So, a friend of mine has had to pull out of a trip we had planned next month due to a health issue.
I’m now planning a holiday on my own. I realised that despite many trips around the world, including business trips, this will be the first time I have gone on a holiday completely alone!
I have no idea where my apprehension has sprung up from, but as I’m browsing the internet for flight, hotels etc. something is nagging away at me.
Would be great to hear any great (or disastrous) holidays you have had alone…
Alone with everyone
I travel on my own and I’ve travelled with others. Solo is better, you go where you want, when you want. You can stay in bed all afternoon if you want.
The only times I have wished for company are in restaurants, I don’t like eating by myself and feel self conscious when I do. Company is also handy at airports when you need to find a toilet and you have to drag all your stuff with you into the facilities instead of just handing it to someone and saying “Hold this for a sec.”
On a far more important matter you are very vulnerable when you are travelling alone. Last year I went to Las Vegas on my own and I fell over and smashed my knee and could hardly walk and was bed ridden for two days. It would have been so much easier if I had someone to get me food, or ice for the knee, or painkillers but I didn’t and had to do all that for myself even though I could hardly move.
Situations like that give you a clearer definition of the word “alone” It was not good and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.
I love eating in restaurants on my own! I don’t get to do it that often, but when I’m out of town or even very occasionally just as a treat. I like to imagine people are thinking I’m probably an international businessman dining out on his expense account, even though I don’t dress like one.
I’ve done to the solo holiday a few times, I’ve either gone all inclusive as walking is difficult so I don’t have to search for restaurants etc, or I’ve gone to a place I know from before where I know where places are.
I tend to get in conversations with others on holiday and at least have someone to share taxis with etc.
I did a couple of all inclusive holidays alone. I found it was quite easy to have something to eat by yourself and I even made a few friends. In my experience Canadians are very friendly people.
Done it many times more travelling than old fashioned holidays I love it. Planning a solo trip to Tajikistan. I’m into photography and that’s particularly satisfying as you can sit and wait wherever you like.
Thanks all – interesting that all inclusive comes up.
Airline package holidays seem quite expensive when you book for one – and it looks cost-effective to go all inclusive. I don’t mind eating alone, but always felt you were restricted with choice, but seems a lot of these hotels that offer all inclusive have multiple restaurants in the one hotel.
In my single days I took solo holidays. The plus side is that you are completely in charge of your own agenda and can cover a lot of ground if that’s what you want. I found the evenings were the downside. Say you go back to your hotel in the late afternoon, have a nap and a shower hen hit the streets for dinner. What do you do for the rest of the evening? Unless you want to sit in a bar getting slowly pissed by yourself options can be limited and the time can hang heavy.
Holidays I haven’t done, apart from an organised holiday for singles back in one of my inter-marriage years, which was interesting: Birmingham Spice, which may even still exist, and, rather than oo-er missus spice, was for people to meet up for meals out, walks, tours and the sort of day out experience that people might like: cocktail making, arts and crafts etc. I didn’t meet anyone significant, but made a few bloke friends. The holiday, in France, was fun: coach to the Ardeche and then a week of white water rafting, caving and all such larks.
But, with the current (and, hopefully last) Mrs Path having little enthusiasm for crowds, camping and folk music, necessity dictates I attend festivals alone, something I prefer more to being tied down to people who may not wish to see the same bands etc etc. After 10 years plus or so doing, I am more than content in my own company. Like @hubert-rawlinson, I like to strike up conversation with strangers. I also like to make arrangements to see if any denizens of this site will be at the same festivals, often finding there are, and have met a few of you in that way. (Indeed, that was where I met the good Hubes for the first time, at a Cropredy, and will reacquaint with @thecheshirecat at Sidmouth next week, having previously taken drams together at Cambridge and Shrewsbury.)
Haven’t been “on holiday” in too many years to recount and I can’t say I feel I’m missing anything much. The occasional weekend away, with friends, generally suffices. Though there’s not been many of those in recent years.
Although it can be nice to go to a gig with friends, to be honest I prefer to go alone and immerse myself better in the music. Perhaps I’ll chat with friends/acquaintances before, between sets or afterwards at the regular jazz events I go to, where the usual enthusiastic suspects will generally be in attendance.
Interesting. I am a social person but have no problem with my own company and will often strike up conversation with complete strangers.
I have travelled solo for numerous business trips. My hosts have invariably offered to look after me at the weekends but I always insist on spending time alone except for perhaps a meal in the evening. Regarding holidaying solo it would not be my preference but would have no problem doing it.
Have travelled on my own a lot, mainly to the UK though where I am seeing family/friends most of the time. I don’t mind going to cinema, theatre or gigs on my own, if I want to leave early or arrive late it’s totally up to me. Having no one to talk to in the interval isn’t much fun though. Don’t think I have ever been on a vacation to a completely new place on my own, but I can see it happening in my future. Like others, have been on solo business trips all over the world (although not recently), but there is normally some sort of support structure waiting for me when I get there.
30 years since I did but I met lots of folks by reading an English newspaper in public places. It might still work in the age of the smartphone
I travelled alone all over the US for a couple of months when I was a student, and it was generally fine. My time was my own, I could go where I wanted when I wanted, etc. I got used to it, and post-divorce am back doing it again.
But as Cookieboy and Gatz have said, sometimes travelling is just easier/better with somebody else, especially when something goes wrong or in the evenings – and particularly when something goes wrong in the evenings: in Times Square I was targeted by a robber, and had to run with him chasing me. I finally ditched him, but going back to my hotel in a bit of a panic made me dearly wish that I had somebody/anybody there who cared and could help or at least calm me down.
