Anyone traveled Solo on a Christmas Market tour
 

I have been to Europe a number of times but never alone. In fact I have NEVER traveled alone before. I would like to go on a Christmas Market tour and my fiance' doesn't want to go (he thinks it is a shopping tour). Also we were just in Germany in May, so he doesn't want to go back so soon.

Does anyone have any advice on a good tour company which would be good for a 56 yr. old solo traveler for the Christmas Market tours.

Also, how did you get the nerve to go by yourself the first time??

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

"Also, how did you get the nerve to go by yourself the first time??"

You could start with long weekend solo domestically first if you think that would help.

There was a great book I read a while back called "Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway". The first few times I traveled "alone" I did it on a tour, then I realized I could do it myself just as well, if not better. I don't remember being worried about going on the tours alone, and by the time I switched to solo travel I'd spent enough alone time away from the group to know I could handle it.

Sorry, can't help with the Christmas Market tour, not my thing, and the small group tours I sometimes still use don't do it either. You could look at taking one of the river tours that also go to the markets, that way you sleep and eat on the boat, which might make it easier for first time travel.

Sue
I think we should talk. You should definitely do this. Do you have an e-mail address you could post so I can get in touch with you (or do you have some other idea)? CJ

I don't know about the Christmas Market tour, but traveling alone is easy once you do it.

That first trip is the hardest because it's the unknown. Answer a few questions for yourself and that will help decide if you can travel alone:

1. Have you ever spent the night alone in your own home?

2. Have you ever gone shopping alone?

3. Have you ever gone to a movie alone?

4. Have you ever eaten out in public alone?

5. If yes to any of these, how did it make you feel: Were you able to sleep through the night? Did you feel that people were staring at you the entire time you were out and about?

If the answers to 1-4 were all No, then try a night alone in a local hotel. That will give you the experience of being alone at night (some people cannot sleep in a room alone). Then start trying the others and seeing how you do.

If you answered No to number 1 and Yes to the others, try a weekend in a nearby location. That will give you a sense of "coming home" to an empty hotel room.

If you answered Yes to 1-4, and the answers to number five were Yes and No respectively, then you'll do fine traveling alone. Go for it and don't hesitate.

If you answered Yes to 1-4, and the answers to number five were No and Yes respectively, then you probably won't like traveling alone.

Personally, I love it. It's wonderful to go at your own pace and not feel rushed or slowed down by others.

It didn't take any particular "nerve" for me. I've always been single, so if I want to go somewhere, and don't have a friend who wants to join me, I go alone. I love to travel by myself.

That's true Suze. I think when you're a single person who has had to spend time alone just by default, it's not so daunting an aspect.

I sleep in my own home alone every night, why wouldn't I be able to at a hotel.

However, I know a lot of people (mostly women) who have never spent a night alone. They went from living with their parents to living with their husbands and then with their children also. In 40 years, they never spent so much as 5 hours alone in their own home.

Those are the ones who usually question me about traveling alone, because they have no concept of being alone.

Sue - I just spent 3 weeks on a solo trip to Canada. You can read my trip report here:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=29

It's a long report, but I think it might help show what it can be like to travel alone. As you'll see, I keep pretty busy during the day, but I leave a lot of "open time" also. I try to only "schedule" a couple attractions per day. Instead of trying to see 3 museums, 2 restaurants and shopping in one day, I split that out among 3 or 4 days. That way, even though I'm out and about all day, I have time to change my plans or see something I hear about along the way.

I know Suze is a much more relaxed traveler than I am, so she's a good resource if you want to kick back more. :)

Sue
It is good to remember if you are travelling with a tour, they will meet you at the airport and transfer you to the hotel. You have your own room but eat with the group for breakfast and most dinners. They provide the city tours and support when you are out on your own. They are available to advise and suggest. At the end, they confirm your flights and get you to the airport.
Considering that you were just in Germany, I would think you would love a Christmas market tour. CJ

toedtoes & all... It's true. You rarely hear a single person worried to travel solo posting here. It's people who are used to being with their husband, families, etc. when it is a bigger challenge for them. Neither right or wrong, just what each of us is used to in our every day life, flows over into our travel styles and comfort level.

If I was unwilling to eat in a restaurant alone or take a flight alone, I would have missed out on dozens if not hundreds of great life experiences I've been lucky enough to have.

Sue- Give the tour a try. You're not really on your own in this situation, you're with a tour and under their guidance.

My biggest concern would be if they'll ding you for a single supplement to get your own hotel room or you'll have to share with another single woman
;-)

" It is good to remember if you are travelling with a tour, they will meet you at the airport and transfer you to the hotel. You have your own room but eat with the group for breakfast and most dinners. ... At the end, they confirm your flights and get you to the airport." This depends entirely on the company running the tour. The outfits I use these days, if I take a tour (Rick Steves and Intrepid), do none of them. I arrange my own flights, get myself to and from the airport, and share a room with one of the other solo female travelers.

