A female solo traveller has taken to TikTok to share three destinations she wouldn’t recommend to tourists heading off on their first trip alone.
And her suggestions might surprise you.
Courtney (@shetravelledtheworld) explains at the start of the video that she has been to 71 countries.
She reveals that although she loves the three places on the list with ‘all my heart’, she doesn’t consider them to be good choices for solo travel.
The Philippines
Courtney says that she considers the Philippines to be ‘the hardest Southeast Asian country to navigate’.
Whereas travellers usually follow a ‘particular route’ in other parts of the region, making it ‘easy to meet’ other people, she says people tend to start and end their travels in the Philippines in ‘very different places’.
She says that this means that if you ‘meet good people’, you ‘often don’t really get an opportunity to travel with them because everyone’s on a very different route’.
A female solo traveller has taken to TikTok to share three destinations she wouldn’t recommend to tourists heading off on their first trip alone
Courtney says that she considers the Philippines to be ‘the hardest Southeast Asian country to navigate’
Another reason Courtney doesn’t recommend the Philippines for first-time travel is because it’s ‘very expensive’ and prices tend to get ‘extortionate’ if you ‘leave your travel plans late’.
The traveller reveals this means that tourists in the Philippines aren’t usually able to be spontaneous when they plan their route.
Courtney adds that travel days in the Philippines tend to be ‘very long’ with a lot of logistics to sort out.
Despite these issues, Courtney adds that the Philippines is ‘worth the visit’ for its ‘natural beauty’.
South Korea
The traveller explains that she ‘loved’ South Korea, especially the culture, fashion and food.
However, she explains that a lot of people there ‘don’t speak English’ which makes the country ‘more difficult to navigate’.
She says: ‘I remember on my first day there I was trying to figure out the bus passes, I didn’t know who to ask, there wasn’t really anyone to ask.’
The traveller explains that she ‘loved’ South Korea, especially the culture, fashion and food. However, she explains that a lot of people there ‘don’t speak English’ which makes the country ‘more difficult to navigate’
Courtney explains that when it came to eating out in South Korea, all the food seemed to come as a ‘sharing portion’.
She explains: ‘I met this girl from the UK who was teaching in Korea and I feel like without her, I would have been so lost and confused.
‘But I was hanging out with her and her friends and we would order a dessert.’
Courtney says that even the dessert felt like it was a ‘lot of food’ for ‘one person’.
She adds that some Korean barbeque restaurants ‘won’t seat you if you’re alone’, explaining that it’s much more common to eat out as a group.
Costa Rica
The last destination that Courtney wouldn’t recommend for first-time solo travellers is Costa Rica.
She reveals: ‘Costa Rica was my first introduction to Latin America and I did a group trip.’
The last destination that Courtney wouldn’t recommend for first-time solo travellers is Costa Rica
Courtney explains that after the group trip ended, she spent about five days ‘doing my own thing’.
She reveals that she found the ‘logistics’ quite difficult and that the trip ‘ended up being quite expensive’.
The traveller reveals that a four-hour bus ended up costing her $70/£52, leaving her shocked at the price.
Courtney adds: ‘There definitely is a backpacking scene and I stayed in some cool hostels but I would say places like Mexico, Guatemala or even Belize, the backpacking scene just makes it so easy.’
She says that in those three countries, people tend to travel along a similar route, making it easier to ‘meet people and socialise’.
