Solo International Travel .... Advice Needed

stargirl69

I am off on my six month trip to Canada in two weeks.

I have never travelled internationally on my own.The actual flight doesn't worry me but I have to make 3 transfers in 3 airports and the thought of doing it on my own is really starting to freak me out.

Has anyone,especially women,travelled alone internationally with multiple transfers.How did you find it,any good tips .... please for the sake of my already frayed nerves no scare monger stories .... please

pearljgirl2010

What airports will you be transferring in and how much time do you have for each layover?

stargirl69

pearljgirl2010 wrote:

What airports will you be transferring in and how much time do you have for each layover?

Edinburgh-London Heathrow-Vancouver-Comox

3 hours in Edinburgh,2.1/2 in Heathrow,1.50 in Vancouver .... I hate Heathrow ... scary place and don't know what to expect once in Canada.
I take it those are enough times as they are what the airline arranged when I booked the whole journey.

I had a terrible experience in SeaTac (Seattle) a number of years ago,when I was held in customs as my friend I was travelling with got scared and told customs she was only in Seattle to go to Canada? :(
I was asked why I was going to Canada?I said I wasn't (neither of us were going to Canada) but as our stories didn't match we were interviewed seperately for 3 hours.We eventually got our passport stamped and gained entry but it was a hairy scary experience.
I know that won't happen when I'm on my own .... but the experience has probably given me a hyperaware sense of what can go wrong.

I just need some reassurance :oops:

joewalshdc

stargirl69 wrote:

pearljgirl2010 wrote:

What airports will you be transferring in and how much time do you have for each layover?

Edinburgh-London Heathrow-Vancouver-Comox

3 hours in Edinburgh,2.1/2 in Heathrow,1.50 in Vancouver .... I hate Heathrow ... scary place and don't know what to expect once in Canada.
I take it those are enough times as they are what the airline arranged when I booked the whole journey.

I had a terrible experience in SeaTac (Seattle) a number of years ago,when I was held in customs as my friend I was travelling with got scared and told customs she was only in Seattle to go to Canada? :(
I was asked why I was going to Canada?I said I wasn't (neither of us were going to Canada) but as our stories didn't match we were interviewed seperately for 3 hours.We eventually got our passport stamped and gained entry but it was a hairy scary experience.
I know that won't happen when I'm on my own .... but the experience has probably given me a hyperaware sense of what can go wrong.

I just need some reassurance :oops:

Hey edinburgh is a great airport...quite small for an international. You will have no problems there.
Heathrow is a maze. Just take your time there and ask at Airport Information for where you need to be. The staff at Heathrow are well used to people being a bit scattered and wary of the place. Ive personally never had any trouble in either of these places...
To be honest, just dont stress....theres no reason to. My wife has travelled the world on her own. A lot of it is in your head. You'll be fine. Its not like your travelling through asian airports where language is a problem. All your destinations are well respected english speaking airports. Not a problem. Enjoy the local beers and love every second of your holiday.
Travel Safe.

stargirl69

joewalshdc wrote:

stargirl69 wrote:

pearljgirl2010 wrote:

What airports will you be transferring in and how much time do you have for each layover?

Edinburgh-London Heathrow-Vancouver-Comox

3 hours in Edinburgh,2.1/2 in Heathrow,1.50 in Vancouver .... I hate Heathrow ... scary place and don't know what to expect once in Canada.
I take it those are enough times as they are what the airline arranged when I booked the whole journey.

I had a terrible experience in SeaTac (Seattle) a number of years ago,when I was held in customs as my friend I was travelling with got scared and told customs she was only in Seattle to go to Canada? :(
I was asked why I was going to Canada?I said I wasn't (neither of us were going to Canada) but as our stories didn't match we were interviewed seperately for 3 hours.We eventually got our passport stamped and gained entry but it was a hairy scary experience.
I know that won't happen when I'm on my own .... but the experience has probably given me a hyperaware sense of what can go wrong.

I just need some reassurance :oops:

Hey edinburgh is a great airport...quite small for an international. You will have no problems there.
Heathrow is a maze. Just take your time there and ask at Airport Information for where you need to be. The staff at Heathrow are well used to people being a bit scattered and wary of the place. Ive personally never had any trouble in either of these places...
To be honest, just dont stress....theres no reason to. My wife has travelled the world on her own. A lot of it is in your head. You'll be fine. Its not like your travelling through asian airports where language is a problem. All your destinations are well respected english speaking airports. Not a problem. Enjoy the local beers and love every second of your holiday.
Travel Safe.

Thank you so much. I hadn't thought of some of those obvious positives. :oops:

mervin50

Travelling to Canada in November for 3 months? Burr might want to bring some warm clothes, November can be cold and parts of the west already have snow on the ground. Comox and the coast should be ok, but depending on what your plan is this website might help: http://www.theweathernetwork.com/ national weather forecasts and you also have some webcams to show what’s really happening.

