After years of a chronic fear of flying, I’ve always envied people who had the ability to travel the world, care-free – hopping onto planes and jumping from hostel to hostel without the constant fear of ‘oh god I will die on this plane and if I don’t, I’ll definitely get murdered or Bridget-Jones-style imprisoned somehow despite not committing any crimes!’…
When L moved to Oz, I decided it was high-time to pay my brother a visit on the way, and tick off one major travel destination on my list: Bali!
Ticking off visiting the huts at St Kilda!
I wrote all about the amazing experience I had in Singapore, Bali and Australia respectively, and that trip without doubt marked the beginning of my love affair with travel; I knew from there on in that the scary flights and the anxiety beforehand were nothing in comparison to the experiences that travelling would bring me.
The view from Marina Bay Sands – looking down on to the Gardens By The Bay!
The biggest tip I can offer you for a big trip where you have to fly solo, is getting organised. I did my research across various forums and checked what Visas I needed, as well as any other important documentation – for example in Singapore I needed to show the address of where I was set to stay, and the details of my flight out of Singapore to prove that I was leaving.
Here I am running on about 3 hours sleep, exhausted from exploring Singapore, adrenaline come down from 2 x long-haul solo flights… I think it’s the happiest I’ve ever been.
I ran print outs of everything, created a separate email folder with all my confirmation of via purchases, hotel stays, and so forth, so that if by some disaster I lost the folder with my print outs, in-order of when I’d need them for the travels, I’d have my back-up ready to hand.
So, last year covered the fear of flying; there’s nothing like a series of long-haul flights, and an absolute shit-show of a 2 hour flight with the delightful Air Asia to help you find that actually, a couple of hours into Europe is actually nothing to be too scared of.
Monkey magic in Ubud! An incredible experience.
This year, I wanted to push myself a little further. I’d been arbitrarily looking at adventure holidays. I kayaked years ago and always liked the idea of getting back into it. I stumbled up on Much Better Adventures, which seemed considerably more reasonable than some of its competitors and saw an advert for kayaking in Sardinia. I remembered Sardinia from a holiday there as a child – it was beautiful; crystal clear water and sandy white beaches.
On a whim, I booked it.
I’m so glad I did. The tours by Much Better Adventures are really well run, I was picked up from the airport by our group leader, and two other people were also collected. We then headed into Alghero for a quick bite to eat, and were shortly dropped off at where we were staying. Unfortunately there was a bit of a mix-up with my room, so I ended up staying in a different farmhouse to the rest of the group. This was OK in theory, but probably could have been handled better.
Although this guy was my roomie, so I guess it wasn’t all bad!
The trip itself was amazing! The first day was pure relaxation, and getting to know the other members of the trip around the pool and over a drink or two. Then, dinner was served up in true Italian style – all seated around one big table with various wine decanters dotted around. Staying on what’s known as an ‘agriturismo’ – i.e., somewhere agricultural that takes visitors was amazing; especially as the home cooked food all came from the farm. You haven’t had pasta until you’ve had home-made Italian pasta!
The first day was a pretty chilled affair when it came to the kayaking – we headed to a beach not so far away and stopped to swim, eat lunch and grab an ice cream. The beautiful thing about Sardinia? It’s seemingly unspoiled by tourists. Considering this was July – the beaches were near enough empty.
Then, the next day we upped the ante and undertook a more challenging route. I really struggled in all honesty – my upper body strength is awful! We kayaked for a good hour plus, coming to a stop at this beautifully remote spot for snorkelling and lunch – it was B-E-A-Utiful! Both underwater and on the land, this spot was incredible.
The way back was tough – we hit quite a hard headwind, luckily the guys were super helpful and I got a tow at one point which helped matters considerably for me! We also got taken to the local beach bar, which was an amazingly authentic taste of Sardinian life; live music, cheap beer, and stunning scenery!
I’d head back to beautiful Sardinia in a heartbeat, and I’d definitely do another solo trip. Although it seems scary, just remember that everyone else there is in the same boat (no pun intended) – and you all have this one huge thing in common – that you’re coming on a solo trip together, which gives you tonnes to talk about!
