6-8 weeks in Europe without husband
 

okay, the weather has me dreaming and planning! My husband does not like the long flights to Europe and will not return there with me! So....in the past, I just go with my daughter (who is married!) and enjoy it. However, it has always been my dream to go to Europe for an extended stay. If I do this, I will probably have a friend or my daughter with me for two weeks at most. Have any of you done this on your own before? I do not speak foreign languages fluently, but always seem to be able to communicate....let me hear from some of you.

The longest I have stayed solo is 3 weeks. No problems at all. In fact I really like traveling alone. I speak very few words of foreign languages despite the fact that I have been traveling in Europe since 1983. The only concern that I have is leaving my luggage while I go to the ladies room on the train.

I go to Europe every year alone as a female traveler. Always rent a car for at least part of the trip. Usually spend between 17 and 24 nights there.

I don't speak any foreign language fluently but always learn the pleasantries and start/end with them when addressing someone. English is spoken everywhere... if you find one person that doesn't speak it, the next person most likely will.

Go and have a great time!

Yes, I did a similar trip some years ago. Five weeks in France ( started trip in Germany) with a short trip to London for a reunion with old friends. Like you I am not fluent in any foreign language but can communicate well enough.I had a great time. Communication with hubby was via fax as computers and cell phones weren't very common.It's much easier now to keep in touch.

I will add that I did run into a few occasions where I was approached by men but all were harmless and easily repelled. Now I might even welcome it, but it never happens.:)

It's a wonderful opportunity to have a bit of adventure all your own doing all those things that you want to do without worrying about what someone else. I really enjoyed my trip.

Any ideas as to where you might go?

My first trip to Europe was six weeks, solo, in my early 20s. I did part of it as a Contiki tour but part of it on my own (3 wks in France), and loved every minute of it.

Well, maybe not every minute, the Italian men were *very* aggressive and that took some getting used to, but I managed. If that were to happen today, I'd probably laugh but at the time (over 15 yrs ago) it wasn't as amusing. But as historytraveler said, it's unlikely that would happen now anyway. Hah.

Yes, I've done that quite a few times, every one of them enjoyable, but I've always liked my "alone time," even as a child. Also, in part because I do speak a few languages, I really enjoy meeting and talking to people - in shops, at markets, at local festivals, and so forth. And I love just doing things at my own pace - whether it's slow or fast - and on a whim. I can just drive around on tiny roads, for example, for hours on end, stopping whenever, wherever - there probably aren't a whole lot of people out there who'd want to join me for that activity. I can spend hours in supermarkets, probably not everyone's idea of a great day. I can get up late or go to bed early....yes, I love it all. As long as you have skype or something to stay in touch with your spouse, you should be fine!

HistoryTraveler: The longest that I have been away in Europe from hubby is 3 weeks; I really think I will be fine longer..he really looks forward to my return!(as do I) I think I would really like to rent an apartment somewhere in France, maybe the Alsace region for a month and then maybe a month in Italy. These are two countries that I just cannot get enough of. I would LOVE to buy something cheap, like a one bedroom apartment but I am not certain hubby would go for that. I am a planner, so I am already searching for ideas! Thanks to all of you who answered. CheryllJ....I can promise you that one day you will appreciate a man other than your hubby noticing you! I always say look and do not touch. StCirc....I, too, treasure my alone time, I just have never had it for that length of time. I will keep you posted.

Well I can't get 6-8 weeks off from work, so nothing I can consider at this point. But yes I've gone to Europe solo (I'm single) and loved each trip. I've never had any issues caused by my lack of fluency in a 2nd language. I'd do it in a heartbeat!

I did 8 weeks in Europe solo and say you should go for it! Other than some high school French, I only had a few phrases in other languages that I learned from the guidebook while on my way to a new location. Only problem I had was saying "grazie" in Paris after spending a week in Italy. Still gets the point across :-)

Just make sure you have activities planned if you're worried about getting lonely or feeling at loose ends. I wish I had joined more walking tours giving either a brief overview of parts of the various cities I visited or a more in-depth look at a particular neighborhood, site, etc.

