Top Five Purchases for Solo Travel
Aperitivo for one in Navigli, Milan, Italy
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Favorite Items to Pack for Solo Travel
I often get asked what to bring while traveling solo, so I put together a list of my top five items I use most as a solo traveler.
1. Beats Fit Pro x Kim Kardashian
As an over-the-ear headphone person, I didn’t expect to love the Beats Fit Pro x Kim Kardashian as much as I did. But it turns out this was absolutely the most-used item I packed as a solo traveler. I prefer Beats over Airpods because of the sound and audio quality and because the shape fits better in my ears and never falls out. I was gifted these by my husband last Christmas in the color Dune. Because the shape is so low profile and the color blends in with my skin tone, people rarely notice when I am wearing these. A couple of situations where this was particularly useful:
Eating alone. While traveling alone, I enjoy eating out at restaurants by myself, but don’t want to be scrolling on my phone the entire time. Bringing a book or journal along really helps with putting the phone away, and there are definitely times when I am also comfortable just sitting in silence for the full meal. However, for times when I don’t feel like reading or sitting quietly — or when I want to block out a conversation at a nearby table — I wear one or both of the earbuds to discretely listen to music, an audiobook, or podcast.
Navigation. It’s hard navigating a new city without constantly having your phone out in front of you with Google Maps blaring. As a solo traveler, having my head down in my phone while walking around prevented me from being as aware of my surroundings and/or attracted attention I didn’t want. I found that I am much happier exploring a new city by myself if I pull up Google Maps directions on my phone, press Start, throw my phone back in my pocket or bag, and then pop in just one of the earbuds into my ear. This allows me to walk around without my phone constantly being out, while discretely having navigational directions read into my ear. Occasionally I might take a wrong turn and have to pull out my phone, but it definitely reduces the frequency , and also allows me to take in my surroundings a bit more.
2. Luggage Locks & Apple Airtables
Most people will tell you to keep your bags with you at all times while traveling. This sounds great in theory until you have to use the toilet on the train and aren’t about to bring all of your luggage in with you to a tiny restroom. While I’ve never had any issues with my bags being riffled through or stolen while traveling alone, I do appreciate the peace of mind of having locks and Airtags on/in my bags just in case.
Before my last trip, I purchased the four-pack of TSA-Approved Cable Luggage Locks since I could set the code and loop them through any bag zippers. I also got the Apple AirTag 4 Pack and threw one in the lining of each of my bags, as well as these Waterproof Airtag Keychain Holders so I could also clip one to my earbuds case and clip another inside my handbag.
While neither of these things will definitively prevent items from being stolen, they may reduce the likelihood of bags being riffled through and/or help find belongings faster if they do go missing. While coming home from my last trip, my checked bag got lost at Heathrow Airport. With the Airtag in it, I was able to see exactly where it was and told the airline its location so they could recover it for me.
3. Journal & Art Supplies
Traveling solo can significantly contribute to personal growth and development, but it can also be lonely at times. In either case, I find journaling and creating art to be a great way to spend time by myself and also help capture and express my feelings and memories during the trip. Whether you like to write, paint, draw, or collage, I recommend bringing a few supplies with you on your solo adventure.
The Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolor Paint Set is my favorite mini watercolor set because of the quality of paints and variety of color, overall size, and the pop-out trays that come with it. These Mr Pen Watercolor Brush Pens are great because you just fill the pens with water so you can bring them out on adventures. I love the paper quality and hard cover on this U.S. Art Supply Watercolor Book.
For collaging, these tiny Gold Stork Scissors are just darling. Sewing scissors are TSA-approved and I packed these along with a few small gluesticks.
4. MagSafe Pop-Up Phone Stand
When I tell you that I am obsessed with this purchase! For years, I used various pop sockets on my phone to help with holding and scrolling/typing one-handed. However, before my last solo trip, I was on the hunt for the best tripod for capturing selfies but my pop socket made it impossible to properly attach to my phone. I tried a few different tripods, but found that even the mini versions were still too long to fit in most of my handbags.
I finally found this Foldable MagSafe Phone Ring Holder that magnetically attaches to the back of my iPhone and has effectively a fold-out kick-stand. It works both as a pop socket replacement when holding, scrolling, and typing on my phone, and as a mini tripod while capturing photos and video. It obviously doesn’t add the same height as a tripod, but I place it down on the ground, window ledge, table, bench, or any other flat surface and it does the trick without having to find ten different objects to balance my phone against. I’ve used this stand for the past year and have no plans to swap it out for anything else.
5. Personal alarm (with flashlight)
I’m fairly confident traveling by myself as a woman, but can still get a little nervous walking alone at night, by myself, in a totally new place that I’m not familiar with. I like having the Lewis N Clark Travel Door Alarm with me in an accessible place so I can easily carry it in my hand if I turn a corner and end up alone on a barely lit street, or if I’m out in the wilderness hiking alone (this baby is LOUD!). You can also pull the pins out and position it in a doorframe, with the door closed, and the alarm will sound if anyone opens the door. The flashlight is also handy if you’re staying at an Airbnb that has a poorly lit front door or hallway.