If you’re planning on hitting the slopes then try this site for more details on snow conditions: http://www.addictedtopowder.com/ski_conditions/

Best of luck and enjoy your stay! Canada is a safe place to travel.

stargirl69

mervin50 wrote:

Travelling to Canada in November for 3 months? Burr might want to bring some warm clothes, November can be cold and parts of the west already have snow on the ground. Comox and the coast should be ok, but depending on what your plan is this website might help: http://www.theweathernetwork.com/ national weather forecasts and you also have some webcams to show what’s really happening.

If you’re planning on hitting the slopes then try this site for more details on snow conditions: http://www.addictedtopowder.com/ski_conditions/

Best of luck and enjoy your stay! Canada is a safe place to travel.

Hehehehe .... yeah I'm pretty prepared for the cold.Will be spending most of the 6 months on the Island,nesting with my boy .
Although we are travelling to Alberta for Christmas and New Year .... It's been snowing there already.

decides2dream

stargirl69 wrote:

I am off on my six month trip to Canada in two weeks.

I have never travelled internationally on my own.The actual flight doesn't worry me but I have to make 3 transfers in 3 airports and the thought of doing it on my own is really starting to freak me out.

Has anyone,especially women,travelled alone internationally with multiple transfers.How did you find it,any good tips .... please for the sake of my already frayed nerves no scare monger stories .... please

I've done so, solo, numerous times. Once, just like you, 2-3 transfers on my way from NY to prague. no worries. transfers are VERY easy, just follow the signs/gate #s and you will be a-ok. tis no more worrisome solo than with someone else. as i am usually the one to guide the way in any case, alone or with company....doesn't make much difference in that sense. any worries, just ask the crew for directions. most are extremely helpful in airports. as for any layover times...magazines, books and airport bars....that's what they're made for! enjoy your travels!

anotherclone

I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for, but a couple years ago, I flew from Portland Oregon to Buffalo NY. I had two transfers. The best thing I did was before I even left home, I went to each airport website and printed out a map of the airports internal layout. I could see where my airline was based out of...which section of the airport and what was nearby like restrooms and eating establishments. At one airport I had to shuttle from one end to the other and it was a pain in the ass, but knowing the layout of the airport and knowing the fact I had to do the shuttle before I even got there was somehow reassuring to me. I knew what to expect so I didn't get off the plane and feel instant panic.

vedder_soup

i have a love hate relationship with Heathrow.
i hate it, coz it is always a mess, delays, and it is crap
i love it, coz i love london, and the places that planes out of Heathrow took me

I can't comment on being a Female solo traveler, but i can comment from my experiences as a male solo traveler.
I prefer it, the freedom it gives you, and the places you can take yourself, and the people you meet. You have to put yourself out of your comfort zone a bit.

I am sure you will be fine in a place like western Canada though

Bump30

I agree with everyone. Heathrow sucks! Make sure you check for your flight as soon as you arrive...the board will tell you that it'll take x number of minutes to walk to your gate! So don't dilly dally.

Canada is beautiful and yes the rumours are correct. We're really very nice people! Bring warm clothes!!

dimitrispearljam

i never have problems with Heathrow.i always was in terminal 5..
safe travel..and wear pj shirts..it helps..people will talk to u and help u for sure

Ms. Haiku

stargirl69 wrote:

I am off on my six month trip to Canada in two weeks.

I have never travelled internationally on my own.The actual flight doesn't worry me but I have to make 3 transfers in 3 airports and the thought of doing it on my own is really starting to freak me out.

Has anyone,especially women,travelled alone internationally with multiple transfers.How did you find it,any good tips .... please for the sake of my already frayed nerves no scare monger stories .... please

For a PJ concert I travelled to St. John's Newfoundland alone from Maryland by way of Toronto. Just be prepared with your passport. I was able to exchange currency at the airport, and I think it's available in other places. It wasn't such a big deal, as I could understand the language.

polaris_x

you should have zero worries:

1. these are all "developed countries"
2. everyone speaks english (or at least in canada - it's technically english but depending on who's speaking it - it can sound foreign )

any issues you have will be related to general flying (weather delays, mechanical delays, etc..) - your london to vancouver leg will be a long flight tho ...

all the transfers seem pretty straight forward - you will have to clear customs in Canada but YVR is real easy airport with only 1 real terminal divided 2 or 3 times but it's all connected (so, no trains or shuttles to worry about) ... depending on who you are flying with - they will tell you likely that you will have to get your bags, clear customs and then check them in for your short flight to comox.

Anyhoo - Vancouver Island is nice ... hopefully, you'll still have a few nice days to make a trip to some of the gulf islands and the winters aren't as bad on the west coast as it is elsewhere ... although alberta will be cold come new years ...

stargirl69

Thank you so much everyone

Yeah I had gone on the Airport websites and that really helped,have printed out what I need.Will have books,magazines and Backspacer on the ipod .... so I'll be grand.

