As a solo traveler and blogger there are a lot of questions I am regularly asked about my life. Some about trip planning and tips, others about my personal life, so here are some of my most frequently asked questions and the answers everyone is looking for!
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN TRAVELING?
Contrary to popular belief and my recurring daydream, I am not constantly traveling. As much as I wish it was true, it isn't...yet (; The first time I left the United States was in 2005 when I visited Peru for the first time and later that summer I spent a month in Australia. After that I continued to go on mission trips during my summer breaks. Currently I try to take small trips within hours from home when I can while saving money for a bigger trip later in the year.
How do you afford to travel?
I definitely do not have a lot of money, but I save money at home to put towards my trips by thinking about my priorities. I don’t go shopping anymore and have gone from buying my make-up at Sephora to buying my make-up at the drugstore. I try not to eat out and when I meet friends for dinner I eat at home before going so I can avoid buying an entire meal at a restaurant. I make tips at work as a hairstylist so I try not to spend money on myself outside of those and whatever remains at the end of the day I put in a jar that I never count and I pretend it doesn’t exist. Here's a blog post I wrote about my trip planning strategies and way I save money for my trips!
Are you scared by yourself?
I wouldn’t say that I necessarily get scared by myself, but I am always cautious. When I was in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica I didn’t go anywhere alone after dark, I always keep an eye on my belongings, and when I’m somewhere known for theft I carry as little with me as possible and I don’t flash my money or valuables making myself a target.
Do you have a job?
Yes I have a job. By looking at my Instagram comments it seems that a lot of people think that I don’t. Unfortunately that is not the case. I work hard, but no one wants to see that, they just want to see pictures of the beautiful places I get to visit on my days off, so that's what I post. I live vicariously through my memories while I'm at work and that’s what you see on social media.
This is a real life- unglamorous- photo of my giving my BFF a pedicure when I was in cosmetology school, you're welcome.
When you’re alone how do you know what to do at your destination?
I like to use Instagram and other travel blogs to find cool things in the cities I visit, and one of my favorite things is just to walk around a central area and see what’s out there. Something that you can do that’s awesome especially as a solo traveler in a place you’ve never seen before is use an app like GPSmyCity that offers self guided walking tours using the GPS system on your smartphone. This way you get a full tour of the city and don’t have to worry about getting lost in an unfamiliar place! Keep reading for my GPSmyCity giveaway contest!
Why would you go alone?
I started to go alone simply for the reason that I don’t want to miss out on doing all the things I want just because I didn’t have anyone to go with. Everyone says yes they want to go on a trip with you, but when it comes time to buy the tickets there’s always an excuse not to go, so I decided no more excuses, if I want to go, I’m going to go. I actually ended up in my first solo traveling experience on accident and fell in love in love with it. Here’s my post on how I discovered my love for solo travel.
What’s your favorite and least favorite place you’ve been so far?
I have a hard time answering this because I’ve been on all my trips for so many different reasons, it’s not fair to compare them. I went backpacking myself in Central America for the experience, but I spent a summer living on an orphanage in Mozambique and traveling to different villages to bring people shoes and spend time with them. There is no possible way I could choose a favorite in my experiences, but I’ve loved them all.
I went to Switzerland too!
If there was one thing you could change about traveling what would it be?
Bus rides! I HATE long term bus rides! I mean, they save me money, and I endure them, but I dread them! Here is a very accurate representation of experiences that have brought me to loathe bus riding!
They aren't s bad when you have company!
Have any of your travels changed your outlook on life?
I went to Africa when I was 14 and spent the summer living in a tent and hanging out with kids there and that experience had a big impact on my life. It was my summer before going to high school and instead of spending my time back to school shopping and worrying about whether I could go to the beach with my friends or not I spent my nights sleeping on the ground and my days building relationships with the people living at that orphanage in Mozambique. My team traveled around to different villages and washed the feet of the people living there and put clean socks and shoes on them, it was the most humbling experience of my life.
Now I have a special giveaway contest for you!
“With over 5,000 city walks available – spanning over 470 cities worldwide – GPSmyCity.com is the largest travel portal of its kind. Each city walk offers a precise route map guiding you to the famous attractions, monuments and interesting sights as well as hidden gems; as if you had brought along a local guide. No need to hop on a tour bus or join a tour group!”
Earlier I mentioned GPSmyCity and their awesome self-guided walking tours, and I have partnered with them so I can give you guys FREE promo codes for their app! Pretty sweet, right? Well, all you have to do is comment on my latest Instagram post with which city you are visiting next or send me a tweet @beckasaurousrex and let me know!
