Traveling to Europe alone

If your plane gets in on the 5th, you'll be traveling from the 6th to the 12th if your marathon is on the 13th. That gives you 7 days of travel. I wouldn't go to Italy since that'll take up almost 2 days of plane and quite a bit of money. London has plenty of interesting stuff, no matter what your interests are. You can make many daytrips around London as well: Bath, Oxford, Canterbury, Cambridge... Check out London Walks at walks.com, they have what they call Explorer Days where they do trips around London. That might be a way of meeting interesting people so you don't feel alone too much. There is plenty of stuff to do in England, I'm sure you won't get bored. I don't know how old you are but if you plan carefully, you shouldn't have any problem. Check out Trip Advisor, Wikitravel, Yahoo!Travel, etc... for more information about attractions in and around London.
You can also take trips up to Edinburgh or in Wales if you really think there isn't enough stuff to do in England.

Greetings!

You will be fine - many people (men and women) travel alone and as long as you take common sense precautions and stay in reputable ho(s)tels/B&Bs, it's no less safe than the US (if not more). Has your boyfriend had a bad experience in Italy or any first hand knowledge of traveling in Europe?

Your only concern might be to avoid too much walking about if you are trying to taper down before the marathon. Most runners I know tend to travel after the marathon, not before as you can get very foot-sore walking around when you are doing touristy stuff.

You can probably find a discount airfare to Italy from the UK (avoid Heathrow). Otherwise, if you book ahead, it's not expensive to take the train up through England and Scotland. And you can find inexpensive and very safe hostels or for a bit more, good hotels.

Do what makes you happy and have fun!
Kate

Try the budget airlines Easy Jet and Ryan Air for cheap flights from London (Gatwick or Stansted are better than Heathrow!) to Italy. I think that if you want to go to Italy then you should go. (How old are you?!) I started traveling alone on the continent when I was 22 and, knock on wood, I've never had a problem.

Also, perhaps you could fly from the US to Italy, take one cheap flight from Italy back to London and then fly back to the US from London after your marathon? They would minimize flights. I think you could have a great 3 days in Florence and still get to the UK prior to your marathon.

I think you would be better off just staying in the UK. Traveling in a country where you don't speak the language can add stress and confusion, and I would think that you would want to avoid stressors before a big race. As previous posters have said, there is tons to do in England, and Wales and Scotland are close by. Go to the library or bookstore and look at some guidebooks to give you ideas for what to see and do.

In one week you can ONLY get a taste of London and vicinity. If you arrive on the 4th, take the afternoon and walk around. On the 5th do a 1/2 day trip to Windsor and get theatre tickets. On Sunday, the 6th do a day trip to Bath. On Monday, do a trip to York then continue to Edinburgh on Tuesday. Return on Thrusday. Rest Friday and Sat- again wander around London- do The Eye, maybe go to Greenwich. Run on the 13th and then Home. You could substitute Cardiff Wales for Scotland and do Stratford-upon- Avon one day too. Contact me for more ideas.

You'll be fine. I've been traveling on my own since I was 19 and I'm not saying how long ago that was!Stay in youth hostels if you want to meet people. Small hotels sometimes work too, but less so in a big city. I tend to agree with most of the posters that it would travel smart to stay in the UK. This has nothing to do with your traveling on your own, but more to do with getting the most out of your time. If you find that you're lonesome or need some people to talk to beyond, "yes I'd like a cooked breakfast, today" take a day tour. It's another way to meet people. Three is plenty to see. Westminster Abbey, Hampton Court, The Tower, Petticoat Lane, the theater, the parks, the British Museum, the restaurants, the pubs, the walks, boat rides. And all that with hardly leaving London. You might check the To The North section. No matter what have fun and run well.

Pam

Michelle Toni had a good post. Do some reading before you go, you will enjoy the sights alot more if you actually know a bit of history about what you are looking at,, you can just google things like "Bath England" and find pages of stuff.

Many women travel alone ,, at all ages, tell everyone( over concerned family, and meddling boyfriend, LOL ) to calm down, as an American you live in a far more scary country to me then any of the Europeon ones, I personally would not go to the States alone,, but hey I bet you go outside alone everyday at home , right? LOL

Have fun, and do some research ,and next time you go back to Europe you can go to Italy, alone if needed , and have all this independent travel experience under your belt.

I spent 14 days in just London (without taking day trips) and still couldn't do everything I wanted to accomplish. 10 days will give you a nice, in-depth experience, or you can take the day trips and explore nearby towns.

Families & boyfriends get nutty when you announce you want to travel alone. Mine did too, don't let them stop you doing what you want to do. You might find you have a better time on your own as you set your own schedule. You also meet more people travelling on your own because locals are more likely to chat you up.

The Canadian is right, American cities have more danger than many European ones. I walked through areas of London, Paris and Belfast considered "rough" or "seedy" and wanted to laugh. These areas seemed very tame to me compared to parts of cities I have lived in (Boston, Philly, New York, Washington DC). Use the same street smarts you would use if you visited an American city and you'll be fine.

