solo travel

fufu_banterwaite

You are never too old to travel. I met all ages when I was away.

Bell11231

Have you been travel to Niagara Falls? It’s quite safe to to visit there even for a single female. I usually visit there and you may starat from these beautiful falls. I’m sure that it would be a best trip of yours.

agrinnall

Nowhere can be guaranteed completely safe, including your own home, so it's more a question of minimising the potential risks when travelling. Perhaps northern Europe would be a good starting point, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Scandanavia. The downsides are that they're all quite expensive countries and if you're after better weather than at home you might be out of luck.

As an aside, many of the solo female travellers that I've met when travelling myself have been from those countries, which might suggest that there's a culture there that encourages it and would hopefully accept solo females from elsewhere.

SallyD

Strangely enough only last week I was talking to gym buddies over coffee about a tour I was interested in and having a moan at the single supplement. One of them said she would be interested to join me and I took her up on the offer. Since then two other women have contacted me asking if they too could come. I have booked us all on a cultural tour of Turkey - I only see them once a week during a gym session, so hardly know any of them very well. It will make a nice change (I hope) to travel with company but I have met so many people from all walks of life, all ages along the way on my jolly jaunts.

Another good accommodation option are the Convents, especially in places like Rome, Florence and Venice.Some have strict rules but many run as profitable B & B's nowadays and can be expensive. I will never forget my stay in a Women only convent in Venice a good few years back. You had to be back by 8pm,lights out by 9pm. Underwear was not to be left on show, no underwear to be washed and hung to dry in the bathroom, only cold showers, and certainly no talking after lights out. Breakfast was a bread roll and water and we had to praise the lord at 6 am - all this experience for a mere 5 euro a night! and in the centre of Venice. The convent has now closed but the Youth Hostel on Guidecca is a good choice.I have always enjoyed staying there. A good time to go is during Carnival. It's next door to the Cipriani Hotel reputedly the most expensive hotel in Venice.

I think you need not to look like a tourist walking about with your head in a map. I always read up on train, bus tickets etc., download bus and metro maps. Google Streetmap to familiarise myself where I will be staying. Often contact the tourist board before I go. They generally send maps, special offer coupons,what's on guides. I always like to take bus rides out of the city to get a feel for the area. I often hop on any bus and go to the end of the line or jump off in a neighbourhood and have a wander around. I also like to do a guided walk either under my own steam or through the tourist board.

I would urge anyone not to just sit at home thinking about going off somewhere, JUST DO IT........you can always get a flight home is if its that bad!

SallyD

Strangely enough only last week I was talking to gym buddies over coffee about a tour I was interested in and having a moan at the single supplement. One of them said she would be interested to join me and I took her up on the offer. Since then two other women have contacted me asking if they too could come. I have booked us all on a cultural tour of Turkey - I only see them once a week during a gym session, so hardly know any of them very well. It will make a nice change (I hope) to travel with company but I have met so many people from all walks of life, all ages along the way on my jolly jaunts.

Another good accommodation option are the Convents, especially in places like Rome, Florence and Venice.Some have strict rules but many run as profitable B & B's nowadays and can be expensive. I will never forget my stay in a Women only convent in Venice a good few years back. You had to be back by 8pm,lights out by 9pm. Underwear was not to be left on show, no underwear to be washed and hung to dry in the bathroom, only cold showers, and certainly no talking after lights out. Breakfast was a bread roll and water and we had to praise the lord at 6 am - all this experience for a mere 5 euro a night! and in the centre of Venice. The convent has now closed but the Youth Hostel on Guidecca is a good choice. It's next door to the Cipriani Hotel reputedly the most expensive hotel in Venice.

I think you need not to look like a tourist walking about with your head in a map. I always read up on train, bus tickets etc., download bus and metro maps. Google Streetmap to familiarize myself where I will be staying. Often contact the tourist board before I go. They generally send maps, special offer coupons,what's on guides. I always like to take bus rides out of the city to get a feel for the area. I often hop on any bus and go to the end of the line or jump off in a neighbourhood and have a wander around. I also like to do a guided walk either under my own steam or through the tourist board.

