solo 30th birthday trip

sanders,

As you're not travelling until next June and given your location, you may find it helpful to attend a few meetings of the Sacramento Rick Steves group (although I'm not sure how far that is from your location). You'd be able to meet in person with an experienced group of travellers, who I'm sure will have lots of good suggestions for you.

The meeting schedules are always posted in the "General Europe" section, and here's the link to their most recent meeting.....

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/sacramento-travel-meeting-saturday-november-15-10-00-a-m

I frequently travel solo, and I'll try and offer more suggestions when I have more time. Have a luncheon to attend, so must run......

Thank you, Ken. Sacramento is far for me, I'm closest to San Jose because I'm in the South Bay but could do San Francisco too. Thank you so much though! Just looking to hear stories. :)

Sometimes you need your own space, on your own schedule. I've trekked in Nepal and traveled solo in France, Spain, and Belgium. Although I eventually met up with others, being able to make my own decisions and set my own agenda, without conflicting or compromising with others, was liberating. I could revel in my successes and be responsible for mistakes.

It's great that you have this opportunity, and that it's completely Your Trip. I'm sure your husband will enjoy hearing about what your were able to see and do even if he couldn't have the time to be there with you. And congratulations on making it across the eastern Colorado plains without getting blown off the road by a tornado or a passing semi doing 80+ MPH! :-)

Bonne anniversaire et bonne chance!

Thanks Cyn! I see you live in Wheat Ridge. I grew up in Lakewood, CO. Heading there for Christmas this year to see family.

I've been to both places where you will travel and am in fact working on my own solo trip back to Europe after four other trips with family. Actually looking forward to it as I'm told that when you're traveling solo all decisions are unanimous. :) Anyway, not knowing where you went on previous trips to these cities I will make several suggestions based on personal experience. London...The Cotswolds, Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick Castle, Bath and Stonehenge, all to the west/northwest. We took an all day bus tour to the first three on the list and really enjoyed it. There was another on a previous trip which had Warwick Castle instead of The Cotswolds. You will probably be best served with a car for the other two (don't be afraid to drive there, but rent the car on the outskirts of London). To the southwest there is a boat ride to Greenwich where you can stand in two hemispheres and also see the Royal Naval College. The last time we were in London it was after a week in Scotland and we stopped in York for the night. The town of York and in particular its cathedral, The Yorkminster, were incredible and it's only a peaceful two hour train ride from London. Might be a long day but well worth it. While my TPs took a day tour into the countryside I enjoyed spending a day alone, randomly checking out London on the tube which included going to Notting Hill where, and about which, one of my favorite movies was made, and then I finished off the day with dinner at the original Hard Rock Café where I met a wonderful English couple who were celebrating their anniversary that night. Since I was in line alone they were kind enough to ask me to join them and I still communicate with them three years later.

Paris... Since you've been to Paris three times and have probably seen all the biggies several times over, so consider a few days in Provence, a 2 1/2 hour train ride to Avignon. In that time if you rent a car at the Avignon train station you can see the Pont du Gard, Nimes, St. Remy, Arles and of course the Palace of the Popes in Avignon. Roads are great and the distances are short. We spent a week there in St. Remy and headed out in a different direction each day. Another direction, although you said you'd been to Normandy, will take you to Monet's home, garden and lily pond in Givenny, the city or Rouen and the my favorite port town of Honfleur. In Bayeux, a couple of hours train ride from Paris, is a cathedral that is larger and more spectacular than Notre Dame, the Bayeux Tapestry that describes the Battle of Hastings, and the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach which you've probably seen. I have been to all of these places and plan to go back to some of them on my solo trip, along with others that I didn't make it to or could not work into a trip with my TPs, but all of them are worth a second look, and maybe even a third. Happy travels.

thanks for all the rec's, Jim! Yes, I am especially excited to go by myself because all the decisions will be unanimous. Haha. I am also an introvert and don't mind spending time alone. When I'm with other people I tend to worry too much about if they are having fun. I'm going to save Provence for a future trip with my husband, and we went to Bayeux & the Normandy beaches last year as my husband is a veteran. I loved the town of Bayeux and the tapestry. We also went to Rouen but I will keep Giverny in mind. As for day trips from London, definitely considering Bath, Oxford, and Greenwich!

sanderskn, once a Jefferson Countyite, always a Jefferson Countyite, or something like that. If there's a Denver-area Travel Group meeting in December, you might even be able to make that (I've never been able to fit it in), probably Saturday, 12/20 in Littleton!

Sanderskn,

I only fly solo. No significant other with me so its the way i fly. If i were to wait for someone, i would probably never go. I have the time (vacation time) and $$ to go whereas many of my friends are married (tied down) or dont want to travel.

If your husband is okay with you going solo, who am i to say no. After all, hes married to you, not me, so what you do isnt any of my business. Also, from what i learned from my mom is that sometimes its good to take separate vacations, again, as long as both parties are good with the idea.

as far as where i have traveled, you can look at my profile and see the growing list. My idea of traveling is that i will fly to places outside of the USA while i can afford to and save the USA, Canada, Mexico areas for when i have to drive or take a puddle jumper. Also, i try to do one city per country in my trip and go back to some other city/place when i return. Or if i have to go back, pickup the places i missed on the first time.

happy trails.

