Boldly Go Solo

How to set out solo, but not travel alone: Trips, tips and ideas for the active traveler.

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  • The Most Well-Traveled People on the Planet

    I thought I was well traveled because I’ve been to four continents. Then I heard about Lynn Stephenson, 81. She has visited 515 places. 519pxgeo_globe

    I say "places" because according to MostTraveledPeople.com,
    to have been everywhere in the world, you have to have visited 673
    countries, territories, autonomous regions, enclaves, geographically
    separated island groups, and major states and provinces.

    For instance, you can’t just have visited Angola. You have to have visited Cabinda Province as well. And, not just Spain, but also Ceuta and Melilla. The top guy on the site, Charles A Veley,
    has 43 countries, territories, etc., left to go. He’s been to 630, many
    of them thanks to his job as a software executive and his work on expanding the business into
    new countries.

    I think I may have visited 25 countries total. No
    "autonomous regions" or "enclaves" that I know of. Pathetic. But only
    relatively. Because I feel like I’ve been to a lot of places. Including
    47 of the 50 U.S. states. Still, I’ve got my work cut out for me. Not
    that visiting all the world is a goal at the moment.

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  • The close-to-perfect solo trip to Bryce, Zion and the Grand Canyon

    Elaine_with_new_biking_friend
    My friend Elaine was hesitant to admit that she was glad I didn’t join her on her recent trip out West. But no insult taken. I understood that it meant she’d had a fabulous time.

    She went out to Utah a few weeks ago without knowing a soul. All packed and ready for a biking and hiking trip to the Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion national parks 

    After walking the switchbacks of Walter’s Wiggles, hiking the ups and downs of Peek-a-Boo Loop, taking a ride part way down the Grand Canyon on a mule named Fancy, and waking up to snow one morning at Bryce (in June!), she was tight with a group of people she loved spending time with. She didn’t need no stinkin’ friends from home! No sir.

    Guides_goofing_off
    The two guides, Dave and Mike, were great, she says, concocting elaborate  gourmet spreads for lunch, including fresh fruit and chocolate. They went out of their way to please the guests, creating new bike routes on the fly when the snow or other unexpected events cut into their biking time.

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  • More on sleeping with strangers, that is, the couchsurfing phenomenon

    Stories about couchsurfing have been ricocheting around the Internet over the past half year, and lately, into the mainstream press. I wrote about the couchsurfing phenomenon back in February.

    Now the Christian Science Monitor has published a story well worth a read. About some of the problems in the system of peer review that’s supposed to make the activity more secure and dependable.

    As with all things you do in life, you have to use your judgment. You have to be able to walk away if something doesn’t seem right. Your gut and your sixth sense usually are the best judges of any given situation.

    Has anyone out there gone couchsurfing? Any stories to tell?
    WOULD anyone out there go couchsurfing? Why? Why not?
    C’mon readers. Check in and let us know your opinion.

  • Tennis Camp, anyone? A good match for solo travelers

    Tennis
    The backhand I have today is a gift from the Amherst Tennis Camp. For two summers, I spent a week at the camp, practicing my strokes. For hours each day. The housing is in college dorms, which makes the week inexpensive. And, it enhances the opportunities to get to know fellow campers. You walk back to your rooms at similar times and eat meals together.

    Breakfast and lunch are served in dining halls. The head tennis pro, Reiny Maier, usually gathers people up at night to go out to eat in town or to play pool together at a bar somewhere. Reiny’s a hoot, and often the other instructors are too.

    Tennis camps like this are great for solo travelers. You can be a beginner or an expert. They’ll have pros to suit you. And, no single supplement because you’re not in a hotel room, the basis for the "per person, double occupancy" curse. A few of them offer singles weeks. (Hm, is that singles versus doubles, or singles versus marrieds?? Be sure to ask…)

    Another summer, I signed up for Swarthmore’s tennis program, in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. The tennis lessons were just as fun but the dorms were awful. I see that lodging is no longer in the dorms. Smart move. But the meals are. Those too were grim. I much preferred the food at Amherst. Loads of fresh fruit and healthy choices.

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  • I don’t know where the hell Matt is now, but I’m richer for having seen where he’s been

    People the world over have much in common. I was reminded of this after watching a video called Where the Hell is Matt? and thinking about the time I played peek-a-boo with a young Thai child.

    I was hiking in the hill tribe area. Foreigners are still a novelty there and people came out of their huts to gawk at us shyly. One little boy, wearing a hoodie and nothing else was looking at me, so I started covering and uncovering my eyes and saying "boo."

    He started laughing with a really infectious giggle. His mother turned to see what was going on and then she started giggling when she saw us playing. I was delighted to see that peek-a-boo has the same effect on kids in Thailand as it does in the U.S.

    Today, I watched the Where the Hell is Matt video. My office has an interior window that people walk by. I think people looked in at me wondering why I had a big smile on my face while sitting alone at work. Watch the video and you’ll understand why.

