Question about traveling in France, Belgium and onto Amsterdam alone.

Sorry there are difficulties with your vacation plans. I can't advise on the driving portion of your trip, but I will tell you just to take a cab from the airport in to Paris. You are going to be saving money as you will only have food for one not 2 so spend it on a cab. The times I have done it, it was in the neighborhood of 50€ maybe a bit more, maybe a bit less. So much easier, no hassles, no anxiety when you are jet lagged. Just go to the taxi rank at the airport. Have the name and address of your hotel written down on a sticky note you can just hand the driver.

In Amsterdam, I did do the train to the airport and it was very easy. It's a short ride with lots of people heading there. I had been staying fairly close to the train station so I just walked to the station.

Hope things work out for you!

First of all let me say that yes, you should definitely go ahead and do the trip on your own (the heck with the boob). I almost always travel alone and I enjoy it. True, I am much older than you are but the result is the same - you can do it. If you are independent at home and like your own company you'll do fine traveling in Europe by yourself.

About your itinerary, I agree with you that a rental car is the way to go for your France portion. However, I would drop the car after Caen to avoid the high cost of dropping the car in another country. From that point on I would take trains - to Bruges, Gent, Brussels, and Amsterdam. You don't really need a car for this portion and using the trains in France, Belgium, and Netherlands is easy. I'm sure some posters here will give you more specific advice.

Good luck to you and enjoy your trip.

As Nancy says, you will need a car to view the French coast, but the remainder of your trip is best done by rail, especially if you only want to visit the towns and cities you mention and not explore more rural areas. Your route won't require much "backtracking" by train. As Nancy also says, driving a hire car internationally can lead to punitive drop-off fees.

For the specific rail trips involved:

Caen to Bruges: Your options would be to either take the train all the way, or drive your hire car to somewhere in France close to the Belgian border and drop it off there. I'd compare the driving time to the rail one. Also if you do it all by rail you will need to cross between two stations in Paris, although you'll be used to the Metro by then after spending some days there. Your most direct route will be by train from Caen to Paris St Lazare, RER train or taxi to Paris Nord, train to Brussels, and train on to Bruges. You can book online at www.capitainetrain.com NOW to get the cheapest fares, but be warned that cheap fares MUST be used on the particular train you booked for all but the Brussels-Bruges leg.

Caen to Bruges (alternative): Another option if you'd rather spend more time on the road and less on train is to drive from Caen to Lille, drop the car off there, and get the local train from Lille Flandres station to Bruges. Since it's a local train there's no need to book tickets in advance, although you may need to change trains at Kortrijk.

Bruges, Brussels and Ghent: Belgian domestic trains are easy to use, no need for reservations or advance booking. Don't bother with a railpass, just buy a ticket on the day. Ghent is on the direct route from Bruges to Brussels and all trains stop there.

Brussels to Amsterdam: You have the option of the fast Thalys train or the slower InterCity train. The Thalys may actually be cheaper if you buy a ticket NOW at www.thalys.com, but this limits you to a specific train. If you buy a ticket on the day the Thalys will be MUCH more expensive.

In terms of things to see, three days in Brussels lets you visit some of the more spread out sites that are interesting. Try the Atomium, the Horta Museum and the other art nouveau houses in the same Ixelles area, the Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinee...

If you want to drop the rental car in France to save on cross-border fees, then I would drop it closer to the border at Lille, to avoid an expensive train from Paris. Maybe you already got some car rental quotes and have an idea of the cost to keep the car longer, or try www.autoeurope.com.

Driving should not be a big problem. I drove solo on all my early trips to Europe. Read over road rules at http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/driving-europe-tips and about driver licenses at http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/rental-car-requirements and see more driving topics in that section.

As a solo traveler, I have never taken a taxi from the airport in Paris, only the various public options of RER or bus, depending on which goes closer to the hotel. See options described in Rick's guidebooks or at http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/connecting-in-europes-hub-airports.

Just to encourage you, go and have a great time. There are many women your age traveling alone, some traveling with spouses will envy you!

I almost always travel alone, and I think I meet more people for a casual conversation that way. Come to think of it, that's how I met my ex-husband.

