My twin sister, our childhood friend and I plan a trip to the U.K. in May to celebrate our 50th birthdays. It started out with just the three of us but somehow their husbands decided to come along. My husband has no interest in traveling to England and would rather spend his time doing surf fishing in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, so I know I'll probably have a better time on my own. Not sure how the other two husbands are going to react (I get the feeling we may hear a bit of "If I see one more castle ruin I'm going to be ill"), but we three women can only hope for the best!

Since I became a single again in 1994, I have traveled to Europe almost every year. I have gone alone, with my kids, with friends, in small groups and in large tour groups.
The small groups were great. It was very relaxing having someone else take care of the details and there were wonderful opportunities to meet like-minded travelers. But, I have to admit that I had the most fun traveling alone. It was so good to make all the decisions and to pace myself for myself.
My alone trips: I spent a week in London, seeing the sites and going to the theater. I did a long weekend in Iceland where I hired a driver to take me around the island - fabulous, like going to another world. Finally, I spent a week in Paris in 1997. Despite my high-school French, I found it easy to use the subway system. People were very nice, except for the occasional waiter. I even came to enjoy eating alone, especially in outdoor cafes where I could people watch.
My advice to women thinking about traveling alone is: GO! Plan, prepare and then do it. Don't wait til it's too late - go when you can and enjoy every minute.

I'm married with three kids (one has just flown the coup - I mean nest, so I guess he doesn't count anymore). I have traveled with my husband, with husband and kids, with teenage daughter, and with friend. But last summer I did a solo trip for the first time and LOVED it. Definitly planning to do it again. (Although next two trips in planning stages include other people, one of them includes husband).

Same reasons as many of the others have given - husband gets much less vacation than I do, likes travel but isn't passionate about it like I am, someone needs to stay home with youngest kid (although older kid can now do that), etc. But whatever your reasons, if you are considering you should go for it. I really don't think you'll regret it. Of course I missed my family, and sometimes I wished I had someone to share things with, and once in a while it would have been logistically easier to be with another person. But overall the pluses outweighted the minuses and I had a wonderful time.

I went to Italy and Prague, but I really think anywhere in Western Europe would be very easy.

i am looking forward to my first solo trip to europe in either 2005 or 2006!

i go for weekends away in the u.s., leaving husband and daughter who do beautifully by themselves. i've been away for a week for work, which wasn't enjoyable, but i'm sure solo in paris (?) will be much better.

i say go for it!

I've talked to women who seem like they'd only go to Paris or Venice or wherever if their husbands or significant others had a sudden romantic fit and whisked them away, having magically arranged all details. In reality there are so few women for which this happens, and it really is a fantasy. It is quite true that solo trips for married women are not at all romantic, but there is much more to Europe than romance.

I can add that over the past several years my sister has walked stretches of Wales solo, taking in the various trails. She loves her walkabouts. For my part, I am male and ended up traveling solo to France last summer because I wanted to see the Tour de France a second time. I had been the previous summer to the Tour with my family and it was an absolute blast to have my children experience the Tour with me. But I must say that I can connect with many of the posted comments about the value of traveling alone. I loved being able to drive where and when I wanted (no back seat driving or fighting!), being able to make decisions on the fly, and being able to work on my French with anyone whom I happened to encounter. As much as I missed my family and sent home postcards with full reports, I really enjoyed the opportunity. I can say that I too am not keen on dining (dinner) alone, but I found bringing a novel or a stack of post cards and a pen eased that discomfort--not too mention, of course, the added help of the vin rouge!

It was serendipitous to see this posting after I just got home from Paris on my first ever solo trip.

I am married to a wonderful travel partner who gives free reins to my passion for travel planning. He was less understanding about my desire to travel solo because we have such great times together.

I wanted the challenge of being on my own and with the help of suggestions from this forum had a magical trip. As stated by many solo travelers on Fodors I was receptive to the people around me because I was on my own and because of that had some great conversations. I think it also helped that it was just before and during the recent election and Parisians were very interested in this. I did not feel uncomfortable eating on my own in Paris as others were also alone and never felt unsafe even while on the metro late into the evening.

For me I found Paris to be a perfect city to explore on my own but it also is my favorite city so that may have something to do with it.

So I say enjoy all the planning and enjoy your travel. Deborah

Not quite alone, but my friend and I are going to Paris, leaving the men behind. I'm actually looking forward to it. I adore my husband but there are some things that are better done without him along, from taking half an hour to pick the right shade of lipstick at the Galleries Lafayette, to staring at my favorite painting at the Musee d'Orsay for another half an hour! (husband looks, admires, and moves on).

And don't even get me started about how wonderful it is to travel without the kids! Mine are at that awkward age that their interests and mine are poles apart, heck, galaxies apart. I keep waiting for just a few more years to go by until they become fit travelling companions once more. Until that happens, they stay home while Mama flies the coop.

What a great thread!