    Matt travels all over, doing a goofy dance. Alone. And with others. People everywhere, young and old, respond with joy to the antics. And the joy is totally contagious. You’ll wish you were
    in any of those places on the video, dancing with Matt. Matt! You’re awesome, dude! That’s what many viewers have said.

    How does this
    apply to solo travel?

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  • The Pros and cons of group travel

    A frequent traveler, who has vacationed independently as well as with groups, lays out the pros and cons of group travel in an article in the Santiago Times of Chile. Although she hits the road with her husband, the points she makes about group travel apply to the solo traveler as well.

  • Solo travel ideas for Maine, Chicago and Latin American countries, along with clean places to pee

    Heron_on_rocks_canada
    This solo travel concept seems alien to many people in the travel biz. That’s unfortunate. I recently sent out a query asking if anyone in the industry particularly catered to the solo traveler.

    I was thinking of such things as a break on the room charge, since only one person is paying the bill. Or ways to get solo travelers to interact. Some responders got it. Others were off target, even if their vacation ideas were enticing or suggestions hilarious. 

    The funniest was from MizPee, a Web site that shows you the cleanest restrooms in your area when ya gotta go. You have to own portable Internet capability if you want to find a restroom while walking down the street when the urge strikes. Which creates a restroom digital divide – only gadget heads can find the best place to go, while on the go.

    But here’s the thing. I’m guessing couples and families want clean restrooms just as much as solo travelers. So, though a helpful concept, how is it a boon for solo travelers?

    Someone else emailed about creating your own video travel logs. And possibly sharing the revenues from selling them on this site. Again, interesting concept but as interesting for couples as it would be for solos.

    I’m on the lookout for things that particularly benefit solo travelers. Several responders got it. And they have useful things to offer.

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  • If it’s Tuesday, this must be Bratislava

    When’s the last time you heard someone say, "I’m flying off to Liechtenstein tomorrow?" Probably not recently.  What Holly Leber loved about her solo trip around Europe in December was that she could hop to places she might not have crossed an ocean to see. It was easy because she was already in Europe, on a journalism internship in Brussels.Chain_bridge_budapest

    Originally, her boyfriend was supposed to join her. When that fell through, she took off on her own.

    To Bratislava (Slovakia). Budapest (Hungary).  Ljubljana (Slovenia). Neuchatel (Switzerland). Salzburg (Austria). Vienna (Austria). Zagreb (Croatia). And, yes, Liechtenstein, the city of Vaduz. "I would get on a plane to go to Spain or Italy," she said. "Probably not to Slovakia. But I loved it."

    She also loved traveling on her own. She didn’t have to answer to someone else. Or wait for anyone. She packed light and was able to get around easily.

    She’s not a huge fan of tourist activities. She didn’t scour "Let’s Go" books for museums, churches and cathedrals to visit. Instead, she walked the streets and squares taking random photographs, of side streets and landmarks and people shopping for fruit.Alley_bratislava

    She traveled in December and had a chance to visit Christmas markets. At every stop, she bought a gift for her sister. She also communicated with her family via email.

    With just a smattering of words in Dutch, French and German in her arsenal she didn’t talk much to those around her. And even those words didn’t help much in Croatia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

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  • If you don’t like package tours, be a day tripper

    Short tours can do wonders for alleviating loneliness when you're vacationing alone. If, after flying to your dream destination, you start to feel lonely, you can join a group activity for a day or two and have real live conversations. Something beyond, "Does this bus go to Sintra?"Teapotsellen_perlman

    I recently went on an "urban foraging" walk in downtown Victoria, British Columbia. (My cousin asked if that meant dumpster diving!)  My tour guide Kathy and I tasted our way through a tea shop, a French cafe, a BBQ place called Pig, a chocolate store and more, talking the whole way along.

    Usually she won't go out unless she has a minimum number of people, but it was early in the season and she made an exception this time, me being a travel writer and all.

    Typical_paintings_ecuadorellen_perlIt was a break from my solitary city walking, although I have to say, I was doing just fine before I met up with her. For me, loneliness usually sets in during the first 24 hours. Then I find a rhythm. Or I find people.

    When I met up with Kathy, I was not at all lonely. But there have been other days, on other trips, when I have wished for some company. And this would have done the trick.

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  • Make the busboys your dining companions

    On a scrap of paper somewhere, I have a recipe for a caramelized onion salad. It came from Jesus, a Cuban guy who cooked the delicious appetizer for me in an Arizona restaurant.

    Two_saguaro_cactiellen_perlmanI was sitting alone in the mostly empty dining room. Phoenix in May is not a prime destination. It’s a rotisserie. But I didn’t choose it. I was there for work.

    I had booked an inexpensive but very nice resort hotel. Tip: for those who like heat, Arizona prices plunge in the summer.

    Okay, so I needed to eat dinner. I always go out when I travel. I find that dining in a hotel room is mighty depressing. To avoid getting back into the hotbox car and driving past a lot of strip malls, I went downstairs.

    It felt odd to walk into a formal dining room that had only two couples in it. I left, and went to the more casual bar downstairs. It was pretty empty, too, and I liked the upstairs menu better. I chose to go with the better food. Back to the white tablecloths.

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