First-time jitters

I was nervous before leaving on a 10 month RTW trip at 21, but within 3 hours of my first flight I had made about 10 new friends and we all ended up going to the same hostel. Wherever I went I met new people on buses, in hostels, or just wandering around touristy places. When travelling around Europe I met up with some people travelling in the same direction as I was, so we travelled together for about a month before we headed in different directions. I never had any problems safety-wise, but if I ever was apprehensive about someone I'd just make some excuse and leave, or go to a more public area.

Anyway, I'm sure you'll soon find that backpacking is easy enough and you'll meet heaps of people as you go,

Have fun.

Take it easy. I have more than 30 years of solo travel behind me and my relatives STILL worry about that (even if they are travellers themselves...) It's perfectly normal. Sometimes lonelyness and , well, jitters will occur, don't let them overcome you, and go on, you will have fun.
Enjoy!

Hey Angie
Im 18 and from NZ. I left home in january and went straight to africa. Most people I told about my trip before I left thought I was crazy and that it was so dangerous etc. But I was in Africa for 4 months and never felt unsafe (apart from the public transport lol). Ive now been in Europe for over a month and loving it. Youl meet people easily, hostels are awesome places for finding people doing similar things as you. Id say dont stress about it (although its definately scary leaving) people are generally really helpful to young travellers. And there are SO many Aussies here!! (I know because hearing my accent they all assume Im from Australia...)
I did couchsurfing a couple of times, its a cool way to meet people and experience a more normal way of life than you get at hostels. Also in germany there is a rideshare website www.mitfahrgelenheit.de which is in german but pretty straightforward and has loads of people travelling from country to country that for a fee that is about a quarter the price of trains you can email them and catch a ride (like hitchhiking I guess but much more organised and the times Ive done it I have met some awesome as people)
Have a great time!
Rachel

Hi Angie,

Sorry I missed something ... solo young female travelling europe .. sorry doesn't happen .. well not for more than the walk to the bus stop ... take care .. go slowly at first .. you'll be surprised to find that at 18 you're actually not a "young" backpacker as the europeans start at .. crikey .. I've met 14 YO travelling .. lol

HI Angie!
I'm in the same boat and I'm a 25 year old female! :^)
I will be in Spain for the month of AUgust.
We should link up and have jitters together. :)

Cheers,
Jennifer

Hey, Angie! Another solo female traveller here! I went on foreign study to Germany w/a group of people I didn't know, but grew to know and (mostly) love. My Eurail travel itinerary didn't appeal to the others, so I went to France and Spain alone, while many of the others went to Greece, encountered terrible weather and endured horrible seasickness on the crossing. I was busy getting sunburned on the beach in Valencia, meeting great folks from Australia, Canada and other places, and having a great great time. One of my classmates, also female and blind travelled solo in Europe and also came back w/great tales to tell, having had a wonderful time and coming to no harm for all her adventures.

At that time, I spoke German and English, no Spanish or French. I got maps of the cities I visited that had the major sites listed that I wanted to see, and did just fine. One thing I did was let people know which cities I figured on being in (loosely), and if they wanted to send something to the American Express office that was a possibility (at least it was then, don't know if they even do that anymore).

The only things I recommend is to not be alone in a train station or dark deserted area at night time, keep your valuables out of sight, the usual street smarts kind of stuff.

Have a great trip.

Hey Angie, and jennifer too!

If either of you are heading east, you could meet up with this 21 yo solo female backpacker! I'm hitting up germany, austria, hungary, serbia, croatia, and (of course) the netherlands by my lonesome. When I was 13 I spent the summer in Aix-en-Provence with my college-aged sister. We stayed in a dorm together, but I'd wake up before her and go wandering about the town all day by myself. I'd meet her for dinner. Aix is abviously like the most quintessetial tiny little gorgeous french town, but it was a great experience. i learned to act confident even if I was super lost. I'd go into a public place and ask directions or just plop down in a cafe for awhile if I felt uncomfortable. I mean, how many croissants are too many? And now that I'm older, i'm sure beer will become my new best friend!

I look forward to the new experiences and new friends awaiting me upon my arrival in Frankfurt. Maybe you'll be one of them!

Cheers,
Carissa

thank u so much everybody for ur comments, my nervousness is easing.
hey carissa and jennifer, were either of u by any chance planning on going to germany 4 the oktoberfest? i'm traveling in western europe but will be in germany mid-sep to mid-oct

Sorry, Angie. No for me. I will only be in Spain, and only in the month of August.