I never felt unsafe. I always took my purse/computer bag w/ me if I used the restroom on the train (and went while moving, not while at a station). I didn't experience any problems with pickpockets, though certainly it does happen.

Definitely go and enjoy!! BTW...you might be surprised at how many people suddenly want to join you for a week once you get your plans made (I had almost 3 weeks of travel companions once I made my plans, before that no one was interested in talking about planning a trip).

kraines: I am very single so I would appreciate it very much if a man noticed me. :) As I said, I would probably find it amusing if it happened now. Not so much at 22, when I was groped on the street by the Italian men. Ah, youth is wasted on the young and all that. ;p

I traveled alone many time but not for such extended stay.
The main problem for me has been evening ( night) time especially if it was dark early and/or the weather was miserable.

Also, big cities always gave me more options .

If you are concerned about language, why not just do an evening course in a language you like for a few weeks? You don't have to learn much and if it gives you some security, why not do it? I've travelled alone extensively for up to 3 months at a time (mostly for work / study at that time), not the case nowadays. Languages do help (nice to talk to strangers on a train), but obviously English is everywhere, especially amongst the young people.

Lavandula

Cheryl - my wife was a student here at that age, and now those 2s are 5s she still gets an occasional fondle on the bus.

Sadly though the guys prone to doing it were probably all in school at the same time as the Florentines and Paduans who pestered her thirty-whatever years ago.... but perhaps you just can't unteach old dogs old tricks?

Peter

Interesting that all the responses are so positive. I have also done numerous trips - and even more 'parts of trip' alone and find there are many pros and hardly any cons. In your case it seems it's the length of the trip you are considering that concerns you. But with skype you can really stay in close touch with your hubby and not feel so alone or isolated. My daughter is living in Europe this year. She's been home for the past three weeks and I honestly think I talk to her more via email and skype when she's not here than when she is. Same for the amount of time I spend talking to my husband via skype when I'm on a trip without him.

Here's a link to an old thread about solo traveling. I bookmarked it six years ago just before my first solo trip - and now here I am one of the one's who loves solo traveling. http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...o-be-alone.cfm

I'm also married and have traveled by myself in Spain and Italy for up to 3 weeks at a time. I was very comfortable and liked traveling by myself. Frankly , the only time I didn't like to be by myself was at dinner time. If I ever do it again I would try to stay at an apt for part of the trip.

Well, this has been so interesting to read all of the feedback. Thank you all for your input. I, like cruiseluv, do not like going out to dinner alone and I do not think that I would be comfortable out at night alone. But, I think I am going to go for this and start some planning. I bet you are right, once the word gets out what I am doing there will be lots of my friends wanting to share a week or two! What fun and how wonderful that we are all so confident and will do things like this on our own! Happy Wednesday~

I've never had a problem dining alone and, like St. Cirq, have always enjoyed my "alone time". When eating out, I usually go a bit earlier than most and take a book, although I often find I never read it. Of course, by renting an apartment you would not have the problem (?) of dining out.

I have taken several such long trips and loved it - but with airlines usually I think offering a $100 or so change you could always abort your trip if it drags on, you get homesick, etc.

Anyway for such wide ranging travels I would recommend taking the train - the fantastic rail system with departures hourly or more everywhere - and right to city centers, where cars are more and more a liability - many city centers now being off-limits to private vehicles - cars are great for touring rural areas but not so great for hitting the famous tourist cities most travelers naturally want to see. Anyway if going by train check out these fab IMO sites - www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com - download the latter's superb IMO European Rail & Planning Guide that has itineraries by rail for each country to help plan your journey, etc.
If you have a choice of when to go avoid July and August when places like Italy and the major tourist meccas like Paris teem with tourists - May, early June and Sept and early Oct would be fab and you can save a ton on airfare and hotels if looking to economize as many have off-peak rates and the cheaper ones will be more available than in peak summer season.

Ahhh...the pleasure of train travel in MOST of Europe. Spent two weeks in The Netherlands this past summer...that is the best rail system ever! Totally loved it there. Having an apartment does not mean you don't cook; imo you just feel like you are more of a citizen than a traveler....Hope that does not sound stupid, but that is how it makes me feel while there.

