Travelling Solo?
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Travelling Solo?
| Thu, 05-31-2007 - 2:52pm |
Hi there, I am in my late 20s and single. My friends are all married. There really are a lot of places in the world I would like to travel to but am weary to do it alone. Everyone travels in groups or with there SO. I feel if I travel alone I feel awkward if I go to an all inclusive vacation to eat at meal times, etc. Do any of you travel alone, if so I would love to hear your stories and a vote of confidence on why I should. Any help appreciated.

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Personally, I've never traveled alone but I see absolutely nothing wrong with it. The pluses of traveling alone are that you get to explore places that you've only read about. Why wait for other people? You can do things that YOU want to do instead of doing things that other people want to do. Another plus is that it make you very independent. You don't have to wait for people to do thing with. You just decide to do it and go. Your married friends will be so envious of the places you've explored!
I say go for it. When I travel, I noticed lots of people alone.
There was a thread on this topic a little while ago in the "30 & Up" section:
http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=iv-rlsinglelovi&msg=7558.1&ctx=512
I think many women travel alone these days. I have a solo trip planned for July - I'm flying to Maine and road-tripping New England solo. Safety is a concern, but I am super careful about that when I go anywhere alone.
Other options are to find a travel group that caters to single travelers. A friend of mine did a trip like that through REI - it was a hiking tour of Germany. You might try doing a search for "solo travel" or "singles travel" - some "singles" trips are geared toward meeting someone, others are just for people who need a group to travel with.
AJ, enjoying life with C.
I've traveled alone a bit myself and actually I really like it! (Although admittedly I haven't traveled overseas yet - that may be a bit more of a challenge.)
The only thing I don't do when traveling alone is eat in restaurants. I just get no joy eating alone in a restaurant, but other than that, I like the freedom of coming and going when I want to, getting up in the morning when I want to, going where I want to, etc.
Last year I went to Las Vegas and various parts of of the southwest by myself and had a blast. I'd do it again this year if I could.
(I take that restaurant thing back - I did eat at one breakfast buffet in Las Vegas because I couldn't resist! And it did feel funny at first but the waitress started talking to me and we carried on a conversation for most of my meal there, so no big deal really.)
>>The only thing I don't do when traveling alone is eat in restaurants.<<
Oh, that's part of the fun of solo travel for me - and good food is a MUST for any of my travel plans. I am much more likely to go to some swanky place alone when traveling than at home. I especially love those seafood restaurants on the water in coastal cities - I pull up to a window seat to watch the ocean (a landlocked girl like me gets mesmerized easily by water).
In other places, I will sometimes buddy up to the bartender if I'm dining out alone. It's a great way to meet people - or to just people watch.
AJ, enjoying life with C.
>I especially love those seafood restaurants on the water in coastal cities - I pull up to a window seat to watch the ocean (a landlocked girl like me gets mesmerized easily by water).<
Yep - water does it to me too.
Reminds me regarding seafood restaurants - I went to Seattle a couple years ago and found this seaside fish bar by accident one day. I tried their clam chowder (it's been my personal search for the grail looking for the perfect clam chowder) - pretty darn good stuff.
But YOU'RE going to the EAST coast. :P I've not been able to try their clam chowder yet.
Did you need some company on this Maine trip?? I'm very good at changing tires or reading maps! :D
I'd love company. :) I'm going solo because my lame friends can't commit (or they're committed to hubbies and kids).
Seattle is one of the places I've traveled alone - and they have an amazing seaside, fancy restaurant where I dined solo. I had halibut, though, so can't vouch for the clam chowder. I'm sure I'll have some in Maine, though, as well as plenty of lobster.
Man, this and the solo cooking thread are making me hungry.
AJ, enjoying life with C.
I know, I am all of a sudden craving a lobster po boy ....
You must be super outgoing. I don't even feel comfortable chatting up the bartender when I'm out alone. As a matter of fact, I'm too chicken to even sit at the bar when I'm flying solo. I'd rather just slink down into some booth in the farthest corner of the restaurant ; )
I took a 2 week singles escorted tour of Europe in 1994 when I was 40, and it was great. I met and hung out with three other singles on the tour and later visited them in their cities. However, this tour compnay "Single World" is no longer in business. There are singles tours out there, and lucky for you at your age, I noticed there are tours for people in their 20s and 30s. I'm at a weird age...not a senior, but certainly not 20s and 30s. The last thing I want to do is be on a bus riding through Ireland with a bunch of senior citizens. No offense to the elderly, but you know what I mean.
I bought a book called "Traveling Solo" and it's chock-full of reviews of different solo travel opportunities, and it's updated every year. I was looking into a tour of Ireland offered by Cosmos (mentioned in the book), which is a budget-minded travel company that attracts younger clientel. It's not a singles tour, but I thought it wouldn't have the seniors. There are also lots of singles cruises, if you're into that sort of thing.
I also tried a Club Med vacation in Cancun but really didn't enjoy it. I'm not that in to water sports, plus I felt there was too much emphasis on drinking and partying. But they do try to seat men and women together in the restaurant, so that you're sort of forced to meet the opposite sex. Nothing really came of this for me, but I suppose it's possible. All in all, a disappointment.
Last year I was brave and took a trip to Savannah by myself. I stayed in a charming bed and breakfast inn for two nights and and one of the nights I went to a Southern cooking demonstration. About half the time I enjoyed the trip, the other half I felt very lonely. So, I'm not sure I will do something like that again.
I have also traveled to NYC by myself, stayed in the city, and met up with one of the women I met on the Europe trip before. This was actually fun. I could do all of the things I wanted to do by myself, then meet up with my friend a few timies, so it wasn't like I was there all alone.
Another thing I used to do was to take an extra day when my company sent me to seminars. I got to visit Seattle and New Orleans this way.
Anyway, I say go for it! If you think you can go alone like some of the other posters, I say go for it. But I really recommend the singles-oriented tours. At least you won't feel out of place on a singles tour.
Hey ladies!
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