I've just returned from a fabulous 2 1/2 weeks with a friend visiting Paris, Venice and Tuscan hilltowns. We both left spouses, and kids at home aged 5 - 17. Last fall I went with another girlfriend, she married with a daughter as well, and toured the Big Italian 3 along with the Cinque Terre.

I've always travelled with women friends during my 31 years with my husband: I love cities, he hates them; I love museums and galleries, he can leave them; and he wants to sail, sail, sail when he has the time. I like sailing but...

I've never travelled alone, but I'd now go solo if I couldn't find a travelling friend.

Planning that fall 2005 trip,

Cheers,
Linda

I don't have kids and my husband is a doll to travel with--flexible about what to do and when, agreeable to all but my most touristy requests. He tells me most of his enjoyment from travelling is seeing me have a good time. So I love to take him with me.

However, he has started his own business at a time that I'm started to increase my travels as I can afford to and I'm certainly not getting any younger :-). So I am facing this as well.

I've taken a niece with me to Italy this year for two weeks and that went great. I'm tacking on extra days or a week to business trips and exploring on my own as well. I've done this in London, Helsinki, and Seoul as well as in the U.S.

I find most of the time I do prefer a travelling companion to share the experience with. I tend to move quicker and not linger as much when on my own, which I don't think is a good way to experience another country. I don't go as far and wide in the countryside and parks alone. I also do not like to eat dinner in a restaurant alone. So I too tend to eat meals earlier and just take food back to room in evening. Last trip I got a studio room with kitchenette that was great for when I didn't want to go to a restaurant. I've also found a good break from being solo is to sign up for a walking tour as I did in London. Overall, I think I like the one city on my own better than travelling around solo.

I've got a business trip later this month to Spain with a couple of extra days to explore and at the end of the year I'm off to Thailand where my husband will join me after one week of mixed work/play in Bangkok when we will head to the north (he didn't want to stay home alone over the holidays and didn't like the idea of me off riding elephants and trekking in the forest on my own).

Hello: The first time I went solo (without my DH) but with 2 friends was in Portugal in 1993. And believe me,I swore I would never do this again.One "friend" drove me crazy.Very obnoxious,rude and loud.
A few years later, my husband retired and we made plans to go to Spain.Purchased plane tickets, rented an apartment in Nerja for a month.Two weeks before departure,he receives a call to supervise some work project.(he is a mining engineer).Well,I was not going to stay home.So off I went as planned on my own.My DH joined me on the 3rd wk. of the trip.
Since then we have traveled together to Europe 4 times.But this year DH wants to stay home. So I will be going back to Spain for 2 weeks solo. We really enjoy each others company (married 40 years,both 65) but I think this will be great.I believe I will do more exploring on my own.A friend was to join me but changed her mind.
Leaving for 2 weeks in Feb. Until then, Fodors and all of you great travelers keep me happy.I get my "fix" everyday.

Another thought--when on my own I prefer to stay in small hotels or B&Bs where I get to know the staff and may chat with others in the breakfast room or lounge. It just feels more comfortable for me, more homey, than a large business hotel.

thank you all gutsy women!
I will be in Paris in March 2005 with my husband for a week and then perhaps in September Budapest/Prague sounds inviting - ALONE!! So will get that in the works....

Three weeks in provence, One year two Weeks in England, Wales, Paris. If I drove, I'd try other places.

I am curious to know how others reacted to a married woman telling others she was going on vacation without husband.

Unfortunately I don't get any special reaction :)

Mesdames: I have enjoyed reading this serious, thoughtful and even joyful thread.

I can also tell you, without any fear of contradiction, that MOST of the men on this forum would break out in a COLD SWEAT at the unrepentant girl-power of this thread!

Most men -- straight or gay -- cannot manage alone and are petrified by someone who can.

Including yours truly.

But I would take my hat off to youse, if I were not sitting indoors, hence not wearing one.....

joymiccon, the responses I get are along the lines of, "Aren't you scared?" and "You're so brave!" and "Lucky you".

Tedgale, that made me laugh, but I think you must be underestimating yourself.

joymiccon, I found that married men friends and acquaintances were generally very supportive of my travelling with another female and not my husband (although a good male friend suggested I was "abandoning" my family). The really interesting responses came from other married women, which ranged from supportive to downright nasty.

I'm not married anymore (and haven't been for a long time), and LOVE to travel solo. I've traveled with the kids, of course, in the past, and went on various tour groups in Europe and the U.S. I enjoyed those, but after getting up the courage to go solo, I discovered that's what really appeals to me. At first I stuck to the big cities - London, Paris. Then decided to branch out and drive around the countryside in France. I've done that for the past few years - to Burgundy, Loire Valley, Provence, Alsace. Have had a wonderful time each trip, and found people to be so nice. However, I think my friends and family think I'm nuts to want to do this alone! The only reason I sometimes wish I had a husband is for someone to keep the dogs while I travel!