I spent a week alone in Europe and learned 9 lessons about solo travel in other countries

I’d taken 30-hour train rides up and down the East Coast, spent seven nights on one of the world’s largest cruise ships sailing the Caribbean Sea, and traveled by rail to Niagara Falls, Montreal, and Quebec City — all by myself.

So I was pretty used to traveling alone by October 2022, when I went backpacking through Europe. It was a two-week train trip through Germany, Austria, Italy, and Switzerland. I spent the first half of the trip by myself, and a friend joined me for the second half.

That first week alone in Europe made me realize that I’m still learning about the art of solo travel in foreign countries.

When planning my trip, I learned that some countries are safer for solo travelers — particularly females.

Staying safe is the most important thing to me when taking trips alone. In my research before I left, I found that some countries are generally safer than others for solo travelers.

The migration firm Global Citizens Solutions released a study about the 20 safest destinations for women traveling alone in 2025. The study was based on gender equality, crime rates, and community security initiatives. Both of my solo destinations, Austria and Germany, made the list.

When I visited Austria, I stayed in the heart of Vienna, which allowed me to explore the city streets into the night. In my experience, people kept to themselves, and I didn’t doubt my safety while exploring after dark.

When I visited Germany, I stayed in an Airbnb in Neustrelitz, a quaint town outside Berlin. I found it relatively easy to figure out the local train system and get to and from Berlin each day. I felt safe walking around on my own in both places.

Still, no matter what country you’re in, your safety is never guaranteed. So I recommend that all solo travelers research their destination before arrival, stay aware of their surroundings, and use their best judgment throughout their trip.

Taking public transit helped me gain a better sense of my surroundings.

I live in New York and am very comfortable taking the subway around my city. But I was nervous about using public transit in foreign countries where I didn’t speak the primary language or have a good sense of where things were.

I didn’t have to be.

I may have felt uneasy stepping into the underground world of Berlin’s subway system, but it was no different from my home city. The platform looked the same, with signage identifying the coming trains.

I thought both Berlin and Vienna had great transportation systems, and taking trains and trams helped me get a better sense of each place. Public transit apps made it easier to get tickets and plan trips.

When I was riddled with self-doubt about navigating these cities, taking public transit gave me a real sense of competence as I stood among local commuters.

Booking a stay within city limits made exploring alone easier.

On solo trips, being intentional about where you stay is important. For this trip, I booked a combination of Airbnbs inside and outside the cities to give me a chance to see what life is like in the heart of the metropolis and the surrounding areas.

Commuting to small villages with a travel companion later in the trip felt like a little adventure each time, where we could plan and recap our days. But when I was alone, these treks felt more mundane, like I was wasting time and energy I could have spent exploring.

In Germany, I booked a stay at a tiny home hotel in Neustrelitz and commuted to and from Berlin by train, about an hour and a half each way. While I was glad I got to experience Neustrelitz, staying far from the city center made my days in Berlin shorter, as I had a long trek home each evening.

When I got to Vienna, I stayed in an Airstream trailer outside a hotel in the heart of the city. This made it much easier to explore from morning to night. Though it wasn’t as quiet as Neustrelitz, I left Vienna feeling like I had a better sense of the city than I did in Berlin.

While staying outside the city can be an adventure, I recommend that first-time solo travelers stay in the center to make their trip easier.

I spent one week alone in Europe before a friend joined me, but I surprised myself by wishing I’d booked an even longer solo trip.

My first week in Europe was tough. Getting used to navigating and exploring on my own took some time without having someone else to share the process with, making the first few days difficult to enjoy fully.

But by the end of the first week, I felt settled into the nomadic lifestyle and confident in my abilities to navigate cities independently. In fact, I left Europe wishing I had given myself more time alone to truly immerse myself in these new places. Each challenging moment I faced allowed me to grow, which is easier to see now than it was in the moment.

