Click "Book Now" on Solo Travel

Solo Travel

Like a lot of people looking to book their first solo excursion, I was coming out of a pretty rough year. (Spoiler alert - those are the moments that help us shed our fears and do pretty incredible things.) 

I needed to recharge, relax, and rethink where I was headed next in life – and I certainly wasn’t going to do that while crunching deadlines in the office or binge watching Netflix from my couch.

I did a tiny bit of research on female solo travel before the Universe (i.e. Facebook algorithms) caught on and put Under30Experiences on my radar. It was perfect. 

I hadn't done any international travel, beside my 10-minute commute to Canada, and certainly hadn't traveled solo. I also wasn’t too keen on the idea of trying to plan a two-week trek on my own. 

I just wanted to book my flight and get the heck out of winter wonderland for a couple weeks.

So, I booked it!

I don't even think I finished reading the itinerary...which is probably why I booked the wrong flights and ended up furiously emailing a U30X staffer trying to figure out how in the hell I was going to get from Nicaragua to Costa Rica to back home - sorry, Jared!

Even though I was convinced I would end up stranded at the border of a country I knew nothing about, I was already committed. I had money in the game and a date on the calendar. I had announced to my social media peeps and fielded the loving, well-intentioned threats of human trafficking, robbery and deathly illnesses. 

I made the leap and just had to trust that everything else would fall into place.

Click "Book Now"

By hitting “book now”, I made a choice for myself. I chose my desire for adventure over fear.

I didn't give myself time to second guess it, to rationalize it, to take the in-between, water-downed version of it. I didn't beg a friend to come with me. I didn't ask for permission or validation from my peers. 

Hell, I barely asked permission of myself! 

I just plugged in those credit card numbers, imagined the beautiful sunsets I would see and said “yes” to life.

Now, fast forward a year, and I'm heading back to Central America. This time, with an itinerary built by me, all the correct flights and a bag half the size of my last one.

Under30Experiences reminded me of the value in taking leaps and showing up for life. 

Since that trip, I’ve found myself navigating my way through New York City alone; wandering down closed hiking trails; taking chances on last-minute, unplanned road trips; starting my own adventure group in Michigan; and booking a flight across the country to visit a friend I met along my travels.

So if you’ve wandered back to the Under30Experiences page more than a couple times, just book it. 

As you’ll learn on your trip, we all have our roses and we all have our thorns, the important part is that you allow yourself to grow through all of it.

Just book the damn trip already!