I’d really recommend Much Better Adventures, they have some UK-based trips as well which would be perfect if you’re anxious about travelling abroad. Everyone at Much Better Adventures was super helpful with all my questions and queries.
Believe me when I say, if I can overcome the anxiety that flying alone, and that subsequently travelling alone brings with it, so can YOU!
Stay organised, stay safe, and think about how proud of yourself you’ll be when you complete adventures you will think about for years and years to come!
Oh I’ve always wanted to go to Sardinia!! Your photos are absolutely beautiful.
I’ve always loved the idea of a solo trip but I never did it. I think I was always worried I would just end up sitting in my room alone and not actually doing anything, but I think it’s something I’d like to do, maybe just a couple of nights somewhere. I’m so proud of you for booking your kayaking adventure, I love kayaking! It sounds like you had an amazing time, with the cutest roommate!
You’re so right, I think the experiences you can get from traveling make it so worth it.
Love you ✈️🌍
Hels xx
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Ooooh you should SO go – Dougie would absolutely love it! I know what you mean, I think I was scared I’d end up in a similar situation but I think that’s why the kayaking was so good as it meant that there was something to be done and you had to see people, plus it gave everyone something to talk about! Kayaking is awesome we should definitely go soon!
Kate x
You’re photos are absolutely stunning! So glad you got over that fear and you’re travelling solo! I’ve always wanted to travel solo or at least think I would but I just never got around to doing it and now it just won’t feel right travelling without James!
Jessica & James | http://www.foodandbaker.co.uk / http://www.foodandbakertravels.co.uk
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Aww thank you so much! I love reading about where you and James went, I think it would feel strange reading about your travels without him, ha!
Kate x
I’m petrified of flying, although I’ve been trying to push myself a bit so that I don’t miss out. I’m not sure I’d be ready to do an overseas adventure on my own, but I’m definitely going to check out the UK options! Sardinia looks incredible from your photos, and I’m so glad you had such a good time! Kayaking is hard work but so fun, I’d love to do something like this!
Beth x Adventure & Anxiety
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Fear of flying is actually really tough! It’s so hard when you want to travel but you have something that difficult to overcome! It’s so great to hear you’ve been pushing yourself a little bit! Sardinia is absolutely wonderful (and its a really quick flight, too!). Much Better Adventures is definitely worth checking out, I’m really keen to do some of their UK-based adventures and they seem very reasonably priced!
Kate x
How amazing are all of your photos, Kate?! You have definitely sold Sardinia to me, especially with the mention of tourist free beaches and cheap places to get good food and drink – get me on the next flight! The kayaking holiday sounds wonderful and a great way to have an adventure with a bunch of new people! I will definitely be checking out Much Better Adventures when I next look at holidays!
Also, I’m so proud of you for battling through your fear of flying and doing it solo – you are amazing! Getting organised and having all of your documents to hand sounds like a great way to direct your pre-flight anxiety into something productive! I do similar things by printing out my documents and having them in an envelope ready to go, it takes such as weight off my mind before every trip and I haven’t forgotten anything yet!
Great post as always!
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Aw Abbey thank you so much for your lovely, lovely comment! I would recommend Sardinia to absolutely anyone, as I would Much Better Adventures, too!
It’s so true about organising helping to allieve anxiety, it makes such a difference doesn’t it!
Kate x
I’ve always thought kayaking sounds so much fun, hopefully I will try it out sometime! Your photos are fab and Sardinia looks so beautiful, I’d love to go sometime! I love the matching colours of the umbrellas and deck chairs. Huge well done for doing your solo trip! It sounds like you got really organised with your documents which is great, I’ll definitely be taking a leaf out of your book!
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It is SO much fun! You should definitely check it out, there’s loads of places that do it. The etching umbrellas and deck chairs are so cute aren’t they – they make me think of ice lollies which is pretty fitting for such a stunning location!
Kate x
Go you! I want to travel! These pics are beautiful! And can I just say I love your organization. You sound like me, with your print outs and folders! Thank you for sharing!💕