Why Travel Solo: Bloggers Sound Off (2024)

How to Travel with a Group and Do It Your Way

Top 4 Tours for Solo Women Travelers that offer “Me” Time

By Kate, founder and blogger, Where in the World is Kate

I am asked all the time for the top tours for solo women travelers. There are so many more options now than in the past few years, so it is hard to wade through the choices. Let me help. The first question you need to ask yourself is why are you traveling solo? You may be traveling alone because your partner is working or doesn’t like to travel. Next, what are you looking for? Do you want to play it safe, just venture out and do something different, or have an adventure?

Traveling solo or in a small group may be just what you need at this time of your life. My recommendations can address your reason for traveling. Use these professional tours to safely travel in a small group wherever they go. You might even have a few gal friends that want to join you. All of these companies can accommodate you and your friends.

Criteria for recommendations

I value tour businesses that have repeat customers and small-group tours. If they offer great service and are a good value, then that makes them exceptional. Here is my list of exceptional tour companies for solo female travelers. I like this group because it offers quality, a lot of options and price points.

Overseas Adventure Travel

OAT offers 50 small group adventures worldwide—to Botswana, Morocco, India, Burma, Vietnam, the Galápagos, Costa Rica, Italy, Croatia, Australia, New Zealand and beyond. Their groups are only 10-16 travelers by land and 14-25 by small ship, and they’re intentionally small to provide travelers with access to local people, their cultures, and ways of life.

The trips feature fantastic local Trip Experience Leaders, unique lodging, and local modes of transportation (e.g., rickshaws, camels, dugout canoes). There are tons of cultural immersion opportunities such as spending a day in a village, meals at local homes, visits to schools, meetings with local leaders, artists, students, and farmers. All of the side trips are an excellent value. There is also plenty of free time to explore on your own. If you are exploring, their experienced Trip Experience Leaders can share inside information about places only locals know about that are off the beaten tourist’s path.

Also, solo travelers fear not: 40% of their passengers are on their own—despite marital status.They offer free single supplements on every one of their trips and every optional pre- and post-trip extension. Last but certainly not least, OAT is committed to giving back to the countries where we travel.

Through their charitable Grand Circle Foundation and the owners’ Lewis Family Foundation, they have donated or pledged more than $140M since 1981, providing support to more than 300 humanitarian, cultural, environmental and educational organizations, including 100 schools, in 50 countries. All 30+ worldwide offices volunteer within their countries.

Africa

Here is my favorite from OAT. I’m dying to do Africa again, I highly recommend a tour to see Africa. I have been to Tanzania and loved it, next stop South Africa!

Iceland

Iceland is one of the film locations for Game of Thrones. It is a breathtaking location for female travelers, photographers, and nature lovers.

Adriatic

Take an Adriatic tour to Dubrovnik, Croatia, Marco Polo’s home.

Originally published on www.whereintheworldiskate.com. Read Kate’s complete blog post here.

Solo on a River Cruise: Enjoy Both Social and Alone Time

By Janice Waugh, founder and blogger, Solo Traveler

I enjoyed the best of both worlds.

I had plenty of time to myself and lots of social time as well.

That’s the way it works when you go solo on a river cruise. At least that’s the way it worked on the 12-day cruise I took from Bucharest to the Black Sea and then up the Eastern Europe to the Black Sea with Grand Circle Cruise Line—my thanks to them for making this trip possible.

Here’s the social side of a river cruise for solo travelers:

• Meeting and greeting: The voyage kicked off with a meet-and-greet for solo travelers where I met many other travelers (primarily women) on their own.
• Moving my feast: I made a point of sitting down to almost every meal with different people—and repeating meals with the people I enjoyed the most. The food was great and the company was even better.
• Sharing curiosity: With only one exception, each day began with a tour of a new port town. Being in a smaller group which naturally broke off into even smaller groups on the tour, I drifted from person to person and group to group to hear their questions, comments, and observations and participate in the discussion. It was natural for everyone to do this.

And yet there was still plenty of time and space for alone time.

• A cozy corner of the large lounge. While the lounge was certainly a place where I connected with people, especially before dinner, it was large enough that I could find a quiet corner by myself for reading, writing, or simply watching the scenery go by.
• The upper deck or the gym. I made a point of sitting down to almost every meal with different people—and repeating meals with the people I enjoyed the most. The food was great and the company was even better.
• My cabin. And, of course, there was my cabin. While the lounge was active in the evenings I spent most evenings in my room reading and writing.

Whether you are in the mood for social or alone time, going solo on a river cruise gives you the option. But I’d like to go into one other aspect of river cruising that I find quite amazing.

Off the Beaten Track on a River Cruise

In addition to being great for solo travelers, there is something else very special about a river cruise. It will take you to towns that you might not otherwise see. As the ship travels waterways that had historically been major thoroughfares, it stops in towns that are somewhat stuck in time—towns that are now off the beaten track because transportation shifts to trains and then cars have left them behind.

Originally published on www.solotravelerblog.com. Read Janice’s complete blog post here.