The feeling no one talks about before booking
You've planned the itinerary, booked the train tickets, maybe even told everyone how excited you are. And then somewhere between a solo dinner in an unfamiliar town and scrolling through your camera roll alone, a quiet loneliness settles in.
It happens to even the most enthusiastic solo travellers, and therapists say the first step isn't to push the feeling away — it's to actually make room for it. "Just like you're choosing to travel to experience new things, give yourself permission to feel different things throughout your journey," says Samantha Bender, a therapist at Octave in Texas. The loneliness, she suggests, is often where the real self-exploration begins.
But sitting with discomfort is only part of the answer. There are genuinely practical things you can do, before and during your trip, to keep loneliness from swallowing the whole experience.
Small rituals that make a big difference
One of the simplest and most underrated tools is writing. Bender recommends sending a postcard — to a friend, a family member, or even to yourself — so there's something waiting when you get home. It sounds old-fashioned, but the act of writing keeps you present and tethered to the people you care about, even across distance. For India-based travellers, a postcard from Pondicherry's French Quarter or a hill station market feels especially personal.
Beyond postcards, preparing a small loneliness toolkit before you leave helps enormously. Think: journaling prompts, a playlist that reliably lifts your mood, or a travel notebook where you tuck in ticket stubs and pressed flowers. Therapist Colleen Marshall also suggests planning how you'll share your experiences ahead of time — scheduling a video call during a meal or ending each day with a voice note to a close friend. "When we share something we are savouring with others, it increases our experience of happiness," she explains.
When loneliness does hit mid-trip, check your energy levels before deciding how to respond. If you have bandwidth, a cooking class or a guided walk puts you in a room with strangers who already share an interest. If you're exhausted from a long journey, people-watching at a chai stall or a busy market is enough — it connects you to the rhythm of a place without demanding anything from you.
Why this matters for a solo travel audience in India
India is a particularly layered place to travel alone. On one hand, you're rarely truly isolated — chai wallahs chat, fellow train passengers share tiffins, guesthouse owners ask about your day. The country's texture almost forces a kind of accidental connection. On the other hand, travelling solo as a woman, or as someone without a large social network in a new city, can bring its own specific brand of loneliness that's worth acknowledging honestly.
The tips here translate well to the Indian context. Airbnb Experiences now exist across cities like Jaipur, Goa and Coorg, hosted by locals who run anything from heritage walks to pottery sessions — a natural way to meet fellow solo travellers. Coworking spaces have exploded across Bengaluru, Goa and even smaller towns like Varkala and McLeod Ganj, making the "co-work in a new place" approach very achievable. Volunteering, too, has a strong culture in India through organisations working in conservation, education and community tourism — a meaningful way to be part of something bigger for even a day or two.
And for those who worry that big cities like Mumbai or Delhi are the obvious choice for solo socialising — experienced solo travellers actually find the opposite. Quieter, offbeat destinations tend to draw more independent travellers open to conversation, and locals in smaller towns are often far more likely to pull up a chair and talk.
Before you go: one question worth asking yourself
Bender's starting point for any solo trip is deceptively simple: ask yourself what you actually want from this experience. Are you chasing solitude and independence? Are you hoping to meet people? Or is it genuinely both, depending on the day?
There's no wrong answer, and the answer shapes everything — whether you book a private room or a dorm bed, whether you join a group tour or wander alone, whether you plan a video call every evening or go offline entirely. Solo travel in India, at its best, is not about being alone. It's about being on your own terms.