Traveling alone as an adult who has ADHD can be quite challenging. The action of traveling to some place new alone takes a lot of efforts. Even though traveling could be very beneficial for you, for adults with ADHD, it a lot of attention to detail that can even escape neurotypicals. It will require some lists but it’s all simple and doable, it can be broke down into five points.
Here are the only things you need to know for solo traveling adults with ADHD
- Before Leaving
Adulting can be tricky for someone who has ADHD. This is the most important thing to pay attention to. First thing first because before you’re able to fully relax, you need to check all the responsibilities you need to get done at home. For example, paying the electricity bills, or phone bills.
Before leaving, make a to do list of the things you need to get done. Traveling ADHD friendly means that you gonna have to make lists. The extra day spent in preparation will make your holidat more at ease.
2. Making a Packing List and Checking Twice
It is undeniable the fact that packing can be a little difficult for some of adults with ADHD, from the lack of motivation to task paralysis; a list would do you a huge favor. Just like climbing up the ladder, a step by step method would help you a lot.
Make a packing list start from everything you use daily to the things you want to bring. Pack it and check twice and feel free to add and remove along with packing. Make sure to recheck everything
P.S. Don’t forget to bring something you can fidget with and water bottle (keeping yourself dehydrated is often being taken for granted, but it is necessary to grasp your focus more.)
3. Booking Info
Preparing all the Booking info so it would be easier when you need it later. Informing your Arrival to the hotel you’re going to stay in is necessary to make sure, especially when you need early check up.
4. Research of the Sites to Visit
From traditional cuisine you want to taste, famous beautiful spots, to nightlife, you can find almost everything on the internet. Make a list about the places you want to visit.
Personally, I would also research further about how to get to the sites from the hotel I’m going to stay in. It would give me a glimpse of how it would going to be like and what transportation I can take.
5. Meeting New Friends
Meeting strangers requires your full caution and you need to always be careful who you trust. Always mind your belongings and always be aware with your surrounding, especially when you’re traveling alone. As an adult with ADHD, I can relate to have the lack of focus even on safety. One of the bad habits most people with ADHD adopt is taking unnecessarily risks simply because they don’t want to be troubled with the things they hardly pay attention to.
This is why I joined an application called Couchsurfing, you can see people’s reviews and find both locals and travelers. There are a lot of features that can help a solo traveler find people to hang out with and much safe since you get to see what most people say about the person you are about to meet. They also have a feature where you can hang out with people who are available at that time, and also see who are traveling at the same date with you to the same country/city you’re about to visit. There are local communities and events you can join to mingle and make new friends.