I made a few blunders so I’m here to help you learn from both my successes and my failures:

First thing’s first… When you’re booking a flight, make sure you get an early one there and a later one back. My flight from Luton Airport was at 6.30am and whilst I’ll probably never stay overnight in an airport again, my plane landed in Budapest at 9.30am local time which meant I had a full day to begin my adventure and plan my remaining days out there. The last thing you want to do is book a flight that lands at 6pm, giving you very little time to do anything.

Download apps. I thoroughly enjoyed the Triposo travel guide app. It gave me suggestions of places to visit, I could read reviews and it even had some useful language phrases, all in one place. Best of all, I could tick off the sites I had seen, which gave me a great sense of personal achievement.

Find your spot. Even in the UK I have a special place in the cities I frequent, where I go on my own to think, journal, take in the scenery and sometimes people watch. My spot in Budapest was a little bench on the bank of the river near Chain Bridge. Find a place that will inspire you and allows you to take in the beauty of your destination.

Research your destination. You’d think this would be a no-brainer but I had no time between booking and actually arriving in Budapest to do this. Make sure you know what the city you’re visiting is known for: after all, the last thing you want to do as an introvert is visit another country that is best for group holidays. This will either make you feel lonely because the people around you are with their friends, or make you feel annoyed because you wanted peace and quiet but have ended up on a party island. You should also research your destination because you don’t want to fail to do exactly what you should do when you get there. Budapest is known for its thermal baths, so I made it my personal mission that if I only did ONE thing whilst out there it would be to visit one, no matter the cost.

Solo female travel: the 7 ultimate solo travel destinations for introverts