How I manage my anxiety when traveling alone (2025)

Many people assume that you can only travel alone if you’re an easygoing extrovert without a care in the world. As someone with anxiety who has traveled solo to over ten countries, I can confirm that it’s possible, no matter your disposition.

Although traveling with anxiety requires a few extra considerations and practice, it hasn’t held me back. These days, I’m armed with plenty of tactics for shutting down anxious thoughts, and I’ve become a pro at managing unwelcome worries while traveling.

Funnily enough, traveling alone has actually taught me lots of useful coping mechanisms and made me feel more in control of my anxiety. If you’re worried about managing your emotions on a solo trip, these tricks for how I do it could come in handy.

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I always have my Kindle and journal ready to distract me

One of the easiest ways for me to escape anxiety in my reality is by jumping into a new one through a book. Reading has a way of sweeping me up and cutting the ties with overwhelming emotions.

My Kindle has saved me countless times along my travels. It holds thousands of books, and I can switch it up at will, depending on what type of tale I’m feeling at the moment. On the days when I can’t manage to sever myself from overthinking, it can be extremely helpful to have a journal as well.

A large portion of my travel journals are really just me throwing my anxious thoughts down on paper to release them from my mind. You’d be surprised at this technique’s effectiveness and it can be done from anywhere in the world as long as you have a journal and pen at your disposal.

Prepare for worst-case scenarios by getting travel insurance

My anxious thoughts can run wild before a trip with all the possible scenarios that could go wrong. What if I miss my flight and get stuck in a random city? What if I get so sick I need to go to a hospital? What if someone steals my wallet or the airline loses my luggage?

Protecting myself and my trips with travel insurance does wonders to ease my worries. Travel insurance companies like World Nomads do all the overthinking for me. As a full-time traveler, investing in reliable digital nomad travel insurance makes me feel way safer.

I can embark on trips knowing everything will be okay even if I miss a connecting flight or get hurt abroad. Not to mention that travel insurance is often quite reasonably priced. My last plan only cost $41 for three months of travel coverage.

Practice calming breathing exercises

Ever since I was a child, my mom has been encouraging me to do breathing exercises when I get overwhelmed. This advice has been invaluable to me as a solo female traveler with occasional bouts of anxiety.

It doesn’t matter where I am, what’s going on, or who I’m with. I can always use breathing techniques while I’m traveling to get a handle on impending panic or stress. My usual go-to is breathing in for three counts, holding my breath for another three, and then exhaling fully.

This isn’t pseudoscience, either. Studies have found that breathing exercises can decrease stress levels or even lower your heart rate and blood pressure. This is a godsend for people who struggle with panic attacks. [source, source]

Pack the right stuff and choose the right backpack

For an anxious individual, there is a fine line between packing too much and not enough. My anxiety wants my solo travel packing list to include everything I could ever possibly need. But I have to be careful not to overpack so much that I’m weighed down.

While things change based on the destination I’m visiting, there are a few travel essentials I always pack to be prepared for anything:

• First aid kit
• International power adapter
• Laminated copies of my passport/travel documents

Setting off with the right travel backpack is equally as crucial. There are lots of amazing travel backpacks out there, but many duds, too.

Personally, I love my trusty Osprey Farpoint 55. It’s gotten me through so many long trips and it comes with the company’s impressive lifetime warranty to repair or replace any defects [source]. It makes me much more confident knowing I have a reliable bag on my shoulders.

Use positive visualization as a tool

During an anxiety attack, my thoughts can feel like the enemy. Traveling alone has taught me that my mind can also be the remedy when I use positive visualization.

This is a powerful mindfulness technique where you simply imagine a peaceful or good scenario to take your mind off bad feelings. When I’m traveling, I like to imagine my day going exactly as planned and being even more amazing than I could’ve hoped.

I visualize myself laughing, having fun, meeting people, getting great travel photos, or just feeling content. Even in the grips of the worst anxiety I’ve ever experienced, positive visualization has helped pull me into a better headspace.

Be flexible with my schedule and itinerary

It might sound counterintuitive, but creating a down-to-the-minute plan stresses me out like nothing else. Setting an intricate expectation for how the day is supposed to go makes me feel like I’m doing something wrong if I stray from the plan.

That’s why I thrive with a flexible itinerary for my solo trips. Having an open-ended schedule leaves room to do things that come up randomly without worry.

For instance, when I was solo traveling in Japan, I decided to join a group tour to Mount Fuji at the very last minute. It ended up being one of my favorite parts of the trip. If I’d scheduled my time too strictly, I never would’ve been able to embark on this excursion.

Stay well-fed and hydrated

While many people struggle with getting hangry, I am a sufferer of hanxiety. When I don’t have enough food and water, my anxiety levels go through the roof so fast that sometimes I don’t even realize the correlation.

