I just took my first solo trip abroad — here’s how I planned it and what I’d do differently

I've been lucky enough to experience all kinds of trips over the years, from a multigenerational holiday in Germany to an outdoorsy honeymoon in Madagascar. But until recently, I had never really taken a big solo trip.Sure, I've done my fair share of solo travel around the U.S. — but most of my trips are to visit loved ones or attend work events, so I'm not really alone. The last and only time I flew internationally by myself was when I studied abroad in Ireland over a decade ago, and even then, I had no shortage of fellow students to pal around with.I decided it was time to see what solo travel is all about, so I booked a weeklong trip to Lisbon, party of one. Here's what I learned, why I would absolutely do it again — and what I might do differently next time.Travel is more drainingRACHEL CRAFT/THE POINTS GUYThe first thing I noticed about solo travel is that the travel part is more demanding. You are 100% responsible for getting yourself to your destination — that includes keeping tabs on your flight status, reading signs (sometimes in foreign languages), navigating public transportation and more.In other words, you must be constantly "on." You can't risk dozing off at your gate...