Solo trip to Europe for 2 Weeks with *Almost* No Money

“How about we watch Toy Story. I couldn’t tell you the last time I watched it.”

“Sure, sounds good,” I say to my mom as she’s flipping through the Pixar section of Disney+. It’s Thanksgiving evening, and what would usually be a moment of relaxation and eating all my favorite comfort food felt more like a final countdown before it was time to face reality… A reality I felt absolutely ecstatic about four months prior when I officiated the plans. As time went on, my anxiety & seconds thoughts crept in & multiplied.

The interesting thing about following your dreams & doing exactly what you want is that… it’s pretty terrifying. Doing something that absolutely lights you up & ignites your fire within is also really scary because it almost always includes doing something outside of your comfort zone and it’s never risk free.

“What if I lose my phone…”

“What if I get kidnapped”

Between making the plans in July and actually living them out in December, I was haunted by the “what ifs.”

I suppose it’s not that weird to be scared. After all, I was about to fly to Europe for two whole weeks… by myself.

That’s pretty scary. Or at least it was for me.

The Inspiration

So, in the summer of 2018 (a year 1/2 before this upcoming solo trip), I studied abroad in Central Europe. Before starting the travel with my fellow students, I spent a day in Amsterdam and experienced the closest I’ve ever felt to love at first sight.

Amsterdam felt so new, yet so familiar. I had never seen anything like it, but yet I felt a sense of comfort.. like I had lived there in a past life or two.

I only had one full day to spend, plus I was surrounded by some not-so-positive energy, so I was unable to fully enjoy Amsterdam the way I wanted. Still, the neighborhoods, the charm, the canals, the food, + the energy really made a lasting impression on me. I had truly never been anywhere so special. To this day, Amsterdam is in my top 5 favorite cities on earth.

On that very same day in Amsterdam, I vowed to return.

With or without anyone.

How the Solo Trip Came to Be

Fast forward to the Summer of 2019. I was missing travel… a lot. And thanks to that study abroad experience, I learned how accessible international travel can be!

I spent some time on google flights just to *hypothetically* plan a trip back to the Netherlands, plus to maybe add another country or two to the list. Hypothetical became literal when I found a round trip, direct flight for $420. That’s an offer I can’t refuse.

The biggest thing stopping me was not wanting to go alone. But then I remembered some of the annoyances & bad energy I was surrounded by my first & second time in Europe. “Well, at least nobody else can ruin it or me.” As scared & embarrassed I was of solo travel, I ultimately decided it was better to go alone, than to not go at all.

I was out of college & without a full-time job. I was still deciding if grad school was the right path. Because of that, I didn’t exactly have a ton of money. I had less than $1k to my name, but I was making a little bit of an income from part-time work. I knew that if I cut back on other frivolous expenses, I could make this trip work.. Especially if I did it on the cheap. Cheap hostels & trains & buses are all over Europe. $420 would be by far the biggest expense, but after that, I could do it very affordably.

Was it the most financially responsible decision I’ve ever made? Definitely not.

Did it end up being completely fine? Definitely.

Preparing For the Solo Trip

I spent a LOT of time on Google Flights, Hostel World & Get your Guide.

I started with booking a round trip to London for about $400.

Then, I booked at $50 connecting flight to Amsterdam where I would plan to spend 3 full days.

My trip was a total of 14 days, including travel days. I decided to spent 4 days in Belgium since it’s right next to the Netherlands. Buses and trains to & within Belgium are VERY affordable (I don’t think I spent more than 15 euros per ticket).

After Belgium, I decided to let fate decide. I looked for cheap flights from Brussels & chose a $30 flight to Krakow, Poland. I figured it would be a great choice since I wanted to learn more about communism, tour Auschwitz-Birkenau, & plus it’s cheap- I booked a hostel for less than $9/night (which included 2 meals!).

From Krakow, it was a whopping $17 to fly back to London, where I would spend 1 night before I return home.

I booked cheap hostels & planned to use public transportation as much as possible. Just because I had very little money to spend, doesn’t mean I can’t still enjoy Europe!

Once the trip was planned, all I could do is wait and worry. I did a lot of the latter.

The closer I got to the trip, the more I packed, planned & panicked. I had been to Europe twice before, but this is the first time I was going alone. I was scared of telling people because I was embarrassed and didn’t want everyone to worry about me. Ironically, nobody was more worried than me. I was scared about the possibility to having something happening to me or losing something.

Regardless, the day after Thanksgiving came… which means it was time to go.

Arriving in Amsterdam

1 nine hour flight + 1 four hour layover + 1 more one hour flight = BACK IN AMSTERDAM!!!

M time in Amsterdam was spent exactly how I wanted: by getting up early to walk the canals, eating street food at Albert Cuyp (I just love stroopwaffels & poffertjes), and seeing/doing all the things I couldn’t quite fit into my last trip (it was 1 whole day so… I missed out on a lot).

Some highlights: The Heineken experience- and I don’t even like beer, Bloemenmarkt, Rembrandt Square, a walk through Vondelpark & Albert Cuyp to name a few. I also repeated some things: Anne Frank Haus, breakfast at The Pancake Bakery, & a canal boat tour (doing this in winter added a very different vibe!).

My Solo Breakthrough

On my last night in Amsterdam, I decided to face a fear: ice skate.

In the spirit of the holiday season, there was a seasonal ice rink outside of the Rijksmuseum. I was pretty scared of skating because of a bad experience about 10 years prior (I fell.. it probably wasn’t that big of a deal, but I managed to make it one). I could have easily talked myself out of doing it because of my fear, but I told myself “you’ve already made it to Amsterdam.. go skating!!!” And so, I did.

