Can You Solo Travel With Anxiety? My Honest Experience

So you’ve probably typed some version of this into Google at 2am, right?

(Because same!)

Not “is solo travel safe”, but the real question underneath it: Am I actually the kind of person who can do this – anxiety and all?

Short answer: yes, you absolutely are. Even if you don’t believe that right now.

I have anxiety and social anxiety, and yet I’ve still solo travelled to 24+ countries in the last five years.

But this post definitely isn’t a highlight reel. And there’s no pretending solo travel is easy.

Because it’s easy to scroll through confident solo travel content on Instagram and think it’s not for you if you’re not the type to stay in hostels or make friends with 20 strangers by day two.

And it’s easy to think everyone else just has it figured out and you’re the only one who’s scared.

But you’re not. And feeling scared doesn’t rule you out.

This post is also a podcast episode! So if you’d rather listen than read, hit play below. It’s also on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and YouTube if you prefer those.

Can You Really Solo Travel With Anxiety? My Honest Answer

Yes. Not “yes, BUT only once you feel totally confident first.” Just yes.

I have anxiety and social anxiety, and yet I’ve still solo travelled to 24+ countries in the last five years.

(And no, that’s not a stat I’m sharing just to impress you!)

It’s proof that this is possible.

Because I know from my own experiences (especially before my first solo trip) how much I needed to actually see it’s possible, rather than just be told.

But I’m also not someone who somehow “overcame” my anxiety and then started travelling.

Instead, my anxiety has travelled with me on every single one of those 24+ trips. And it’s still here now.

So if you’ve been waiting to feel confident before you book anything, I want to gently challenge that:

Confidence isn’t the starting point. It’s what you build afterwards, one trip at a time.

And you don’t need to feel 100% ready. You just need to take the one next tiny step anyway.

Katie’s Top Tip: You’re not waiting to become the kind of person who can solo travel. You already are that person. Anxiety and all.

My Story: From a Terrified 18-Year-Old to 24+ Countries Solo

My first solo trip was to Montreux, Switzerland, and I very nearly didn’t get on the plane.

I stood at the airport gate wanting nothing more than to turn around and go home.

(Seriously, the only reason I didn’t was because I was too socially anxious to ask!)

And I’d almost cancelled the whole trip more times than I can count in the weeks leading up to it, convinced I’d made a huge mistake even booking it in the first place.

But I felt terrified and then got on that plane anyway.

Related Read: I go into a lot more detail about the fear leading up to that first trip (including how I tracked the hotel’s website for a month too scared to book!) in my post, Why Am I So Scared to Travel Alone?

Something definitely shifted for me during that weekend away.

I didn’t come home feeling fearless. Or like my life had totally transformed overnight.

But I did come home knowing that I was capable of doing hard things scared.

(And I’m not kidding when I say that that changed everything for me!)

So, I kept the momentum going and booked my next solo trip, to Amsterdam to see the tulips, before I’d even landed back home from the first one.

Again, not because the fear was magically gone, but because I’d learnt in Montreux that waiting for it to disappear would mean waiting forever.

And that one decision, made from a basic airport hotel in Geneva, with my anxiety still very much spiralling, became the start of all of this.

24+ countries later, my anxiety still shows up before EVERY trip.

But also, so do I.

And along the way I have learnt that:

To solo travel, you don’t need to become fearless. You just need to take the next tiny step, then the one after that, then the one after that.

And if I can do that, you absolutely can too.

Katie’s Top Tip: You don’t need to feel brave to book your first solo trip. You just need to book it, then let the bravery build through evidence, one step at a time.

What Anxiety Still Looks Like for Me, Even Now

This is the bit most solo travel content skips over – because there’s this narrative out there that solo travel will magically give you confidence or fix your anxiety overnight.

But for me, I’m 24+ countries in, and my anxiety hasn’t gone anywhere.

It still shows up, before, during and after every trip, sometimes in small ways and sometimes in ways that will send me spiralling.

And I think we need to normalise that.

Sometimes it’s small.

Like I’ll walk 20 minutes out of my way to find a supermarket with self-checkout, just to avoid small talk with a cashier if my social anxiety is spiking.

Or I’ll check my flight details and hotel booking so many times my phone is basically a screenshot graveyard I’m too overwhelmed by to declutter!

And then sometimes it’s bigger.

So I’ve skipped restaurants for an entire trip because sitting down to eat alone just felt like too much that week.

Or I cried on the plane during my last solo trip to Montenegro, completely overwhelmed before I’d even landed for no tangible reason.

And yes, I still have the thought: Should I just stay home? Wouldn’t that be easier?

So you’re not alone in that either!

