Woman Travelling Alone (Sort of)

Ahhh ... must be Friday afternoon. A couple of similar questions have been posted before, but you're excused and besides your question is such a juicy one that it deserves a unique, originally written answer. And I'm sure you'll get several on this.

First, perhaps I may speak for the male half of Europe and say that we/they hope you will do at least a bit of over-indulgence while on your own in Europe.

And I think I'll leave it at that and wait for the replies from others here with more experience on this subject.

And thanks for livening up our Friday afternoon/evening a bit!

:)

Hi Lily,

You could absolutely enjoy a glass of beer or wine on your own! It wouldn't be any different than in North America.

Here's what Rick says about traveling alone--it might be interesting for you even though it sounds like most of your trip you'll be with a tour group!

Women Traveling Solo

Enjoy your trip!

I've traveled on my own and with Rick a Steve's tour and I bet we're within age range. ; ) While I enjoyed my time in Scotland most, I was perfectly comfortable sitting in cafes in France on my own. I did the same in Germany and and Austria. You will probably find that you do want to spend some time with your tour matea, but don't be afraid to strike out on your own. The wonderful thing about Rick Steve's tours is that they give you company, but you also can slip away on your own. And as a lover of whisky, I not only had wine and beer in cafes, I searched out the Scottish pub in Paris to have a whisky one night. ; ) Pam

In response to what Pamela wrote, I've also gone on a RS tour and hope you don't take the term "slip away" too literally. I'm not sure what Pamela had in mind, but to me it has connotations of nobody making a fuss if you leave planned activities. You are of course free on the tour to go or not go on planned activities, about the only requirement is that you be on the bus when it leaves.

But more than that, RS tours provide plenty of independent time, no slipping away involved. Right from the start on your RS tour, for example, you'll be in Amsterdam and you'll have a few hours free time after visiting some museums. What you do it entirely up to you. And there are some stops where you have an entire afternoon or day free to explore or do whatever you like. The RS 21-day tour is a wonderful experience and I'm sure you'll love it too.

I notice here in the states how careful young women are to avoid leaving their drink unattended. Not something I worried about 20 years ago at that age.

The problem a solo woman has is the same everywhere. She is often assumed to want company. If you have a book handy, you can pull it out to show others you are not in need of their attentions. But, it is nice to have conversations with others. The dilemma-how to be friendly without being hit upon. This problem seems to be solving itself, the older I get!

Lily,, thousands of women travel all alone,, to Europe.. and most of them like to sit around at cafes and have a drink,, some coffess , others wine,,,LOL and it is not unseemly at all.

I go alone to Europe,( I am a middleaged married woman) I also go with friends, and with family.. and you should feel free to have a wonderful time and enjoy yourself. My personal limit is nightclubs or bars, I do not do them alone( nor want to) .. but in Paris,, well, part of Paris IS sitting at cafes.. and everyone does it,, and if you look you will see many ladies alone..

Take a book or journal if you feel you need to look busy.. I enjoy reading during my lunch, and when I am alone I can indulge myself and do so!

PS You will love the tour, I did a RS Family tour for the first time ( first time I ever took a tour) and thought it would be a bit restrictive( I travel independently normally) but there was lots of free time built in,, that plus the built in playmates for my dd was why I chose the tour.. I am sure the 21 day tour will be a hoot.

After the tour I bet you will travel alone alot more, you'll see how much confidence you will gain, the guides really do teach some great travel skills, explaining the public transport options etc ..

No, I did not mean leave planned activities or that you had to do it surreptitiously. I simply meant that if you felt the need for your own time you could easily find it. Rick's tours are not so rigidly planned that there is no alone time. Some of us need alone time and with Rick's tours you can find that time if you want it. Or, conversely, you can stay with the group. I took every offered tour on my Berlin, Prague and Vienna tour. But, if you had some thing come up that someone couldn't do one of the tours, there was no condemnation, but more a regret that you would share it. Also, when you are one of a small group of singles in a tour of couples and family groups, it's easy to fall into the habit of always going with part of the single group or feeling that you need to stick with your roommate. So, I remember telling my room mate about my attention to just slip off by myself for a bit. It's small group dynamics and it varies from group to group. Please don't put a negative connotation on phrase slip away. It simply means to leave the group and take some time on your own. Pam

I sit alone at cafes all the time. Usually have a book cause I like to use this time to read, but you can simply sit there and watch the world walk past without a second glance from anyone.

Enjoy your trip!

Thanks, everyone, for answering what I was afraid might be a silly question. But you've put my mind at ease, so now I can relax and look forward to that first Heineken in Amsterdam - or maybe even on the very first day in Haarlem, while I'm waiting to meet up with my tour group. :-)

I backpacked alone for 5 weeks and had more than my fair share of beer at beer gardens, cafes and lounges and never had any problems.

Lily,

I too, am a "middle aged lady" and I have NO problem at all sitting at a cafe with a beer, or wine, or 2...But, have a beer other than Heineken, Amsterdam and Haarlem have many, many different kinds...and you wont' want to stop at just one! Happy travels!

Oh my goodness! I am so happy to have come by this thread, I have always been an international traveller, however since I have married years ago, i'm 30 now, I just stopped having fun travelling and started tow ork on our finances! Now summer is here I have financial freedom and I am inspired to see other women asking themselves the same questions! I was thinking to myself, if I have a beer meeting strangers on the trai will that seem strange? Where are you going to be travelling exactly or are you just travelling freely? Austria is gorgeous and the people are warm and Italy is interesting as a woman alone, I had to bat them off me like a baseball every two seconds but I was in my 20's then!LOL! Spain is amazing, Although I am interested in Norway now, Stay in touch, who knows maybe we will meet along the way?!

Sharice from Chicago
Madrid,Spain

One cannot read Kent's message without thinking of Shelley West's song "Jose Cuervo"