See the sights and take pictures. Explore the culture of a new country by attending its festival, parade or other events. Take photography as your hobby. If you're looking for an excuse to stand on a river enjoying the sounds, smells and scenery of some of the most beautiful places, try fly fishing.
Fishing is a multigenerational activity perfect to enjoy with children, grandparents or whoever. With enough practice, you can even catch a coveted cutthroat trout. Are you looking for a bit of adrenaline to accompany your nature? Look for guided whitewater rafting trips around your destination, especially if you're going somewhere with mountainous terrain. Rafting will allow you to connect with the harder side of nature while enjoying the comfort of an experienced team and guide.
For a more physical and challenging outdoor experience, try your hand at rock climbing. It may feel like climbing in a gym, but the real reward is putting those skills to use outdoors. Many popular travel destinations have great climbs within a day trip distance. Choose from several tour options that can be purchased, as well as several companies that offer FREE walking tours (it is recommended to tip the guide after the tour ends).
Be sure to check the company's websites to see if you need to book a spot or if you can just show up. It's easy to fear a long stopover coming up, but in reality it's an often overlooked way to include some excitement during a long journey to your final destination. Depending on the route of your flight, your stopover airport can offer interesting tours of the nearest city (usually with a stopover of more than 4 hours). Or, if you have a 4-hour stopover anyway, why not do 10 and make sure you have enough time to visit more than one attraction? For a list of some ideas, check out our helpful blog post and our Pinterest board for airport stopovers.
We like to play games in our family. And that doesn't end when we go on vacation. Many of the popular travel destinations will have some types of games and other activities that you can do together. Things like the Laser Tag can be a lot of fun, and even make a GoKart race.
However, for us, minigolf is a staple in our holidays. It's something that all family members can do, whether it's Josh and I or if we also have other family members with us, young and old. Everyone seems to enjoy a good game of mini golf when they are on vacation. If you've been worried about what activities to do while traveling alone, I hope you've found some inspiration for the things to do on this list.
Take some time off social media (even if you keep your phone turned on, because it's safe) and instead engage in some of the other activities on this list to keep your brain busy. Since I'm not a driver (yes, I'm 26 years old and I can't drive, but I can't drive), cycling is one of my favorite activities to do while traveling alone. Being adventurous doesn't always have to be expensive, and these activities around the world are priceless, in more ways than one. Plus, you can combine it with just about any other outdoor activity to create a truly immersive experience.
Whitewater rafting is a popular activity among tourists in my home state of Idaho, although the first time I went rafting was in Austria. For more information on pre-planning a trip (that is, the planning you will undertake before deciding what activities to do and what attractions to visit), see my page on preparing a travel itinerary. Snake River offers an 8-mile whitewater rafting adventure, a perfect adventure activity to do during the summer in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. If you're near the water, you might see if there are some exciting activities you can do near the water, such as parasailing or renting jet skis or going on a sunset cruise.
One of the best travel tips I can give you for your first solo travel experience is to remember that just because you travel alone doesn't mean you're limited in the activities you can participate in. There are plenty of adventurous and budget-friendly activities around the world that are much better than resting in a luxury hotel. They will also be honest and criticize a restaurant, museum, or other tourist activity if they feel it's not worth it. Another option is to engage in conversation with a local during your sightseeing activities and then offer them a meal in exchange for a deeper conversation.
Segway tours are a great activity option for adults of all ages and older teens (see minimum age requirements) and there are usually options to go downtown or to the neighborhood. . .
