solo traveler

welcome to the forum marshgrass15. I assume you're looking at a Rick Steves tour as you posted in his forum. My very first solo trip overseas was the Best of Italy tour. It is natural to be nervous, but I quickly learned solo free time is great! Arm yourself with research ahead of time (watch YouTube videos, read guide books, troll this forum) and the free time will be easy peasy. Make sure you have a smart phone that lets you access maps so you can orient yourself. Often there will be others from your group doing similar things in their free time, especially in smaller towns. You may also see if someone wants to join you on your selected activity.

If you really don't want to be alone, consider inviting a friend along with you. Or, try a different tour company that offers more fully structured tour time. There are many to choose from.

I agree with CL. If you are part of a tour, I think that others may want to join you during the free time. As suggested, do your research to learn what might interest you. Take a paper map and you can download some city maps that can be used offline.

Dear J, I travel alone sometimes and I'm definitely old. I wear a whistle around my neck on a chain, used it twice in Italy. Nobody was trying to hurt me it was just to make the pick pockets take off, It works. Look them in the eye too. Never had to use the whistle it in any other country. I don't have a glass of wine until I'm within eyesight of my hotel as my internal compass goes haywire and is completely gone with two glasses. If you need directions either use your phone or go into a business and ask a worker for help. Only use ATMs inside a bank as you won't have anybody to watch your 6 for you. The upside of traveling alone is you can eat where you want, go where you want, stay as long or little as you want, and more locals talk with you which is a big plus. What I'm trying to say is I encourage you to go out on your own you may find out you love it. J (me too)

Congratulations on your retirement! Now it’s time to have some fun with traveling to Italy - yeah! I have traveled multiple times solo, and I am late 60’s, so age is not an issue. The absolute best advice I can give you is to read the Rick Steves guidebook - every page that doesn’t cover a city you won’t be visiting. You will learn about dealing with money, transportation (may need to take a train to meet up with the group’s first city), cultural info, etc. Then read about the city in the guidebook. For instance, read all of the information about Venice. Now what activities look interesting to you? Mark those in a handy spot - your phone or paper journal. When you have free time in Venice, you already have ideas of what you want to do. A hint: people in your group will be happy to join you if you have a fun activity idea vs. saying, “What is there to do?”

You’re going to get great info from your tour guide! Don’t worry; you will feel comfortable by the time they give you free time, and they usually have a few suggestions for restaurants, etc., too. Learn how to use your phone on-line favorite mapping now by practicing in your hometown. And when you’re at each hotel, grab one of their business cards in case you need to refer to it.

Have a great time kicking off your retirement!

It's okay to be cautious about setting your comfort level when you travel. You shouldn't do anything you aren't comfortable with.

As others have mentioned, it's likely you can get together with other tour participants on a free-time activity. Also, though I've never been on a Rick Steves tour, many trip leaders on other tours will say, "If anyone would like to, I'd be happy to take you to _____." Or at the very least will offer free time suggestions and guidance.

I'll just say one other thing. If, over the course of your time on the tour, you strike out on your own in an unfamiliar place, that will be an exhillarating moment for you, and you will become much freer.

Enjoy your travels!

I'm guessing you have been looking at Rick Steves tour itineraries? There is usually free time every other day but often your time with the group ends in an interesting area so it's easy to explore nearby. Before you leave the group you can ask the guide to tell you how to get back to the hotel if you are unsure.

I have downloaded the app called CityMapper. When I am on a tour and get to a new location I usually open CityMapper if it is available in that town and pin my hotel location as "home". Then I can use City Mapper to get a walking route back to my hotel. I also have a cell phone data plan that gives me coverage in Europe. I used to get by without it but now I really depend on CityMapper and need data out on the street for that.

I'll also add that in addition to Rick Steves tours, I've also done a bunch of Road Scholar tours. They generally have less free time than the Rick Steves tours so that might work better until you get used to international travel.

Congratulations on retirement! It's the best!

BTW, I'm mid-70's and a solo traveler. In general the location of Rick Steves and Road Scholar tour hotels will not have you walking thru an unsavory area to get back from sightseeing.

I did a group tour to southern Spain and Portugal in 2018 as a solo traveler - not RS tour. We had group activities, sometimes a short walking tour through the city by the tour group leader and we usually had a few hours in the afternoon for ourselves.

