Travel blogger Aakanksha Monga provides hacks to make solo travel easier

Picking a destination

For people considering solo travel, Monga suggests that one should start small, given they are leaving behind their safety bubble, one they have grown accustomed to.

“Begin with a place you have a certain familiarity with,” she says.

There are several backpacking destinations in India and abroad that have the infrastructure for solo travellers. Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Ladakh, Pondicherry, and almost all of south-east Asia are backpacker-friendly locations.

Research

Research is crucial. Monga believes in the Lonely Planet travel guides that cover destinations across the globe.

“This resource includes all the hidden gems of a location, like hiking trails, stuff nobody online covers. It provides me with many off-beat suggestions,” she says. Apart from that, she looks through the experiences of other travel bloggers before creating an itinerary.

Financial Independence

Monga believes that financial independence forms the very basis of travelling solo, particularly for young travellers. Right from her first trip to Udaipur at the age of 19, she has singlehandedly funded all her trips. “I have interned, freelanced, worked for hostels at certain destinations, and more, in order to fund my trips,” says Monga.

How to set and stick to a budget?

Deciding a budget is the first step in sticking to it. Monga says that the budget needs to be broken down into fixed and variable costs.

“Fixed costs are expenses like flight tickets, visas, and travel insurance. One cannot do away with these,” she says.

Variable costs like accommodation, food, and local transport depend on the level of comfort one needs. She suggests getting estimates for these so as to not overspend.

Monga also emphasises the need to maintain an emergency fund for unexpected expenses.

“I had a situation wherein my accommodation booking was cancelled upon arrival, and I had to book another place at the last minute at three times the cost,” explains Monga.

Monga advises people to go as cashless as possible because it is harder to keep track of expenses in cash, whereas digital payments get recorded automatically.

Flight booking and airport hacks
Monga uses Google flights as it collates all relevant flights throughout the internet. “One doesn’t have to go through the hassle of comparing prices on different websites, Google does that for you,” she says. Besides flights, it also surfaces other information like accommodation, etc. she adds. Google also allows you to set price alerts.

Monga also suggests making use of loyalty programmes. Expenses charged to travel credit cards earn additional points, which can then be clubbed together for free fight tickets (minus the tax).

She has a few airport hacks as well, such as making use of airport lounges during lengthy layovers to save on food expenses. She advises against exchanging currency at the airport as it is very expensive. Instead, one can make use of airport ATMs, a far cheaper alternative.

Further, one should never opt for transportation that is provided by the airport. “You can look up cab aggregators and book a cab from the relevant local app, which is very pocket-friendly,” she says.

She also suggests travelling abroad with only carry-on luggage, particularly in Europe, as it can slash the cost of flight tickets by nearly 50 percent. Sadly, this policy has not been introduced in India yet.

Obtaining a visa easily
Even though there is no hack for obtaining a visa easily, making your passport stronger does make the process a lot smoother. This can be done by getting long-term visas from other countries.

“I currently have a Canadian tourist visa which is valid as long as my passport is. Besides, there are also countries that do not need a visa anymore, such as the Philippines and certain countries in south America,” she says. Singapore isn’t visa-free, but it provides a transit visa on arrival for four days (in certain cases), which is enough for a short vacation.

Easier digs
Monga personally does not believe in luxurious accommodation, as her trips are all experience based. She primarily opts for backpacker hostels, which are extremely budget-friendly. “Dorms assure safety, and are generally located around central locations, which makes transportation quite easy,” she says.

Monga opts for Airbnb at times because she likes the idea of a homestay. “You get to stay with locals, and experience life through their eyes,” she says.

Travel must-haves
Monga lists out a few essentials that a solo traveller should have at their disposal. These include a power bank, a keychain alarm, and some emergency cash hidden in a safe space to prevent pick-pocketing.

Through her travels, Monga provides her audience with authentic content. She does so by capturing moments without filters or presets. “I don’t want to disappoint my viewers with photos that look nothing like the actual place. Filters set expectations and that is not how the world looks.”