The Trip That Changed Everything

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If you’re new here, you might be wondering, “What inspired you to start traveling alone? Why did you start a solo travel blog?”

In this post, I’m going to answer all of your questions. I’ll go into detail about my very first solo trip — the one that changed everything.

And no, I promise I’m not saying that for the drama of it all. I truly believe that experience will change the trajectory of my life and form me into a person I didn’t know I had the potential to become.

Let’s get into it, friend!

P.S. This isn’t your typical blog post, like a travel tips post or destination guide. I’m just sharing my story to hopefully inspire you to embark on your first solo trip and enter your GLOBAL SOLITUDE ERA.

THE TRIP THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING

Alright. Like I said earlier, you’re prooooobably new here, so I’ll let you in on a secret. Well, it actually isn’t so much a secret as something you simply haven’t discovered yet.

Here on The Solo Solstice, I often talk about a six-step travel planning framework called The Six Fundamentals. I believe every trip you take should answer all of these.

Here are the six steps!

• Why: Why do you want to travel? Are you celebrating a milestone, like a birthday or anniversary? Have you been working really hard at work and need a vacation? Have you constantly been seeing videos about a particular destination and are itching to go?
• Where: Where are you going? Is it domestic or international? Is it more of a tropical or urban destination? Have you ever been there before? Why are you interested in visiting? Who or what inspired you to visit?
• When: When are you embarking on your journey? Are you going in the next couple of weeks, or later down the line? During which season do you plan on visiting? Exactly what month do you want to travel?
• Who: Who am I traveling with on this trip? Is it a solo trip, family trip, couples trip, or group trip? How many people am I traveling with?
• How: How are you getting to your destination? Are you going to fly, drive, take the train, ride on a cruise ship, or take the bus? How long will it take to get there? What stops will you make along the way? How long is each stop? Do you plan on doing anything during that time?
• What: What kinds of things will you do during your trip? What attractions do you want to visit? What neighborhoods do you want to explore? What kinds of food will you eat? What interactions do you hope to have?

It’s important that you know these not only because I’m discussing them in this post, but also because you’ll see them show up quite a bit on my blog.

Follow me as I talk about my first solo trip and how it changed everything.

THE SIX FUNDAMENTALS FOR MY FIRST SOLO TRIP

FUNDAMENTALS ONE, TWO & THREE: WHERE, WHY & WHEN?

I’m going to combine these three fundamentals since they all meshed together in my brain as I was planning the trip. I’ll make each individual fundamental a bullet point so you can easily identify them.

• Where: I wanted to travel somewhere warm
• Why: because I live in the Midwest
• When: and at the time (December 2025), it was cold. Like, very cold.

If you know anything about a Midwest winter, you’d easily understand why I needed an escape.

I absolutely HATE cold weather and it’s actually why I almost always travel during shoulder season. I know off-peak season is cheaper, but I seriously can’t stand such frigid conditions. I’d rather stay home and save my money at that point!

I thought about Florida because, well, the weather there is usually good throughout the year (or so I thought… more on this later).

I specifically wanted to visit Miami because it seemed like the city offered a nice balance between nature and city exploring. And the only southern state I’d visited beforehand was Georgia. Even then, those were more like vacations — not trips (there’s a difference!).

The funny thing, is that I previously had some interesting reservations for Florida. The state’s political climate is rather questionable and it really shied me away from visiting.

But SPOILER ALERT: I ended up going and I totally loved it.

FUNDAMENTAL FOUR: WHO?

This is where things really get interesting. It’s like the transformation or turning point in the story, if you will.

Usually I’d travel with my little brother Calebb, who I consider my travel companion and concert buddy. And I totally would’ve taken them with me, but the flights were over four-hundred dollars.

At the time, I did NOT have enough money for two flights.

So I went alone. You might be thinking, “Were you scared? What did you even do alone? How did eating alone go?”

Let’s continue the story.

FUNDAMENTAL FIVE: HOW?

Like I mentioned earlier, I currently live in the Midwest. And if you didn’t know, Illinois is pretty darn far from Florida. We’re talking a good 18 hours of driving and nearly three hours of being on the plane (and that’s WITHOUT a layover).

Obviously, I didn’t drive to Miami. I flew. But it wasn’t the easiest journey. You see, I had a Delta flight credit I wanted to use, so that was the only airline I searched flights for.

From St. Louis Lambert International Airport, there really aren’t that many direct Delta flights to Miami. So I had to prepare for my very first layover.

Being 43 minutes, I thought it was long enough — and it was, but I rushed through the Atlanta airport like never before. I thankfully made it to my gate with a few minutes to spare.