No, I didn’t fall! But it wasn’t easy- especially since all the locals really seemed like they knew what they were doing. Once I was brave enough to not hang out on the ledge, I felt a moment of freedom.. of empowerment… I was facing my fears and it was so much more than ok!! I was OVER THE MOON! And it wasn’t just about skating… I was in Amsterdam by myself, and I was having the time of my life.

After skating, I remember walking the canals with tears in my eyes. I was so happy. So proud of myself. So present… Probably the most empowered I had ever felt at that point. I did something I wanted to do on my own. And now I had 2 huge thoughts on my mind: 1. I really never needed anyone & 2. What else can I do?

City Hopping in Belgium

Those 3 days in Amsterdam were beyond my wildest dreams. Best yet, the solo journey was just getting started!

I hopped on a bus to Ghent, Belgium & all I can really say about Ghent is that it’s the CUTEST and most charming little town I’ve ever visited. It’s a perfect day trip as it’s not very big. Best yet, since it was the holidays, there was a Christmas market! Amsterdam surprisingly didn’t have one, but all the major areas of Belgium did! By the way, if you weren’t sure how to pronounce Ghent, the ‘G’ is silent.

Ghent -> Bruges

Bruges is easily my favorite city in Belgium! People often compare it to Amsterdam, and I can see it.. It’s definitely similar, but has a little more of a medical feel. I didn’t get super lucky with the weather- it was pretty rainy for most of the time, but I think it added to the moody vibe.

I had AMAZING chocolate at Dumon Chocolatier. It’s so good, I still think about ordering some & having it shipped… once day I’ll justify spending 100+ euros on chocolate. Haven’t quite gotten to that point yet.

I remember loving the Christmas market at Bruges. I honestly can’t remember much else I did there (the downside of reciting this trip 6 years later), but I do remember loving Bruges. If I were to return to Belgium, it would be where I would base myself!

Bruges -> Brussels

Bruges & Brussels are very different: Bruges is in the Dutch region of Belgium, whereas Brussels is in the French-speaking part. The difference in architecture is very telling! Bruges reminded me more of Amsterdam. Brussels reminds me more of Paris. Honestly, I remember Brussels being a little dirty. That didn’t take away from the experience.

My favorite part of Brussels was the food: the fries & the waffles are to die for!

I also spent a LOT of time at their Christmas market. It was so big, there were rides & everything!

Another highlight was a holiday light show at the famous Grand Place. That was incredible!

Southern Belgium & Luxembourg

My last full day in Belgium was spent on an organized tour through the south of Belgium & Luxembourg.

Dinant, Belgium is a very underrated town! It’s STUNNING & nobody really talks about it. Even on a rainy day, it was gorgeous. I would love to go back in the summer to see it in the sun.

Luxembourg was also a little disappointing just because of the weather. I don’t even have good photos. Luxembourg is its own country & it’s quite expensive to live/visit there because of its prominent financial center. There’s 3 official languages Luxembourgish, French & German). Part of me wants to revisit in nicer weather, but the other part of me doesn’t think it would blow me away if I did.

Overall thoughts about Belgium: There’s a lot of range! The Dutch & French sides offer very different experiences! Belgium has a lot of charm, some decent food, and is easy to travel around, but it’s not my favorite European country. I would consider revisiting, but it’s not at the top of my list. Still, it’s an honor to call Belgium my 15th country, and I found it very safe and easy to travel solo.

The Solo Trip Continues: A Beautiful Discovery in Krakow, Poland

Krakow is so much quieter than much of Western Europe. It’s very laid back and being there felt like a sigh of relief after traveling through busier Amsterdam & Belgium.

From a tourist perspective, a not-so-fun but still important highlight was touring Auschwitz-Birkenau. It’s absolutely horrific. But still very significant & I am very happy I visited. I think everyone should visit a concentration camp at least once.

The main highlight of Krakow was staying at Greg & Tom Beer House Hostel. Perfect location, Less than $10/night (& that INCLUDES free breakfast, dinner AND beer), & full of amazing backpackers who really expanded my worldview. Many of them were traveling for a year. A few weren’t sure where they would go next. All of them had such cool stories! The big takeaway: most of them were also traveling solo! It really opened my eyes to just how NORMAL solo travel really is.

It made me want so much more of it. Suddenly all I could think about was traveling indefinitely… or at least for a year..

One Last Quick Stop in London

After a bittersweet goodbye to the people in Krakow, I had one more night to spend in London before my flight home (a flight I did NOT want to board).

Because it was the middle of December, the weather in London was pretty awful. Rained the whole day. I’m from the PNW so this isn’t unfamiliar, but that doesn’t mean I prefer it.

Still, I made the most of the day. I went to Piccadilly Circus, The Tower Bridge & tried to explore more random neighborhoods. You can’t possibly fit everything London has to offer in a single day, but I did what I could.

Flying home was the last thing I wanted to do. But alas, I really didn’t have much more money left.

What My First Solo Trip Means to Me Now

This trip showed me that travel is POSSIBLE. With or without anyone. It was one of the most empowering moments of my life to date. I had this crazy idea to go to Europe by myself… and I did it… and it was amazing. I never hesitate to travel alone now. In fact, most of my international travels are solo. What started as my only option is now my preference. I love solo travel and I still get that sense of empowerment. It still ignites a fire within. Travel is still my personal legend. This trip gave me the courage to pursue it.