First time traveling alone. Any tips?

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I hope this is the correct forum for this, mods can feel free to move it if it's not.

So in not too many days I'll be, for the first time ever, traveling​ alone a longer distance.

I'll be traveling by train over night, having to sleep in the same tight quarters with up to five strangers (hopefully it'll be less). The sleeping part will be easy, but the time leading up to it, having to sit with strangers trying to hold small talk, or even worse, if my small talk skills (or rather lack thereof) fail me, being the only silent person there. That will probably be nothing short of torture.

Once I've arrived, I'll have a few hours to kill before I have to get going. I'll then be sleeping in the destination city one night before heading back home with the train again the next day (I'll also have to kill many hours before the train home).

It's a short trip in that it's only about four days long. But it'll be the first time I travel alone for such a long time and distance without anyone I know and feel comfortable with.

I'll be stretching the limits of my comfort zones to the breaking point and will most likely break a few as well. This'll probably be good in the long run, but then and there, not so much.

So I'm basically wondering if anyone here has experienced a similar predicament and has any good tips to make it through everything?

At the very least it should be interesting to have an overnight stay in such close quarters with five strangers.

I've traveled alone many times now and my best advice is to bring comfortable distractions. Music with headphones is nice, but if you're concerned about seeming silent (bad?) bring something perceived as effortful like a good book or a space compatible hobby (such as knitting or the like). It'll give you something to focus on and a ready made topic of conversation that you care about. I like puzzles, books, bracelet weaving, and drawing, so those are my go-to. Then when people talk to me they usually pick whatever I'm doing as a starter, a topic about which I'm happy to ramble.

Honestly the first time I traveled alone was a flight from Georgia (USA) to Australia and I either slept or pretended to be asleep most of the time. Neither ideal nor fun, but relatively practical and I was well rested.

Good luck on your trip.

you know the language in the place you're traveling? I only experienced traveling alone in places I wasn't fluent in the language, so it takes away a lot of the awkwardness of not being able to hold a conversation, and also every small contact you have is a bigger effort for both parts so it came much easier.

you can bring some food from your place and offer it to people, it will give you a topic to talk about and a way to break ice with people. if you don't want to talk, maybe you should take a book with you and it will give you a thing to do and also a sign that you're busy.

but well, being in a train is awkward anyway, so don't need to worry too much about it. and people are different, maybe they won't want to talk anyway. I don't think you should be anxious over it, it will be fine and you will be with this people just for a very short period, and they are probably very immersed in their own stuff to care.

I actually slept in a shared room with three other people back when I travelled to Birmingham on my own. Didn't talk too much with the other guys, but then, that's just my nature. One piece of advice I can give is know your limits - don't force yourself to socialize if you don't feel up to it. I've made the mistake of doing that to myself before, and it can actually hurt you more than it helps you.

What type of holiday is this where you sleep in a shared space on a train? I have never heard of that.

Personally I would just save up so I could afford not to do that. Though I guess there is the chance of making friends, there is also the chance of not making any friends which is what you are worried about. I guess my tip is be positive about the chance to make a friend but dont expect to make one.

I know there are different types of group holidays etc just curious about details.

Music with headphones will definitely be along for the ride, I'll probably even use it to fall asleep unless someone is snoring, then the earplugs go in (can't stand snoring at all).
Hmm, I hadn't really thought about that. I'll definitely try to bring something along that I can use to focus on.



Yeah, the trip will only be within Sweden, so I'm out of luck in that area. I guess my best chance for this outcome is if the rest of the people are foreigners, probably only a 1/10 chance of that.

The reason I'm anxious is due to the confined space everyone is in, making small talk pretty much unavoidable, along with random eye contact. This is how it looks before and after the beds are made. It's more or less a group decision when it's time to sleep.




Will try to keep this in mind, thanks.



It's not a holiday, just a normal longer distance train trip (night train with sleeping cars), a common and popular way of travel within Sweden.

I think I would have paid a bit extra to sleep in my own room/quarter. But the trip isn't paid by me, so I didn't have that choice.

-Bring reading material to help avoid eye contact (I'm assuming you're like me, and don't get carsick)
-Personal reading light if any of your reading material is hard copy
-Assuming there's a place to buy guns, there's a place to buy excellent headphones
-A hat to help with light management
-A sleeping mask to help with light management
-Dark sunglasses can help you evade eye contact
-A very soft fluffy throw for unexpected dips in temperature
-Chewing gum if altitude will change, and also if you're unlucky enough to be confined to that small space with someone who has bad breath
-Cough drops and a small pack of tissues for the same reason
-Eye drops if you're given to dry eye/allergies
-Sanitizing wipes for hard surfaces and for hands
-nail clippers if you have weak nails that are likely to break
-extra socks to change into in the bathroom if your feet get sweaty from being too warm
-extra undergarments for the same reason
-something that travels well that you KNOW you can eat just in case you can't stomach the options they present you with
-download some movies or tv series you've been meaning to bing watch to your tablet or laptop

Guns are not openly on sale in most Western European countries, and it's very difficult to acquire one legally, thank goodness.

I figured. That's why I put "assuming."


Let's agree to disagree on that one.

lol probably best not to clip your nails on there. Especially not if you're on the top bunk... gross.

Not all of your nails and not on the top bunk, no. That's why I specified if she had weak nails that were likely to break. I have weak nails, and if one cracks or breaks, it will quickly break all the way down to skin/blood. If you clip the nail close at the tear or break, you can save more of the nail, a lot of sanity, and a bit of pain.

In terms of being in a birth with other people, most of them often keep to themselves during travels. In fact, most go off into their own little world and listen to music, talk on the phone, read, or sleep. When I travel on a bus or a plane, I like to zone out and especially on airplanes with the white noise and watch movies.

books and headphones are lifesavers in situations where small talk might be unavoidable; it is a common rule that a person who is (apparently) reading or listening to music should not be disturbed.
note, you don't actually have to be listening to music, simply wear headphones for the effect.