The not-so-great part? I needed to use the restroom and grab a snack, but I was afraid I’d miss my flight if I did. So I boarded the plane and held it the entire flight. I’m glad the flight was fairly short and I’d soon reunite with a restroom.

Oh, I forgot to tell you I took the Plane Train (ATL’s airport train) and went the wrong way at first. I was supposed to go to Concourse A, but I wasn’t paying attention and boarded the train that went in the opposite direction. So I had to re-board the train and navigate to the correct concourse.

At that point, I’d already accepted my fate and knew I’d have to chat with an agent about my situation. But like I said, I made it on time. They were actually just getting ready to announce my boarding zone.

FUNDAMENTAL SIX: WHAT?

Now let’s talk about something more fun. What the heck did I do alone in Miami?

I feel like there are two kinds of Miami visitors: people who want to club and have a good time at the beach, and people who love a good balance of nature and city exploring.

I definitely fell in the second category. I, by no means, am a clubber, and that’s definitely not what I went to Miami for.

Here’s what I did in Miami:

• Explored the Frost Museum of Science
• Explored the Pérez Art Museum Miami
• Had a Solo Dinner at Earls Kitchen + Bar
• Wandered Around Brickell City Centre
• Explored Vizcaya Museum & Gardens
• Saw the Sunrise at South Beach
• Took a Miami Sunset and City Lights Cocktail Cruise

Let’s go into detail on each activity.

FROST MUSEUM OF SCIENCE

The Frost Museum of Science is a planetarium, aquarium, and science museum — all in one. It was extremely close to my hotel (citizenM Miami World Center), only a 9-minute walk.

This was originally supposed to be the SECOND activity of the day. But by the time I got to my hotel and checked in, there wasn’t enough time to make it to Adrienne Arsht Center and see The Nutcracker. I was really looking forward to it, but I had to choose between eating + showering and seeing the show.

In hindsight, I probably should’ve just seen the show. But there’s always an opportunity to return, right?

Frost Museum was pretty cool. I was a bit underwhelmed at first because there wasn’t much to do. But as I progressed through the museum, I liked it more and more.

I plan on making a travel guide for Miami soon, and I’ll be sure to include some more information on the Frost Museum in it.

PEREZ ART MUSEUM

Perez Art Museum is a modern and contemporary art museum dedicated to collecting and exhibiting international art of the 20th and 21st centuries.

It’s right in the same plaza as the Frost Museum, so getting there was super quick and simple. When I visited, there was hardly anyone there.

I spent a good amount of time wandering through the galleries. I also bought ten postcards at the museum store since they had a deal (I don’t exactly remember what it was… sorry!).

EARLS KITCHEN + BAR

Earls Kitchen + Bar is a highly-rated restaurant chain serving gourmet burgers, global comfort food, and more. This was my first ever solo dinner and I think it went pretty well.

I was on the phone with my brother to make myself seem less isolated. I didn’t necessarily FEEL alone, but I didn’t want to look lonely. Does that make sense?

As the manager walked me to my table, she curiously asked why I was there alone. I didn’t have an answer prepared, so I told her I wanted to take myself out on a nice solo date. Which, I mean, was true!

The food, by the way, was amazing. I’m still dreaming about the fries (yes, they were THAT good). I also ordered the Nashville hot chicken sandwich and I was impressed. It was actually my first time trying Nashville hot sauce, and I totally see why people rave about it all the time.

BRICKELL CITY CENTRE

Brickell City Centre is a shopping center in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood. But it’s more than that — it also has two residential high-rise towers, two office buildings, and a notably expensive high-rise hotel called EAST Miami.

They had a rather nice collection of stores, including: Apple, Abercrombie & Fitch, Marc Jacobs, Bath & Body Works, Nike, and Coach — all of which I visited. I was sad to discover they didn’t have Hollister (my favorite clothing store), but I think the other stores made up for it.

There were also multiple cafes and restaurants to eat at if you worked up an appetite from shopping so much. I personally didn’t eat there, but on my next trip, I’ll probably grab a snack from Joe & the Juice.

VIZCAYA MUSEUM & GARDENS

Vizcaya Museum is the former villa and estate of businessman James Deering. It’s now a top-rated museum you can visit for around $20. As the name suggests, there’s both a museum and a garden to explore.

This is probably my favorite thing I did while visiting Miami. I spent a good two hours exploring before it was time to get back on the train and head to my hotel.

I was also supposed to see Superblue — an immersive art museum — but due to my poor scheduling and time management, that unfortunately didn’t happen. I even tried pushing back my time slot but I still mismanaged my time.

