The first evening of a trip alone is the one people worry about most, because you’re tired, everything’s new, and there’s nobody to decide things with. So this guide keeps it small on purpose. Nothing in here takes willpower, which is just as well, because after a travel day you won’t have much left.

Before you land

Everything in this chapter happens at home on the sofa, a few days before you fly, and you’ll be very glad of it when you’re standing in an arrivals hall with 12 percent battery.

The one that matters most is knowing how you’re getting from the airport to your bed, saved somewhere that doesn’t need wifi. Screenshot the route, the address written in the local language, and roughly what a taxi should cost, and keep them all in one photo album for the trip. That way, if someone at the taxi rank quotes you triple, you don’t have to argue, you can just show the screenshot to the next driver.

Money, phone and data belong in the same evening on the sofa, because they’re what ruins a first afternoon if you leave them for the airport. Tell your bank you’re travelling, install an eSIM if you’re going outside your roaming zone, and plan to take cash out once at an ATM that belongs to a real bank, since the free-standing machines in arrivals halls can charge 5 to 8 euros a time. The checklist below has the lot.

• Address of the first night saved offline, in the local language
• The airport route screenshotted, with the fair price written on it
• Your bank told you're travelling, and payments abroad switched on in the app
• An eSIM installed at home, or your roaming zone checked, so data works when you land
• A plan for cash: one withdrawal at a real bank's ATM, never the machines in arrivals
• A photo of your card and passport saved on the phone itself, not only in the cloud
• A takeaway or supermarket option near the room, picked in advance
• Curtain check done: does the room have real ones