zbjoon

Poohgirl – What you are saying is so true. Add bus and train stations to the list. There are sometimes stairs involved as well. It makes it more unpleasant when there are wet floors, and a tiny crowded bathroom. The same issue comes up in some train trips.

Any tips on this subject?

Poohgirl

Hi Grasshopper:
The first time solo I had a large duffel bag and my back pack as carry-on luggage. Dragging that into a little stall was no fun! I've learned to take only ONE bag as carry-on for flights going TO Europe, but I always need an extra bag for all my purchases and presents for others on my return home. ARRRGGGHHH!! I rarely have this problem with domestic traveling, though.
Have a great day - I love your posts.

Scarlett

LOL Poohgirl, that is so funny and so true!
The same is for ladies who need to use bathrooms with children in tow
What do men do? I guess they carry less? Meaning they only wear one pair of shoes, lol.

sologal

Ciao bellas,
Last summer i Travelled to Florence,Venice ,Sienna, San Gimigniano,Cinque Terre and Lucca.Most of my information came from http://www.ricksteves.com..read about his Italy especially Vernazza(Highlight of my trip ) in Cinque Terre....my children did the hikes between the towns and recommended this area to me.
http://www.karenbrown.com ...Italy Inns.
I was always kind to myself and needed to bathe from all my hiking...her bed and breakfasts are delicious and magnifique...treat yourselves ...easy to travel at a single rate and Always have met lovely guests.
I have a train story and was enroute from Sienna to Cinque Terre ..i had 3 trains to take ....most of the time i would point to which track/where to go? then run...one of my stops arrived but the door did not open .....i was calling out "This is my stop This is my stop!!"...a kind ,soft spoken Italian gentleman motioned for me to pull the train door open myself....as the train started to pull away i jumped off with all bags in tow .... then started to cry from the fear of just not knowing the custom and then the fear of the "Unknown".....
And then i was just fine....I have learned to "embrace " my emotions ...Jack Kornfield /A Path with Heart .....and have "Let Go" of children.We are all in a better place.
I am now off to Milan,La Como.Tremezzo .Belaggio and can hardly wait to leave....
.Today i booked a trip to Eastern Europe for Mid-October...Warsaw,Auschwitz,Slovakia,Budapest,Vienn a,Prague....very very proud of myself!!.I will not go on a organized Tour but will travel to each country probably www.eurail.com find a quaint small hotel in the centre-ville and hire a driver or do a Day-Tour with a guided group...Do you think i have FEAR doing all of this ...Totally!!Lots-of-it!!Solobabes.
I forgot... When i was in Italy ...i would do daily tours or night tours(whatever interested me) whenever i would reach a city .....one was a outstanding Canal Tour of Venice ..Large Canals and Smaller Canals....that i highly recommend...and
maybe..just maybe... one day i'll go back and do that Gondola ride with someone to cuddle up to....but in the mean time ....Hello....solotrips await us all
Ciao Bellas Bon Nuite sologal

nancy161

What an interesting topic! It was only recently that I have started reading this solo travel column, after the posting of Lea's article.
I have not had much opportunities to travel alone, but long to be able to. It seems that many of these family vacations for me were a bit stressful at times.
Solo travel to me means that I don't have to please anyone, or to answer to anyone; be as adventurous and spontaneous as I want. Like one of the posts stated, to be able to explore what you want, when you want, where you want.
I wonder how many solo travellers are married, like me, whose spouse has very little interest in travelling.