You may find other people in the group that you can hook up with for non-scheduled activities. Find out what their interests are and how they would like to spend free time. On this trip I spent a few evenings with a few women but they liked to spend the evenings drinking, a lot, which wasn't my thing. I'm an introvert and having to make conversation and not liking to drink much, I spent the remaining evenings in my hotel room - probably reading or watching foreign TV. resting my tired legs/feet. But don't be fearful of wandering on your own

I got lost in Toledo Spain and ended up wandering in a residential area and found my way back to the centre. It was fun to see an area that wasn't commercial and imagine how deliveries are made to those homes on very narrow, hilly roads. If you are in a city for a few days, after the first day you will get a sense of the main streets near your accommodation and will be able to navigate. Take note off street names and major sites as landmarks. Most of the main tourists sites are surrounded by neighborhoods where the locals lives and shop. You will be okay wandering off the tourist track.

Keep your purse/ valuables close to your body and be careful of your surroundings when you need to pull out something. If you need to get cash from a bank, do it at a bank where you have a good view of your surrounding. You will need little cash - almost everywhere you can tap your credit card for payment. If you haven't done it, add your card to your phone's digital wallet.

I can remember back to my very first trip to Europe,, and I was a solo traveller on a group tour too. It wasn't an RS tour, but one of those "If Its Tuesday it Must Be Belgium" tours (I didn't know better). I was a bit (ok, a lot) nervous at going it alone, but only the first time. And that was before cell phones and data plans. I had a tourist map from the Hotel, and their business card, and I was going to visit the Keukenhof come hell or high water. And I did! Even got lost on the way back; but I asked directions from a couple at a bus stop and problem solved. I blame Rick. It was his Europe Through the Back Door that had me realizing I could do this, and gave me the skills I needed to do it. And often there would be several people who would go together as a casual group during free afternoons or evenings, which was lovely. I found that tour leaders were very helpful with suggestions and directions on how to get to and from different places, so dont be afraid to ask their advice.

what Jean of Idaho said.

Most cities of tourist interest have low-cost walking tours available; in most cases you just show up at the meeting point without needing to reserve in advance. Those tours are a good way to see part of the city in an organized manner rather than wandering randomly (though I like to do that, too). The guide for your tour can probably recommend specific walking tours that don't overlap greatly with things you'll see on the tour itself.

European cities are more set up for pedestrians than ours, and public transportation is vastly better. It's natural to be nervous before you've done it, but I think you'll be surprised at how easy it is to get around.

One way to make things easier is to make your first tour one that goes to smaller towns. So instead of the "Best of Venice, Florence & Rome" tour try the "Village Italy" tour. We took this tour and it was wonderful. There are also tours to France that focus on smaller towns. You still have the free time but you're in a more compact place. And you'll get a sense of whether you'd be comfortable being on your own in a larger city in the future.

One caution I'll give. Others have suggested you can join up with other travelers during your free time. That's true, but having gone as a solo traveler on RS tours before I'm also cognizant that others have paid a fair amount to be on the trip and I don't want to impose on them. Couples on the trip might be looking forward so some time alone together, singles may just like going where they want at their own pace. So I wouldn't suggest going on the trip with the assumption you'll spend the free time with others. Maybe it happens and that's great, but perhaps not, and you should be ok with that.

Explore on your own is awesome! My favorite things to do solo are walking tours, nap, journal, shop, sip wine at a cafe and people watch or just wander. Take a business card of your hotel with you and take a photo of it. After all the go, go, and information overload of the tour, you will look forward to the “on your own” time. Note that if there is something that you especially want to do in a city, advance reservations are recommended.

While not at all a goal-oriented person in general, I don't enjoy the feeling of "wandering around unfamiliar" cities by myself, either at home or in Europe. It's not about my safety, I just like to know where I am and where I'm going more than I like the feeling of "Which way to turn at this corner?" or "I wonder what is down that street?" Maybe you could do what I do, and pick an interesting museum or church or view or whatever, a mile or two away, and then walk there. Perhaps not walking along the most obvious or fastest route, but heading to a particular place, while looking around and taking your time. And then back by a different route. I swear you'll see and experience a lot of the same things that people do who are "wandering around," but maybe you'll feel less adrift.

Currently 74 and have been traveling solo to Italy since 2006 (at 55)...I did one trip with older son but I'm not a "group tour" person...really enjoy solo travel in general. Family & friends do come to visit when I'm Italy for a long stay. I feel extremely safe in Italy but I still stay vigilant like you should anyway. I'll be back in Italy in the Spring (alone) and can't wait! Just do some research on where you want to go and enjoy doing what you want to do...when you want to do it...all on your terms. I also like to participate in a wine tasting (the only tour I do) and always like a cooking class! Gives you a chance to connect and chat with other travelers. It's fun to go out for a meal and start up a conversation with folks at the next table as well. Whatever you decide it will be fabulous!! If you want the group tour environment then do that and maybe the next trip...go solo :)

One of the reasons they send you the guidebook as part of the tour package, is so you can look for things you might want to do in your free time. Even if that nothing but sit on a park bench or go shop in a department store, it's time to unwind and relax.