traveling solo at 64: how do you really stay safe?
Last time I talked to my aunt, she told me she still dreams of wandering through Europe and maybe even Thailand, but she’s honestly scared to go alone. I totally get it—she got separated from her group in Florence a few years back, and it was a nightmare. She couldn’t get her Google Maps to work, didn’t know how to use Google Translate, and even when she found wifi, she worried her friends wouldn’t see her messages for hours. None of them had an international phone plan, so they were basically invisible to each other. She speaks almost no Italian, and the whole thing just left her feeling helpless and anxious.
I want her to feel confident enough to travel solo, but I’m not sure what would actually help. I’ve seen all these fancy travel gadgets online—personal GPS trackers, emergency beacons, translation devices—but do any of them really work when you’re in a foreign country and your phone has no service? And honestly, do any of us really want to carry around a bunch of tech we barely know how to use? I’m torn between wanting her to be adventurous and worrying she’ll end up lost and stressed again. Has anyone found a product or trick that actually makes solo travel less nerve-wracking for someone our age? I’d love to hear what’s actually worked for real people, not just what the ads say.
#solotravel #over60 #travelgadgets #Travel