Gifthamney

I think that it is empowering if you are normally used to traveling with others.
I have traveled most of my life as a solo traveler, from 44 of the US states to the Bahamas, Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, Ireland, Holland, and Russia.
There have been a few times when I have had a wife, girlfriend or buddy with me, but most the time it is just me. I used to do it simply because no place ever felt comfortable for me to call home and now I do it for work. I am relatively decent with the languages, I start practicing about 2 weeks before I go, and just kind of mesh with the populace. I have meals or watch movies by myself, or go do all of the touristy stuff.
Admittedly, I would love to have company, but have never found any woman that I truly get along with that also has a complete love of travel (not 2 wks, more like living in hotels and B&B's). But we all follow our dreams and desires and do the best that we can. I have seen some places that most people never even look for.
The best thing about solo travel is you see what you want to see and my take any side trip (even if it is climbing the side of a mountain just for a view), without having your partner be too tired, inexperienced, or whiny to go.
I say by yourself or with someone, you are as empowered as you want to be. If travel and culture is truly your desire, don't be shy. Take the time to enjoy your life and see the world.

Lea_Lane

As for men traveling solo, the recent Roper Poll of a thousand travelers showed that slightly more men traveled solo in the last 3 years (37%) than women (34%). Also, both men and women felt that there was more of a stigma for women traveling solo, even though about 80% of both men and women enjoyed the freedom and the ease of meeting others.
(But women seem to talk about it more, and so it seems more of us do it.)
The empowerment of solo travel has meant so much to me that I have written about it for 10 years! Long before it became a trend. I'm so happy that more and more of us have come to enjoy it.
Lea

fortuna

This is my first time reading this great forum. I have been travelling solo on and off for about 15 years. My original reason for going solo was I could never get any of my friends to commit to a trip. My first solo trip was a Windjammer cruise to St. Martin, St. Kitts, Anguila, etc. I enjoyed myself so thoroughly that I went on 4 more solo WJ cruises. When you are on your own, you can BE whoever you want to be. You aren't weighed down by anyone else's preconceived notions of who you are. I managed to redefine myself on a couple of those cruises and learned things about myself that I didn't know previously.

I often travel with my sister who I love dearly, but I would probably end up killing her on a more active trip because she is so timid about so many things and just simply can't match my energy level. I'm headed to New Mexico solo this summer and I plan on doing a lot of hiking and photography. Do you really want to have someone else with you when you are sitting in one spot for an hour waiting for the light to get just right for that perfect photograph? Do you want to feel like you have to slow down and wait for your partner to catch up when you really just want to run to the top and embrace the view?

As a solo traveler I can spend 20 minutes in front of one painting, I can either rush through lunch to get wherever I'm headed next or I can spend 2 hours eating on a patio and watching the passers-by. I can take a nap or a swim or read a book or simply contemplate my belly button and I have no one to answer to. It's definitely empowering.

h2babe

When I started travelling solo, it wasn't by my personal choice. Nobody seemed to want to come along. But I figured that if I waited for someone to finally come along, I might never get to go. So I gathered the courage to go. Now everyone looks at me and says: "It must be fun travelling with you. I'd love to go with you".

I'm going to Central Europe in the summer...P.S.: Solo :-}

luveurop

Being single and childfree, solo travel is pretty much the standard for me.

I took my first solo trip to Paris last summer, and it was the best week of my entire life. I never felt so alive, free, and filled with joy.

In theory I would like to find a partner to travel with. I was once engaged to a man who had no desire to travel. It is a good thing that did not work out.

I'll be spending the better part of July in Paris again, and I'm anticipating many wonderful adventures.

The poster Sara mentioned freedom. Yes, traveling alone means complete freedom, and that is priceless.

Dutchess

I went on my first solo trip to Europe when I was 18. Absolutely loved it, and when I was 22, I got on the boat (this was in the 60's and it sounded like fun) and went over for what was supposed to be a year or so, but ended up being 9 years. It completely changed me as a person. I was alone about half of the time because everywhere I went I ran into wonderful people. I met Americans who were doing the same things I was doing, and met locals who showed me places I would never have seen on my own. One of my best memories is of picking apricots on a farm in Italy.

I am now 60, but still travel alone quite a lot. I am more careful now, but still meet people everywhere I go. I think being open to people and experiences is one of the secrets to traveling alone.

Just go for it and enjoy!!!

DonTopaz

I was married for many years and enjoyed traveling with my then-wife, but I have come to LOVE solo traveling for the freedom it gives me.