However, I know that there are companies that do this, you just have to take care to read the small print. Sue, I'd suggest you look at Viking for a Christmas market river tour - you can check over on the cruises board for more info on river cruises. But they do charge a single supplement.

I arranged my own flights but they did meet me and reconfirm for me. CJ

Sue
Try christmastrips.com. The Dec. 8th trip is sold out but I think they have a couple spaces left on the Nov. 30th trip. Call them if you are interested. CJ

Sue - eating alone at restaurants is probably the absolute hardest thing you'll face traveling alone. Just about everyone who's posted on the solo traveler board has said they feel uncomfortable.

Some tips for making it less awkward:

Eat dinner a bit earlier so you're not hitting the romantic dinner time - that way you won't feel quite so out of place. Many folks will do their main meal at lunch and do a simple dinner back at their hotel room.

Bring a book, magazine, blank journal, etc. with you to the restaurant. That way you can read or write instead of staring into space.

Sit at the bar instead of a table, if available. Ask for a corner table, that way you can sit with your back to the wall and people watch, and you don't feel like others are watching you behind your back.

Take your food to go and find a nice spot outdoors to eat and relax. Pick up fixings at the market and have a picnic - if it's raining, have it in your hotel room.

I know some people disagree with this, but if I don't feel like it, I simply eat in my hotel room and read a good book or watch TV. I pick up food from a grocery store, bakery, or take out deli late afternoon. I usual get a nice bottle of wine to keep in the room too.

I don't believe in forcing my/yourself to do something you are not comfortable doing. That is not what travel or a vacation is about to me. We don't have to prove anything to anyone. Do exactly whatever you want to do... that's the beauty of traveling alone!

I always take a book to dinner - often a guidebook so I can plan the next day - plus my journal so I can take notes on the food if it's especially good. I eat dinner on my own at home on occasion, so doing it when I travel doesn't feel that much different. The main difference is that if you're traveling in less-touristed places, you're more likely to strike up a conversation with fellow-diners, which I never do at home. I've met some really interesting people at dinner who just happened to be at the next table. (And I'm a shy introvert.)

I look forward to good meal when I travel, and I prefer to eat my main meal in the evening, especially since I'm usually eating breakfast when I travel, which I don't do at home. However, not wanting to eat on your own would be one reason for taking a tour instead of traveling independently.

One mantra to keep in mind - you're never going to see these people again, so what does it matter what they think of you? And I hear "aren't you brave to travel alone" (or some variant thereof) a lot when I travel, so they may be thinking flattering thoughts!

Sue, I went to Bavaria specifically for the Christmas markets a few years ago. I did take my mom, but would do it again in a heartbeat alone. I felt safe everywhere I went. And English was spoken almost everywhere, much to my chagrin, as I had tried to get really good at studying German. I would try to speak in German and they would answer me in English. But I digress.

Anyway, we went right at the beginning of Advent and I timed it so that we would end up in Munich for the lighting of the tree in the Marienplatz. We flew into Munich, stayed a night, then took a train to Salzburg. There is plenty to do that you can do alone. The ice rink is open. You can go up to the fort or take the Sound of Music Tour. It sounds a little corny but growing up with that movie as part of my holiday experience, it made sense, and we had a wonderful guide. There are plenty of restaurants, and they weren't all packed where you would feel like people were upset for taking up a larger table by yourself. If you make it to Salzburg, try a dessert like treat that is bread wrapped around a stick and then baked. It unraveled as you ate it. Mine had cinnamon and sugar on it. One of my best food memories. I wasn't able to find it anywhere else on the trip.

We then went to Insbrook by train. We stayed down in the old town, I can't remember what the exact name is. The markets were in the streets just below. The people were so nice. There is a bus tour of the city. You pay one price and get on and off where you want. I could have spent more time expoloring than we had.

Then back to Munich. On your own, you can go to the Markets there. In fact it might have been better since it is so crowded and hard to keep up. We went on a few tours. Just a city tour to the olympic site and some castle. Then one day went to Neuschwanstein castle. It was a full day.

OK, so enough trip report, but I can't convey what a lovely magical place it was at Christmas time. It was cold, very cold in Munich when we got there, and sometimes drizzly, but as a girl from TX who loves the cold, I couldn't have been happier.

I will admit that I travel for work in the US, so eating alone has become habit. But you can do it. Heck, I would offer to come along if I had any more vacation to take.

I used Rick Steve's books and web site for a lot of the planning. There are enough day tours everywhere that you can plan your own agenda and not have to stick with a big group.

Have fun,
Kelly