I travel often with husband, daughter, friends, etc. and enjoy it thoroughly. But I also look forward to going off on my own each autumn for several weeks and have done so every year since my children left the nest for university 20 years ago. Most often I travel alone to France and Italy, but I have also explored Scandinavia, Slovenia, Croatia, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Malta, Aeolian Islands and many other places.

I find travel as a single very rewarding for many reasons, chief among which are increased interaction with my surroundings and local people. I like to talk, I like to share my experiences with others, so I find myself striking up conversations with strangers much more frequently than I do if I have a companion. I speak enough 'tourist-French,' 'tourist-Italian,' etc, that I can initiate conversations but have difficulty going much beyond simple questions and comments. I have wonderful indelible memories of the efforts some people made to carry on conversations with me far beyond our respective abilities to understand each other. Yes, even in France I have found people to be infallibly kind to the language-challenged American in their midst.

I usually travel by rail, bus, ferry, although a few times I have hired a car in order to get to more inaccessible places. I like to stay in one place a minimum of a week before moving on. This has afforded me the opportunity to explore more out-of-the-way places in greater depth and to settle into the rhythm of the place.

Dining alone in the evening can be awkward, and yet it's important to me to be out enjoying a meal with others, so I take it into careful consideration when I select accommodation. I try to stay somewhere centrally located, with restaurants nearby and where there is generally a bustle of people about so I feel safe walking alone after dark. I often return to the same restaurant several nights in a row and am invariably repaid by waiters greeting me as a regular.

When I travel on my own to out-of-the-way places, where few people speak much English, where Americans are rarely spotted, loneliness is a constant companion, but that's not a bad thing. My reward is that I have discovered places where people still go about their lives as previous generations did, not hustling for the tourist dollar (or euro), and I have the leisure to enjoy them on my terms, at my pace.

I agree with Danon about big cities. As a solo traveler and woman alone I'm always much more comfortable there, find the ease of public transportation valuable, and there are just more options for things to do. I don't mind evenings on my own. Sometimes I can find things near the hotel, but also I don't mind a dinner picnic and watching TV shows in the local language.

I've travelled alone quite a bit, more before I was married but also shorter trips since I was married. (I also had to move to Paris immediately after our honeymoon for a job and my husband couldn't join me for 3 months.)

One of my favourite ways to take a solo vacation is to take a fun "study" holiday of some kind. In particular, I like language holidays. Morning classes provide structure to my day (i.e., getting me out of bed at a decent hour) while leaving me with time in the afternoon to sightsee. My classmates are potential sightseeing or restaurant partners, and the school usually organizes some social, sightseeing activities - especially orientation tours, chat nights, etc. You can do a homestay if you're brave, rent an apartment or stay in a hotel (I do the latter).

If you're not keen on studying languages, you could take cooking classes, art classes, winetasting or something else that interests you.

My fantasy, actually, is to do a round-the-world trip where I would take cooking lessons and go diving in different countries (e.g., Italy, Turkey, Thailand, Australia).

If you have 6-8 weeks, you could pick two countries you're interested in visiting and do something study-oriented in each one. For example,

- France: 1 week of morning language classes in Paris, 1 week of morning language classes on the Cote d'Azur, and one week just relaxing with more freedom to travel around a bit overnight.

- Italy: 3 cities (e.g., Rome, Florence and Venice) with a plan to take a one or two-day class in something (e.g., cooking or wine) in each city.

Do it! I have done a lot of solo travel and after years of it, I do like to have an apartment so that I can cook my own meals at night sometimes. Not to mention you will save a lot of money.

6-8 weeks will fly by. But you'll feel like it didn't fly by TOO FAST.

There are times when you will get lonely but just remember how lucky you are to be doing what you are doing. That always snaps me out of it. That and a glass of wine at a cafe somewhere. :)

My phone allows free incoming calls while I am in France and Italy, so my husband calls EVERY day at least twice and usually more. Too much!

Loving this input! Let's go ladies!