I’ll definitely have to check it out next time because it looks really cool and engaging (and totally great for Instagram if that’s your thing).

SOUTH BEACH

On the last day of my trip, I woke up early and took an Uber to South Beach to see the sunrise. I was NOT prepared for it to be as cold as it was, but it was still a nice experience. I basically just read my book, took some photos, and enjoyed the beach environment.

It wasn’t too packed when I got there, but as time went on, more people came. Still, there weren’t too many people.

After I left the beach, I walked around the South Beach neighborhood. I think I liked this even more than the sunrise! It helped me discover that walking around with no specific plan or intention is one of my absolute FAVORITE things to do when traveling.

I now have a designated slot in every travel itinerary to do this. If you want to see an example, check out literally ANY of my city itineraries.

BISCAYNE BAY MILLIONARE’S HOMES SIGHTSEEING CRUISE

Now THIS is something to talk about. Once it was time to head to the pier for this cruise, I was hesitant. Not only was I physically tired, but my social battery was drained and I didn’t feel like talking to anyone.

Despite this, I still mustered up the courage to go. And in retrospect, I’m glad that I went because it was that pivotal moment most first-time solo travelers have: the moment where the whole idea of solo travel just feels really overwhelming and makes you question whether you’re built for that kind of travel style.

Read my travel journal entry for this experience (I’d usually write in more of a diary-like manner, but that clearly wasn’t the case for this entry):

100% transparency; part of me wishes I wouldn’t have pushed myself to board this cruise. Because I have to fight against these immeasurably intense emotions that popped up out of nowhere. Almost like you’re encountering a shark in the ocean and have no idea what to do.

The content creator and optimism traits in me both want to jump to some preachy lesson like, “I was nervous and scared, but that taught me to embrace those feelings, not kick them to the side.”

But honestly, I don’t feel that way — not yet, at least. Until then, I have to endure another hour and a half in the middle of the [what’s the name of this ocean?] ocean until I can speed walk back to my hotel and ball my eyes out while thinking about how I’m going to sum all this up and write a full recap of my first solo trip…

MY BUDGET FOR THIS TRIP

Here’s my budget for this trip (for context, I visited from December 14-17, 2025).

• Flights: STL to MIA (with ATL layover) on Delta for $490
• Accommodation: Three nights at citizenM Miami World Center for $466.44 (including taxes + fees — this property does not charge an incidental hold or daily resort fee)
• Local Transportation:
  • Rideshare: I took four Ubers (airport round-trip and South Beach round-trip), totaling $84.80 ($21.20 on average per ride)
  • Public Transit: I took the MetroRail train twice, totaling $4.50
• Activities:
  • Pérez Art Museum Miami: $18
  • Miami Sunset and City Lights Cocktail Cruise: $69
  • Superblue Miami: $51.41
  • Phillip & Patricia Frost Museum of Science: $39.95
  • Vizcaya Museum & Gardens: $25
  • Miami Biscayne Bay Millionaire’s Homes Sightseeing Cruise: $20
  • George Balanchine’s “The Nutcracker” at Adrienne Arsht Center: $45
• Daily Spending (Food + Shopping):
  • Food: $80 per day
  • Shopping: $50 per day
• Travel Insurance: $0 (I didn’t buy travel insurance for this trip since, at the time, I didn’t know much about it)
• Miscellaneous/Unexpected: $100
• TOTAL BUDGET: $1,804.10

Miami is known to be a fairly expensive destination, so considering I spent less than $2,000, I think that was somewhat affordable — especially for their peak tourist season.

Remember, there were a few things I scheduled but didn’t get around to doing. So I probably would’ve spent less had my itinerary reflected my change in plans.