To those planning a solo trip to another country, I recommend giving yourself at least two weeks to explore — especially if it’s your first visit. After finding your footing that first week, the second week will feel even better.

When I’m alone, my headspace can make or break a trip. So, I learned to stay in the moment, celebrate small wins, and not dwell on mistakes.

My trip wasn’t perfect. There were times when I went to the wrong train station, got caught in the rain, and struggled to sleep. When I dwelled on these mishaps, I felt negative and incapable of enjoying the experience.

So early in my travels, I made a conscious choice to push through and focus on what I could control, like buying an umbrella, arriving at stations early, and taking extra time to sleep. These small wins boosted my spirits.

When I arrived in Vienna on an overnight train from Berlin, I was exhausted and hadn’t slept. I knew I needed rest, but I couldn’t check into my Airbnb until 3 p.m.

I started going into random hotels to book a room. By the third hotel, I had booked a safe, comfortable place to doze.

I framed this as a small win to celebrate. I got out of my head by focusing on positive problem-solving and found exactly what I needed.

My trip was full of small wins like this, from finally getting to my Airbnb in Neustrelitz on the day I arrived in Berlin to finding a delicious Kebap cart next to a park while exploring Vienna. These victorious moments helped me stay positive.

Being dehydrated and tired made staying positive harder for me. I learned that it’s important to prioritize health when traveling solo.

Sleep makes everything better.

That last-minute hotel booking in Vienna changed everything. When I first got to the city, I didn’t notice how it looked or felt because I was too tired.

After some much-needed rest, I remembered why I was there and felt a new wave of excitement about my travels. I could appreciate where I was and take in the architecture surrounding me.

Getting sleep also made me feel more in touch with what my body needed. As soon as I woke up in the hotel, I chugged my water bottle while trying to remember the last time I had anything to drink. I realized that I must have been so dehydrated. From then on, I took every opportunity to ensure my bottle was always full.

I learned that it’s easy to pack exploration into every hour without planning for rest when visiting a new country for just a couple of days. But without it, I find it’s not even enjoyable. Keeping myself in good health was essential for enjoying my solo trip and became a priority for the remainder of my travels.

It can be tough to communicate with people who speak a different language from you. But in my experience, smiles and gestures can go a long way.

While living in New York City constantly exposes me to foreign languages, I rarely communicate with people who don’t speak English.

In Europe, I encountered more language barriers than ever before. But that didn’t hold me back as much as I thought it would, thanks to gestures and body language.

At first, I wasn’t confident about communicating in different languages, and I approached people nervously, making it harder for me to ask for help when needed.

When I started with a smile, people seemed more eager to help me. From checking out at markets and stores to asking for directions on the train, locals communicated across language barriers by using gestures, like pointing to things around the room.

Solo travel can be especially lonely when I’m in a different time zone from loved ones. I learned to make it a priority to schedule times to talk to them.

During past trips, I’ve never planned specific times to call people. I just let it happen naturally. However, traveling to a very different time zone made me realize that staying in touch would take effort.

On this trip, I was six hours ahead of New York, which meant I was already asleep by the time my people got home from work each night.

So I called loved ones during their lunch breaks, around 6 or 7 p.m. my time. This helped me feel less lonely during my trip since I didn’t know anyone in Germany or Austria.

Ultimately, I found that traveling solo in other countries makes me appreciate the times when I’m traveling with a buddy even more.

Traveling solo in new countries is hard but rewarding. I learned a lot about myself and pushed through uncomfortable situations, which made me feel like a stronger person coming out of the trip.

It also made me appreciate traveling with someone else in new ways. When my travel companion joined me in Italy and saw how much I’d grown in just seven days, it made me feel even more confident in my ability to take another trip solo, and next time, for even longer.

If you had asked me if I’d travel alone through Europe again in the middle of my first week, I probably would have said no way. But now that I’ve been through it, I’m more confident than ever that I could do it again and would enjoy it even more.

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