I have to stay fully nourished and hydrated to lower the chances of getting stressed out on a solo trip. I try to drink at least three full water bottles or more, depending on the weather in my solo travel destination. It works miracles.

Chugging water is my first tactic to get rid of an anxiety attack while traveling because it’s so effective. When that doesn’t work, I grab myself a hearty bite to eat. I also carry healthy little snacks like nuts or fruit leather to nibble on when I can’t sit down for a whole meal.

Create an anxiety-soothing playlist and have my headphones handy

Music is a huge part of my life, from attending music festivals across the world to using songs as a tool to curb anxiety. Whenever I take a trip by myself, I create a soothing playlist on Spotify for occasions when I feel overwhelmed.

I love this method of calming myself because I can just pop in my headphones while at a museum, a restaurant, the beach, or anywhere else. It takes away the sensory overload of loud conversations or traffic in the streets and allows me to just continue with my day.

I carry anxiety tools like a thumb crystal and essential oils

If the breathing and visualization techniques aren’t enough, it can be useful to bring other types of tools on a solo trip.

I like to carry around a thumb crystal my mom gave me because it helps ground me when I have airport anxiety or get nervous flying. There are tons of reasonably priced options for these, such as this tiger’s eye thumb worry stone for less than $10.

Essential oils are another potent anxiety tool as it forces your brain to focus on something else instantaneously. Two of my favorite calming scents are lavender and sage. This stress-ease essential oil roll-on is perfect for travel, thanks to its compact size. It has notes of lavender, frankincense, and geranium.

Use WhatsApp to communicate with family & friends regularly

Just because you’re off gallivanting on a solo adventure doesn’t mean you have to be completely cut off from your family and friends back home. I rely on WhatsApp heavily to get support from my loved ones while I’m traveling alone.

It’s completely free to use and an easy way to stay in touch with people no matter where they are. When I was traveling by myself throughout Asia, I called my Mom at least once every single day. It made me feel more secure even from an ocean away.

Join group tours or classes to organically meet people

The fear of loneliness is a common worry for anyone taking a solo trip, anxiety-ridden or not. Luckily, I’ve found that solo traveling awards me even more opportunities to meet new people than usual.

One of my favorite ways to connect with others as a solo traveler is by joining a group tour or class. Many of these experiences are set up to allow travelers to socialize.

When I was traveling alone through Italy, I met lots of nice people from all different countries at this authentic pizza-making class in Naples. It provided a fun, low-pressure environment to make friends and feel less alone on a solo trip. Plus, I got to make and eat my own pizza!

Visit animal shelters or cafes to get a dose of cat or dog love

My parents had three dogs when I was born, so I’ve been surrounded by furry family members my entire existence. Perhaps for this reason, animals have always been therapeutic and calming for me.

I love to travel with my dog because I get to have his energy around me all the time. On trips when it’s not possible to bring him along, though, I can still get a dose of animal affection at places like animal shelters and cafes.

I’ve stumbled across places where you can walk in and hang out with animals in Portugal and Cambodia. Even New Paltz, New York has a cat cafe. Getting a little love from these guys makes me feel way better if I’m anxious on a solo trip.

Develop a daily routine for myself, even abroad

It’s tempting to throw an everyday routine to the wayside when you’re visiting a new country. But I’ve noticed this mentality can make my anxiety a lot worse. When I just slap my day together without any flow, I’m just more susceptible to feeling stressed.

Developing a loose daily routine for myself makes me feel more at ease. Even if it’s just getting coffee at a local shop in the morning and going for a brisk stroll in the afternoon.

When I was living in Barcelona, for instance, I made it a habit to go for walks in Ciutadella Park every other day. The exercise would boost my happy brain chemicals and help me to solidify an anxiety-reducing routine.

I keep in mind that nobody is thinking about me that much

There is one realization that I continually return to when I’m feeling anxious on a solo trip: nobody cares about what I’m doing. That sounds like a harsh reality, but it’s a very freeing mentality.

Once your brain recognizes that people aren’t thinking about you that much, it washes anxiety away. Consider all the strangers you pass on the street every day and how much you think about them after they walk by. My guess is probably not very much, if at all.

People are consumed by their own world too much to be hyper-focused on you. Knowing that fact makes me feel a lot more comfortable in my own skin while traveling alone.

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Although anxiety is an extra consideration for me as a solo traveler, it hasn’t hindered me from experiencing the world on my own. If anything, solo travel has given me even more tools for dealing with anxiety effectively and made me more confident in my capabilities.

Planning a solo trip to a European country anytime soon? Don’t forget to read Betty’s article on things to know before going solo traveling in Europe first!

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