The Best Ways To Travel Solo To Europe Without Feeling Lonely, According To Rick Steves

When you picture traveling the world, you might see yourself picking up a slice of NYC dollar pizza, looking up at the Eiffel Tower, or standing in the middle of Shibuya Crossing with your family, your partner, or your best friend. Unfortunately, schedules and goals don't always align, and if you wait to realize your travel plans until your ideal travel companion materializes, you might never get to go anywhere. According to European travel expert Rick Steves on his site Rick Steves' Europe, one of the main things holding back potential solo travelers is a fear of loneliness. Fortunately, he has some great tips for how to meet others while on a solo excursion or just enjoy being in a new place by yourself.

As daunting as the idea of a solo trip might be, you don't need someone accompanying you to go to New York, Paris, Tokyo, or anywhere else. You may need to get creative about how to travel on your own, though. Seeking out authentic restaurant experiences rather than touristy options may help you to get to know the locals, while heading to tourist hotspots can allow you to strike up a conversation with fellow travelers. Traveling alone means that you get to do things your own way, whether that means choosing destinations where you're likely to interact with other people, booking tours, or getting introspective and learning to let go of the feeling of loneliness in order to have a transformative experience all on your own.

In a Facebook post, Rick Steves revealed that he not only spends a lot of time traveling alone to write his guidebooks, but has interactions every day with different people, many of whom recognize him and carry his travel guides. You might not have various travelers rushing up to you to share stories of their travels like Steves does, but that doesn't mean you can't easily forge connections with others.

You can seek out travel companions and local guides online before arriving at your destination, or you can sign up for tours and classes, which easily put you into a structured situation where it makes sense to interact with others. If you're feeling brave, though, you can make a new friend anywhere on your travels. One of Steves' best tips for finding affordable lodging as a solo traveler is to stay in a hostel. Not only is that a cheaper option, it can help you meet other travelers to spend time with.

On his website, Steves has some good icebreaker recommendations for how to get talking with other travelers. One of his suggestions is offering to take a photo for groups of friends at major tourist destinations. You can also chat with fellow passengers on public transportation, or even bring a deck of cards to the laundromat and try to start up a game while you wait for your laundry to finish.

You can absolutely use your solo trip to connect with people from around the world — but you don't have to. You might feel lonely in a new place where you don't know anyone, but as Rick Steves stated on his website, "You may discover more about yourself at the same time you're discovering more about the places you traveled so far to visit. Traveling on your own is fun, challenging, vivid, and exhilarating. Realizing that you have what it takes to be your own guide is a thrill known only to solo travelers. Your trip is a gift from you to you."

Steves has suggested that walking around big city centers at night can be a wonderful, relatively safe way to experience a new place alone. (You may want to check out some safety tips suggested by Steves' female staffers for women traveling alone, too.) For some solo travelers, the best way to continue having fun is to keep busy and have a lot to do every day. Others choose to embrace the strangeness of being alone in a new place and take the opportunity to reconnect with themselves. On his website, Steves has advice for differing kinds of solo travelers, suggesting both eating at a popular restaurant with shared tables so that you're surrounded by people and reading novels set in the place you're visiting in the privacy of your hotel room.