What exactly is making you nervous and finding the idea of traveling solo in Paris and Amsterdam "daunting"? You mention you are petite and a woman, but seriously, neither of those things is a handicap when you are traveling in Europe. You don't need to have a man guide you through Europe. All you need is a decent GPS or a map. Especially in the bigger cities and towns, you'll find a lot of people (especially those under the age of 50) speak some English if you aren't fluent in French, Flemish or Dutch. You're also staying in hotels which means you've got the ability to use the front desk staff as a resource for directions and recommendations. It's very easy getting from/to the airport in Paris and Amsterdam. I've been to both - solo - and taken public transit (took the RER in Paris and in Amsterdam have taken both the train and the public bus to/from the airport). For me, this worked because I also did not want to spend a lot of money on taxis, I pack light and having lived in a number of very large cities, I'm quite comfortable using it and find it easy to navigate by public transit. If you come from a small town or an area that is heavily dependent on cars to get around, then don't knock yourself for spending the extra money and taking a taxi or one of the fancier coach service buses that run people to and from the airports in Paris and Amsterdam if that gives you some level of feeling secure or comfortable.

I would agree with the advice about ditching the rental car in France once you are done driving around the countryside and are ready to cross into Belgium. Your itinerary after France is all at stops that are easily connected by trains. I know you mention that you get anxious thinking about making it to a train on time. In that case, think about taking the local commuter trains throughout Belgium. Yes, they take a bit longer than the high speed trains, but Brussels, Bruges and Ghent are not that far apart and by taking a local train, you don't need to lock into buying tickets months in advance just to get a better price as those local trains have departures every 1 to 2 hours (sometimes even more frequently during "rush hour" periods on weekdays for the commuters going to/from work). The local trains in Belgium even synch their service up with the commuter trains for the Netherlands so you can train straight up to Amsterdam. Amsterdam, for certain, is really not a place you want to be dealing with a rental car - driving it on some of the narrow one way streets you are sharing with thousands of bicycles and a network of trams, and trying to find a place to park (cheaply) will not be easy.

Other advice to you would be to not let yourself get worked up by some of the posters on this board who make it seem as though these places are rife with pickpockets and scam artists lurking around every single corner, alley, bush, bus, tram, train and tourist site and absolutely everyone that gets within a 20 yard radius of you should be considered a suspect, and you won't truly be able to relax unless you have a money belt, bra safe, and a cross-body travel purse specially designed with steel reinforcement cables that resist slashing by knives, RFID blocking, and locks that will only open via retinal scan so no one will be able to steal your bottle of water or copy of RS Paris City Guide. There is a definite difference between being aware and taking a few simple precautions if that makes you feel more at ease, and letting yourself become a paranoid mess.

Without getting too much into psycho babble, I hope that you can rationally separate the psychological effects of being majorly let down by a trusted someone, as they seem to be undermining/coloring your confidence about this trip and perhaps making you more anxious than you need to be. Try to treat this as a trip you were planning by yourself from the get-go and try to invoke your inner confidence while putting the other "stuff" on the back burner, at least temporarily (this may involve pepping yourself up and saying "of course I can do this. I have the strength, competence and will to make this happen - it's doable!")

The logistics part is something you can easily conquer as long as you attain some knowledge and know what to expect ahead of time. I applaud you for doing just that, and wish you as good a trip as possible. Everything will be ok. Just give yourself slack to make mistakes and don't worry about it in the least bit - there's no need to strive for perfection.

Absolutely, go for it! I agree with others that dropping the car in Lille or somewhere between Paris and Belgium would make more sense than training back into and out of Paris or (worse) dealing with car and dropoff charges in Brussels and Amsterdam.

The only disadvantage of driving solo is you don't have a navigator in the front seat. But with a GPS and a good map (Michelin), and some patience with the inevitable wrong turns, you'll do fine. Think of it as exploring -- you know you'll reach the coast if you keep going north, right? ;)

I'd also agree about using local trains in Belgium and Netherlands. You won't save much time with the Thalys or such, since the distances are small, and the flexibility of the locals should help too.

A couple of other observations. You could take the RER train to Versailles and pick up the car there, so save driving out of Paris. All the D-Day beaches are east of MSM, so you'll be turning back rather than "continuing" to them. Consider Bayeux as a more charming and navigable alternative to Caen (I'm a big fan of the tapestry). Have a wonderful trip!

There is a whole cheerleading section here that will help you with whatever you need and guide you on your way! I have traveled solo too, and a few times I sat in my rental car and wondered if I was insane... then I just grabbed my map and carried on. Mistakes??? I have made them all, but as long as it wasn't life threatening it was fine... Who cares if t took me forever to find my way out of a city? You have reservations for hotels so that is one less thing to worry about. I am all for the car, but agree with dropping it in Lille, or someplace in France. No need to worry about it the rest of the trip. Listen to Ceidleh about the scare stories, more scary stuff going on in the US. Have a wonderful adventure and make it as memorable and life-changing as you can. It's a most amazing way to start a new phase of your life. Do take a GPS that you are familiar with. I never had one on solo trips and I know it will make driving a bit easier. Even if it routes you a crazy way, eventually you will get there, and keep a good map for backup. Take your laptop or ipad and you can always check in for advice alone the way.