I can get up early or late, eat fancy or frugal, change plans on a whim -- all without the need to consider the impact on or opinion of a travelmate. Not that having a travelmate is necessarily a burden, but, to me, the freedom is priceless.

The only part of solo travel that I don't especially enjoy is eating alone in restaurants. In places like the US where it's common for restaurants to have a bar, that's a great solution for me. Elsewhere, I rely on room service or some other reasonable solution.

I suspect that enjoying or not enjoying solo travel depends a lot on your general preferences for doing things solo or in a group. My Lone Wolf gene is decidedly dominant; others' mileages would certainly vary.

tia126

As with so many others, solo traveling is just a necessity for me -- I love to travel and rarely have a companion who can match my schedule and interests. Some trips I've traveled timidly, not interacting much with others, and some trips I'm a voracious socializer. But to have the freedom to travel as I saw fit in the moment was WONDERFUL! My most painful travel memory was traveling with a friend to Mexico City last year; his energy level was out of this world AND also his sense of frugality, hence, we walked everywhere rather than take the subway at a whopping $.20. Until I got blisters on both feet, at which point I made his life so unpleasant that we ended up in taxis for the duration. To be fair, I did manage to lose 7 pounds in 9 days while eating like a pig and drinking like a fish! But I never want to have to accommodate someone else that way again. I'm currently planning a solo trek to southern Spain and Morocco, and I can't wait! I've loved reading all your posts and am very happy I found this forum.

toedtoes

I decided to peruse through some older posts and thought this one was interesting (yes, it's 2 years old).

tzarinna

Okay,I'll take the bait toedtoes.




I guess it's empowering since so many people find it to be so amazing that a single woman can plan a itinerary on her own. I guess seriously I was really scared to travel on my own,it's been so many years since I can hardly recall the worries I had. I'll have to check my journal.
The main reason I did it and still do it is no one I know has the passion/desrire/time/funds to do so. So I could just sit at home reading the travel section of my local paper and day dream about what could've been or go out and do it.
I believe have so many fears and just lack fait in their fellow man which makes the non solo traveler just weary of go about with out I guess "back up" for an attack. Lol.

tzarinna

^Man,I'm more tired than I thought.
What is up with that,bad post,bad post?

Corshi

"I believe have so many fears and just lack fait in their fellow man which makes the non solo traveler just weary of go about with out I guess "back up" for an attack. Lol. "

That's the part where your head fell on the keyboard, right?

suze

Funny, as I said a couple years back, I still feel the same... solo travel means I am taking a trip, not staying home waiting for someone else to want to do the same thing I do, be available, have the funds, etc. To me a solo trip... is the one that's definitely happening!!

tzarinna

"That's the part where your head fell on the keyboard, right?"




Bingo!

toedtoes

Suze - I like that your take on this has never wavered.

Here are my responses to the questions:

<<So my question, someone mentioned that they thought Going Solo was "empowering"..
Do you think so? Why?>>

I think it was empowering the first time because I was able to prove to myself that I COULD do it and enjoy it.

<<Have you traveled in the past and just done it and enjoyed it without it having that aspect to it?>>

Everything after that first time, it was "just doing it" and enjoying the trip. I don't get anything else out of it (except the ability to take the time to just think).

"Would you go alone if you had the choice of going with someone ?"

Like Suze, I'm very particular on my travel mates. I don't want to skip visiting King John's tomb to go to the Hard Rock Cafe, so I would rather go alone than compromise my trip. I have invited friends to join me on trips, but I always tell them "This is what I'm going to do, so anytime you don't want to do that, feel free to take off on your own." So far, I've had no takers... But, I may this summer - she may join me for a portion of the trip.

<<As times change and people travel everywhere, alone and with someone else, why is "Solo" significant?>>

I don't think it is for the solo traveler. As Suze stated, no one calls it "couple travel". I think it falls into the whole idea that to be a "solo" person - not to be a couple - is somehow wrong. Even in this day and age, that thought still rules.