Picture this: you, adventure and the open roads… Pretty lush, ey? I suppose it would be if you love a good road trip. Everyone knows that I love a good solo travel (I bang on about it, constantly). These days, a lot more women are “taking the leap” and going on trips alone. And the best bit is that most people wouldn’t bat an eyelid if you told them that. But… tell them you’re going on a road trip alone and a lot of people kinda lose their mind. Between you and I, I’m not too sure why.

Last year, I road tripped around Norway for 5 weeks – to visit family and enjoy being on the road. It’s easily one of my favourite experiences, ever. I would like to think that my travel style (when I have the luxury of time) is slow and budget travel. Ergo, road tripping is my favourite way to see a place. No set itinerary or timeline.

A lot of people have been quite curious about my journey and have asked a lot of questions so I thought I would use this post to answer them all! I even took it to Instagram to see what questions you wanted to be answered. Well, here it is!

Q&A time!

What were you looking forward to the most?

While living in Norway, I kept researching about really cool hikes and places to see around the country. Won’t lie, that got me excited even before I decided to go on the road trip. A lot of people don’t realise this but Norway is such a massive country. There’s so much I still haven’t seen. I first heard about Lofoten in 2012 when dad was planning our road trip route but we didn’t end up going there. It’s always been in the back of my mind and the one thing I did plan was to ensure I got to Lofoten on this trip. And I did! It was honestly more beautiful than I could ever picture.

Sleeping arrangement & was I afraid of camping alone?

Generally, I wasn’t too scared about camping alone. I would be on edge when I heard noises outside my tent/car. Nothing ever happened so I was fine! Got used to it eventually.

I’m really lucky to live in a country that allows wild camping. It really helped make this entire trip affordable. I pitched my tent whenever possible. Most nights were spent outside little villages or in the “wild” so there were so many spots for wild camping. However, when it was either raining or unable to find a camping spot, I slept in my car. How I hear you ask? I converted it into a sleeper!

As a note: My family were fantastic and gave me a place to sleep while I was visiting. I’m extremely fortunate to have such an amazing family.

Converting my car to a road tripper

When I posted the photo of sleeping in my car, everyone’s minds were blown as to how I managed to make it look so homey. I own a 5-door Toyota Yaris. As I’m not the biggest person, I easily managed to convert my backseat into a sleeping area. Not to brag but I thought my set up was pretty bomb!

My cooler was behind the driver seat and a container (keeping knick-knacks and kitchen things and dried food) was behind the passenger seat. This was to extend the potential sleeping area. Since the backseats were slanted, I used a couple of blankets and jackets to even the sleeping platform – also doubled when I had a picnic or got cold! I covered all this up with a foam mattress and used my duvet to burrito me with two pillows. Since the midnight sun was up, I used reflectors on the rear windows to block the sunlight out. Two lightweight sarongs blocked the side passenger windows. To give myself privacy, I used my massive beach towel draped over the front two seats to create a little nook.

While sleeping, I had my picnic basket with all my immediate essentials located on the front passenger seat. In the boot, I had a spare tyre, wank tank, my diving equipment and a backpack full of clothes. Since I wasn’t planning on doing any washing, I had multiple changes of daily and hiking clothes.

The hardest part of the road trip?

Due to my severe lack of planning, I struggled to find a spot to park my car or to pitch my tent. I do recall driving for a couple of hours to suss out a place for the night. This usually happened when I was in between big cities. One of my goals on the road trip was to avoid paying for accommodation. In the end, I managed to not spend a dime. I remember while on the Atlantic Road, it was starting to get a bit late so I found a little carpark and slept in my car for the night.

I remember another hard bit was trying to decide on my route. A couple of times, I would get to a literal crossroad – two places I would love to see were in opposite directions, hours apart. I had to briefly think of the bigger picture and decided that way. A couple of times I did get lost with no signal but this is where an old-school map comes in handy!

Biggest fear on the road?

TROLLS! I was worried about running into a Norwegian Troll! Na but to be honest, I did have a couple of fears, mainly related to the car.

1. Breaking down randomly.
   Despite having roadside assistance, I was really worried about breaking down in an area without any signal. While most of the country has coverage, the thought sat at the back of my mind!
2. Getting stuck.
   Slightly different from breaking down, I suppose. For this, I was a little worried that my own stupidity would get me stuck. There was a road I drove in Henningsvœr to get to a camping spot. I underestimated how high the rock was and how low my car was. I ended up scratching up the bottom (it wasn’t damaged, though). The next morning, I had to get a lovely couple to manoeuvre me out so I wouldn’t damage the bottom. Thank god it didn’t rain! I would have gotten stuck otherwise.
3. Hitting an elk.
   Seriously. I was worried an elk would run in front of my car and I will accidentally hit it. Those animals are massive! You can die if you hit them especially driving at 80 km/h!

Favourite spot and the best part of the road trip?

I’ve combined these two questions. I think my favourite spot overall was Lofoten. I only spent a week there but could have easily spent so much longer there. It’s such a stunning place, I wouldn’t mind settling down there. I could literally just turn off randomly and find the most stunning beaches or mountains. It’s my idea of what heaven is. Cheesy? Sorry, it is true, though!

Would I be too greedy to say the entire road trip was the best bit? Of course, seeing my family after so many years was amazing. They are the nicest and most welcoming people you’ll ever know. As I don’t see my extended family very often, it always makes me appreciate them when we get together and have a laugh. Also, all the endless adventures I went on. For example, hiking Svartisen (a glacier)! How cool is that?!

