Are you looking for tips for flying alone as a teenager? Whether you are flying to see a family member or getting a taste of traveling the world it is important to plan your trip carefully. Traveling solo can be a daunting & scary task for many adults.
As a teenager you not only need to face the issues of traveling alone, but you also need to think about your age because everyone else will be. Some of the issues you could deal with include people not respecting you because you are young or people trying to take advantage of you.
If you have never traveled alone before you will also need to deal with being responsible for everything yourself from carrying your luggage to figuring out transportation once you touch down in a new city. But before we continue into the details, Here is the list of tips for flying alone as a teenager:
- Researching & Preparing Documentations You May Need For Travel.
- Packing Lightly.
- Seeing The Sights.
- Asking Questions Before Arranging Housing.
- Staying In Contact.
- Social Media And Its Safety Problems.
Research and Prepare and Documentation You May Need For Travel
All air travel requires documentation such as plane tickets, photo ID and passports if Flying Internationally. When you travel alone as a minor more documentation might be required.
Some examples of this documentation could include your birth certificate, photocopies of both parent or legal guardian’s identifications as well as a notarized letter of consent signed by both parents authorizing the teenager to fly alone.
To know exactly what is needed the airline should be contacted as each airline has different rules and regulations when it comes to minors flying unaccompanied.
I would suggest that you consult their website and other published documentation first and then confirm with the airline in person or by telephone that what is listed is the only requirement and that nothing has changed.
Pack Lightly
When you are planning on flying solo remember you will need to go everything yourself. This includes checking in your bags, keeping your carry on safe and getting all your luggage at your destination.
You will need to be able to pick up your luggage and get it out of the airport. You will also need to repack easily when the trip is over and get everything back home. With that being said, make sure you pack only what is needed for the trip.
Many people have a problem with overpacking To ensure this does not happen to you I would start with making a simple list of everything you will need.
This list should include clothing, documentation for travel, itinerary and anything needed for these activities, medication, toiletries, money and credit cards, your cell phone and charger as well as anything you need to entertain yourself on the trip or during travel such as books and magazines.
Once you make the list I would try to a dry run well in advance of the actual travel date. Get together everything you need and pack it in your check on luggage as well as your carry on.
Make sure it all fits well and is not too heavy for you to carry yourself as well as for the weight limitations put in place by the airline. I would not stop there. It would be a good idea to carry the luggage to the car you will be traveling to the airport in or how far you will need to walk to get transportation.
You might also want to think about how far you will need to take your luggage from the airport to a car or shuttle and how far you will need to take your luggage from that car to the place you are staying. Everything seems easy until you have to do it all alone.
Seeing The Sights
Although there are many reasons to travel, whether you are going to see family and friends, check out colleges or have another idea in mind, most people will also want to go sightseeing in the city that they are visiting if time allows.
When planning the trip you will want to create an itinerary of things to do. This should include all the different places you want to go and see as well as where you will be eating your meals.
Just like with housing, you will need to determine if any of the places that you are interested in visiting only allow adults 18 and older to visit alone. The last thing you want to do is to waste your time and effort to show up at some place or attraction only to find out that you can not attend.
This will not only waste your time but potentially your money in transportation costs as well as it is very disappointing and frustrating to look forward to something only to realize you can not do it and now you have to travel back to your rental with nothing to do.
Besides finding out what you want to do it would be a good idea if you come up with a schedule that covers your time. First, you can start by making a list of everything you either want to do or any responsibilities you have while on the trip.
After you have the list you will want to determine how much time is needed in transportation to get to each destination, how much time is needed at each place and how much time is needed to either get back to the rental or go to your next destination.
Once you have a timeline in place you will want to move on to find out the hours you can go to each place and if any of them require reservations. Make the reservations and finalize your itinerary accordingly.
You will want to build some extra time into each day of your trip for anything that might come up including when things go wrong as no trip is perfect as well as things you may discover walking around the city or by word of mouth that you might want to visit that you didn’t know about until you were there.
Ask Questions Before Arranging Housing
Make sure that you pick the best place to stay. The most important thing that you are going to need to ask about is age restrictions. Not all hotels and other rentals allow unaccompanied minors to stay with them.
When narrowing down your list of places to stay you want to start with places that allow teenagers to stay alone. When asking about whether or not there are age restrictions on solo guests you should also ask if there are any other rules surrounding minors. You will want to make the stay as safe and as comfortable as possible.
Although whether or not teenagers can stay there alone is the most important question to find out you should also find out other things depending upon your needs.
Some hotels and rentals have a very tight check-in and check out windows. You will want to make sure that these windows fit within the travel schedule Some rentals have 24-hour check-in available if at all possible choose this one.
You will also want to know if there is on-site security, one site housekeeping, room service or other food amenities and how much money will be needed to cover these extra costs. Finally, you will want to know about public transportation and how close and convenient it is.
Stay In Contact
Safety should be one of the things that you plan for. Once you come up with your itinerary and it is finalized you should give a copy to your family. This will allow them to know where you are at all times. This is helpful for a few different reasons.
First of all, this will give your family peace of mind knowing where you are and what you are doing. If something does happen and you do go missing for a time, people will have a starting point to look for you to know where you were planning on being each day.
Lastly, if people know where you are you can arrange that they not call you and try to contact you when you are going to specific things like visiting a museum, enjoying an outdoor concert or dining out.
You should also discuss when you will contact your family and how often. Make a plan and stick to it. The minimum most parents would expect is when you land in the new city, after check-in and when you land home. However, it is most likely that your parents will want to hear from you daily. Discuss when the best times are for both of you.
For safety purposes a phone call is probably better than a text, they will know it is you and not someone texting from your phone. However, if you do plan to use mostly text it would be a good idea to come up with a word or phrase to work into the text messages so they can ensure it is you texting them.
Social Media and Safety
Finally, you should discuss what you will and will not put on social media and when. It is a personal decision whether or not you post immediately while on your trip or if you wait to post when you get home.
There is a safety issue involved as if you are traveling alone and you check in online to each place you are at as you get there or post about these places live people will be able to find you. It might be a good idea to wait to post until you leave each location.
Whether or not you delay your posts you should allow your parents to follow you on your social media accounts, at least for the duration of your trip. This will allow them to see what you are doing, know you are safe and still feel connected to you even while you are away.
Conclusion: Tips For Flying Alone As A Teenager
Flying alone can be quite scary at first, specially if you are just a teenager. But as everything else in life, after a couple of tried you will start to be more and more comfortable traveling alone while gradually learning more and more about what to do and what to avoid.
If you enjoyed our travel guide on tips for flying alone as a teenager, make sure to leave a comment down below telling us about your experience with it.
