What's the point of what? Do you mean the main point of traveling is to talk with strangers?

Everyone you see on a vacation is a stranger. If you don't interact with anyone while travelling, don't you feel like you're missing out? Maybe we have different definitions of "stranger"?

I have been traveling alone for many years. I actually enjoy it..come and go and do as you please!!

I have no problem dining alone. I really don't initiate conversations with others, but often do have great conversations with others. Often both French and othr travelsrs think I am French and will ask me directions.

I have met many who are now friends and we get together when I am in Paris,

As to money and credit cards. I never caryy all with me at one time.

I take a laptop, so have it for contacts from home or wherever.

I have never felt unsafe in Paris or my other travel places. If you get a little lost, so what, you may find a very interesting place!!

Enjoy it all...........

Well certainly I interact in shops or restaurants, with the staff at my hotel. But most places I go, I am not fluent in the language, so the possibilities of striking up a conversation with someone in line at the post office or whatever, doesn't usually come up.

My focus is to experience a new place, soak up the culture and atmosphere, see the sights, have some good food, relax. Don't get me wrong I am not against interacting with whomever, but it simply does not come up that often for me traveling solo.

Flipside, on a tropical vacation it happens more more often, talking to people at the beach or the hotel pool. But less so when I'm traveling a major city in Europe by myself.

On my solo trip in April to France and Italy, I took my tiny laptop. My nephew had downloaded movies and Seinfeld episodes onto flash drives, so I had English TV for late nights in my room alone. Nice change from reading every night.

All I can say is an apprehension you have about travelling solo will go right out the window the first time you overhear some of your fellow tourists fighting with each other about their sightseeing schedule. You'll thank your lucky stars that you can do whatever you want, whenever you want.

I always ask fellow tourists to take photos - I only bug a local if I have no other option.

I've found many people (locals and tourists) are more likely to strike up conversation when you travel alone. Nobody is going to look at you like you have 2 heads if you speak first (just don't assume everyone speaks English). If you strictly stay at hotels, you can find yourself feeling fairly isolated if you are social by nature. Hostels, B&Bs, guesthouses and smaller inns generally offer more of an opportunity to meet and speak with other travellers as well as the property owners who are good sources of information.

During meals, it's fun to people watch. But I've also used the time to write in a journal, plot out the next day's itinerary in a notebook, look over maps more carefully, etc. The only problem I encounter as a solo traveller is restaurant hosts tend to try and seat you at tables in quiet areas - they must think because you are dining solo you want to be tucked away in the back or the corner. Speak up and ask for a different table if you want one.

I traveled solo around the world for a year and never found I was "bored". With the telephone and internet, it's pretty easy to connect with friends/relatives back home.

As a woman travelling solo, you do have to keep your wits about you at all times. Don't drink too much alcohol, if a man wants to buy you a drink make sure you get it directly from the bartender (don't let a strange man go up to the bar and get a drink for you), don't leave your drink unattended in a restaurant or bar. Always have enough money on you that you can get a taxi if you need to at the end of a late night. In certain countries, it is best to not make prolonged eye contact with a strange man as it can be seen as an "invitation". In other countries, in rural areas, you may find you get some odd looks if you walk into a pub and sit right at the bar.

Keep your money tucked out of sight, lock it in the hotel safe or use a moneybelt to carry it with you. Make sure you have photocopies of all your credit cards, passport, ATM card, insurance card, etc. - leave them with friends at home or scan them into the computer and e-mail them to yourself so you can easily call in for replacements if lost or stolen. Call all banks and credit card companies before you leave home and let them know how long you will be travelling and where you are going so they don't think it is fraud occuring on your cards and cut you off in the middle of your trip leaving you without access to cash/credit.

You'll have a great time and will wonder why you worried about all these things once you are there in the thick of things.

Nessa, I'm glad to hear you are carrying a moneybelt. It's a must, IMHO. If you really get weary of eating meals alone, try eating a hot meal out at lunch, and then make your dinner meal a take-home sandwich with fruit, nuts, or chips. I often do that, watching British television in my hotel room.

