Solo Travel

Whether your travel style is to spontaneously wander or to meticulously plan your daily itinerary, traveling solo is the perfect opportunity to do everything exactly as you please! When you travel solo, you can have more time for reflection, ample opportunities to make new friends, and the satisfaction of knowing that you forged your path yourself.

More and more, women are making their travel dreams come true, and many of them are doing it solo. In this culture, women are frequently warned about the perils of being their gender, especially when it comes to wandering far from home. While it’s true that there are specific concerns for female travelers, the risks that are out there haven’t stopped a countless number of them from hitting the road!

Feeling motivated to plan a solo trip, or have one in the works? Read on for travel tips and inspiration!

Staying Safe

Some research about safety precautions is a wise thing to do before any travel experience. Keeping some general tips in mind, as well as remaining alert and using common sense can keep travelers safe whether traveling solo or in groups. That said, here are a couple good tips geared especially for the solo female traveler: maintain contact with friends and family back home, whether by telephone, email, letter, or by keeping a travel blog. Keep somebody posted on where you are, especially if you will be on your own for a day or more. Many travelers leave a note with their hotel front desk on their travel plans when they are touring on their own, which can be a reassuring precaution.

For a more comprehensive discussion of travel safety tips, visit the following links, and those listed throughout this article.

Resources:

A Woman’s Guide to Safe and Successful Travel
Travel Advisories
Safety Issues
Health Issues from the CDC
Safety Tips for Women Traveling Solo

Dress Codes

For women, understanding about the cultures of the destinations you are visiting can enhance your sense of safety and well-being, as well as add depth to your experience. For example, certain cultures have etiquette regarding eye contact between women and men, while others have local standards about dress and body exposure. Specific body parts have different significance in various parts of the world, from upper arms, to legs, to the top of women’s heads.

Keep in mind that dress codes on the street may also be different within religious sites of your travel destination. Do the necessary research ahead of time to find out these rules; simple tips like carrying a scarf to put over your head and shoulders for religious sites is often recommended. Aside from being prepared, take your cues from the behavior of local women, be confident, keep your head on your shoulders, and most of all— enjoy yourself!

Resources:

What Should I Wear, Where?
Frommer’s Solo Travel Discussion Board
Journeywoman, an Online Travel Magazine for Women

And, for inspiration:

She Travels Solo
Travel Solo But Not Alone

Stories from Realtravelers

Solo female travel can take many forms. From walking and cycling completely alone across a vast country (as we featured this Wednesday), to joining an organization for volunteer work, as many of our Realtravelers have done, to long-distance road trips, to localized tourism, to safaris, meditation retreats, cruises, camping, and more.

Realtraveler Fretless, pictured above, embarked on an adventure traveling Spain by foot, walking the 500-mile Camino Santiago. With all of her first-hand knowledge, she wrote Top 10 Off the Beaten Path Destinations in Spain, a list filled with travel tips and colorful stories about her journey.

Ciccia, a Realtraveler from England, traveled around Central and South America solo and archived her experiences in her travel blog. She also compiled a list of Top 10 Tips for this region which included the following tip:

“Some of my most amazing experiences have been simply speaking to normal people on the bus, in isolated villages or shady plazas. One fantastic ability that people on this continent have is to communicate. Whether it is by waving their hands around in a frantic and passionate discussion or poetically describing the city and its history, people will tell you their deepest secrets regardless of whether you know them or not. But how can you participate in these friendly exchanges if you don’t speak the language?! If you want to really discover something amazing, try to get past language barriers and embrace a way of thinking and a culture that is so far removed from what you know. I had a few lessons at the Academia Latinoamericana de Espanol in Sucre, Bolivia. I would recommend this school for its professionalism, its price ($5 to $10 depending on group size) and the variety of other cultural activities they have such as salsa and cookery.”

For more inspiring stories, check out these blogs from Realtravelers:

kkeels - a chef working abroad in Africa
little haxby - traveled by herself on a road trip across the US, then volunteered in Africa
Janet - has had her share of adventures
Christina - studied abroad in the United Kingdom
Karen Watkins - travel writer and extensive traveler
rachel- flying solo - her title speaks for itself!

