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Solo Travel - where would/have you gone?

A.Win

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In my opinion, solo traveling is best for exercising or meeting new people.
For exercising, you can spend hours hiking, biking, or in the gym. A mountainous area would be more fun than a flat area. I also like the idea of brisk walks at Disney parks or along the beach as it would be more interesting than the mall or the local track.
For meeting people, there should be good nightlife. So drinking and going to bars/discos would be interesting. You can obviously meet new people at any place, but the beach makes a lot of sense to me.
 

WinniWoman

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I like the Disney idea too. My other half and I like different things in Disney and we often split up. I have met solo travelers many times but never have seen them in the fine dining restaurants where I do go alone.

Yes. But-Only thing is Disney is not relaxing and she said she wants to chill.
 

VacationForever

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The dining alone aspect has always puzzled me. I don't understand the issue, but it clearly bothers others. I have eaten alone most of my life and frankly find it easier than attempting conversation as food is being consumed. Did most people have every meal with others growing up and into adulthood?
My husband and I simply read over lunch, rarely having any real conversation. Not wanting to sit alone in a restaurant is more of being self conscious that others may gawk at an alone diner.
 

klpca

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The dining alone aspect has always puzzled me. I don't understand the issue, but it clearly bothers others. I have eaten alone most of my life and frankly find it easier than attempting conversation as food is being consumed. Did most people have every meal with others growing up and into adulthood?
I would suspect that in my entire life I have eaten at most, 10% of my meals alone. We ate together as a family growing up, and my husband and I have continued it into adulthood. We set the table and everything. (Using cloth napkins seems to be the most surprising thing to others, followed by the fact that we do this every night). So for my brain, meal time = social time. Maybe that's why eating alone seems so unusual to me. I've never really thought about why I felt that way. Hence my habit of sitting at the bar so that I have someone to talk to during my meal. :D
 

linsj

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It's surpising (or not) how easy it is to eat alone when you read as you eat. I never get enough time to read, so a meal out is a treat in more ways than one. I'm a raging introvert, so starting conversations with strangers is not appealing. It's also why I enjoy traveling alone, no matter where.
 

x3 skier

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For the past 20 or so years, I’ve been going to London at least once a year. First with my wife and after she passed, with my siblings or female friends or just as often, solo. London being my favorite city, I always find something to do or see each trip that I’ve done before or never have seen.

Big cities are always full of new experiences but I also have traveled the same way to Mexico or other cities in Europe as a solo traveler and also with a companion. Usually, the Mexico trip is after the ski season for a change of climate.

Wherever the OP chooses, if one has the right attitude, big city or wilderness, all can be enjoyed alone, with friends and family or in an unrelated group.

I would also suggest GET as a tour company. They have tours where some days are in a group and others on your own.

Cheers
 
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Beachclubmum

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Solo trips for me usually entail a trip to the beach or last year’s U2 concerts in Philadelphia. Right now I’m eyeing r/t tickets Atlanta to Paris for only $500. The idea of hopping a plane to Paris and exploring on my own for a few days sounds so enticing!
 

geekette

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thanks for insight on the Eating Alone thing.

I guess I never thought anything was weird about it, and if folks gawked at me by myself at a table, I did not notice. I know that I don't stare at lone diners, maybe because it doesn't strike me as odd. Plus, I was taught not to stare at people because it's rude.

Tradition of dining together throughout life, that's one I can understand. Meal = Social doesn't compute for me, but now I get why it does for others. Setting table and using cloth napkins makes it, for me, An Event vs Every Day Dinner. I dig that it's Completely Normal for you, and I also find it to be charming.
 

Panina

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The dining alone is a bit tough at first.

One year my daughter, her friend and I went to Disney. They more or less did their thing 95% of the time. It took a few tries for me to get a seat alone.........but I did it. (Not fine dining - but I guess I would if I had to/no choice).
Dining alone does take time to get use to, at least for me it did. When my husband passed I felt so awkward going myself to a better restaurant as rarely I saw solo diners. Then I just did it and it became easier.

At Disney, I found the waiters gave me lots of attention, I am okay eating alone now.

I see you are from by old hometown. I lived in Tottenville, New Springville and Grant City.
 

LStormont

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I've done Costa Rica twice solo, Nicaragua, and Panama (I like traveling to Central America). I'm a woman in my 40s and have never felt unsafe. I haven't felt looked at weirdly for dining solo either.

