The first drink was supposed to be the last. I’m standing in a small wine shop in Zagreb, a glass of Croatian white in hand, laughing as someone in our group tells a story. An hour ago, we were strangers—a loose collection of solo travelers who had signed up for a walking tour. Now, we’re debating which wine to try next.
We had wandered through the city together swapping travel stories, sightseeing, and ended up giggling our way through the Museum of Broken Relationships. By the time the tour finished, the obvious question was no longer what are you doing tonight? but where are we going next? I checked my plans, but I already knew: nothing. And that was the point.
When I travel solo, I’ve started following what I call the 48-hour rule: I fill the first two days of a trip with booked activities that give me somewhere to be and people to meet. After that, I leave the calendar nearly blank.
“Planning is definitely a good idea, especially when traveling solo. It provides a sense of order and security, allowing you to enjoy the escape with greater peace of mind,” says Mateusz Dul, a travel expert at eSky. “At the same time, this does not mean that you need to plan every minute of your trip. It is worth leaving room for spontaneous decisions.”
After more than nine years of solo travel, I’ve learned that the biggest mistake isn’t under- or over-scheduling—it’s planning the wrong part of the trip. Those first 48 hours are when I most want to find my bearings, meet a few people, and get comfortable in a new city. I’ll schedule a walking tour the morning after I arrive, a food tour that same evening, or a small group activity like a full day trip or flamenco dancing night.
Those structured experiences tend to be where solo travel becomes social, forcing me out of my hotel room and into conversation with a group of people I never would have met otherwise. There’s something about that early window that makes it easier to connect: You’re new there, slightly delusional from jet lag, and open to talking. One study showed that novelty can increase exploratory behavior and motivation, essentially putting us in a more engaged state when we’re somewhere unfamiliar.
Kate Loweth, who’s been solo traveling for 15 years, says she likes to spend her first day learning a new city and books a tour the second day. “On a recent trip in Amsterdam, I met a fellow solo traveler and we ended up meeting for dinner the next day,” Loweth says. “She then invited me to go thrift shopping, which hadn’t been on my list but ended up being a trip highlight. If I had my whole trip planned out, I wouldn’t have been so open to these opportunities.”
The same thing happened to me in Porto, when I started the night alone and ended by sitting around a table with 10 strangers from across the globe, glasses of port in hand and the Douro River flowing past us. The following week, these new friends and I decided to take a bus to the coastal region of the country and continue the fun. Now, three years later, we’re planning our next trip abroad.
This would have never been possible for me when I first started traveling alone. Back then, I felt like I needed every restaurant, train, day trip, and hotel locked in for every day of the vacation. If I didn’t, I felt oddly out of control or worried that things wouldn’t work out. I thought having a daily agenda would keep me busy, but it just made my time feel rigid and not in the moment. Now, the 48-hour rule has allowed me to get smart, get confident, intentionally set aside time for the unknown, and allow me to discover.
Here’s how I put the 48-hour rule into practice.
Book the basics, and plan one thing that gets you out
Of course, it’s important to have your first accommodation and transportation planned. But once you’ve figured out those necessary logistics, it’s time to enjoy the destination.
From there, book at least one walking tour, food tour, or group experience like a cultural activity or trip to a nearby town. Guided experiences are an easy way to explore a city from a local’s perspective while collecting recommendations along the way. Even if you don’t meet your next travel companion, you’re becoming more familiar with your surroundings and giving yourself something enjoyable to do.
Leave the rest blank and only make plans after you’ve arrived
It’s hard, but try to resist the urge to keep booking trips, restaurants, and activities before you’ve arrived at the destination. It’s fine to make a list of things you hope to do or places you want to see, but don’t lock anything in yet. By day three, you’ll have what you didn’t have before your trip: context.
After taking a few tours and talking to people, you’ll know the neighborhoods, understand the transportation, and have a better sense of how you want to spend your time. You may even have a new friend or two willing to join you.
Let the trip tell you what to do next
Once those first two days are over, instead of a firm plan, I have options.
Maybe someone I met recommended a beach town I hadn’t heard of. Maybe a restaurant comes up three times in conversation. Maybe I discover that the neighborhood I thought I’d spend an afternoon exploring isn’t actually my scene. Or maybe someone I met the day before invites me on a day trip.
That’s the part of solo travel I’ve come to value most: having enough structure to feel comfortable but enough empty space for the trip to surprise me.
