I always wanted to go on a solo trip as a woman, and as an only child and INFJ (Introverted,Intuitive, Feeling, and Judging), I just knew it would be a WONDERFUL experience. So where did I go? Tampa, Florida — to see my favorite K-pop group, BTS, in concert!
For a few years of being ARMY (BTS’s fanbase), I had been waiting and anticipating seeing BTS live in concert. My original plan was to catch them in Atlanta, but oddly enough, Atlanta wasn’t one of the tour stops — so the closest option was Tampa. For the first 15 minutes, I was hit with overthinking, anxiety, and sadness. Then something ignited in me, and I decided to go for those tickets anyway.
After many failed attempts battling evil Ticketmaster, I checked StubHub and finally snagged one ticket — Section 111, lower seats, facing the middle of the BTS 360 stage. That ticket was almost $1,000, but I did not care. I had just landed a great-paying job after months of being laid off. I deserved it.
After booking my hotel and flight, I was set.
April 25th finally arrived. I headed to the airport and, as expected, spotted ARMY everywhere. On the plane to Tampa, we were already in our element. After landing at Tampa International Airport, there was a BTS ARMY photo op — a long line of fans waiting to take a picture in front of it. I snapped a photo and headed to baggage claim, then ordered an Uber downtown Tampa.
As I rode through Tampa, I noticed it had a busy but chill vibe — very different from other parts of Florida. I’ve been to Jacksonville, Miami, Destin, St. Augustine, and Orlando many times, and honestly? Tampa is an underrated city to visit. Unfortunately, I was only staying for one night — all because of BTS.
When I arrived at the hotel, my room wasn’t ready, so I went to grab food since the concert was only a few hours away. I found a Korean restaurant in Tampa called KPOP FOOD on 1531 E 7th Avenue and ordered bulgogi kimbap and tteokbokki (Korean spicy rice cakes), washed down with an iced Thai milk tea. It was packed with ARMY and locals, so I got it to go and ate back at the hotel.
After lunch, I ran into some familiar faces from my flight — Simone and Sarah, sweet ARMY who happened to be staying at the same hotel and going to the same concert. We got to know each other and decided to share an Uber to the venue.
Once my room was finally ready, I took a solid hour nap and then transformed into my BTS concert outfit. I wore a custom Arirang jersey, cargo zipper jeans, and a red bandana repping BTS and my bias, V — aka Kim Taehyung. I wore comfy platform sneakers because I knew there’d be a lot of walking. My K-pop concert essentials were packed: a necklace fan, money, and my lucky V photocard. And of course, I could NOT forget my ARMY Bomb lightstick.
When we arrived at Raymond James Stadium, there were thousands of fans dressed for the occasion. I saw Bulletproof jerseys, meme outfits, sexy looks, cute looks, and even some Japanese Harajuku-inspired fits — the BTS concert fashionwas unmatched.
Inside, we jumped in the merch line. The aesthetic leaned dark and grey — and I’m more of a vibrant, bold colors kind of girl — so I only bought the cradle for my lightstick. I’m already planning to bejewel it with pink gems.
After splitting off to head to our sections, I settled into my seat in Section 111 — lower deck, facing the middle of the 360 stage. The overwhelming excitement I felt realizing I was actually about to see BTS live in person was indescribable. Before the show, fans were handing out freebies, and I received a cute purple paper heart cutout.
During the concert, I genuinely could not believe what I was experiencing. Seeing BTS on stage was absolutely amazing, and seeing my bias V (Kim Taehyung) in real life? Hot as expected. I took hundreds of photos and videos, danced, sang along to every song, and had the most wonderful time.
After the concert, Simone, Sarah, and I headed across the pedestrian bridge to wait for our Uber. Due to post-concert traffic near Raymond James Stadium, our driver couldn’t reach us for over an hour. I didn’t get back to the hotel until 2:00 AM — and my flight back to Atlanta was early morning, meaning I had to be up by 4:00 AM. Two hours of sleep. Whew.
I took a quick shower, turned on my brown noise, and knocked out. When my alarm went off at 4:00 AM, I was fully in my BTS concert hangover era. I got dressed, checked out, and flew safely back to Atlanta.
So was my solo trip to Tampa worth it? Absolutely. Traveling alone as a woman gave me so much freedom — eating what I wanted, going where I wanted, having a hotel room all to myself. The only thing missing was a BTS-fan friend, but fate sent me Simone and Sarah instead. It just goes to show — solo travel doesn’t mean lonely travel. There will always be someone to meet along the way.
So ladies, if you’ve never taken a solo trip, do it. At least once in your life. Everyone deserves an adventure.