Michelle: If you want to research a little more about the many things there are to do in London, get a copy of the most recent "Time Out: London" from your local library or bookstore. I'd also recommend you at least leaf through the Rick Steves London 2008 book and a few other travel books (Rough Guide, Lonely Planet, etc.).

Other ways to research what you want to see are to rent some travel guide DVDs (Globe Trekker London DVD is good) and if you have an iPod, download the many free travel podcasts available on iTunes that are about London (and other cities you may want to visit).

Samuel Johnson said, "When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life." It probably applies to a woman as well.

However, that pre-supposes that the person has some interests. Even if you are not much interested in art or history or music or architecture or theatre or legends or international cuisine...or meeting people from a different culture than your own, you can always just sit in one of London's wonderful parks and wait for, say, the Queens Guards to clip-clop by on horseback. London has something for almost anyone, and a lot of it is either cheap or free.
EB

Michelle, you asked about Bath. It is a wonderful, ancient city in the west of England (Somerset) that has been a spa since even before the Romans arived and stayed for the hot mineral springs. They built a complex system of baths and water systems, which you can still see. The entire city is designated as a World Heritage Site. Author Jane Austen and her family spent time there. It is beautiful and odd at the same time; well worth a visit.

In Bath and many other places in Britain, you will find volunteer "Blue Badge" guides, local experts who lead free walking tours simply because they love the place and want to share it with you. Wherever you go in England, ask at the tourist office about Blue Badge guided tours, some are just of one building, such as a great cathedral, others cover an entire town.

EB

Hi Michelle: The general concensus seems to be 'stay in the UK', and I don't disagree. Maybe venture to Paris, an easy trip, but why leave the London area at all? You have some excellent suggestions from the posters -from go for it, to stay closer to 'home'. But IMO, Italy, on your schedule/mission, is too far and costly in time, $'s and conditioning. Considering it's pre-marathon, you aren't going to improve your race chances/fun quotient with a trip to Roma. There is so much to see and do in London and environs in a week that your mind would boggle. I notice Holiday Inn is a major sponsor of the marathon. Why not contact them, see what deals/services are available to paricipants, which HI outlet in Ldn they're mostly staying at, and take advantage of meeting some like-minded runners. You can see one of the greatest cities in the world with new found friends who also get pleasure from ruining their knees by putting their boots on the ground. Have fun, enjoy the experience. G

As a father of two wonderful adult daughters, I suggest that since the boyfriend is not going with you, he doesn't get a vote! You wouldn't get tired of London if you stayed for a year. Good luck in the race!

I will also be in London that week , but leaving on the 12th. It will be my 5th trip and all of them alone except for one. There is so much to see that you will be hard pressed on your first time to even get out of town for a day trip!Save Italy for the next trip and don't rush it.It is a different trip to be savored on its' own Don't worry about being alone.As far as meeting people the London Walks idea is a good one. Also you would probably love a canal boat ride to Camden Market.The Trafalgar Square area will keep you busy all day with the National Gallery,Portrait Gallery and St. Martins.Keep your money belt on,bring your street smarts and get an oyster card. Have a great trip and you will find that traveling alone is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself.

If you want to go to Italy, do it! I have been travelling alone since I was 19. I moved to Europe for two years then and did everything alone (movies, dinner out) until I made friends.

You can find lots to do in the UK -- that shouldn't be your concern. But having travelled (alone) in Italy twice and planning on another trip (with my baby) I can tell you it will be fantastic and nothing to worry about. I travelled to NYC alone and stayed in the hostel and didn't feel unsafe at all.

You are alone only until you strike up a conversation with a local or another tourist. It is easy and happens all the time when you are alone. I've met interesting people in Venice, London, Amsterdam, Boston, and on a plane from Detroit to New York! It's one of the bonuses of travelling!

Hey Michelle I spent 5 weeks traveling around Europe in May 06 and I was a solo female and only 20.
I loved every second and I'm heading back at the end of April!

I spent 1 week in London and almost 3 in Italy, you will have no trouble traveling alone in these places.

I would however recommend you stick to the Uk, I loved London and you'll need at least a week to just crack the surface! Also I did a day trip to Bath and loved it. Another suggestion is to head by train or cheap flight to Edinburgh I found it a great city for a solo girl.

We can all give you advice but in the end do what you want. I find the best way to releave stress about traveling on your own is do as much research as possible. Know where your goin and what your goin to do so you have some idea of what to expect, and don't forget you can always return. I was in Venice in May 06 and thought I'd never be there again well I loved it so much I'm goin back in May. If you have any more questions message me!

It's only natural that Friends and Family would express concern about your safety. It only shows that they care!

With that said, you will need to reassure them that you will take every precaution and stay in touch from the road. If you say you will call or email within a certain time frame, be sure to do just that!

Maybe include them in your research and pre-trip planning activities? Sometimes that can help to ease loved one's minds.

As for a Travel Partner, you might like to check out the section for that on this site? Use caution and common sense.

Traveling alone can and will present unique challenges. Do your research. You might find this site helpful:
www.journeywoman.com.

IME, travelling alone opens up a whole new world to explore...on your own terms! It will no doubt be a fantastic learning experience for you!

Be safe always and have fun!

F/A