Iceland - Perfect Place For First-Time Solo Female Travelers

About a year and a half ago, I read a blog post by one of my favorite travel bloggers, Adventurous Kate. Her post was about why Iceland is the best place for a newbie solo female traveler. By the time I finished the post, I was already looking up flights and accommodations for Iceland.

Now, a year and a half later, I took all of Kate's advice and have just finished my first international solo adventure, in Iceland.

Since I was so inspired by Kate and her reasons for why Iceland is the perfect country to test the waters of solo travel, I decided I would put my own spin on the same post topic. So, from a solo travel newbie no more, here are my reasons why Iceland makes the perfect place for first-time solo female travelers.


No matter where you go, people speak English
Travelling alone internationally for the first time can be very intimidating. Especially if you start off in a country where English is very rarely spoken. In Iceland, almost everyone speaks both Icelandic and English. Most of the signs are also in both languages, so it is very easy to communicate here.


There are so many day toursOne of the quickest and easiest ways to make friends while traveling solo is to go on day tours or excursions. You'll soon realize that there are so many other solo travelers out there. While I was on The Golden Circle day tour, I met a girl who I became friends with and then spent 2 more tours/excursions with the next day. Just by talking to someone or asking them to take your picture on a day tour could lead you to awesome new friends.


Reykjavik is a very walkable and safe city
When you first start travelling alone, another fear is that you won't know how to find your way in a new city. Reykjavik, however is a very safe and walkable city. You are able to get lost all over town, and still find your way back.


Iceland is great to explore on a layover
A lot of people I met in Reykjavik were just there as a stopover to another country. Travelers would have about a 2 day or so stopover in Iceland, and then fly off to their destination. This is a great idea because you can easily explore Iceland in a weekend.


It is one of the most beautiful places in the world
If you're just starting out as a solo female traveler, you might as well start somewhere absolutely amazing! There are so many natural wonders to be seen in Iceland, it is like you have gone to another planet. Between the lava fields, the volcanoes, the geysers, and the Northern Lights, you are bound to leave in complete awe of this country.


I am so glad that I started my new journey in Iceland. It helped give me the confidence that I needed to know that I can make it on my own. Now, it will forever hold an extremely special place in my heart!

If you ever travel to Iceland, I hope it treats you as well as it treated me! Happy travels!

Monday Buzz 5.11.15

Hello! Welcome to Monday Buzz! Here I'll be posting some of my favorite articles from the past week. I hope you find much insight, inspiration, and travel tips from these amazing authors! Have a beautiful week of adventures! Xx


How to Pick the Best Hostel - The Brave Little Cheesehead

My Plan To Unplug: How To Get Back To Zen - Julianne Hough

How I Overcame My Fears of Eating Alone - Alex Pendleton (via Pink Pangea)

20 Little European Islands That Should Be On Every Traveller's Radar This Year - Hand Luggage Only

10 Best Things To Do In Cape Town (and why you can't miss any of them) - World Of Wanderlust

How I Saved and Made Extra Money To Travel - Grease And Glamour

Why You Should Let Travel Break Your Heart - Travelettes

10 Easy Ways to Save Money to Travel the World - The Blonde Abroad

And I Don't Really Care If Nobody Else Believes

This past August, I decided that I wanted to change the course of my life and travel the world solo for a year. The decision may have been made official in August, but my heart knew far in advance what it wanted. 

And, as with everything in life, many people had their different opinions about my plans. A lot of my friends and some of my family were super supportive in this. But some were not totally on board with it. My parents, for example, were quite against me traveling the world on my own when I first told them. It took a lot of convincing, and basically telling them that there was no way that I was not doing this, before they finally realized that this was going to happen. After that, I told them the logistics of my plan, why I wanted to go, and showed them the community of people who travel solo. And soon, they were just as excited for my trip as I was. Now my parents are fully supporting me and really encouraging me to follow my travel dreams. 

Unfortunately though, there are still some family and friends who have told me that I ought to re-think my world travel dream. So how does one deal with that and try to show them why this is so important to you?

Well, I'm currently trying to figure that out. I think I am going to try my best to open up their eyes; show them that, while this world does have a lot of hate and violence in it, it also still has a lot of love. That's one of the things that I want to show people. Yes, there are bad people in the world which we live, but not every soul is bad. I'm going to try to get my point across to all of the naysayers and make sure they know that I believe in myself and my journey. I understand that not everyone will get it, but I do want my family to believe in me and the path that I have chosen.

I guess I just don't understand why they think this won't be my best choice. I am choosing to do something that is not considered "normal" for a 20 year old girl, but that does not mean that it is the wrong path in life. Those who have had a negative opinion about my travels have even tried to tell me that I am just running away from life, or that I'm "lost". But the truth is that I'm running towards life and creating my own reality. Instead of living in the norm, I will be out exploring the world and taking in different cultures, experiences, and life lessons. What path could be better than that?

