I’m a solo female traveler who went backpacking through Asia and Europe – these are the biggest mistakes I’ve made

A solo traveler has revealed the six biggest mistakes she made while backpacking through Southeast Asia and Europe.

TikToker Rory Hollier shared her do’s and don’ts on booking hotels, spending money and which hostels to avoid, in the video that was viewed by 155,000 people.

She regularly makes videos sharing useful tips and tricks for solo travelers like herself.

In a video from July, she gave her best advice for those planning to go backpacking.

She told viewers: ‘I spent six months traveling solo around South East Asia and Europe on a budget this year and these are the biggest mistakes I made’ – read on for the full list of travel influencer recommendations.

Staying in a Mad Monkey hostel in Southeast Asia

Rory revealed that the first mistake she made was wanting to stay in a Mad Monkey Hostel.

She said, “Mad Monkey Hostels in Southeast Asia,” shaking her head.

The TikToker warned of ‘big mistake, don’t go there. “I’m not in favor of party hostels, I love party hostels, but they’re disgusting and I don’t support them.”

Mad Monkey is one of the largest hostel companies in Asia, welcoming more than 350,000 customers per year in Cambodia, the Philippines, Thailand, Australia, Indonesia and Laos.

Some commenters agreed, with one writing: “Don’t tell me twice about the crazy monkey.”

However, others argued that they had a positive experience, adding: ‘What do you think of Mad Monkey? I stayed at 3 in Cambodia and 2 in Vietnam, found them all very good’.

Another shouted: ‘Oh damn. I went to Mad Monkey in Cambodia 7 years ago and it was amazing.’

Mad Monkey Hostels has been contacted for comment.

Book flights to the Philippines ‘too far in advance’

Her next regret was booking her flights to the Philippines too far in advance.

She explained: ‘I booked my flights to the Philippines a month early because it was cheaper to do it in advance.

‘Then I got there and I liked it so much that I canceled the flights and booked new ones – I lost like a ton doing that.’

Packaging too light

When backpacking, bringing too much stuff and overpacking can be a big problem, especially for first-time travelers.

However, the travel fanatic had the opposite problem: she packed ‘way too light’.

Rory said: ‘My backpack is 40 litres, which is the same as hand luggage, and I thought it was smart to go under seven kilos, like hand luggage, but no one weighed my hand luggage.

‘I got through it every time, I didn’t bring my Go Pro or my film camera. I barely brought any clothes with me, it was just a nightmare, I was throwing away rubbish all the time.

“I should have just bought a new backpack, but it is what it is.”

Budget too heavy

Again, spending too much money is the most common problem among travelers, but Rory admitted it’s also important not to spend too little and miss out.

She told viewers: ‘For the first three months I used the Travel Spend app and tracked every single expense.

“Like if I bought a bottle of water at a 7Eleven for ten bucks, it went into my travel app and it just made me miserable.

‘Give yourself some leniency, there will be days when you don’t spend much money and you will have very expensive days.

“But in Asia I was on like $50 a day and that was it. I didn’t spend any more money that day and in Europe it was $100.’

The influence continued: “I just missed the things I went there for.

“Just like I went to Cappadocia, I spent hundreds of dollars on accommodation and transportation and everything to get there, and I didn’t get on the hot air balloon, which is the whole reason to go to Cappadocia.

‘But I thought: oh, I spent so much money, stupid. Don’t make so much money that you miss out on experiences and don’t make so much money that you constantly think: oh no, I can’t do this, I can’t do this and I’m worried about it, that’s probably fine.

‘It will work. Worst case scenario, you run out of money and the Australian embassy or the US embassy has to fly you home, and then you’re in debt to them.”

Staying in hotels too often

She then concluded that she “loves hostels” but was “so tired” after six months of travel:

‘I think I’ve stayed exclusively in hotels for the past month and that’s so much money that could be in my pocket if I just stuck it out and went to the backpackers.

‘It’s very nice to have time for yourself, but it becomes so addictive, especially when your social battery is running low. Just hang in there, it’s not that bad.

‘Eventually in the hostel you meet that person who revives your social battery, if you know what I mean.’

One commenter said: ‘Private rooms in hostels, perfect compromise between hotel and dorm life. You can always split with a friend.

Another agreed: ‘Get private rooms in hostels for alone time!! They are usually cheaper than a real hotel.’

Book in advance in Europe

Finally, her biggest point that she says “every backpacker needs to hear” is that you need to book things in Europe far in advance.

She revealed: ‘I had a one-way flight, I hadn’t booked anything, I didn’t even know I was going to Europe.

‘I went to South East Asia thinking I would do South East Asia for the rest of the year and then I ended up in the Balkans.

‘The Balkans were very easy to do day to day, but the hostels in Western Europe were so expensive. I spent like $100 a night in Florence, it was ridiculous.”

The travel professional admitted: ‘For my birthday I really wanted to go to Switzerland or the Dolomites and that wasn’t possible because you have to book those things very far in advance.

‘It’s not something you just walk into, people have been looking at hotels in the Dolomites for years before they leave.’

She concluded that for her next trip, she would go through all her options in the planning process for everything she wants to do, adding that she still wants to “go with the flow day by day, light-hearted fairy,” but sometimes ” you do that too’. need a real plan, especially if you’re trying to work on a budget.

Rory said: ‘I could have gone to Switzerland or the Dolomites but it would have cost me around $350 a night just for myself, when it would have been so much cheaper if I had booked it years earlier.’

Viewers flocked to the comments to share their own experiences, with one traveler writing: ‘I agree with everything you say except the crazy monkey. Everyone needs to experience getting mad at the monkeys, good or bad lol’.

Someone else praised the TikToker, adding: ‘Good advice Rory, I didn’t do the balloon ride 25 years ago, also my only travel regret, but I did this year, you have to go back.’

Another wrote: ‘Don’t spend so much money that you miss out, that’s excellent advice – from someone who has been to 32 countries.’