Does this sound familiar? You hear about a cute beach town, a quirky national landmark, a hike with views to die for — and you’re ready to hit the highway. But wait — you’ve got no one to go with. Do you forego your wanderlust? No, say a host of travel writers and bloggers, who specialize in solo travel. Traveling alone, they say, can be an especially exciting and fulfilling experience. All it takes is a little nerve, a bit of moxie, and a few tips for getting around the hurdles.
Common questions and fears:
• What if my car breaks down?
• I hate to eat alone in restaurants
• I’ll get lonely walking around all by myself
• I can’t afford hotel rooms on my own
• Will I be hassled?
Clearly I’m not alone in this dilemma. Many of the questions I hear most commonly from friends and followers, particularly women over 40, have to do with the joys and anxieties of traveling alone. It seems many of us gals are in the same boat; we’ve got itchy feet and either we’re partner-less at the moment or our partner doesn’t have the time or inclination to join us.
I could start in offering my own tips, but instead I thought I’d share with my readers some of the great blogs I’ve found on this subject. These folks specialize in this topic, and they’ve have answered my questions, inspired me with ideas and built up my confidence about traveling solo.
1. Solo Traveler Blogger Janice Waugh’s motto is “A Ticket to Freedom at Any Age,” and that sassy and savvy attitude prevails throughout. She offers tips and tricks gained from many years in the travel and conference trade, lots of itineraries, and stories from guest bloggers. She also has an email newsletter you can sign up for.
2. Solo Friendly With posts like “Solo Travel Confessions” and “Loneliness and the Solo Traveler,” blogger Gray Cargill doesn’t pull any punches. She talks about the challenges that come up when you travel alone — then tells you how she handled them.
3. Solo Female Traveler Sabina Lohr is young, but don’t let that put you off; she has lots to say about traveling the world alone, and her words carry weight because she’s done it all – or as much as you can do when you’re just a few years out of college. One of my favorites is 10 Solo Travel Myths Debunked. In it she pokes holes in many of the thoughts and fears we have about traveling alone.
4. Journeywoman One of the first to tackle this topic was the wildly adventurous Evelyn Hannon, whose Journeywoman newsletter now has 65,000 subscribers and has garnered her mentions in People magazine and Newsweek. If you need to prove to friends that women travel alone safely and happily, Evelyn and her followers are the role models you’re looking for. What I love best? Her guides to packing and “what to wear” — definitely the gals’ take on travel.
5. Solo Woman Traveler Kelly from Quebec doesn’t post often, but her can-do attitude shows up in tips on handling exotic destinations like Morocco and traveling with an infant. As @TravelOptimist on Twitter she shares travel tips as well.
6. The Art of Solo Travel: A Girls’ Guide. In this eBook for the solo woman traveler, Stephanie Lee sets out all the tips and tricks that stood her in good stead during a solo round-the-world adventure. It will be available June 1 as a podcast.
What an inspiring gang of gal travelers you've discovered. I look forward to learning more about them — and picking up tips — for my next solo adventure.
Melanie – Thanks so much for these links. I hesitate (but do) to travel alone, but every time I do, I'm fraught with anxiety and "what ifs." I look forward to getting some help through these brave women!
These are terrific – you are right, this is definitely an area that many people have worries about.
Lots of great ideas here. I no longer travel much, since I have to stay and play innkeeper at my B&B, but do remember a site that might also be helpful, for women travelers, http://www.journeywoman.com/. Ever heard of it?
OMG, how did I forget Journeywoman? Evelyn is one of my faves to follow on Twitter and elsewhere – she has great info to offer on solo travel. Journeywoman now on the list; I think I just forgot her because she's so popular and successful I take her for granted!
If you want to add to this list, I'd love for you to consider my blog: http://solowomantraveler.blogspot.com
Let me know what you think. I'm @TravelOptimist on Twitter.
Adding them to my list…thanks!
This is a great roundup and a great topic to write about. It's all about having that internal confidence, really. I love that there are folks writing about it – including you. ~Meredith
How timely! I'll be traveling by myself in June and had already started to fret about it. Many thanks for the references.
Great post. I'll have to check out the blogs that you recommended.
Hi Kelly, thanks for bringing your blog to my attention; I like your post on traveling with a baby! I've followed you on Twitter as well.
I think this fear/worry of traveling solo probably prevents many women from traveling along. Good to hear that there's such inspiration out there on the web!
Awesome post! I love to follow Janice, Evelyn and Gray and will have to dig a little more in the other blogs you mentioned.
Maybe you might be interested in reading one of my favorite posts: 10 Tips to enjoy traveling alone (http://www.wild-about-travel.com/2009/06/30/travelling-alone-10-tips-women/) or the tales of my solo journeys to Peru, Guatemala, Nepal and more.
Excellent round up. I learned to travel alone years ago when I had to travel 3 weeks of the month for the large bank where I worked. I now travel alone occasionally for conferences and always love it because I get to do what I want to do, which always doesn't mesh with my husband.
like Kerri, I learned to travel alone years ago, and tend to forget that it is something many folks (men and women) worry about. you've offered a good collection resources for research.
Thanks for the great links, Melanie. There are also some cool books out there (from Seal Press and Traveler's Tales) about women traveling alone.
That's amazing that there are so many sites dedicated to this. I would imagine that safety would be the one big thing on my mind. I don't mind eating alone or being alone in general. But there are times when I feel out of my element. Then it's nice to have a companion.
Thanks for the nice posting….I like your style that you have recommended other blog sites too…villa costa brava
Good list. I've been traveling solo since 1980. I have always said "Just do it!" If I hadn't, I'd still be sitting and waiting
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