If you’re looking to do some solo-travelling this summer, look no further for helpful tips & resources. We had a chat with Alma Asinobi, a 25 year old seasoned traveller and travel content creator, looking to visit all 195 countries of the world. In this interview, Alma shared her favourite and least favourite things about solo-travelling, what you need to take along on a solo-trip and why you need to book that vacation right now.
Hey Alma! Please Introduce Yourself
Hi 21! I’m Alma. I’m a travel content creator and founder of Kajiego – a travel company that makes travel easier and accessible to weak passport holders.
What Ignited Your Passion for Travelling and travel content creation?
I’ve always been surrounded by books and stories that sparked my interest in seeing the world. I had a chance to take a weekend road trip with two of my friends in 2020. I remember sharing the entire experience on my instagram stories to my then 3,000+ instagram followers, and everyone was glued for the entire duration of the trip. I loved sharing my experiences and my community loved watching and getting inspired to take their own. I decided to make it a thing to share my daily travel experiences. Even now, my community has grown to over 120,000 followers across all social media platforms and I never miss it!
What are top 3 countries you’ve visited and top 3 on your wish-list?
Top 3 I’ve visited would be Lebanon, India and Jordan. Top 3 on my wish-list are Iceland, Brazil and Sri Lanka.
fancy! When was your first solo trip?
My first solo trip was to Senegal in November 2021. I didn’t have any worries booking the vacation and really was going with the flow. Looking back, what I should have worried about was my not-so-great French in a francophone country.
What are some essentials you *have* to take along With You on a solo trip?
3 things. A sim to make sure you’re connected. A tripod to take your own pictures and a fanny pack to keep everything of yours on you.
Definitely taking notes. What’s the best thing about going on a solo trip?
For me, i’ll say it’s the autonomy. I love to be able to make spontaneous decisions about where to go, when to go, what to eat – without having to check with anyone.
Are there any cons to solo travelling?
Well, women face more risks travelling solo. However, that hasn’t deterred me from going on solo trips. If we don’t do things because they are to risky for women, we’ll live our whole lives doing absolutely nothing.
Words to live by. Would you rather go on a solo trip, group travel or a baecation?
I love the solo trips, but baecation wins this one.
What difficulties have you encountered solo travelling as a young, nigerian woman?
The difficulties usually begin at home – my home airport in Lagos. I usually travel to unpopular countries, especially in the middle east, so I’m often held back at the airport for extra interrogation and searching. It’s embarrassing most times. I’ve had great experiences solo travelling in Africa, but one sour experience was on my first solo trip when I was harassed by a taxi driver in Dakar.
I had to catch a flight to Gambia and public transportation was closed that day – more like what we could call a strike in Nigeria. I needed to get to the airport, so I was stuck trying to figure out my transport situation. This taxi guy kept making references (in french) that we both go to his house till the situation got better. Eventually, I had to scream at him to stop and decided to go back to the hotel to pass another night in Dakar. On the way to the hotel, he started asking if I loved him and if I would have sex with him, explaining that it would only take 5 minutes. I realized that I could have just stopped the car and gotten down but the public transportation system was still closed and I would be stranded. I had to play dumb all the way to the hotel. I shared all about it on my youtube channel here.
Read: A Woman’s Guide to Solo Travel
We’re so sorry to hear that. being a tourist can be frightening
Yes. I once got scammed at the Senegal-Gambia border while exchanging money. I wanted to change my Senegalese francs to Gambian dalasis. It was late at night and I was in a hurry. By whatever magic, even though I was attentive the entire time, I ended up short of 2,000 dalasis. I eventually went back with the police and got my money back. Dark times.
Glad you did! Is there a best time of the year to take a solo-trip?
Girls, every time is a good time.
How can one get cheaper deals on solo trips?
Solo trips are typically more expensive. With a partner, you can split the hotel bills and taxi fares, but when you’re alone you’ll have to pay in full all by yourself. However, being solo gives you some options that would have otherwise been an inconvenience if there were more people. You can take the public transportation for instance. It all depends on how you choose to look at it.
That makes sense. If you could only ever travel to one more place in your life, where would it be and why?
Home. My hometown in Imo state. There are 195 countries in the world and any other decision apart from home would be a regrettable one. Shiny object syndrome be damned.
What’s your advice to any woman looking to solo-travel soon?
Do it. The sooner you do it, the sooner you realize more about yourself. Solo travel is like a muscle you build and it gets stronger every time you do it.
Share with us a random picture you took during a trip and give a little backstory!
Before I started travelling, I was not adventurous with food. Everywhere I went, I just ate rice, burgers and fries and called it a day. On this trip to Jordan, the hotel staff noticed that I always had rice, so they started to call me ‘rice girl’. On my last day in the hotel, I was trying to get a picture and one of them joined in because he wanted to take a picture with ‘rice girl’. The rest of the hotel staff joined in one by one, laughing, and before I knew it, my selfie turned to a group photo (LOL.) Precious moments.