WHAT I DID RIGHT ON THIS TRIP

• Visited during peak season: I hardly even knew anything about tourism waves, but I think it’s safe to say I chose a good time to visit Miami. The funny thing is, December is one of Miami’s busiest months for tourists, yet I barely ran into ANY crowds. Please know I wouldn’t usually recommend visiting any city during their peak season, but it turned out just fine on this trip.
• Took the train instead of an Uber to Vizcaya: l easily could’ve taken an Uber to Vizcaya Museum & Gardens from Brickell City Centre, but I noticed while looking at the ride-share options that I could’ve taken a short train ride instead. I’d never used a city’s local transportation before, so I figured it’d be the perfect opportunity to finally give that a try. And it worked out pretty well! Miami doesn’t exactly have the BEST public transportation system, but it got me where I needed to be (on time and for cheap, I must add).
• Had a self-care night: Part of the reason I took a trip was that I needed a reset. A physical reset, a mental reset… just some kind of way to restore and rejuvenate my entire being. I love how I intentionally fit time into my itinerary to do this rather than randomly doing it on the spot or just waiting until I returned home. This definitely inspired me to continue doing something similar on my future trips.
• Tried two local restaurants: I find that when I travel, I prefer to eat at restaurants I’m familiar with, like Chili’s or Chick-fil-A. I’m very much aware that other travelers strictly avoid that, and that’s fine for them! It’s just that there are so many new and unfamiliar things you encounter when traveling, so it’s nice to have something you’re already familiar with. The two restaurants I tried were Earls and The Empanadas. Earls was great. The Empanadas? Eh, it was okay… I’m not too eager to return, as I’m sure there are much better spots around the city.

WHAT I WISH I DID DIFFERENTLY

• Booked a longer layover (or no connecting flight at all, for that matter): Remember my layover story from just a bit ago? Yeah, hopefully I’ll never find myself sharing a similar story with you — at least not anytime soon. Soooooo I will be very sure not to book that short of a connection again. Going forward, I’ll probably shoot for a layover of at LEAST 1.5 hours. Even though that’s still arguably tight, it gives me a bit more wiggle room. Y’know, to wiggle myself to the restroom and take care of my business!
• Visited slightly earlier: Look. I know I said I visited at a good time. And to an extent, I did. But Miami seemed to have a cold front when I visited, making it a LOT cooler than I expected. I packed shorts and pants, but wore the pants more often. Next time, I’ll probably visit at the start of November instead of December. I don’t think other factors like pricing or crowds will change much, so it’s not a huge difference.
• Packed headache medicine and a portable charger: By the end of my first day, my head was POUNDING. And halfway through each day, my main phone was already dead. Thankfully, I have two phones, but it would’ve been nice to have a portable charger on hand. I’ve actually already bought one, and will definitely be putting it to use on my next trip. Which, at the time of writing this, is Chicago in July with my mom and brother. I can’t WAIT for that trip.
• Scheduled things a bit further apart from each other: If there’s ONE logistical lesson I learned from this trip, it’s this one. On every single day, I planned way too many activity back-to-back. And not only did I lose my money (which I’m frankly not even that upset about), but I missed out on the experiences I was really looking forward to, like the sightseeing cruise (yes, I booked two of them) and Superblue.

This was my first time planning an executing a trip on my own, on top of taking my first solo trip. So there were a lot of decisions to make and such, but I think overall, I did a good job. I mean, I can really only move forward and learn from my mistakes!

THE TAKEAWAY (WHY THIS TRIP CHANGED EVERYTHING)

So I’m assuming you just read all that and have a good understanding of my first solo travel experience. It was definitely one to remember, I must say. But you’re probably still questioning why the heck this post exists.

I titled it “The Trip That Changed Everything” because that’s exactly what it did. This trip single-handedly inspired me to travel more often. Not to more travel in general, but to continue exploring the world on my own and find the beauty in that journey.

To constantly learn about myself as a person and as a traveler. To dive into and explore a deeper, more intentional sense of solitude — not to be mistaken for loneliness or isolation!

This trip also inspired me to start this blog. I want nothing more than to turn all my mistakes into advice so you don’t end up in the same boat (no pun intended, HAHA). Whenever you’re planning a big city break here in the US or abroad, I want you to think of The Solo Solstice.

Think of all of the experience I have and the unique things I bring to this whole travel blogging industry. Which I won’t name because I want you to naturally discover them by reading my content!

I’ve got to mention this: I, by no means, became a travel blogger to get free trips. Because if I traveled for free, the advice and tips I share won’t be as relatable. And here, we’re all about community, so we’ve got to relatable to some degree.

So no. I’m not your average travel influencer who gets free first-class flights and 5-star hotels around the world. That’s simply not me, and I frankly don’t ever want to be that kind of person.

I just want to give you some really helpful, insanely detailed, personality-filled travel content rooted in first-hand experience — all paid by for with my own hard-earned money.

And if that’s what you’re interested in, then you’re in the right place!

ABOUT DEMARCUS

DeMarcus is a Midwest-based travel content creator and the founder of the solo travel blog, The Solo Solstice. He began his solo travel journey in December 2025 and since has been creating practical, in-depth travel guides for a like-minded community of first-time solo adventurers.

Visit the About Page to learn more about DeMarcus, and visit the Ethical & Responsible Tourism Page to learn more about his efforts to promote responsible tourism.