Staying Fit
Solo travel is becoming increasingly popular. Only 30.4 percent of Americans say they have never traveled alone, and experts predict the number of solo travelers will surge as tourists make up for time lost during the pandemic.
The most powerful motivator is wanting to see the world without waiting for others, according to a survey by the website Solo Traveler. But fans also praise the flexibility, independence, personal growth and joys of meeting new people.
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Karla Zimmerman has written Lonely Planet guidebooks for 20 years and has traveled alone extensively for both business and pleasure. People often ask whether she is fearful or misses having companions. “Maybe a little,” she concedes, “but the tradeoff is huge: the freedom to experience a place how I want, when I want. Like, blow off the vaunted art museum to drink beer in a pub? No problem, I just do it. Visit the famous church or the world’s largest ketchup bottle? No judgment or compromises when I choose the latter. Plus, when I’m by myself, I meet more people and pay more attention to what’s around me. The feeling of self-reliance of doing it all solo is pretty cool, too.”
WHY TRAVEL SOLO
1. Your time, your way
Solo travelers relish the ability to determine their own schedules — from the timing of trips overall to navigating airports, meals, excursions and even rest. “I love letting my body fall into its natural sleep patterns,” says Auburn Scallon, a lifelong night owl and Moon Guides author. “The freedom to set my own schedule means I can plan activities around my energy levels and not have to trudge through an overly chipper early-morning tour wishing I’d had enough sleep to actually enjoy it.”
2. Find flexibility in booking
Going it alone can open up opportunities. “Utilize your advantage,” suggests travel writer Marie Javins, author of Stalking the Wild Dik-Dik: One Woman’s Solo Misadventures Across Africa. “There are often single seats left, sometimes even with discounts. It’s much easier to get that last seat on a bus, on a rafting trip, on that small plane to see polar bears when you’re only booking for one.”
3. Embark on a personal journey
Solo travel can be deeply transformative. Javins relishes focusing on her own experiences, rather than chewing things over with a companion. “I experience the world best when I’m only responsible for my own reactions,” she says. “And I enjoy escaping from work where I am responsible for many others as well as myself.”
4. Add to your skill set
A framework can often help solo travelers, whether that’s a dude ranch, culinary boot camp, knitting cruise, photography workshop, Ph.D.-led tour from Context or a NOLS expedition to build wilderness skills. Or dive even deeper into learning with Road Scholar, which offers unaccredited courses for travelers over 60.
PLANNING YOUR TRIP
5. Scour for special options — or ask
Traditionally, cruises and tours have based their fees on double occupancy and added surcharges, known as the single supplement, for private accommodations — anywhere from 10 to 100 percent the usual rate. But a decade ago, some companies started reducing these costs and even waiving them, as demand rose for solo travel.
Others began securing more single rooms and increasing options for unaccompanied guests, notes Sarah Reid, commissioning editor and lead author of Lonely Planet’s The Solo Travel Handbook. She recommends Intrepid, G Adventures, Exodus Travels, and Wild Women Adventures. Other standouts include Avalon Waterways, Travel Divas and Overseas Adventure Travel, specializing in trips for travelers 50 and above.
Brands sometimes offer seasonal or last-minute deals that include scrapping single supplements. Not finding the right package for your budget? It never hurts to ask the operator about options or to see if a travel agent can negotiate.
6. Experience unique destinations
Tourism operators have begun creating more bespoke options. Notably, they have the run of entire ships on some Riviera European river cruises. As the company’s site says, “You can book that Diamond Deck Suite you’ve always imagined without the roommate and the single price tag.”
Singles Cruises and Tours also caters to folks who would like to vacation solo — but not alone. Its trips range from Guatemala’s Mayan temples to penguin viewing in Antarctica. Don’t be fooled by the name: These expeditions don’t resemble speed dating with suitcases. The goal is, instead, allowing unaccompanied people to access the discounts of group travel without a forced single supplement.
Eager to hear lions roar or gorillas drum their chests in Africa? Extraordinary Journeys offers departures for solo travelers. Or design a custom trip anchored by camps that don’t penalize singles with advisers like The Wild Source and Yellow Zebra.
Scott Cundy, cofounder and marketing director of Wildland Trekking, recommends guided small-group tours, which increasingly attract companionless adventurers. “With a higher level of safety and a professional guide leading the tour, solo travelers are able to relax more and focus on enjoyment,” he notes. And, of course, there’s the social component: “Traveling with others is simply more fun.”
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