James1989

I have two months off in January and February of 2015 and I have some savings but no one to travel with! I am wondering if anyone has some ideas about a solo trip. I was thinking of skiing somewhere in the Alps or potentially doing a long scenic walk or something where I have an activity to occupy me. Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

kja

Some of us are firmly committed to solo travel! Here's a collection of trip reports that might hold some ideas of interest to you:
http://www.fodors.com/community/trav...collection.cfm

Enjoy!

sparkchaser

Budget? Home airport?

At first glance, skiing and long treks seem to be mutually exclusive but I suppose it's possible to do both.

thursdaysd

There is really no difference between where you might go as a solo traveler, or as a couple or a group. What is more important is your interests, and personally I would not go trekking in Europe in the middle of winter - skiing, of course, is another matter. If you really want to trek you might consider South America.

sparkchaser

Trekking in the Costa del Sol of Spain in Winter might be fun. Not too hot and not too cold. And sunny almost every day.

sandralist

The Dolomiti would make for a spectacularly beautiful ski destination, and even in winter, you can do some walking just outside of the Dolomiti in Merano

http://www.meranerland.com/en/things...er-hiking.html

Some of the areas of Italy that have milder winter temps don't necessarily have well developed walking routes. You can take a chance on the hiking trails of the Amalfi coast in February -- they are actually harvesting lemons around there at that time -- but it is not unheard of for the steep trails to be closed due to heavy rain or even the occasional freak snow in February.

Is there any activity you have always wanted to pursue -- like learn to cook, learn a language, learn to take better photos or what have you? You would need to get moving on tracking down where you could sign up for such activities, but it might be a very memorable trip.

I have never been to Sweden in Jan or Feb but I would think it is quite dark there. I would definitely want to be pursuing some extremely fascinating activity to make it through (I think Sweden is very expensive to boot).

James1989

Thanks for your replies everyone! My home airport is Perth, Western Australia; I am thinking of going for roughly 3 weeks; and my budget is roughly $12,000 (but would ideally like to spend less). I suppose I would most like to spend about 10 days skiing somewhere really nice in the Alps, and then another 10 days exploring some great cities. I love France and Italy, particularly the food; a cooking course would definitely be something I'm interested in - any other tip of where people have been would be great! Thanks again, James.

kja

If the Alps interest you, you might want to look at the trip report and planning threads on my trip to Switzerland, which has some wonderful cities in addition to the Alps. And, depending on your interests, you could move out from the Alps to the north, east, south, or west and find wonderful things to see / do in every direction. You have LOTS of wonderful options!

sandralist

I feel the Dolomiti has the much more spectacular and unique scenery than Switzerland (my bias maybe!) and the better food. After that, I don't think I could resist heading to Rome at the very lowest tourist season of the year, plus warmer weather from some outdoor sightseeing. You can certainly find cooking classes in Rome, at all prices, but I think what I might do, apres ski, is leave the Dolomiti by fast train from Bolzano and stop in Bologna for 3 or 4 days -- one to take a cooking class but also to visit the spectacular mosaics of Ravenna and then visit Parma and Modena too (take a food tour if you like, for great Parma cheese, Parma ham, balsamic vinegar), then head on down to Rome for the finale. There are both cooking classes and food or wine tasting tours you could do in Rome in addition to sightseeing the great sights without the crowds.

As a solo traveler you can find really lovely b&b accommodations in Rome at a very attractive price. Most of them are run by families, and they tend to dote on their guests, so it would be a warmer atmosphere than just a hotel room in addition to being cheaper. However, if you like to cook, renting a studio apartment would be even cheaper, and obviously if you really like your privacy, that's the way to go.

If you can fly into Venice, you can find regular buses that head up to ski resorts in the Dolomiti, either from Venice or Verona (I think perhaps from Milan too). You could start off your trip with a few days in Venice if that would interest you.

bvlenci

I agree with most of what Sandralist has suggested. I would add that while in Bologna, you should make it a point to visit Ferrara, which is one of my favorite small cities in Italy. I actually prefer it to Modena, although Modena has its charms.

I've several times stayed in B&Bs in Rome that were nothing at all like the type Sandra describes. I never saw the owner, who lived off premises. The second B was a coupon to be redeemed at a nearby bar for a cappuccino and a cornetto. There were no staff available except for an hour or two in the morning. This type of B&B is very common in Rome, and is more like an inexpensive hotel without most of the hotel services. Maybe a cross between a cheap hotel and an apartment. I'm sure the other type of B&B also exists, but I haven't encountered it.

thursdaysd

Another vote for Ferrara. I just visited for the second time, partly as a base for Ravenna, and partly on its own account and I could easily have stayed longer. It is one of the cities that make me smile.

I stayed in a very nice B&B, of the look-after-you variety: the Locanda Borgonuovo.