Another good option is the YWCA in the centre of Rome. Not a 5 minute walk from the main railway station in a residential area. The Ryanair/Easyjet bus terminates/departs from the Railway Station.

I would urge anyone not to just sit at home thinking about going off somewhere, JUST DO IT........you can always get a flight home is if its that bad!

Doshwaster

SallyD wrote: »

Strangely enough only last week I was talking to gym buddies over coffee about a tour I was interested in and having a moan at the single supplement.

I really don't understand this. I've travelled all over the world on my own and I've never paid a single supplement.

TBagpuss

Go for it!

I have taken a lot of solo holidays, starting when I was in my early 20s. I have never had any problems.

It would probably be sensible to start with European or North American destination if you've never done any solo travel before, and see how it goes.

If you chose to use hostels (and many offer single rooms as well as dorms, although this is obviously a bit more expensive) you are likely to find other hostellers friendly and may well find that there are people happy to meet up to go out for meals etc together - I have fond memories of meals out with a group of Irish girls in Krakow, a French woman in Amsterdam, an elderly Canadian couple in Washington and so on - if you are willing to be friendly and start conversations you will find that others are equally willing to be friendly.

I also find that when I travel alone I tend to have a more 'immersive' experience - I'm much more likely to get into conversations with staff at restuarants or attractions, and am far less likely to be distracted from the place, than if I am with a companion, when a lot of the holiday will be about spending time with them.

It's also very liberating to be able to decide what you want to do and see without having to consider anyone else's preferences - for instance, I often go on holiday with a dear friend of mine, but she hates heights, so if we go places together, we will not normally do the trip which involves taking the chairlift up the mountain, or climbing to the top of the cathedral tower, whereas I love those sorts of things and left to my own devices may well do them first. Equally, my friend is vegetarian, which in some places can limit where we can eat. We are happy to make accommodations for each other when we travel together, but when I go alone I love that I can be a little more adventurous in which resturants I go to, for instance.

I particularly enjoyed my solo trip to Greece, where I had no hassle of any kind.

I decided, when I first found myself in the position of being able to afford a holiday abroad, but not having anyone to go with, that I was not going to let being single stop be from enjoying travel, and I have never regretted any trip I took solo.


In Turkey, I never felt unsafe, but you will get people trying to sell you stuff, offering to guide you, and you will get young men complimenting you and wanting to talk.

I am very fair skinned and am not a fan of the heat, so I tend not to wear skimpy clothes for that reason - and you may find you are less likely to be harassed if you chose to wear (say) t-shirts rather than vest tops and so on.

Take books or a kindle with you so you have something to read when you are dining alone. Look at the couch-surfing website - as well as people offering their sofas/spare rooms for travellers there are people who sign up to indicate that they are interested to meet people for coffee and to introduce them to the town/city - you could try that.

There are also companies which cater specifcially to single travellers if you prefer a more structured approach.

zagfles

Doshwaster wrote: »

I really don't understand this. I've travelled all over the world on my own and I've never paid a single supplement.

It's just a wording thing. Eg a B&B charging 30 for a single room or 40 for a double may quote their prices as 20 per person with a 10 single supplement - same thing.

Packages tend to use per person pricing based on 2 sharing so there'll usually be a "single supplement" for people who want their own room.

zagfles

I'd suggest SE Asia/Australia over Europe, as there seem to be far more more solo travellers there than in Europe, and proabably about 50:50 male/female.

SallyD

Doshwaster wrote: »

I really don't understand this. I've travelled all over the world on my own and I've never paid a single supplement

I do my best to avoid "single supplements" but often packages with the likes of Travelsphere,Archers,Cosmos etc., do charge a single supplement unless they offer a "room share".