Elīna Abroad: solo travel

solo travel

19 October 2025

Traveling solo for the first time can be a daunting experience. But if you know what to expect and pack accordingly, it will make your trip more enjoyable. One of my top tips is to ensure that safety comes first – this means looking into which countries have extra dangers in terms of crime rates or political unrest before booking flights (or driving).

If you’re staying in one location, then I recommend doing some research on where potential hazards are located as well- such as natural disasters, dangerous wildlife, etc. Once you’ve planned out your destination with these details taken care of, there are plenty more things to do! Here is my full list of my top tips for solo travelers. Enjoy your trip!

1. Research the destination before you leave – what are some tourist attractions, how do people dress, what foods are popular there, etc.?

2. Try to be flexible with your schedule, you never know what you will find and see once you’re at your destination.

3. Book an accommodation that is close to public transportation or places of interest so you don’t have to deal with expensive taxi fares or long walks to get places.

4. Be respectful of local customs when you’re travelling.

5. Pack light – it’s easier to pack less and you’ll have more room for souvenirs.

6. Take pictures of your hotel, so you can remember where you are staying and how to get back there.

7. Research popular tourist attractions in advance and see if you can book tickets online to avoing long queues.

8. Plan ahead – make sure to get any vaccinations required by law or recommended by your doctor.

9. Keep an eye on the weather forecast and dress accordingly e.g., wear sunscreen and wear a hat if it is sunny and hot outside or bring warm clothes if it will be cold at night-time.

10. Make friends with locals who are willing to show you around their city e.g., waiters, bartenders, taxi drivers etc. They know all the best places to see and can be super helpful to solo travelers.

11. Pack light-weight clothing and comfortable shoes that won’t cause blisters or discomfort.

12. Eat healthy and don’t sleep deprive yourself during your trip, so that you can still enjoy it.

13. Make sure you have all the necessary documents and ID with you at all times.

14. See at least one sunset and sunrise while you’re at your destination. You won’t regret it. See my post for photo ideas while travelling.

15. Keep an eye out for travel deals – sign up for email alerts from airlines, hotels, and rental car companies.

16. Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water. Fill up your water bottle at the airport, so that you don’t get dehydrated during the flight.

17. Don’t forget to take pictures! This is a great opportunity to document this new experience in your life!

18. Take pictures of yourself! See my tips for taking photos of yourself when travelling solo.

19. Research transportation options before you go and figure out how you will get from the airport (or bus or train station) to your hotel.

20. Plan out a list of activities that will be fun for one person to do.

21. Keep an eye on your belongings while travelling by bus or train.

22. Stay in touch with friends and family back home to let them know where you are going as well as what time zone you’re in so they can adjust their clocks accordingly.

23. Take time to do some research before booking anything like tours or excursions. The prices and destination options may vary a lot.

24. Make friends with other solo travellers.

25. Set realistic expectations for your time there, it is not a vacation that lasts forever.

26. Stay in public places when possible, like hotels or restaurants.

27. Bring some form of identification with you at all times – such as an ID card or passport.

28. Bring an extra pair of shoes in case one gets wet or dirty.

29. Check out reviews on hotels before booking one – some places might not be as safe as others. Some websites like booking.com will mention which places are popular among solo travellers.

30. Get out of your comfort zone – explore new places and meet new people! It will give you an opportunity to learn more about yourself as well as making some interesting memories along the way.

31. Be attentive to your surroundings at all times – don’t walk around with large sums of money or wear expensive jewelry without taking precautions against theft.

32. Exercise caution when using public transportation or walking alone at night.

33. Keep track of how much money you spend while traveling so that it’s easier to budget when you get back home!

34. Get a local SIM card for data and phone calls.

35. Make sure your phone is charged and has a full battery.

Some people are scared of travelling alone, even if they’re just going to a city close by. But some of the best travel stories come from these solo trips! I hope you found this blog post useful and helpful! As someone who has been on multiple solo trips before, these are some of my top tips for making your trip more enjoyable and safe. Do you have any other suggestions? Maybe you can mention them in the comments section below or share with me on Instagram @elinaabroad or Twitter @elinaka!