Your vacation plan sounds like a dream! I have a few friends who travel solo even though they are partnered. It's often the case that one person has the travel bug and the other doesn't. I think a healthy relationship includes a mix of dependence/independence from each other, so kudos to you! In my relationship, I'm the one with the international wanderlust and my fiance is just as happy van-camping around the US (we take a 10 day road trip every year focused on hiking/canoeing/kayaking). However, I finally convinced him we should go overseas this year for our honeymoon (we are headed to France in March).

Before I met my fiance, I went to Nicaragua by myself. I had always dreamed of traveling somewhere non-English speaking on my own, more to learn about myself (how would I react? would I love it? hate it? sink? swim?). I spent 6 months learning Spanish with Pimsleur CD's and a few grammar/vocabulary books, listening to a lot of Shakira, and watching a lot of telemundo... After the airplane landed, I immediately faced the shortcomings of my Pimsleur CD's (they have almost nothing related to practical in-travel needs), and it took me a while to figure out how to use the payphone and get a cab to the bus station. However, I was able to have a decent conversation with the cab driver, and by the time we got to the bus station, he refused to let me sit alone to wait for the bus. Apparently, it was in a rough section of town and he would never let his daughter go there alone... So, he sat with me for about half an hour and practically herded me on the bus when it arrived.

On the bus, I was disappointed not to find any chickens (everyone talks about the chicken buses, but this was actually a fairly new school bus). Instead, there were a string of vendors that got on and off at each stop, selling things like pastries, juice in plastic baggies, pencils, and underwear). I did have an awkward luggage tug-of-war moment with the bus driver's assistant, who wanted to put my luggage in a special compartment, but I didn't know the words for 'You need to store your luggage in a compartment until you get to your destination'.

And that is how the bulk of the trip went--making friends with locals and other travelers, having more than a few 'I love Lucy' moments, and feeling nervous but exhilarated all at once. I'm normally extremely introverted, but found the extrovert in me when I needed her. My Spanish blossomed after an evening of conversation with a few friendly locals who didn't know English (a lot of pantomiming was involved). The hardest part was that many people immediately want to 'help' you when they realize you are a solo woman traveler. There were times that I took up the offers for help, and times that I forced myself to say 'No thank you' and continue on my own. Half the people thought I was either stupid, crazy, naive, or all of the above. The other half thought I was having the time of my life... and both halves were right! The trip meant a lot to me. I always had this image in my head of the woman I wanted to be, and I found her.

Riverain, what a wonderful story.thanks for sharing. I am a classic introvert too but for some reason when I have the opportunity to speak French, I become very outgoing. I think it's because I love the language so much.

Your the travel experience, personal awareness, and language and planning skills should all contribute to a great trip! I have enjoyed traveling solo throughout Europe, both for the challenge and the freedom to completely make your own itinerary. See also some tips for solo travelers at http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/trip-planning.

Hi,

Great that you have decided to go solo over there and that you speak French. As with everything else in life, going solo to France and London has pros and cons in a trade-off. I didn't go over exactly at 30 but was there solo for over five weeks at 27 in 1977. Not until seven years later at 34 was I able to go again (money, time factors)...again solo but only for three weeks. Both trips included going to Paris, Germany, No negative impact, although at 27 it was my first time solo in Paris, and I was nowhere as linguistically well equipped there as you are. Still, I could have made pushed it a bit more at 27.

Go solo while you can. I wouldn't pay any attention to those who cannot understand why a person would want to do a trip alone. You'll see the locals travel solo too.

Hello sanderskn. In England, I think going to York, Cambridge University, Portsmouth old Navy Harbor, is better than going to Bath, Oxford, Greenwich. A railway train goes from Victoria station in London to Portsmouth Harbor. Search for information of the quickest train route for that. Walk from Railway station at Portsmouth Harbor to Old Navy Harbor (visit old Navy sailing ships the Victory and Mary Rose).

Congratulations! My first solo trip was when I was 30 as well. Since then I have traveled solo almost all the time. My first trip was three months in Italy, but I also have been to Greece, Turkey, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Croatia, and Belgium solo. Since you are going to cities you've been to before, you already are familiar with how to get from here to there, and probably what to do.

I have found that whenever I have had any difficulty, someone always stepped in to help. Solo travel also allows you to interact more with people (locals and other tourists) than traveling with others, in my opinion.

Enjoy your birthday!

My first solo international trip was also my 30th birthday, and also London. I had a wonderful time and was officially bitten by the travel bug. Even after I met my SO, I continued to travel solo. Now, sometimes we go together, and sometimes I go by myself. I've been to many places, mostly in Northern Europe, but this year I went to the Iberian peninsula and last year I went to Tokyo. I'm a city person so my travels have been super easy-I rely on public transit and there's ALWAYS plenty of people around.

Now for the one bit of downer: you will most likely face some level of street harassment. It's almost always benign (I refuse to call it harmless), but be aware as a young, attractive solo woman, you will get spoken to in a crude manner. Unfortunately, that's the way of the world. Happily, in those large cities, there is always a place to duck into if you feel uncomfortable. For the most part, just ignoring the idiots works. I've never felt threatened, just really, really annoyed.

That out of the way, you will meet all kinds of cool people from all over the world, and you WILL have a great time. PM me with any questions.

Emily

Thanks Emily. Got the mild harassment even when I was with my sister years ago in Spain. fortunately it will be June so the days will be long and like you said there are so many people around in a big city.