I was dealing with some heartbreak — so instead of force myself to take the " traditional " pre - wedding route , I went wedding dress shopping by myself , skipped the engagement political party , and take aim a solo bachelor girl tripper to Las Vegas .
When you get engaged in America, it’s typical to have a big wedding, attend a few events before the big day, and throw a bachelorette party with a bunch of friends. For me, however, none of those things came to fruition. In fact, I went on a solo bachelorette trip instead.
This new pre-wedding “trend” (which has garnered over3.1 billion views on TikTok) gained traction after small business owner and YouTube content creatorAja Dang-Pusposwent to a spa resort sans friends. Aside from not wanting to put more financial pressure on her loved ones, Aja also didn’t want anyone to ask her questions about what to do or where to go. “I just wanted to be pampered,” she toldthe New York Times— and honestly, I wanted that for myself as well.
To give a little more linguistic context : In April 2017 , my fiancé and I got engaged , and in August 2017 , my female parent unexpectedly passed away . Since then , I ’ve been trying to rediscover who I am as a woman without my mom — and honestly , it ’s been arduous .
While I would have loved to do all the traditional wedding events — and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with doing those things in the first place! — I experienced new mental health struggles that made it difficult to do certain things after her passing.
So instead of forcing myself to go down the “traditional” wedding route, I went wedding dress shopping by myself, I forwent the engagement party and bridal shower, and I took a solo bachelorette trip toLas Vegas.
So if you’re thinking of taking a solo trip somewhere but not sure where to go or what to do, here’s a small guide to my solo trip* to Las Vegas — less “sin,” more city — and all the reasons you should absolutely take asolo traveltrip of your own whenever the time is right. Plus, I’ve included little tips that may make you feel more comfortable being by yourself during your vacation.
While I’ve traveled alone on a plane before, I usually preferred travelingwithpeople — however, for this trip, I took a cross-country flight fromNew Yorkto Nevada by myself, and I forgot howeasyit is to travel by yourself.
Once I landed in Las Vegas, I was able to acclimate myself by opening up my Google Maps app to see how far the airport was from the hotel I was going to be staying at. (Luckily, the airport was only about 10 minutes away from The Strip — aka the “hub” of Las Vegas.)
Another tip before you go on your solo trip? Go onTikTokand use it as a search engine for the city you plan on visiting — this will give you an idea of how the city is geographically structured, as well as the kinds of foods and activities it has to offer.
But if you really want to upgrade your solo travel plans, I 100% recommend usingWanderlog. While I didn’t use it for this trip, I am currently using it for another, and. It’s. A. Game changer.
Anyways, back to Vegas. Once I got to the hotel, I had about 30 minutes to get ready before my first solo dining experience. The restaurant?The Bacchanal Buffetat Caesars Palace — which is often dubbed the most luxurious buffet in America. Free to check out myfull review here. The TL;DR is that it was definitely an over-the-top experience, but it also had some faults.
Talking about food, I had the opportunity to try out so many different kinds of restaurants and meals on this trip — so here are some favorite places and dishes I’d recommend that you check out, whether you’re dining solo or with other people.
As for the rest of the trip, I made sure to listen to my body by not pushing myself too hard. When you’re traveling with friends, it’s important to consider not only your goals and expectations for a trip but also theirs. However, it’s also common not to always be on the same page about things. Look, I used to love staying out until 2 a.m. drinking and laughing with my friends — but now that I’m almost in my mid-30s, my body doesn’t know how to sustain that kind of nightly marathon anymore. Like, how do people train for triathlons, when I need to train myself to stay up past 10 p.m.? Please, someone, make it make sense.
However, when Ididgo out, I made sure to do things I really wanted to do. For instance, when I found out thatMeow Wolfhad one of their immersive art exhibits in Las Vegas, I bought a ticket right then and there and took a 15-minute cab ride to go see it.
While learning to “take up space” is something I’m still working on, choosing to do activities like this on my own allows me to fully engage with the thing I’m doing without having to worry the whole time I’m there. I was able to feel more present, feel less anxious, and step outside of my comfort zone (which is something I’m actively trying to do more of — hence this trip).
If there is one thing I highly recommend you do in Las Vegas, it’s visitMeow Wolf’s Omega Mart, especially if you plan to travel alone. Between the faux supermarket with punny food items and theStranger Things–like “Upside Down” world that I discovered behind the frozen meat section and food aisles, I spent almost two hours in this space. And you’re encouraged to touch, climb, and open everything you see.
Aside from Meow Wolf, there are so many other things you can do on the Las Vegas Strip by yourself — all of which are about a 5- to 10-minute drive from one another. One of the things I did was go on the High Roller, a giant Ferris wheel that takes about 30 minutes to complete. (It was the largest Ferris wheel in the world untilthe Dubai Eyewas constructed in 2021.)
I also caught theAbsintheshow, a sexy circus show that’s pretty dang unique. The sex factor is high, and the stakes are even higher because of the stunts they do. I was stressed, the audience was stressed, but it was worth the watch. Pro tip: Try to go on a nonweekend night — later in the evening if you can — to save some cash.
Now that my solo trip is over and I’m back in New York to reflect on my experience, I’m really grateful I had the opportunity to do something on my own and for myself before my wedding day. This trip helped me reconnect with myself, my needs, and my relationship with others because I got to exercise the muscle of simply putting myself first (which is something I have a really hard time doing — not in a selfless way, but in more of a “people pleaser” way). This trip also helped me learn to cherish my alone time, which I was so afraid to have for the longest time.
While I don’t believe you need to travel across the country or go on a solo bachelorette trip to face your fears, get alone time, or do something for yourself, I do think it’s incredibly important to try to do these things as often as you can at home (at least I will try doing this more often for myself). Because especially as women, most of us are in service of others, and most of the time, we need to remember to be in service of ourselves, especially if we have a major life change happening.
