Some years ago I was planning a family trip to Italy. The kids were in their late teens, my husband was in one of his grouchy, ‘I hate holidays’ moods and after a number of fruitless conversations I made a monumental decision. There were not going to be any more family holidays.
I have to confess that everyone was mightily relieved. You might call it sad but as a family we felt it was the best thing we have ever decided and now spend quality time on very short breaks and leave the big trips, the culinary vacations and so on to individual taste and whims.
With the wealth of holiday opportunities and deals for single travelers there has never been a better time for a spot of solo travel. In my book, if it’s solo travel to Italy, you can’t have a better combination.
10 top tips for travelling solo
1. Don’t think single travel means you are looking for a partner, although it can mean that for some. Single travel means doing what you want, when you want without worrying about others likes, dislikes, foibles or moods. This is the top tip in my book for taking a singles vacation.
2. Check out reputable firms who offer singles vacations or activity vacations and do a thorough search. It’s a good idea to consider subjects you know about like culinary vacations in Tuscany for example. But it’s also exciting to explore things you might have never considered like a Pilates course in Sicily as an example. Yes, they do exist!
3. Ask questions of your potential vacation company. Read blogs, home pages and really get the feel for what you are letting yourself in for. You’ll soon see if it floats your boat or not.
4. Keep a diary. You will be surprised what time away from everyone and everything familiar will do for you and it’s worth noting. There’s nothing like a spot of single travel to broaden the mind and blow away the cobwebs.
5. See a culinary vacation or water colour vacation as a gift. Being selfish actually doesn’t come easily to most people who have spent many years looking after the needs of others. Sometimes it really is necessary to do things for you and you alone. Visit the countries you’ve always yearned to see, indulge in an activity you have always dreamed of being able to do.
6.Always have something with you: a camera, a notebook, a novel or postcards so you look unoccupied to anyone else in a bar, in a piazza or anywhere you might feel a little exposed.
7. Use social media to find friends and connections in the places you might be visiting. After all there are usually only a few degrees of separation between us and anyone else on the planet.
8. Enjoy the opportunities, change your mind hourly if it pleases, revel in the pure freedom of knowing you can enjoy yourself, indulge in something no one else approves of!
9. If you are a little hesitant at travelling solo for the first time then choose an activity vacation that plans your day for you. It takes away the stress, the fear of the unknown and provides a built in group of like-minded people who will soon make you feel at home.
10. Once you have booked your trip start researching, immerse yourself in Italian culture, language and get your mind ready for the sensory overload a solo trip will bring.
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