Three days in Tortuguero (many of the hotels will pick up/drop off in San Jose) is a very nice relaxing time.
 

lprstn

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Places I have enjoyed traveling solo, Hawaii (Big Island and Maui), New Zealand (South Island), Australia (Melbourne and Sydney)
 

Snazzylass

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Sedona. Seems you enjoyed it before. It's great exploring solo! Lots of hiking, relaxing. Many T/S offer some nice remote day trips.

I'm to the point now that I am very, very selective if I travel with others. I don't want anyone shortening my hikes, etc. :)
 

AnnaS

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The dining alone aspect has always puzzled me. I don't understand the issue, but it clearly bothers others. I have eaten alone most of my life and frankly find it easier than attempting conversation as food is being consumed. Did most people have every meal with others growing up and into adulthood?

We always had dinner at home when the whole family was present. A few different times, growing up, we had two different uncles from Italy staying with us (my parents). Each stayed a few years. My dad would get mad if my mom did not wait for my uncle to come home from work so we could all eat dinner together. Eventually, she waited.

Sunday dinners are also big with us........with grown up kids/married with children. Big tradition.

Just weird at first.
 

turkel

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I am not a solo traveler and hope never to be. I went to a movie by myself once and was miserable. I know I was the only one who cared but the discomfort was real in my head.

My older sister goes solo to Palm Desert every year. My younger sister used to go on scuba diving trips solo annually as well. They are clearly more adventurous than me.
 

Kel

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Palm Desert is a great solo vacation spot. I will go by myself if my husband, sisters or girlfriends can’t go. It’s great for the pool, working out, spa, shopping and reading. And, it is just a little over an hour drive from home. Happy travels!
 

Timeshare Von

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I've traveled for vacation many times solo . . . and find it quite relaxing and cathartic. Over the past two or so years, here's a list of the places I've gone by myself . . .

* London
* Netherlands (about an hour north of Amsterdam)
* Hawaii - The Big Island
* Road trip - Yellowstone and all points in between Milwaukee and there (multiple times - at least 4)
* Road trip - Nova Scotia and all points in between Milwaukee and there
* Cape Coral, FL and Key West - 2 month sabbatical after being downsized out in 2000 (also a road trip)
* Whitefish, MT via Amtrak (and back)
* Churchill, Manitoba (with a polar bear tour group)

Dining alone has never been a problem for me since I do a lot of travel and dining for work solo, to on vacation, it's just an extension of the mental R&R that I enjoy.
 

Passepartout

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There's travel, and then there's going places for work. For over 30 years, I was a long-haul trucker. I did have co-drivers from time-to-time, sometimes for years, but the majority of the time it was just me, the truck, and the highways. Back and forth, mostly from one coast to the other. Dealing with whatever situations as they came up. Sometimes unpleasant. Mechanical mishaps, getting lost, flat tires, Thankfully, in over 3 million miles, I never had a single chargeable accident. Oh, there were a few suicidal birds, deer, and a bazillion bugs. There were storms. There were some amazingly beautiful sunrises and sunsets. There were customers that made you really want to do something extra for, and a few that made you wish you had never taken that load. I can honestly say that every place I ever went has something going for it. Maybe not at exactly that moment, but sometime, anyway. Eating alone was never a particularly bothersome event. Especially now since nearly all of us have our internet devices in our phones, but back 'in the day', when we got money at Western Union, and phone calls were virtually all 'Long Distance'. It got lonely at times, and those long suffering truckstop waitresses heard a lot of stories. I suppose some of 'em were even true. I don't know what any of this has to do with recreational solo travel, just a glimpse into a life of millions of people who travel solo every day.

Jim
 

chapjim

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To relax: an oceanfront unit at The Resort on Cocoa Beach or at Wyndham resorts at Panama City Beach, Royal Vista (Pompano Beach), or Emerald Grande in Destin.

For me, time of year isn't all that important. Flip flops or a hoodie.
 

mav

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London, in a heartbeat. I love London, and know my way around there better then where I live. Also Bavaria. Same thing there. It's my neighborhood
 

Glynda

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I would have no problem traveling alone to London, Manhattan, Italy or within the US. I eat lunch out several days a week alone. I just put my AirPods in and listen to a book. I have my regular stops where I am recognized and service is always good, perhaps because I tip well. I would say to travel while you can, alone or otherwise.
 
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