How to take great photos of yourself when travelling solo

Ever wondered how some creators can always have new photos available of them in different places? Have they got a personal photographer going with them everywhere? It is possible they just take photos of themselves. Let me teach you how to take great photos of yourself when travelling solo!

At this point about 80% of photos I post of myself on Instagram I’ve taken myself. My trips to Malta and Israel were both solo trips, so I took all my travel selfies there myself. Go have a look to see more photos that I’ve taken of myself.

Have a look at my Amazon storefront to see the equipment I use!

Why You Should Master Solo Photography

It is not always easy to convince other people to get up at 5am to get out in freezing cold just to take some photos because it just looks so lovely outside. I’ve yet to meet more people who are just as crazy as me when it comes to taking photos at random times.

And that’s how I started taking my travel selfies. It is just easier to set the alarm, have a look outside the window to see if the weather is not too crazy, grab the camera and go! So since I often head out to take photos of myself, I figured I would share my tips with you for taking great photos of yourself.

When I travel solo, the easiest option is to ask a stranger to take a photo of you, but sadly this has never worked well for me. The stranger won’t be familiar with the aesthetic you’re looking for. And if you are looking for good quality photos to share with your audience, it is almost guaranteed that the photos taken by a stranger won’t meet your quality standards unless you spend minutes explaining to that stranger the look that are going for. But they probably won’t have the patience for that. And neither will you.

Essential Equipment for Solo Travel Photos

Just like with any other type of photography, you will need a camera and a tripod for taking photos of yourself too.

Have a look at my Amazon storefront to see all the equipment I use!

Camera

The camera that I use is a Nikon D750, which is a pretty decent full-frame DSLR camera, but, if you are just starting out, any full-frame or crop sensor camera will do here. You don’t need to invest in expensive equipment straight away. I often get asked for advice when picking somebody’s first DSLR camera, but that’s a whole new topic that I will need to cover in a separate post.

Having a good portrait lens for your selfies is also very important if you want to take great quality photos of yourself while traveling. I currently mostly use my Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 lens, and I love it! It is one of the cheapest lenses you can buy, but it is perfect for portraits! If you are looking for something more advanced, go for a Nikon 35mm f/1.4 or Sigma 35mm f/1.4.

Tripod

You will definitely need a good tripod to keep the camera steady. I have tried using walls and other flat surfaces, but it is a lot harder to shoot that way because you cannot adjust the height or the angle of the camera, so having a good tripod is really a must. You don’t want to take a blurry photo of yourself. There is a huge variety when it comes to tripods.

My very first tripod was a very cheap one and only cost me about $20, so if you’re only starting out, you can buy a cheaper one like this one just to see if you’re actually going to be using it. But with the cheaper ones you get what you pay for, and they may not be as steady as the more expensive tripods. You can also invest in a nice advanced one that will last you longer. This one is the closest one I could find to what I currently own.

Techniques for Taking Stunning Solo Photos

There are several ways for how to take great photos of yourself when travelling solo, but using a timer, remote or wifi function are the main ones.

Find more photos from Dan Eilat Hotel in Israel here.

Timer

A timer is a function available on pretty much every camera out there. Which technically makes it the cheapest option for taking photos of yourself.

You can use the timer on your camera, but there is a limit for how many photos can be taken at once. This is my least favourite method because I feel like you have the least control when taking photos using this method. You will have to do a lot of running back and forth to your camera. I like this method the least because I am never really be sure when the camera is going to start shooting and then when it is going to stop.

Remote

Have a look at my Amazon storefront to see the equipment I use!

This is by far my favourite method to use. With a remote, I can decide what I want to see in the frame, put the camera on a tripod, turn on the remote and go and pose. It is very easy to set everything up.

I will usually take a few test shots to see if I’m in the right place in the frame, then take about 20 photos at a time and then go check the photos on the camera to see what needs to be adjusted – am I in focus, am I covering anything that I want to include in the photo, do I look OK, etc.

Depending on what remote you use, it might be easier or harder to hide it in the shot. The first remote that I bought was one of these ones which is ridiculously cheap and excellent for beginners. I probably used it for 2-3 years until I got fed up with it and decided to get a better one. It does work fine, but sometimes it is hard to get it to work because it only seems to work at certain angles, so sometimes this happens:

I now use this remote and I never have to find the right angles to make it work because it just always works and has plenty of options for multiple shots, long exposure etc. The only inconvenience is that it is significantly larger than the old remote, but I still manage to hide it in the photos.

Use the wifi function

Now this one is another great one! If you are lucky enough to have a camera with wifi function (like I do with my Nikon D750), you can download the camera wifi app on your phone, connect it to your camera and take photos of yourself on your camera using your phone.

This is a great method because you can see exactly what your camera sees when using the app, so there is no need to walk back and forth to your camera just to see what the photos look like, whether you are in focus or not or if anything else needs adjusting. You see everything on your phone! Plus you can tap on screen to get a certain part of the photo to be in focus, just like you would do with your phone camera.

The only thing I dislike about this method that it might be harder to hide a phone than a remote, so I either face the other way in photos or have the phone clearly visible. This method is also much slower than using a remote, and you can only take photos every 5 seconds or so because it takes time for each photo to load onto your phone. I often start off by using the wifi function and then move on to using the remote instead.

I took this photo of myself in Iceland using the wifi function. The phone is on my left side, and I could see exactly how I looked in the photos on my phone. I took many versions of this photo; you cannot see the phone in the other ones.

Best Times and Locations for Self Portraits

Once you’ve sorted out your equipment, it’s time to head out and take those photos! The first thing you need to do is find a location with a nice background for those beautiful photos. It could be anything from stunning architecture to breathtaking landscapes.

I love using straight lines when taking my nature portraits, including piers, paths and long roads. Photo from a foggy morning in a place near Cēsis, Latvia.

Can you guess which hand the remote is in here?

Pick the right time of the day

Ever wondered why I sometimes get up so early on a Sunday to go out and take photos in early morning? Well, that’s because there is nobody else around, and that means – I have no distractions, no one to crop out of my photos, no one staring at me wondering why I’m posing next to this random tree, and the light is perfect! Also, if you head out early enough, you might be able to see this wonderful fog and take some creative shots.

Shoot during sunrise or during the golden hour – that wonderful time of the day right after sunrise and right before sunset when the sun looks nice and golden. Again, most people will probably still be in bed, so you can enjoy those empty streets and take some photos. I took the bottom photo in Malta during sunrise while travelling solo. The only person nearby was a fisherman who didn’t seem too interested in what I was doing because, you know, fishing is far more exciting to him than watching someone set up their tripod and do some strange poses.

Find your best pose

Have you noticed that the same people repeat the same poses over and over again? That’s because they know what makes them look best in their photos. So go out, do a lot of posing, have a look at the photos and you’ll see how to pose to look your best. And the next time you head out focus on those poses!

Including movement always works best – it could be as simple as walking at a fast pace! I quite enjoy playing with my hair or just walking and looking to a side in my photos.

Oops, you can clearly see that I’m using a remote here in the beautiful Ziemeļblāzma park in Riga, Latvia. Well, this is awkward, let’s move on.

Just like everything in life – it will take time to learn how to take great photos of yourself. I never posted any photos of myself on Instagram for years because I just always preferred being behind the camera, but when working with brands, taking self portraits became unavoidable. All it takes is practice and actually heading out and taking those photos!

I hope you enjoyed my solo travel photography tips. Now go on, take your travel selfies!

FAQs

What if I don’t have a DSLR camera?

You don’t necessarily need a DSLR camera. These days many phones have amazing cameras as well as mirrorless cameras.

How do I take photos of myself without a tripod?

Find flat an sturdy surfaces. Ask a stranger. Also, tripods don’t have to be big and bulky. Perhaps a smaller one that you can fit in your everyday bag would work better for you. Here are some options: GorillaPod, SmallRig.

Did you find this article helpful? Do you have any other question about taking photos of yourself during your solo travels? Let me know in the comments below!

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