Aren't you afraid, Abby Celentano?

"Aren’t you afraid of staying afraid?"

Jan 18, 2026

Hey! I’m Emma from Where’s Ems? 👋🏼 I’ve been travelling full-time since 2023 while building my freelance writing business. Subscribe to receive weekly conversations with women travelling solo, celebrating the joy, kindness and challenges along the way, and asking the question they’re so often asked: “Aren’t you afraid?”

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Abby Celentano admits that most of her travel challenges are self-inflicted — missed flights, wrong tickets, the occasional overweight backpack. But somewhere in the chaos, she’s learnt how capable she really is.

In this conversation, Abby reflects on trusting herself, travelling sustainably and why jumping into the unknown can be both terrifying and kind of fun.

Tell us about yourself. Where are you from? What do you do? What are your hobbies?

I’m from Indiana, born and raised. I always felt stuck in the landlocked Midwest, so I fled to California when I was 22 for grad school (fleeing will continue to be a theme in my life!).

During grad school, I honed in on my career passions, finding a landing in the niche of sustainable apparel. I’ve always loved environmentalism, nature, animals and all things sustainability. I learned so much in grad school about the detrimental environmental impacts of the fashion industry alone, and I became obsessed with solving those climate-associated issues as my career path.

Apart from sustainability and traveling, my more habitual hobbies include running, writing (of course), reading and dancing — I love electronic music, especially techno!

What inspired your first solo trip, and where did you go?

After school, I knew I needed a break. I went straight into my master’s program right out of undergraduate, and I was burnt out. I knew I wanted to travel. I saw some of my friends doing it, and I kept hearing the never-ending pleas from older people to “go do it now, while you’re young!”

I traveled budget backpacker-style for my first solo trip. I had planned to go for just three months, enough time to Interrail through Western Europe. Of course, as a first-timer, I had fears and reservations. I knew I could do it; I always felt capable. What I didn’t know was how much I’d love it… which is why my three-month trip turned into six!

How often do you travel solo these days?

I’d have to say quite often — I’m currently on a solo trip as I write this! I definitely have no inhibitions anymore when it comes to booking a solo trip. If there’s somewhere I want to go, I’m confident enough to do it alone.

“Solo traveling as a female means to constantly be living in this tension of total freedom, while remembering that you ‘need’ to be a little afraid… or at least, cautious.”

How has travelling solo had a positive impact on your life?

I think it’s just made me the most social person ever. I have very little fear when it comes to talking to new people or making new friends. Now and then, I’ll feel a bit of anxiety, but I have so much trust in each new experience I have that I’m good at being comfortable in the uncomfortable.

I also trust myself so much more now. I have a greater connection to my intuition, to my judgment of character, and to the way certain situations or people make me feel. I trust that I will be able to figure it out, no matter where I am or what I am doing. I trust that I’ll be able to see silver linings or find the greater lesson in less-than-ideal situations.

A woman tandem paragliding over green mountains, smiling with her eyes closed as her instructor flies behind her above a forested valley.

I am more open, more engaged and more tuned in to the world around me. It’s also given me this perspective that the world, if seen through the cup-half-full-or-half-empty metaphor, is mostly full. The world is mostly positive, mostly full of good people rather than bad, which makes me inspired and excited to continue to experience it.

Can you share a challenge you faced while travelling solo, and how you handled it?

The biggest challenges for me always seem to be money or time-related. I miss a flight or have to pay extra for a bag, or I’ve bought the wrong train ticket. Those are all very real, very frequent, but very manageable challenges I face. They suck at first, they might put me back a day or two or three, but I’ve learned that these are the challenges that always end up fine. The “thing” always works out.

The mental challenges are the hardest, for sure. Feelings of isolation or crushing loneliness come, and hit hard. Sometimes I’ll be surrounded by a bunch of people I just met and am getting on with, and all of a sudden I want to cry. Because I have this sinking realization that nobody around me actually knows me that well. They don’t know me like my family or my people back home. And sometimes, not feeling known is the worst feeling in the world, but it still hasn’t been bad enough to deter me from solo traveling. Because the feeling fades, and I am flooded with an immense wave of gratitude again to have the courage and privilege to live the life I do.

Another specific challenge for me personally is keeping or losing a sense of routine. I love routine and structure and my own space, so solo traveling can be very disorienting. A sense of spontaneity and openness is fairly crucial (in my opinion) to a fruitful solo travel adventure, which often means ditching a rigid routine. That can be hard for me, because as much as I love spur-of-the-moment plans and crazy stories, I also need a sense of groundedness. I’ve found that I just need to prioritize and balance it all a bit more intentionally while solo traveling.

