For many, traveling is a dream often delayed by fear. What if it goes wrong? What if…?

In this blog, I’ll share the mistakes I made during my first independent travel. The reality is: things will go wrong. Mistakes are an inevitable part of the journey—no traveler can escape them.

As someone who is impulsive and rarely does thorough research before booking trips, I’ve learned to embrace unpredictability. Overthinking isn’t something I do while booking a trip. Once I make a decision, I stand firmly behind it. I believe I need to create my own experiences, and letting scary possibilities I read online influence me isn’t helpful. Challenges will come, but if you’re capable of getting on that plane, you’re more than capable of handling the unexpected twists that come your way.

I’ve made plenty of mistakes—some that cost me money, time, and a whole lot of stress. There were moments when I felt hopeless and overwhelmed. But over time, I’ve realized those feelings are always temporary. Being gentle with myself in those situations has become key. Every failure is part of the process. Accept it, learn from it, and move on. Next time, you’ll handle it better.

As my dad would say: “It’s teaching money.”

My First Real Solo Trip

At 19, I decided to take my first solo flight. The destination? Copenhagen.

It wasn’t my first trip alone—I’d taken trains to nearby places before and stayed in hotels—but those trips felt more like holidays. This time, I booked a bed in a female dorm at a hostel, sharing a room with complete strangers. I navigated the city using public transport and tried to embrace the “real” travel experience.

The arrival at the hostel was a really overwhelming moment. I barely slept the night before, and the girl in the bunk beneath me literally lived in the hostel, as she was a foreigner working in the city. From my perspective, I would say she was just different, and it made me feel a little uncomfortable. But after getting some sleep, I started to feel better.

The next morning, I met another girl that stayed in my dorm. We decided we could explore the city together that day, which was really nice. Later, during breakfast, another girl joined us. The three of us walked a lot through the city and visited some nice places. One of these girls shared the idea of collecting badges from every place she visited while we were in a shop. She inspired me with a tradition I still follow today—my travel bag is covered in badges instead of unnecessary souvenirs.

But here’s the twist: Copenhagen wasn’t even my original plan.

I was supposed to go to Edinburgh. Four days before departure, I discovered I needed a passport, which I didn’t have at the time. Panicked, I quickly organized a last-minute change to Copenhagen. Thankfully, it didn’t cost too much extra.

Copenhagen taught me a lot. For one, I assumed that because the hostel was cheap, the rest of the country would be affordable too. Spoiler: it wasn’t. I visited The National Gallery, Tivoli Gardens, and even a simple dinner felt like it cost twice as much as in the Netherlands. By the end of the trip, I had drained most of my savings.

I also had this naïve hope of seeing mountains, only to find out Denmark is even flatter than the Netherlands. It was a bit of a bummer, but I realized I should choose destinations further away next time.

Did I learn to do better research before trips? Not really. These days, my “research” is mostly limited to scrolling through TikTok for nature inspiration.

But beside these mistakes, I gained so much more. At 19, for the first time in my life, I spent days speaking English to people I had just met. Imagine how that feels. It gave me a confidence boost I didn’t know I needed and made me realize how independent I truly was.

The day before my departure, I received an email from the airline. My flight home was canceled, and I immediately called my mom. I felt slightly uneasy, telling her I’d just take the train home if I had to. Shortly after, I found out the airline would provide me with a solution. I could easily change the flight to a more convenient time—for free.

These mistakes happened simply because I didn’t know better. But over time, you learn, you figure things out, and your ability to handle unexpected situations becomes second nature. These days, I don’t stress over things out of my control—whether it’s a delay, a cancellation, or another unforeseen situation.

Lessons Learned

The truth is, no matter how much you plan, mistakes will happen. Traveling isn’t about being perfect—it’s about constantly adjusting to new places, people, and cultures, and learning to handle the imperfections along the way.

Don’t let the fear of mistakes stop you, because these are lessons you can’t learn inside your comfort zone. Later, when you reflect on these experiences, you’ll realize you’re capable of so much more than you thought—and that feeling will stay with you for life.