I can't wait to see Canada ... I know you are great people ... my delicious boy is one of them :oops:

The reassurance of your post has really helped .... I'll post when I have arrived to say "I've arrived"

catefrances

just make sure you walk as if you know where youre going. confidence is the key... even if youre faking it. :thumbup:

Lauri

I'm not quite sure what you are afraid of in terms of the airports. Getting lost? missing flights?

For that sort of stuff you just have to leave plenty of time and come prepared. It gets easier with practice. But being female shouldn't have any implications for traveling in airports, I've never felt afraid in an airport. Heathrow is a major pain, but it's not scary per se.

As for arriving in Canada, before you make good friends and whatnot, just make sure people know where you are at all times. If you go out to explore a bit, at the very least email friends back home and tell them to expect an email back at a specified time, etc. That's the one thing I feared when traveling alone. I didn't have an international cell phone or anything, and I was out walking to pubs at night and was just like wait, if anything happened to me, no one would know for a really long time.

if you search REI.com, there are some good articles and stuff to read over about traveling solo. REI actually teaches classes on it over here! (I don't think there are REI's outside of the US) but check out the web site and see if you can find the articles.

Brisk.

I can relate sorta, when i just turned 18 last year i flew out on my own to USA to see the last 5 PJ shows. Was kinda freaky coming from a bunch of fields, a little village of 10 people in the middle of nowhere to going to New York and seeing PJ at MSG.

Just make sure you keep checking your flight times as missreading is easily done, go over your plan on what you doing several times. I get very paranoid so i always check times, what im doing and more importantly of all, tickets etc.

catefrances

Lauri wrote:

I'm not quite sure what you are afraid of in terms of the airports. Getting lost? missing flights?

For that sort of stuff you just have to leave plenty of time and come prepared. It gets easier with practice. But being female shouldn't have any implications for traveling in airports, I've never felt afraid in an airport. Heathrow is a major pain, but it's not scary per se.

As for arriving in Canada, before you make good friends and whatnot, just make sure people know where you are at all times. If you go out to explore a bit, at the very least email friends back home and tell them to expect an email back at a specified time, etc. That's the one thing I feared when traveling alone. I didn't have an international cell phone or anything, and I was out walking to pubs at night and was just like wait, if anything happened to me, no one would know for a really long time.

and come up with a secret password so they know its you emailing not your abductor pretending to be you.

Fifthelement

Comox has an airport???? :shock:

You'll do fine. Edinburgh is a great airport, very easy to figure out as it's not very big. When you get to Heathrow, take a deep breath, get your bearings, find your next gate, prepare for queues and shuttle transfers and then find a place to have a pint before your flight to VAN.

Once you hit Vancouver, you'll be very tired but as others have said, it's not a very confusing airport. A few minutes walk will take you from the international terminal to domestic. On your flight to Comox you will probably spend more time boarding and deplaning than you will actually flying :shock:


Enjoy your trip.

stargirl69

Lauri wrote:

I'm not quite sure what you are afraid of in terms of the airports. Getting lost? missing flights?

For that sort of stuff you just have to leave plenty of time and come prepared. It gets easier with practice. But being female shouldn't have any implications for traveling in airports, I've never felt afraid in an airport. Heathrow is a major pain, but it's not scary per se.

As for arriving in Canada, before you make good friends and whatnot, just make sure people know where you are at all times. If you go out to explore a bit, at the very least email friends back home and tell them to expect an email back at a specified time, etc. That's the one thing I feared when traveling alone. I didn't have an international cell phone or anything, and I was out walking to pubs at night and was just like wait, if anything happened to me, no one would know for a really long time.

if you search REI.com, there are some good articles and stuff to read over about traveling solo. REI actually teaches classes on it over here! (I don't think there are REI's outside of the US) but check out the web site and see if you can find the articles.

As I explained in my post I was held and interviewed for 3 hours in SeaTac.One of the scariest experineces of my life.I wouldn't want to go through that again.
Once I arrive I am living with my partner for the six months so will be totally safe.He is picking me up at Comox.My entire friends and family know where we are and have all our details.

81

remember folks....this is a cash limit when traveling out of the US

In the third count of the indictment, Haralambos Gonos and Ms. Skoura are charged with conspiring to engage in bulk cash smuggling in an attempt to transport currency outside the United States on or about Jan. 31, 2013. Prosecutors say they attempted to take more than $14,700 to Greece, where they maintain a residence.

Read more at http://www.toledoblade.com/Courts/2013/ ... vOzKyHV.99

catefrances

speaking of travelling.. heres a question the dept of homeland security asks that always cracks me up...

have you ever been or are you now involved in espionage or sabotage; or in terrorist activities; or genocide; or between 1933 and 1945 were involved, in anyway, in persecution associated with nazi germany or its allies?


of course not.. dont be ridiculous

seriously.. id be a pretty bad spy if i answered yes to that question, wouldnt i?

Jason P

Rex Kwon Do



... is all you need to learn for protection. :geek: