Travelling solo

[Maddy]

Next Thursday I'm leaving for a two-week trip to San Francisco. This will be my first time going to the US, my first time travelling on my own, and my first time staying in youth hostels, and there's probably a hell of a lot I should know but don't. For those who have travelled solo, do you have any hints on things I'll need to know for the airport, flight, hostel, anything like that? I'm a 21-year-old girl on my own, so any hints for keeping myself safe are very welcome.

[Chip]

Maddy! I now remember you said you were going to San Francisco, but I'd forgotten. Perhaps we can meet for lunch or something... I'm in Sacramento but it would be worth a trip down to meet.

The Bay area has a pretty good public transit system between BART, MUNI, Caltrain, and the bus system. Once you get the hang of it, you can get most anywhere. There's a website, 511.org, which will give you point-to-point routing to and from just about any place in the bay area using public transit, and that can be a lifesaver.

As far as safety, I think of the bay area as a relatively safe place compared to a lot of others. The SF airport is pretty simple to navigate, there's a BART terminal at the airport.

Lots of great stuff to see in SF, I'm sure you'll have a lovely time. PM me if you'd like to find a time to meet up.

[Rooni321]

Ohh I'm so excited for you!
So around the airport be sure to follow the guildlines REALLY carefully and don't get too nervous in the airport to the point you get lost.
Don't travel around by yourself too late at night when you arrive in SF. That seems so be a problem sometimes, especially at the BART and Metro stations.
Umm and listen to chip! (:
Be sure to check out Haight St. Or Ripleys Believe it or not, I think its at Pier 39 but I can't remember! Or Market St.! And if you have any time, Berkeley is great too (:
You'll absolutely love it, have fun. <3
PM me if you have any other questions! I LOVE SF (:

[hazza]

Hey Maddy,

For the flight, travelling solo isn't that bad - the long flights across the pacific get kinda boring sometimes, so I always take a book or buy a few magazines at the airport and I always take my ipod as well. Also, when I'm flying solo, I usually keep my backpack under the seat in front of me, not in the overhead locker - it's mostly just because its easier to access it during the flight and it won't disturb people if I'm seated by the window. If you do put your backpack up in the overhead locker, I would say lock it - sadly, there are people (not often thankfully) that do go through other people's bags while they are sleeping.

At the airport in SF, I'd say the least stressful way to get to your hostel is by taking a taxi or a shuttle bus instead of taking the public transport straight away - firstly, you'll be pretty tired/jetlagged after the 14 hour flight, but also the flight could arrive slightly early/late so if you had planned ahead in Australia to see what public transport could get you to your hostel, it could all be for nothing if you arrive slightly late and miss it. It is more expensive to get a shuttle bus/taxi but I've found that it's nice just to not have to go to much effort straight away once you get off the plane to make your way to the hostel.

Hostels are great fun to stay at - the one's that I've stayed at are always good fun as there are always people there to chat with in the common areas. Also, the hostel workers sometimes organise social activities like tours or bar crawls etc., but they are great help when you want to book other tours or need information on anything.

Make sure to bring your own lock for the hostels, maybe more than 1 just in case - lockers are almost always supplied, but you need to supply your own lock. When I was travelling through South America, I took a lock with a digit code instead of a traditional key one as I didn't want to worry about the potential hassle of what to do if I lost the key. The locker sizes really vary from place to place - some lockers are only small, while some are large enough to fit your travelling backpack, so having an extra lock will mean you can keep your valuables secure in your backpack and in your locker.

I'm not sure if you have pre-booked your hostel yet (even if you have, you could maybe email the hostel to change it), but most hostels have female-only dorms, which you might prefer seeing you've said it's your first time staying in hostels.

You'll maybe want to check if your hostel offers breakfast - all the hostels I've been to have offered breakfast included in the rates, but some you have to pay extra for it. I have no idea what a breakfast at a hostel in the US would be like as I've only been to South American hostels so their breakfasts were breads, jams, cereals and yoghurt, but it's usually plenty to fill you up and give you some energy for the day. Also, hostels almost always have kitchens with everything you need to cook store food - fridge, stove, oven and plates and cutlery. When you get to the hostel ask at the front desk where the nearest supermarket is - it is much cheaper to make your own food than eat out which could leave you with more money for other things. Some good ideas for things to make at the hostel kitchens (which are simple and quick) are pasta, beans on toast, sandwiches etc.

Hostels have computers with internet that are usually free to use and many provide WiFi which is sometimes free, sometimes for a fee. I found at one of the hostels I went to in Uruguay there were international power sockets, but I'd take an adapter just in case (and a small powerboard/2 plug thing if you think you will have multiple things to charge at once).

I hope some of this helps
Hope you enjoy your trip when you go!

[heatqueen]

The main thing about airports is follow the signposts. Also, never leave your bags unattended (this should be obvious but trust me you get a lot of silly people who lose their stuff.) I'd also say, don't put valuables in your suitcase because they could get lifted (This has happened to me before and it's not fun).

Make sure you bring enough money and put some aside for emergencies because you never know when you might need that extra bit of cash if a sticky situation arises for whatever reason.

It's going to be a long journey so bring some form of entertainment otherwise you will literally die of boredom. I know from experience - I've done a lot of long journeys and they're an absolute killer if you have nothing to do.

At the hostel, if there's a safe, use it. Put any valuables in there, you don't know who might lift your things (including hostel staff - someone once tried to break into my dad's briefcase but thankfully he had a code on it).