More Resources for Trip Planning:

Around the World Travel
Multi-Country Travel Deals
Package Travel Deals
China: A 2-Week Itinerary
Beautiful Bali– A 6 Night/ 7 Day Itinerary
Zambia: 9 Nights/ 10 Day Itinerary
Enchanting Spain: A 6 Night/ 7 Day Itinerary
More Itineraries from travel expert Michelle Finkelstein

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It’s a big world out there, with infinite adventures awaiting the travel hungry. Sitting at my desk on a cold winter day, watching the fog roll in from the ocean to blanket the houses and buildings in sheets of white, I find myself daydreaming about the sun-soaked sands of Mexico beaches, the colorful rain forests of Costa Rica, the wild national parks and animals of the Australian Outback. And then, of course, there are the cathedrals of Rome, the art museums of Paris, the canals of Venice, the temples of Japan. While the world holds infinite wonders to capture the imagination, most of us don’t have infinite vacation days or bank accounts. What do you do when you get the itch to travel, but only have a weekend to scratch it with?

Sometimes it’s easy to forget, but chances are your own hometown and destinations close by are rife with fun things to see and do. An exciting trip could be as simple as heading to the park, spending the day touring the local museums, taking a brewery tour, relaxing at a spa, or climbing into the car stocked with snacks and your favorite CD’s and heading down the highway for your own mini road trip. Here are some ideas for great solo trips you can take in your own backyard.

Play Tourist in your Hometown

I’ve lived in San Francisco for six years now, and it occurred to me the other day that I’ve never ridden a trolley car, or been to Alcatraz. While some tourist attractions can be more hype than happening, most of them are popular for good reason. One fun way to spend a weekend without going too far or spending too much, is to grab your camera and pretend to be a tourist. What are the attractions people come to your town from all over the country, or even the world, to see? Many cities offer tourist passes, allowing travelers to visit all of the major attractions at a discounted price. Bus tours, walking tours, and other group tours are often available too, for those wishing to experience their town under the wisdom of a guide. For travelers who’d rather go it alone, a great place to begin is your city’s visitor’s center, where you can get lists of attractions, maps, tour information, and more.

Attractions in Major Cities:
San Francisco Attractions
New York Attractions
Los Angeles Attractions
Seattle Attractions
Boston Attractions
Las Vegas Attractions
More…

Take a Culture Tour

You may not live in New York City or Rome, but chances are, your hometown has its own fantastic array of cultural attractions. I’m always pleasantly surprised to discover how many cultural events are taking place in my city, from theatre productions to poetry readings and art openings, to literary festivals and performance art. A fun way to escape the norm of the week and to stir your intellect is to plan a cultural weekend for yourself. You could spend a Saturday checking out the latest exhibits at your local art museum, learning about prehistoric times at a museum of natural history, or experiencing the astronomical at a planetarium show. Many museums offer guided tours, or self-guided audio tours, allowing you to learn about the art and artists that capture your imagination as you peruse. Experiencing art and historical exhibits is a fantastic way to travel the world without leaving your own backyard.

Resources:
United States Art & Museum
New York City Museums
Museums Around the World
Top 10 Museum Websites

Road Trip!

Venturing on a road trip may take a bit of planning, but not too much! One suggestion is to locate a place you’ve never visited that you’ve always wanted to see — a nearby state or national park, a fantastic zoo, a winery or brewery you’d enjoy touring, a spa or hot springs, or even just another city you’d like to experience. Once you’ve settled on a destination, it might be fun to take the route that is most scenic so that you can stop and take photos along the way, enjoy a picnic lunch by a lake, or just take in the views as you speed down the highway. If you’re more inspired by the journey rather than the destination, you might just take out a local map, point to a spot, and then hit the road. Don’t forget to pack your favorite snacks and music!

Next time you’re at work, or making dinner for your kids, or filling up the car with gas and you begin daydreaming about traveling the world, remember there might just be a whole world in your own backyard. Big trips to exotic places are wonderful, but it’s easy to travel nearly anytime — those small vacations can make waiting for the big ones a lot easier, and who knows, you might have the time of your life close to home.

More Useful Links:
Weekend Getaways and Daytrips from Miami
Day Trips from Melbourne, Australia
Weekend Trips from Paris
Weekend Getaways from New York City

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