On the whole, though, I manage OK when travelling alone, and I know I’ve seen and done things that I wouldn’t in the company of somebody less interested in my niche hobbies and pursuits.
The only tip I can think of is don’t put up with a restaurant that tries to sit you in some dark corner away from the couples or groups, as if you dining alone is going to make the place look bad. This only leads to you being ignored by the staff and having a miserable time.
Not sure if this counts as holidaying alone.
When young, free and single, I worked at the Foreign Office. A lot of pals were posted abroad. On invitation, I would buy a return air ticket and go and stay at their apartment for a visit for a few nights wherever they were. Obviously we’d do things together, but they’d be at work for Queen and Country most of the time. Leaving me to roam about the likes of Rome, Geneva, Paris and a few others on my Jack.
Unsurprisingly, i absolutely loved that. Being left to your own devices in a new and interesting city is a massively enjoyable thing.
See also: business trips, most are completely unnecessary but nice if you can get a bit of me time between pointless meetings*.
* Cynical retiree speaking
Curse that zoom. Spoiled all our work related but now finished the meeting and have a day in Rome fun.
@Twang
I used to be the creative fireman for one of the agencies I worked for in HK and regularly got despatched off to help with new businesspitches at various
Offices.
Not as great as it sounds as most trips consisted of airport – hotel – office – hotel rinse and repeat. Always tried to insist on a spare day at the end when I could
Yes I’ve done lots of business travel but usually with customer involvement but for sure they liked jollies so he who pays the piper etc.
May not work for you but I found a cruise to be a good option when I holidayed alone, about a year after being widowed. They organised events for people travelling alone and also put the solo travellers at the same table for dinner, which was a nice touch. Only glitch was when one of my fellow diners said she was from a small village in Scotland that none of us would have heard of. Inevitably, she turned out to have been in the same class at school as the late Mrs Cakes…
I had one holiday alone and had a lovely time other than the odd needy moment but that might have been just where I was in life. I chatted to a nice German girl one night who came to visit a few weeks later and met my mate who was using my spare room. They’ve now been together for 35 years.
I hope they’ve moved out of your spare room by now…
Arf. With unseemly haste I thought!
I have always been single so have had plenty of holidays and longer term travels on my own. But I have chosen it to be that way, which isn’t how the OP sounds. I am a selfish traveller in a very non-selfish way. I know exactly what floats my boat, particularly what I want to see, and travelling alone means I am not burdening anyone else with my foibles.
What makes the difference is whether I speak the language. Going too long without a conversation does get me down, so I pick and choose where I go for my solo holidays, but anglo- and francophone countries give me plenty of choice.
If you have a specific interest or activity, activity packages might also be worth considering. I’ve done a cycling package before now and it was excellent; the company was good. There are specialist tour operators catering for all sorts of interests from walking to birdwatching to cooking.
On the subject of holidays, I think the falsest myth in the whole holiday business might be this: “Learn a few useful words and phrases in the local language before you go. The locals will really appreciate you having made the effort.” No, they won’t. Not in non-English speaking Europe, in my experience. Most of them will react in one of three ways:
1. They won’t care or even notice.
2. They will think you are implying that their English is not up to understanding such simple words and phrases and feel slightly offended.
3. They will think you’re a simpleton only capable of learning a few simple words and phrases, bless.
Disagree. In my experience a few foreign words and then asking if they speak English shows some respect. However don’t be too good otherwise they will answer in their mother tongue at 100 words a second which could well be totally unintelligible. But it’s a bit nicer than just assuming people speak English which one sees a lot.
I agree it shows respect, so much more than a “does no one here speak English, ffs?” attitude. But I genuinely don’t think many European non-English speakers would ever see it in terms of respect or contextualise it in that way. Many of them love the opportunity to practise or show off their English and would see far more respect in being told their English is excellent.
My rule is never to go anywhere without knowing how to say Hello, Thank you, Please and Beer. You can get a surprisingly long way into a conversation with that. I should point out that I only really go to major tourist cities.
My rule is to never go anywhere.
In my part of Europe, and I’m absolutely certain it’s mostly the same all over the world, you simply can’t get a job in hospitality unless you have a fairly decent command of English. Like it or not, English is the language of the tourist, whether from Germany, Guatemala or Timbuktu.
When we go down to the seaside for a nice lunch, despite our more than fluid French, we have long stopped trying to converse with the waiter in his/her native language.
“Deux verres de rosé, merci” we say.
“Hi, and would you like some water, still or sparkling?” comes the reply.
All the charming, clever bastards want to do is perfect their English before going off to the Sorbonne to complete a double degree in English & Astrophysics .
For my 21st birthday I went to Paris with my then lady friend. In a restaurant near the Nord station she ordered a chicken salad in her perfect French. “I will have the same as her” I said. She got a chicken salad and I got fried chicken and chips. I had to laugh.
Paris with a lady friend? Doesn’t sound dull to me …
I could have stayed there but impending Finals dragged me back to dull old Reading.
When I started work in France I had schoolboy French but told my team to talk French to me and explain things in French if I didn’t understand. My level quickly improved. After a few months at a team meeting they all complained that they thought they’d be able to improve their English by writing with me but they never got to use it. We settled on lunch being in English and Friday all day in English. The first thing they wanted to learn, inevitably, was how to use the word “fuck” properly.