I'm going to gather up articles and blog posts from other solo female travelers and travel bloggers in general, and make a list for all of my non-believers to read (if they want to). And if they still think that all of this is not a reasonable thing after reading about other's journeys, hearing my reasons for following my heart, and realizing the world is not as terrible as they think, then I've done all that I can.

While I would love to have all of the support in the world, I went into this knowing that was not going to be the case. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and that is perfectly fine. 

In the end, this is my journey. I have done extensive research (for over a year now!) on travel and solo female travel, and all of the countries in which I'm planning to visit. I know what I am capable of. I have a good head on my shoulders. I have confidence in myself AND I DON'T REALLY CARE IF NOBODY ELSE BELIEVES. I know I can do this and my heart if fully in it. That's all that truly matters.

Has anyone else ever dealt with this? If so, how did you handle it?! Please let me know!

xx


THE LIST!!
Not all those who wander are lost - World of Wanderlust
The Solo Woman Traveler Manifesto - World of Wanderlust
Everything you need to know about solo travel - World of Wanderlust
Don't be afraid to walk alone - Lauren Marinigh
Why all women should travel solo - The Blonde Abroad
How to make friends while traveling solo - Adventurous Kate
Top 10 travel safety tips for women - Adventurous Kate
7 common travel myths that are wrong - Nomadic Matt
Women shouldn't be afraid to travel alone - A Wandering Sole (via Nomadic Matt)
Why I became a solo female traveler - Be My Travel Muse (via Nomadic Matt)

Travel Inspired Tattoos

*Photo credit to InstagramQuotes

I am personally a lover of tattoos. I have 2 of my own at the moment, but as we all know, once you get one, you want so many more. I think that they are one of the coolest ways to express yourself and your creativity. Sometimes they have deep meanings, and other times they really have no meaning at all. To me, that's the coolest thing about tattoos. I love looking at other people's tattoos and wondering if they have a meaning behind them.

Now a days, having tattoos is fairly common. This is especially true for us free spirits and seekers of adventure. So, for a little bit of inspiration (travel and tattoo), here are some of my favorite travel and adventure inspired tattoos!

1. The Compass

Pinterest

2. The Map

Choose Directions

3. The Plane

 

Pinterest

4. The Paper Plane (I'm actually planning on getting a paper plane tattoo on my right wrist in the near future :)

Tumblr

5. The Wanderlust

Follow Pics

6. The Birds (this is my actual tattoo!!!)

7. The Inspirational Word (Also my tattoo!!!)

8. The Skyline

Bonjour

These are just some of the travel inspired tattoos that I absolutely love. I could spend hours looking though travel tattoos. They inspire my wanderlust like nothing else!

Do you have any travel tattoos?! Or tattoos that inspire you?! Let me know in the comments!
Until next time!

xx

Living With Less

The past 2 years, I have become quite a spender. As soon as I would get paid, it would be off to the mall or Sephora. I would end up blowing my whole pay check. And I would never be satisfied. I wanted the best of everything. I had the money, so I was going to spend it.

It was around June of 2014 that I realized how bad I had gotten. I would spend hundreds of dollars in Sephora, buying new makeup products at least once a week, when I already had a whole box full of products that I didn't need. Clothes were also a problem for me in the same way. I would just keep on buying and buying, never becoming satisfied with what I already had.

But being that I am going to be traveling the world for a year with only a backpack, I decided a few lifestyle changes were necessary.

I have decided to start living with less.

This past week, I spent all of my free time going through everything I own. I took all of my clothes of out my closet and drawers, collected a large pile of shoes from around my room, and took on the big box of makeup. I figured that I would start pretty slow and then do another clear out in about 3 months. After all, I'll only need a small amount of clothes come October!

In the past, I always had a problem whenever I tried to get rid of some of my stuff. I would be so attached to everything I owned. And in some ways, I still am. But this whole journey for me is a learning experience. I have learned a lot about letting go this year. Now, I'm not as mental about leaving my possessions behind.

Once I was finished going through all of my belongings, I had 4 fully packed garbage bags of clothes to donate, 5 pairs of shoes left in my closet, and only the makeup that I have recently been using daily.

The feeling I had once I was done, was freedom.

It was so freeing to not have to worry about all of that junk taking up space. I now felt like there wasn't material things holding me back as much anymore. Before I cleared my stuff out, I didn't even realized it was holding me back. Life suddenly became so much more simple, just by getting rid of unnecessary objects.

Just by donating half of my stuff, I already know that living with less is a lifestyle that I want. I cannot wait to go through the same process in another 3 months and free myself even further.

Don't let material things hold you back. Learn to set yourself free and come to see how life can be so much easier and simpler if you just let it be. I don't think I'll ever be able to go back to the way I was living. This clear out gave me so much hope for the future and my travels ahead...

xx