer. In order to be successful at seeing, eating, and experiencing the unforgettable, you’ll indeed plan so that your trip can be unmistakably worthwhile.

  1. Take Yourself Out to a Restaurant 

Every city has its toted have-to-try spectacle of nourishing allegiance or remarkable unique hole-in-the-wall that you just have to try for yourself, and with food capitals like New York City, Portland, or New Orleans, an entire trip can be made just for restaurant tours. So, the first thing to do when traveling alone in a new city is to plan our next stop while enjoying a sushi roll or açaí bowl. By diving right in and enjoying a meal in solitude, you allow yourself to find your bearings while taking in the subtle nuances of people-watching and plate-cleaning.

  1. Take Public Transit

Speaking of finding your footing while exploiting when traveling along, there’s no better way to learn a city’s population, geography, and efficiency than hopping on the subway, train, or clean-energy bus transportation. While there are plenty of benefits to following a traditional paper map or holding your palm to your ear to follow the cues of a speakerbox, consider a smartphone app or realy taking care to pay attention to metro and municipal bike paths when traveling from appointment to new experience, that way your trip is as efficient as it is fulfilling.

  1. Visit the Local Planetarium
    Usually set in a dome that favors revered silence over group discussion, local observatories and planetariums are a great way to spend an afternoon in memorizing awe of the oft-too missed stars above our heads. Take in a constellation, light show, or simply an electric view of the night’s sky in an indoor experience that allows you to take things at your own, measured pace. PAy attention to what matters most to you, not those in your party, as your interests are the only ones that matter when you’re face-to-face with astrological markings in sight of a majestic viewing stage, such as the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.
  2. Take a Drive Out to Nature

Yes you traveled to a new city for a specific reason, but if you can find the time in an afternoon to rent a car and take in the unique offerings of the surrounding geography, please do so! Every city will have a heralded restaurant, science center, and have-to-see event, but it’s in nature and the outdoors of a nearby coastal town or national park where you’ll truly find the unmissable sights you crave. Make an effort to find the time to visit nearby waves, waterfalls, and wondrous sights that are just a few minutes’ drive away from the bustling metropolis of your hotel receipt.

  1. Join a Sightseeing Tour

There’s something to be said about a gathering of people opting to be a part of a collective that wants to do a very “touristy” thing, so why not embrace it? It must be popular for a reason right? When traveling along, consider booking a ticket, grabbing a camera, and getting a first-hand treat of learning all about the most iconic landmarks, urban legends, and sightseeing treasures that you’ll undoubtedly be asked about once back home.

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