She’s visited 63 countries by herself — and now coaches others on how to travel solo

Shakeemah Smith has visited extra international locations — by herself — than most individuals have visited of their lifetimes.
She’s visited 63 international locations alone, she stated, and now coaches others on easy methods to go solo.
Smith — who goes by the identify of Keem — stated she began touring alone after a disagreement with a buddy left her by herself on trip in Amsterdam.
“From there, I used to be like … I don’t have some other mates to journey with, that both have the monetary means to journey, or don’t have household obligations that can forestall them from touring,” she instructed CNBC by cellphone.
Smith, who’s from East Orange, New Jersey, determined to plan a solo trip to Paris, a spot that was excessive on her bucket record. She began by writing a listing of all the pieces that would go flawed — and the way she may finest put together, wanting up the areas of hospitals and the U.S. Embassy, in addition to researching town’s Metro transit system.
“I selected a rustic that I used to be so enthusiastic about going to so it could … diminish the anxiousness round being alone,” she stated. As soon as she acquired to Paris, she felt the preparation was price it. “I used to be strolling round like I used to be the cat’s pajamas down the Champs Elysees, as a result of I saved feeling like I’m right here. I did it,” she stated.
Since posting journeys of her Paris trip on social media, Smith stated individuals have messaged her to ask for tips on vacationing alone. She created a nine-week on-line course through the Teachable platform named Travel Like a Bawse and has tutored 10,000 ladies within the artwork of touring solo, she stated.
A Teachable consultant instructed CNBC that solo journey course enrollments grew 31 occasions sooner than different forms of course on the platform between the summers of 2020 and 2022.
Smith additionally runs non-public teaching classes, which embody itineraries, excursions and get in touch with particulars for drivers and photographers — she recommends hiring somebody to take photos for you. Her teaching additionally consists of each day FaceTime requires vacationers’ first solo journeys.
The place to plan your first journey
Smith advises selecting a widely known vacation spot, like Paris, for a primary trip alone.
“Once you begin off in such touristy locations … there are such a lot of different those who additionally aren’t from there, so that you don’t stand out as a lot as you assume,” she stated.
You don’t need your happiness tied to another person.Shakeemah Smith
She additionally really helpful Antigua and Barbuda, the Maldives and Bora Bora as secure locations to go solo. “I do know plenty of ladies are like, oh I wish to wait till I’ve a husband to go to Bora Bora or the Maldives, and I’m like, so that you’re going to attend on a person to see the Indian Ocean?”
“You don’t need your happiness tied to another person,” she stated.
Widespread locations now
Solo journey is one thing that Angelee Rathor, managing director of luxurious trip firm SevenTravel, expects to be widespread this yr.
Following an uptick in enquiries — many from ladies aged 45 and older — Rathor stated her crew created a number of itineraries akin to a “solo sojourn” to South Africa and a “me, myself and Iceland” trip to the Nordic nation.
After Covid-era shutdowns, it was “well-documented that {couples} and households wished to … have these blowout journeys, however actually solo vacationers are additionally eager to make up for misplaced time and are feeling extra assured to discover new locations,” stated Rathor.

The corporate focuses on upscale, tailored journey. An 11-night solo South Africa journey that features Cape City for culinary experiences, the Winelands cities of Paarl, Franschhoek and Stellenbosch, and several other nights at two safari lodges with spa therapies prices from £15,495 ($19,067), excluding flights.
Rathor’s crew designs holidays that stability actions and relaxation. Solo experiences in Iceland would possibly characteristic a guided tour of its capital, Reykjavik, wine-tasting beneath the Northern Lights and a day on the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa. The corporate offers 24-hour customer support on WhatsApp, which is added reassurance for these touring alone.
She stated individuals get pleasure from solo journey as a result of they don’t must take anybody else’s pursuits into consideration.
“They’re doing on that journey — 100% of the time — what they wish to do,” she stated. “When the wellness aspect is forming greater than 40% of the journey, individuals do come again and say … ‘I really feel like a distinct individual.’”
Group excursions
Group excursions are one other widespread possibility for solo vacationers.
Florida-based Judy Hoffman is a retired historical past instructor who, throughout her profession, accomplished examine applications in Nigeria, Japan and the UK.
She stated she has at all times liked touring, at the same time as a younger little one.
“Since I put pennies and dimes in my ‘journey the world’ financial institution as a baby [I] knew that was one thing I aspired to do in life,” she instructed CNBC.
Hoffman has taken 10 holidays with small group operator Overseas Adventure Travel (O.A.T.), visiting locations like Nepal, Peru, Central America and East Africa, on journeys that intention to assist individuals get off the crushed path. O.A.T was co-founded by Alan E. Lewis “to take Individuals to locations Individuals don’t go,” based on the corporate’s web site.

That appears true for Hoffman, who stated she has most loved “waking as much as the dawn within the mountains of Nepal, floating at evening on the Amazon wanting up on the stars, and swimming with sea lions and penguins within the Galapagos.”
“Watching individuals journey from the countryside to a college in Tanzania, then standing in lengthy traces to vote in an election, touched me greater than I can say,” she added.
O.A.T’s web site says it has 42,000 solo traveler reservations all through 2023 and desires to encourage extra individuals to journey alone. It has added extra single-occupancy cabins with no single complement, that are further charges that solo vacationers are generally charged to remain in a room by themselves.
An organization consultant instructed CNBC that widespread cruises embody its 15-day voyage from Lisbon to Barcelona, which begins at round $9,000, together with airfare.
Solo journey suggestions
Hoffman supplied recommendation for people who find themselves touring alone.
“In case you are outgoing, which I’m not, you’ll slot in instantly,” she stated. In any other case, she advised providing to take images of fellow vacationers as a approach to strike up conversations.
She has one other tip: “I at all times journal whereas I’m on a visit and at all times have a guide for any down time.”

Torunn Tronsvang, founding father of Norwegian journey specialist Up Norway, recommends solo vacationers keep open-minded.
“Don’t be afraid to say ‘sure,’ step exterior the consolation zone, present curiosity in partaking with locals,” she instructed CNBC.
Like Rathor, Tronsvang has observed an uptick in demand for solo journey, and her firm created non-public itineraries accordingly.
Considered one of its hottest is “Give me more,” a 10-day journey ranging from Oslo and includes touring by rail, bus and ferry to Trondheim. It’s a visit that features nature, outside journey, Norwegian tradition and self-reflection, she stated. It prices round $3,500 per individual for lodging, transportation, guided excursions and a few meals, however not flights.
She stated solo vacationers are “effectively educated” and vary in age, from early 30s to 60s.
“They are typically individuals with versatile jobs akin to writers, photographers, or individuals in between jobs,” she stated. “We’ve additionally observed a pattern in individuals who desire a completely different sort of vacation in a busy life, and individuals who seek for which means of their travels.”