If you don't know how to drive a stick shift, you might want to practice on one before you leave. Most rental cars were stick shifts when I rented a car. I was able to get an automatic, but had to request it in advance.

I appreciate the replies, I am not afraid of going by myself, don't get me wrong, it's that the entire situation has changed and I do worry about being taken for scams or something. Although I traveled in Italy by myself and was fine, it's just that it wasn't the original plan so... it seems like something so different than what I was prepared for. BUT, I am in no way canceling this trip. I can drive stick shift fine, no problem, actually prefer. I do appreciate the idea of leaving the car at Lille and after checking it out, I will definitely do that.

I am a very detailed oriented person, so when there is a major change like this with less than two months before I go, it is kind of frustrating among other emotions, and right now I have hardly anytime to do any research on what to do and what to avoid and where to go and stuff as solo... It is disappointing, but travel is my passion and I am not going to let it be ruined. There is so much I want to see... in the world... I will not cancel it by any means.

Still though, if anyone can give additional advice I appreciate it!

Hi,

No need to apologise or rationalise going on a trip Europe on your own. Who says you can't do that? Figure that European women you age and much younger travel by train on their own or with another woman. So do Asians. So, if they can do it, so can you. You wait for someone to join you going over there, that only leads to frustration and disappointment, wasting time, worst of all, missed opportunities. Do I talk from experience here? No, because I didn't wait for any friends to join me on a trip. It was either go alone or wait for them which was uncertain anyway. So, I decided to not wait (even though waiting for them to go crossed my mind) and leave for Europe without any them. You made the right decision given the circumstances and arriving at a solution without someone else' negative influence.

Nothing wrong with backtracking per se depends on the train route. Don't spend for a cab going to Amsterdam airport, public transportation will get you there. I took a cab only once going from the hotel (in Paris) to the airport since I thought I needed it for rush hour departure...totally unnecessary. I don't believe you need a car in France and Belgium. Getting around by train will basically do. Amsterdam is hardly daunting, quite the contrary. English is so widely and well spoken that you feel you're in England.

You've already traveled in Italy solo, so this is really no different. I understand that as a self-described "detail-oriented person", you probably like to extensively plan every minute of your itinerary and as such, you planned the trip for two and now it's just you. But seriously, I am also pretty detailed but I can tell you that once on a round the world solo trip that lasted a year, I really only planned out the first few months and after that, just relaxed and made up my daily plans as I went along. The unplanned part of the trip was actually a lot better than the part that was plotted out hour-by-hour. There is so much to see and do in the places you selected, you aren't going to be at a loss for how to fill your days if you do get on that plane without having any time to read through your guidebooks. And the great thing is, you aren't going to be stuck having to compromise with your husband about what to do with your days or when or where to go eat, because you won't have to take his wishes into consideration at all. Maybe he doesn't like museums and you do. Great, you are now free to spend 8 hours wandering around the Louvre or the Rijks instead of the rushed 90 minutes you might have gotten to spend if he were tagging along. Not sure what areas you should avoid after dark? Not a problem. Go talk to the front desk clerk at the hotel and ask her/him to take one of those free maps they usually have and a highlighter and show you what to avoid.

Now you say you are concerned about falling for scams. You could read up about them, but frankly, I don't really recommend that as it will probably get you more paranoid as posters tend to really blow these things way out of proportion. In many of the scams being run (the gold rings, friendship bracelets, petitions by deaf/mute people, 3 card monty games, people offering unsolicited help or offers to take your photo, etc.) they are so transparent you can see them a mile away. The scammers do tend to bother solo travelers a little less - especially if you don't make it immediately obvious to them by standing around with your nose in a giant map/guidebook or have a big camera dangling from your neck. But if they start to approach you, don't feel shy about telling them to get lost (loudly). They really don't want to draw attention to their tricks, so they'll move on quickly to the next potential target.

If you still feel uneasy about doing everything on your own, consider spending the money for some guided tours to various parts of the cities - like Paris Walks (there are also free ones available, too), or join up with one of the guided museum tours. Locals hosts from online communities like CouchSurfing are also often agreeable to meet up with travelers just to grab a cup of coffee, and this board has the Travel Partners section where posters sometime look for other travelers going to the same cities to meet up for dinner or sightseeing.

If you've been to Italy solo and not had problems, you shouldn't have trouble with petty crime in France, Belgium or the Netherlands.