Scotland

February 2019, my first solo trip at 24. It was this trip that inspired the inception of this blog, so that I could inspire others in the ways that I had been inspired.

I had been wanting to go to Scotland for its beautiful nature but didn’t have anyone that wanted to come with me. A friend of mine who was an avid solo traveler, said “just go by yourself!”. And so after a lot of debating, I decided fuck it, why not, I have to start somewhere! I remember the nervousness, but also excitement. The nervousness about what, at the time, felt like such a big and scary new thing. But also the excitement about trying something something so new and uncomfortable, and that anything could be discovered.

While I now I love to set out to new and foreign places by myself and figure it out, I always tell people who want to start solo traveling, to start small. Give yourself a structure for dipping your toes into the world of being solo. Because it’s beautiful and amazing, but a very different experience from what you’ll have been used to.

For my first solo trip in Scotland, I started and ended my trip in cities solo, but went with a small tour group to the countryside in the middle. While I’m not normally a tour person at all, this one worked out super well, being a small and flexible group that allowed us more freedom to explore and was a good chance to meet people. It ended up being a perfect induction into the world of solo travel, and I’m grateful to have had the friend that pushed me, and to have taken the baby steps that would eventually lead to a whole new world of adventure.

Glasgow

Glencoe, enroute to the Scottish Highlands

To the best part! One of my main reasons for the trip was to visit the Scottish Highlands, and absolutely stunning they were. I took a small group tour since for my first solo trip, I felt nervous about navigating being in the middle of nowhere alone and figuring out the whole driving on the left side of the road thing. And while I’m normally not a tour person, I thought this one was actually very well done and that it worked out perfectly for a first solo adventure :).

Scottish Highlands: The Isle of Skye

Back south we go: through Eilean Donan Castle & Loch Ness

Oban & Tobermory

The tour was supposed to drop us back off in either Edinburgh or Glasgow after 3 days in the Scottish Highlands. But I wanted to take a detour to visit the beautiful towns of Oban and Tobermory, known for their whiskey, and so I made my way there instead. It was perfect to take my own little adventure after being in a tour for 3 days. These cute and quaint towns were so lovely and super worth visiting.

Edinburgh