But if any of this sounds familiar, it’s not a sign you’re doing solo travel wrong. Or that you’re not cut out for it.

Because anxiety doesn’t take a holiday just because you do.

And that’s okay.

Katie’s Top Tip: You don’t need your anxiety to disappear to have a good trip. You just need to know it’s allowed to come along, as long as it’s not the one in control.

What Actually Changed (It Wasn’t My Anxiety!)

So if my anxiety is still here, and still just as loud in some moments, what actually changed?

Nope, it wasn’t my entire personality.

And it definitely, definitely wasn’t my anxiety magically disappearing.

It was my approach.

Between that terrified 18 year old in Montreux and now, I’ve learnt to accept my anxiety, stopped trying to become a fearless person, and started building systems instead.

And these systems have helped me feel organised, informed and prepared before I even leave home – on every single one of my trips.

Because confidence doesn’t come first. It gets built up, trip by trip, through preparation and evidence that you can handle whatever comes up.

And yes, that’s genuinely the whole shift!

Not waiting to feel ready, but having a plan solid enough that you don’t need to feel ready yet.

Related Read: If you want to see exactly how I build that confidence in practice, my post How to Build Confidence to Travel Solo walks through it step by step.

Katie’s Top Tip: I promise you’re not missing some fearless gene the confident-looking travellers have. You’re just missing the system that allows you to travel with your anxiety instead of fighting against it.

The Times Anxiety Told Me Not to Go

If I’d listened to my anxiety every single time it spoke up, I’d still be at home right now, and I wouldn’t have travelled anywhere.

And no, I’m not kidding about that!

There’s a version of me where I never went to Norway.

And my anxiety had a long list of valid reasons why: the cold, the isolation, being alone somewhere so remote…

But I went anyway, and stood underneath the Northern Lights for the first time in my life, before sailing the coastline on the Norway Coastal Express.

And Montenegro was the same story.

But again, I went anyway, and I got to experience one of my favourite ever solo travel memories – a day on a yacht sailing the spectacular Bay of Kotor!

Even starting this blog (and my podcast) came with the same internal argument.

But I did it anyway, and now I get to build the community I wish I’d had when I was starting out.

You see the pattern?

None of those things happened because my anxiety went away.

It happened because I stopped waiting for permission and did the thing scared.

Katie’s Top Tip: Your anxiety will always have an opinion. That doesn’t mean it gets the final say.

What I’d Tell Someone Who’s Scared to Even Start Solo Travelling

If you’re reading this and you feel stuck at the dreaming stage, I want you to remember:

You don’t need to “fix” your anxiety first. You don’t need to become a different, braver version of you before you’re allowed to go.

You just need the one tiny next step. And that’s genuinely it.

And believe me, I know that’s a lot easier to read than it is to believe right now!

So if I could sit down with every woman who’s ever messaged me feeling terrified, overwhelmed, convinced everyone else has it figured out except her, I would.

Why I Offer Personalised Solo Travel Confidence Support

For about a year, all I had to offer was what you’re reading right now: my blog posts.

And that works, for a lot of women.

But it also has a limit.

Because a blog post can’t ask you what’s actually worrying you about your specific trip. Or hear that you’re overwhelmed about a destination, or a solo dinner, or telling your family, and help you build a plan around exactly that.

And I wanted to change that, so I started offering Solo Travel Confidence Calls!

It’s a 60-minute, one-to-one session where we go through your current situation together, work out what’s really holding you back, and build a realistic action plan broken down into tiny steps.

Plus, you’ll also get a written summary and action plan afterwards, so you’re never trying to remember everything from memory.

Cameras are completely optional too!

If a video call feels like too much right now, we can do voice-only. Or you can book the email-only Solo Travel Action Plan instead, which gives you the same personalised plan delivered straight to your inbox.

One woman told me after her call: “Okay. I think I can actually see how this might work for me.”

And that possibility is honestly all I want anyone to leave with.

Disclaimer: I want to be upfront about what this is and isn’t. This is coaching and accountability, not therapy, and I can’t promise your anxiety will disappear. What I can offer is a realistic, personalised plan based on my own lived experience.

Ready to Stop Dreaming and Start Planning Your First Solo Trip?

Waiting to feel ready was never actually going to get you there. Momentum does.

And if you’d rather build that momentum with someone alongside you than figure it out completely alone, that’s exactly what the Solo Travel Confidence Call is for.

One hour, one-to-one, cameras totally optional, where we build your specific action plan together instead of you overthinking it at 2am on your own.

Book your Solo Travel Confidence Call here, and let’s make your first solo trip feel a lot more possible and a lot less overwhelming!

(Not ready for a live call? The email-only Solo Travel Action Plan gives you the same personalised plan without the call.)