You might consider doing some of the London Walks while you're there. That gives you an opportunity to talk with other visitors, and you can take each other's photos, as well. I can't say I've been bored on my trips to England, there's too much to do. It can be lonely sometimes. You just want to share your experiences with those you know. Email your friends and family, and send off a few postcards. I like sending cards to my sibs' children.

The London Evening Standard is on sale at several stands in the afternoon, and that can be your company at dinner. That paper focuses on London news, and they always have something on mass transit or London development. You can always wander alone in a store, and there's plenty of those in London.

One of my favorite things to do in London is rent a deck chair in the parks. Take a sack lunch, a newspaper, or just lie there and watch the people. There's deck chairs in Hyde Park, and some in St. James Park, too. A young man on a bicycle will come by and ask for a pound or two, and you can sit there for a few hours.

Again! Great comments everyone. It's so nice to see that this is doable.

I was planning to do quite a few London Walks (I'm going for 2 weeks so about every 2 days I might do a different walk). Are the other walkers a mix of couples, families, locals and solo travelers? I'll be traveling off-season in January, if that changes anything.

I was also thinking of attending afternoon tea in one of formal hotels. I understand that it is not something that an average Londoner would do every week but actually something that high society would do. Any experiences with attending afternoon tea alone?

London Walks really get all kinds of people - couples, groups of 3-4, singles etc. One of the walks I took (Hampstead Heath, which was great), I chatted w/a lady who is from New Zealand, but her daughter is working in the UK. She is taking 3 months off to travel in Europe! Since she has a base in UK, it's easy for her to travel 1-2 weeks in 1 country, go back to her daughter's for a week, then off she goes to another country. It was fun chatting with her.

Oh, and Nessa, I forgot to tell you the adventure I had last year when traveling solo in London. I went to dinner at Belgo Centraal. After I was seated (commnunal tables), guess who was seated directly across from me at my table?

The actor Brendan Fraser! I didn't recognize him at all, so we just chatted throughout dinner about random stuff. It wasn't until half way through dinner when I found out who he was (I asked him what he does).

See? That's the added bonus of traveling solo. If DH had gone w/me on the trip, I wouldn't had this opportunity!

Nessa, I haven't done afternoon tea by myself in London yet, though I have a few times with friends, but I did have it solo at the Peninsula in Hong Kong and it was a wonderful, pampering experience. (And considering I'd been roughing it to a certain extent for a good part of the trip, it felt lovely to be spoiled.) I'd recommend it anywhere!

Hi nessa, I have a few more thoughts. I read your other posts and know you'll be also doing daytrips outside of London on this trip, and that you're in college. So here are my 2 cents:

1) Ceidleh gave you very good advice about alcohol. Know your limits and know when to stop! If you're at a bar/pub/dance club by yourself, you want to be sure you are capable of getting yourself back to your hotel. Sometimes when you strike up a conversation with others, you may lose track of how much you have had.

2) Do not be afraid to say "NO" to others. With you being a young person, you may get unsolicited attention from men. If you're interested, fine, but if they start to bother you, do not feel pressured to go along w/them. Just be firm and say NO and walk away!

3) NEVER tell strangers which hotel you're staying at. If someone asks you (even if they're "normal" people and just curious), tell them something like, "I'm staying near _____ (insert a London attraction)" but don't give out the hotel name.

4) I find Londoners tend to mind their own business, so if I were you, I wouldn't try to strike up a conversation w/your fellow pax on the tube, for example. If you want to start a conversation, you'll be better off trying that in the smaller towns of Bath/Cambridge etc.

5) Lastly, this doesn't apply to you on this trip since you're going to the UK. But when I'm traveling solo to a country where I don't speak the language, I always learn the few words of STOP, HELP, POLICE in the local language and memorize it in case of emergency. Fortunately, I have yet to utilize any.