Tell us about a moment of kindness you’ve experienced while travelling alone.

Ahhh, SO MANY. It amazes me how kind strangers can be. One quick one that comes to mind: at Oktoberfest last year in Munich, I had lost all my newly made friends I came with, and it was the end of the festival. The activities and beer halls had all closed, and amongst my biggest fears, my phone had died. So I was alone, dead phone, in an unfamiliar city, and (admittedly) slightly drunk. But believe me, I sobered up real quick once I realized the direness of my situation. Stranded in Munich alone in my hot pink dirndl. It was quite a scene.

A smiling woman in a dirndl holding two large beer steins at Oktoberfest, surrounded by a crowded beer hall with long tables and festive lights. — Oktoberfest, Munich

Anyway, I kept having these segmented journeys of finding places to charge my phone for a few minutes, getting directions pulled up, and then my phone dying again mid-journey. A cycle of hopelessness. Also, I was staying at a campsite very, very far out of Munich, so it was hard to remember the way back without a charged phone.

At one point, my phone had died again, and I was walking aimlessly outside, crying. A man in lederhosen (a fellow Oktoberfester) approached me. My irritated instinct was to tell him to fuck off and not bother me, assuming he would just drunkenly hit on me or something. But he ended up consoling me so kindly, asking me what was wrong, pulling up directions on his phone, and walking me to the train station. He was a local of Munich, and talked about how much he loved Oktoberfest, despite the sentiment I heard from other locals that said it was overrated and only for tourists. I loved that he loved it, though.

He was just such a kind, gentle angel with genuine intentions, and it really warmed my heart. I ended up getting back safe and sound, and I do NOT condone following in my footsteps.

“Bring a charger. Don’t lose your friends in a new city. Don’t do what I did. But DO keep an open heart to kind strangers.”

What advice would you give to someone about to take their first solo trip?

Pack lightly and walk a lot. Ask local people for advice on where to go and what to do. Don’t plan too much. Stay as open-minded as possible, allow experiences to draw you in, and say yes to new plans. Learn new things about the history of the place you’re traveling to. There is so much to learn about the world, and with each new place you learn about, you make a bit more sense of the nuance and complexities of our huge, interconnected world.

Aren’t you afraid?

Aren’t you afraid of staying afraid? Caution is good, but stifling fear is limiting. There are always things to be afraid of, but for me, I can’t let that stop me from squeezing the heck out of my life. Jumping into the fear is now kind of fun for me (within reason, of course). What will I learn? What will I gain? Who will I meet along the way? YOU NEVER KNOW!!!

Before you go…

Where’s the most memorable place you’ve stayed and why?

My very first hostel, in London, my first solo city: Urbany Hostel. It was a great, intimate, and social hostel, and I met one of my all-time favorite travel friends there. It holds a big, special place in my heart.

What’s one thing you always pack?

A book (I will never be a Kindle girly, sorry).

What’s the best thing you’ve eaten while travelling?

Nothing hits like a European bakery full of fresh bread and pastries.

Is there one safety tip you swear by?

Pack your backpack/bag as huge and heavy as possible, so it can double as a whip to whack people with if they try anything funny.

Do you have a souvenir that always makes you smile?

All my thrifted clothes from cities around the world.

Abby’s sustainable travel tips

Always try to eat and shop at locally owned, small stores and restaurants, especially in highly touristy cities. Local mom-and-pop shops need all the support they can get to stay around.
Choose locally owned hotels too, rather than large chain hotels or resorts.
Walk or bike as much as you can, and only take cars or buses when needed.
Choose trains over planes if possible.
Dispose of trash correctly — use recycling, compost, etc., where available.
Pack lightly and pack reusable things (refillable shampoo bottles, reusable bags, water bottles, etc.).
One of the most important things is to research a place before visiting. Understand the impact you have as a visitor, the vulnerabilities that come with tourism, and be educated, mindful and respectful of new cities and cultures.
Maybe skip a place that’s suffering from over-tourism and pick somewhere less traveled.
Learn some of the language.

Overall, I think sustainable tourism is really just being as intentional and mindful of your impact as possible, and recognizing that all tourism leaves an impact on the environment and local communities. So travel gently.

Want to keep up with Abby’s adventures? Follow her here:

✍🏻 @abbycelentano