Meals and cooking on the road

Despite being on the road, I would say I ate pretty decently. Mainly cooked all my meals – before setting off, I invested in a little portable cooker and some camping crockery/cutlery. Yes, I brought my spices with me! Worked a charm, managed to cook easy, tasty and relatively healthy meals. Milk, cheese and other various foods were kept reasonably ‘cool’ in a cooler that was stored under my “bed”. In addition, I didn’t buy in bulk. If I did, I would cook all the food off and pack them in Tupperwares for the following lunches and dinners.

Breakfast: typical yoghurt, muesli, fresh fruits (banana and blueberries) and a dollop of peanut butter. In my opinion, great fuel for hikes.

Lunch: a sandwich of some sort or leftovers. If I felt fancy and didn’t mind the effort, an omelette.

Dinner: very mood dependent! Vegetables definitely with some sort of protein (mainly seafood or chicken) with rice noodles. If I was really tired, instant noodles. Occasionally dehydrated foods when I was camping remotely.

Washing dishes on the road

Considering that I didn’t have access to a sink, I tried to keep my dishes to a minimum so clean up would be easier. Once I was done with cooking, I would pour some water and a bit of soap in my pan (while it was hot) and let it sit while I had dinner. After, I would scrub it off and chuck the water away. and wipe it down with a bit of kitchen roll and let it dry. Highly recommend getting a non-stick pan! If I boiled some rice or noodles, a simple rinse and wipe down was sufficient. If I made a messy meal, I would wait until there was a public toilet or tap so I could wash it properly. Wouldn’t want to attract bugs or insects, now would we?!

Hygiene? Did you shower?

Yes… Kinda. At home, I wouldn’t be able to leave the house without taking a shower. Unfortunately, I didn’t have that luxury on the road trip. When it was warm enough, I would swim in a lake/ocean as a way to clean myself. Otherwise, I found a public toilet and used a wet towel with a bit of soap to wipe myself down – if the weather was bad, I wouldn’t be hiking. As for my long locks, I kept them mainly in a double french braid until I was able to get it wet. Can you believe I went a week without showering? The weather was so good that I swam every day. Too much information? Sorry…

I know, a lot of people wouldn’t be able to handle how little I showered but for the most part, I thought it worked fine for me. On the warmer days, I would wear open arm shirts so my clothes wouldn’t even up sweaty or smelly. Since I mainly hiked in my sports bra, I just brought several of those!

How did I find the courage? Did you hike/adventure alone as well?

I wouldn’t say I’m a very courageous person. All I try to do is think about doing something, put my mind to and poof – I’m doing it. Don’t over think it too much. I wanted to explore. I don’t know too many people who would easily be free for 5 weeks to go on a road trip with me either. To be honest, I just wanted/needed some alone time. I was struggling really badly with my anxiety and lost confidence in myself. The only way I knew to get it back was to go on an adventure, alone. It worked for me.

And YES! I hiked and adventured alone. The wildest thing I did was to hike up Galdhøpiggen, solo. If you don’t know, it is the tallest mountain in Northern Europe (2 469 m tall). I ended up having to climb two other peaks before getting there and it was a total whiteout at the top. I don’t think I ever felt more alive, proud or confident in my own abilities.

Disclaimer: I’m a decently experienced hiker and I take measures to ensure my safety. Norway is my backyard. I’m a comfortable and confident hiker in the mountains. I would not recommend this to anyone who aren’t hikers or are comfortable in the area. Also, Norway is extremely safe so I knew nothing was going to go wrong.

How did you get comfortable in your own company?

Turns out, I really enjoyed being in my own company. You are spending hours, even days, alone. I may have lost it a little some days and spoken to myself but for the most part, I was able to be happy and not crave being around others. In the evenings, I would do word cross puzzles or go on evening walks. Other days, I would call my parents or use the time to catch up with people I hadn’t spoken to in months/years (hands-free, of course). A good chunk of my time was spent looking for a place to live when I moved to Bristol.

To be fair, I did spend 1.5 weeks with my relatives so it wasn’t that lonely. I did me a couple of people while on the road too. A cardboard cutout of my parents kept me company in photos too. It was great.

Precautions to road tripping alone.

1. Bring a spare tyre & know how to change your own tyre.
   My car didn’t come with a spare tyre – I just chucked one of my winter tyres in my boot. You can get a flat tyre anywhere and may not necessarily have any signal to call up roadside assistance. It is a simple skill to learn and it is so quick to do.
2. Download offline maps or better yet, have an actual map!
   My favourite offline map application is maps.me. It is literally a lifesaver. Simply download the country/region you will be exploring and you’re off. The best thing about it is you can be on aeroplane mode and it will still route you. I love having a proper map in my car as well. I know we live in a day and age where smartphones lead the way but I find planning my route on a map so much easier. Also, a really good backup.
3. Keep in mind where the petrol stations are.
   I almost ran out of petrol while driving through a national park thinking I had enough to get me through. Just keep in mind the distances between places and how much you have in the tank.
4. Have a good playlist.
   I love a good road trip playlist. It kept my sanity for most of the way. I enjoyed singing along or just listening to superchilled music when I wanted to relax on my drive.
5. Know your limit.
   If you’re tired, pull over. Fatigue is one of the leading causes of death so please don’t drive tired. I would pull over and relax. There’s no rush to get somewhere. Break up your journey. I drank a lot of coffee to keep me alert but always took a nap when I needed it.
6. If possible, tell people where you are.
   I updated my location with my parents and would check in with them daily. When I went on hikes, I would message them the route, how long it’ll take and my approximate time back just in case anything were to happen.
7. First aid kit.
   I sound like a proper parent but safety is super important! I always carried a first aid kit in my car and brought it with me on my adventures. Hey, you never know when you’ll need it!

Wow, so many great questions! I could easily go on and on about my road trip but I will stop it here for now. Have you been on a road trip alone? If you did, tell me about it in the comments! Or would you like to do it one day? I hope you’ve enjoyed this post. As always-