Solo travel - finding the right information
For all the things you do and don't want to do
One thing I’ve really noticed since I first started solo travelling is the vast change in how we gather and process information before going on a trip. Back in the ancient times, before we had this invisible but ever-present internet, we couldn’t rely on instant access to information about our potential holiday destinations. We couldn’t read through the hundreds of reviews, the various travel blogs or know that we had a map at our fingertips should we get lost. We had to find the knowledge we sought in an alternate way, using guide books, local knowledge and information from strangers we met in person.
I sometimes wish this was still the case. The reviews of accommodation, tourist attractions, restaurants and other such things can be contradictory at best, blatant lies at worst. I know I trusted every word I read in a Lonely Planet guide, while I question everything I read online. Did that person really go there? Why are there three different prices listed in three different blogs for a minibus to Palenque all written in the space of a year? So when particular sights or day tours are rated terrible, top notch or don’t miss I do question the validity of the person writing the review. What is their background? Have they just knocked off someone else’s top 10 list? Did they have a bad day before writing the awful review? How many times have they been to that particular area? Once, twice, ten times, or did they just bypass on their way to somewhere else?
I’ve booked accommodation based on the reviews and online pictures, but it’s always so disappointing when they look nothing like the online photos on arrival and have fallen into a sad state of disrepair. Today’s AI presence online certainly doesn’t help the situation and I wish that was not the first search result you see. It can take so much time to weed through the sheer number of blogs and reviews that it’s easy to wish for the good old days of travel guides, local knowledge and trusting your instincts. I still walk a lot and hang out in cafes my first couple of days anywhere. It’s amazing the priceless tips and bits of information you can overhear while minding your own business and quietly sipping on a coffee.
Sightseeing is another dilemma. Do you see all the “must-see/don’t miss” sights when you’re in a certain place? Do you follow the same track that many others before you have traversed or do you tread your own path? Something unique? Something a little off the beaten track or not well-known to the tourist hoards? I tend to do both. It depends on my mood, my finances and the location. One of the first phrases I search is “unusual/unique things to do in [insert location here]” usually followed by “things to do solo in [said location]”.
To get the picture above in Hollywood, rather than take one of the many day tours with loads of tourists (I had not yet downloaded or worked out Uber—that would come later in the trip), I caught a local public bus as far as I could and then walked the rest of the way through a suburban neighbourhood and up the side of the hill, following a description I found online. There was another guy on the bus that did the same thing. He got on the bus closer to the top than me. When we got off at the same stop (the last on the route), we started chatting and then hiked the rest of the way together. We were both pretty unfit as I recall. He took the above picture of me. I can’t remember his name. I took a similar picture of him. It was nice to have someone around for that, especially as everyone else there had arrived in groups.
FUN FACT: The current Hollywood sign, rebuilt in 1978, is made from Australian steel.
Reviews, or information, I do trust online are those that are updated, either regularly or over a number of years. Those websites that are written by somebody who lives in or visits the region often. When I booked my trip to Greece I found Matt's travel tips and this became my guidebook. It’s not a fancy site but the information is all there, accumulated over many years and lots of travel. There’s so much information you can get lost in there for days. I even booked his recommended taxi service, George the famous taxi driver of Greece. And while it wasn’t George that collected me from the airport, it was one of his son’s, who taught me the first few Greek words I needed to know to survive. I also booked with him again to collect me four days later to drive me to the ferry terminal for my trip to the islands.
Visiting Phuket, Thailand for the first time in 2022 I found this detailed description on Phuket 101 to hike to the Big Buddha from Karong Beach where I was staying. I went a slightly different way on the road section, so as not to backtrack from my hotel, but it was such a great description with photos and suggestions for the ladies too. Because of the information in this blog I took my sarong and a long sleeved cardigan to wear once I got to the top. I was one of the few women who did not have to buy a sarong to cover up before being allowed entry into the site. More recently I found this little nugget from Dave Dean when I took a trip to Rottnest Island, off the coast of Western Australia. I’m glad I opted for the hop-on, hop-off bus around the island. I saw nearly all of it, managed a couple of swims at different beaches and was not exhausted from riding a bike around the entire island. I also walked several tracks where bikes were prohibited to go. Dave’s blog was a lifesaver for deciding whether to hire a bike or take the bus.
While I like going for a long walk on arrival in a new place, not just to get my bearings, but to check out the local area, see what places are pumping and where the locals like to hang out and eat, there are other options to check out an area quickly. These are the regular red, double decker open-roofed hop-on, hop-off buses located in major cities around the world. I did use these in LA (there were four different routes) and Greece to not only see some local attractions but also work out where I wanted to spend more time later. Keep the headphones or ticket. I got a discount on the Greece version, when I produced my headphones and ticket from the LA ride. I was also able to get to the ferry office in Greece via the hop-on, hop-off bus to collect my ferry ticket. Not everything was available online back then.
You also do not have to see every single tourist spot, “must-see” attraction or “don’t miss or you’ll regret it” place when you travel. As the kids say, you do you! If you want to just hang out like a local and go to the café/pub/beach/mall then do it! I have a holiday booked this coming winter, for a summer destination, and I plan on doing everything I would do at home while I’m there. Winter walks on the beach, read a book by the fire, go see a movie at the local cinema, spend a night having dinner and a couple of drinks in the local pub. Walk around town and check out the thrift shops, the bookshops, the local cafes. Write a lot, perhaps with a local bottle of something to warm the belly. Perhaps a local wine tour to find that bottle of something!
No matter what you do, just do the things you want to do. I personally am not going to wait in a queue (or pay money — yes that’s a thing!) to get that same repeated Instagram shot everybody has and wants. I’m not going to wait in a 30-minute queue for some quaint dessert. If the opportunity arises and I’m there at a time without the queues — sure I will do it then, but little things like that are not a priority for me. I’m more likely to take a photo of a big tree, a rare tree, a bird flying low, the storm clouds or rainbow on an awful day when everyone else is inside. While I’ve been to the overpriced tourist traps, like Hawaiian luaus, you’ll also find me at those unique places to visit, some place that the locals will rave about but don’t want the tourists to discover and overrun. The places the tourist buses do not go. Find them. Search them out. They are the joys of travel and you never know, you just might find something (or someone) you love!
What I’m watching: Not Dead Yet. on Disney+ in Australia. Another one of those quick 25 minute episode shows I can watch while cooking dinner that makes me laugh. Easy watching.
What I’m reading: Just finished The Sirens, second novel by Australian-British author Emilia Hart. I really enjoyed this, I read it in two days.
