For some, solo travel can be a daunting venture. For Golden Globe Award-winning actress and haircare mogul Tracee Ellis Ross, it’s one of life’s greatest pleasures. And now she has a show about it. Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross just debuted on the Roku Channel, and over three episodes the Girlfriends and Black-ish star takes viewers on her journeys through Marrakesh, Morocco; Marbella, Spain, and Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Thanks to a mix of documentary-style footage and up-close-and-personal video diaries, her show feels more intimate than most travel productions. “Solo vacation, but kinda you’re with me,” she tells viewers with a laugh at the start of the second episode. And she’s right. We’re there as she (over)packs, gets food poisoning, calls home to Mom (“Mom” here being Diana Ross, of course), and connects with locals every place she goes. Ross shows us how she likes to “follow her heart, go to beautiful places, wear pretty clothes, and enjoy [her] own company.”

Ross spoke with Thrillist associate editor Annie Harrigan about the joys of traveling alone, her best tips for taking that first solo vacation, and what she always packs for a trip.

Thrillist: What’s your favorite solo travel memory?

Tracee Ellis Ross: I have so many. I took my first solo trip at 24 or 25 and I’ve been doing it ever since. I think there’s all different kinds of solo travel people: solo travel for adventure people, solo travel to meet people, or people like me who solo travel to find a sense of relaxation. I just really love the experience of it and so I don’t know that I could pick a favorite. It was a really joyful experience to be able to figure out how to share that very intimate experience of solo travel in a show environment and how to create a kind of video diary of sorts. I really enjoyed going to these three cities. So those would be my favorite memories: Marrakesh, Marbella, and Maya Coba.

How did you get into solo travel?

I was doing a show on Lifetime called The Dish, and I was making the most money I’d ever made, and I was like, “I want to go on a trip.” I had seen in Conde Nast Traveler the Pink Sands resort in The Bahamas and I was like, “This is the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen in my life and I want to go.” I don’t remember flying there. I don’t remember all of that part of it, but I remember the room I stayed in. It was like a little casita on its own. I think it was the first place I ever tried a cocktail. There was some sort of umbrella in it. I remember the sand was pink. It was the most beautiful place I’de ever been, and I had such a good experience. I didn’t feel lonely. I remember packing my beautiful things and it just worked, and so I’ve done it ever since.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to solo travel but is nervous about it?

I’ve got some real good tips for you. OK, so the first thing I would say is if you’ve never solo traveled and you want to, but you’re nervous about it, try going to dinner by yourself on a Wednesday night when the restaurant opens. If you can accomplish that with no problem, go on a Friday or a Saturday night when the restaurant is full of couples and groups of people. Go by yourself and see how you feel. Make a reservation, but go up to that hostess table and say party of one. If you feel good about that, but you’re still nervous about planning a trip, go on a trip to someplace that you’ve already been with people so you know what it’s like. Same hotel, wherever it is you went, go by yourself, but you’ll know where you’re going and see how that feels. You also could tack a couple of days onto a trip that you already have planned with people.

Any tips for choosing a trip?

Ask yourself what kind of solo trip you want. Do you want adventure? Do you want to meet other people? Do you want to be in a resort? Do you want to go on a museum tour? Do you want to go on a food tour? Do you want to go shopping? Decide what you want. Perhaps it’s the kind of trip I take, which is really about the luxury of being by yourself—following your heart around, slowing your pace down, and enjoying your own company. And then once you know what kind of trip you want, you can plan it from there. And then I always say to people, particularly because solo travel can leave you more vulnerable than other travel, ask yourself what parts of your identity are joyful, beautiful, empowered parts of you that might be perceived as a vulnerability out in a foreign place. If you are LGBTQ, a woman, Black, whatever it may be, that might be perceived as a vulnerability. Do your due diligence to the best of your ability to make sure it’s a place that will receive you with open arms so that you can enjoy your experience to the fullest.

What is the first thing you do when you arrive at a new destination?

I like to bring Sono Wipes and the first thing I do when I get somewhere is I like to wipe it down. I wipe down the bathtub, the floor, the shower, the sink, the toilet, the bedside table. I also always bring my own pillow and I like to unpack when I get where I’m going. I travel with a lot of luggage. My philosophy on packing is B.I.A. Bring it all. So that being said, that’s part of the ritual of when I get somewhere.

One of the other things I love to do is get a lymphatic drainage massage. It helps the transition into the place. I love to take a bath. It gets you off that airplane and in water and your body can settle. But other than that, it kind of depends on where I’m going and what I’m doing.

What’s something you pack to entertain yourself while you’re traveling alone?

I am very big on pre-planning and on downloading shows. I often wait to watch a show for when I travel, and I download everything on my iPad. I have a “to watch” list in my notes app and a check means I’ve downloaded it. And a green check on the other side means I’ve watched it. So before a trip I move things to the top. I also love to travel with an actual book for when I can’t sleep. If I can’t sleep, it’s great for me to read with the lights low and to not be looking at a screen.

What’s the last book you read on vacation?

I just finished Barry Diller’s Who Knew. I also just finished Graydon Carter’s memoir and Keith McNally’s memoir. I am in the middle of reading Yellowface which is really good so far.

What are some self-care must-haves you always bring with you when you travel?

Oh, are you ready? I always have a medical kit, which has everything from anti-nausea to Band-aids to alcohol swabs to Neosporin. It’s the gamut. I don’t think I’ve ever, except for that Spain episode, had to go into my medical kit. But it stays with me.

Compression socks. I like a compression thigh-high toes-out sock. I put them on in the airplane. I have a particular travel outfit of all different variations. I love a coordinated sweatsuit with an oversized pair of sweatpants that I can pull up over my knees so that I can put the compression thigh-highs on.

I always wear an AirTamer around my neck, which is a personal air purifier. I travel with KN 95 masks because I don’t go into airport or airplane bathrooms without a mask anymore. I never loved it before, but now I’m like, “Just put the mask on.”

And of course, Pattern, that’s a given. I have Pattern in my purse. I have styling cream and leave-in conditioner in my purse. And it’s in my carry-on. And it’s in my luggage. I travel on the airplane with the mini shower brush and packets just in case my luggage doesn’t arrive.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever tried to take through airport security with you?

So I’m a crystal girl. I love a crystal. I have big crystals, giant crystals, small crystals, medium crystals, pocket-sized crystals. I got crystals, crystals, crystals. And often before a trip, I have little travel crystals that I bring with me in this really beautiful little sequin pouch that I took from my mother years ago. But every once in a while, one of my crystals is like, “I need to go with you on this trip.” And it talks to me and it tells me it’s ready to go with me. So on one trip I put this crystal that was maybe about the size of my fist in my bag. And here’s the thing, other people can’t touch your crystals. And the guy at airport security was like, “What is this?” I was like, “It’s my crystal, but you can’t touch it.” He’s like, “Your what?” And I was like, “My crystal.” He’s like, “What’s it for?” And I was like, “My soul.” And I said, “But you can’t touch it. You can unwrap it, but you can’t touch it.” And he was like, “All right, I don’t know…” So he put it through the thing again and he wiped it down with that thing that they use on your hands. He went through the whole thing. He’s like, “All right, you’re fine.” But his eyes were rolling and he definitely thought, “This woman’s nuts.”