Yes, I am happily married but have traveled extensively in Europe alone. If your spouse is okay with it, go for it. Mine would get lonely after 3 weeks I think even though he would tell me to go...

If you click on my name you can read about my 10 days alone in Paris in November...

gruezi

I'll meet you in Rome for a week! DH doesn't like it there, but there is so much I would like to see.

Never traveled solo in Europe before, although I've never heard someone who disliked the trip solo.

6-8 weeks alone (or as you mentioned, 2 weeks w/ daughter + 4-6 weeks 'alone') will be fine, I've met some people who have gone for 4 months by themselves.

Alsace is a great base for traveling around France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and even Switzerland.

If you need a Italian base for a month, I'd advise Tuscany. You can get just about anywhere from Tuscany (Venice, Rome, Naples, Bari, Bologna, Milan, Trent, Turin, etc)

Might be cheaper in Siena, although I'd base in Florence. :)

Oh and, sorry for ruining the 'girl power' feel of the last couple comments. I'm a man *wink*

Kraines, agree that Tuscany would be the best part in Italy to base yourself(however given the length of time you are considering, you could base yourself 2-3 weeks in Tuscany and the rest in Rome or even Venice) For a period of more than a week I would consider being based in a city rather than in the countryside. Look into Lucca. I spent 2 weeks there while attending Italian language school and loved it. It seems to offer many apartments for rental right within the city walls.

I do love the base city strategy where I stay in one place some days and do day trips from it - just go to the train station luggage-less, hop on a train - tour my day trip and return home to a familiar city and hotel - not wasting time packing up each day and relocating.

I know some husbands who would love for their spouses to take a 6-8 week tour abroad...

"If you need a Italian base for a month, I'd advise Tuscany. You can get just about anywhere from Tuscany (Venice, Rome, Naples, Bari, Bologna, Milan, Trent, Turin, etc)"
I would base my self in a big city so there is a lot to do during the day : attend language classes, visit museum and galleries, take day trips, go shopping... and in the evening : concerts , the opera , people watching in cafes etc.
Without speaking the language ,I would find it deadly to spend days and nights in some small town ( even if not alone).

What a great post !!! and I can't believe there are so many of us who travel alone.
Most times I travel, it is without the husband, but I've always gone directly to stay with friends overseas, so it isn't really being alone.
My recent trip to Germany was my first proper 'do it yourself' one (in process of writing trip report for those who may be interested).
Only been home 2.5 weeks and want to take off again :)

PS If I ever win the lottery, then my dream is to study in Vienna for six months learning German! In the menatime I am planning to go back to Europe Christmas 2012 (4 weeks) with my daughter who will then be 18 - so if anyone wants to join us........ please let me know. :)

nz, I certainly empathize with wanting to take off again as soon as I get back. I'm in Chiang Mai as I write and already starting to dream of my next trip! I think some of us are born with restless feet. Since visiting Iran two years ago, my dream is to study Persian at the university in Isfahan for 3 months. I'm saving my pennies now!

A single friend said when she was planning her first visit to a new country, for her first stop she'd make reservations at a popular resort or spa away from the capital. She looked for the kind of homespun place that's under the tourist radar. She sort of eased into the country and new language that way, but the main advantage was she found it easy to make new friends in a relaxed way, and they'd invite her to visit them in their home city. That gave her something to look forward to and a feeling of security in a new city.

What a great post !!! and I can't believe there are so many of us who travel alone.>

I always travel alone and would have it no other way - when traveling with others it just ain't the same adventure - facing the travails that travel inevitably at times includes - by myself is the way I want it.

Summer before last I traveled for six weeks in Europe and was with one of our sons for one of those weeks, the rest of the time I was on my own. It was lovely, I was not lonely and would do it again in a heartbeat. My husband did miss me and I missed him but we stayed in touch.

I don't think you need to worry much about your luggage on the train. . . no one else really wants to schlep yours around as well as their own.

One of the great joys of traveling alone is that you don't have to watch out for: the children, your husband, the friend who's never been, or the friend who doesn't eat or sleep! Freedom takes many guises. I'm off for 6 weeks of heaven