Solo Women Travelers

Nice report but I can't ever see myself wearing mens pants or one of those travel vests. I much prefer to use either a money belt of a secure purse such as my pacsafe. I've also never felt the need to wear a whistle or anything else like that but if it made you feel safer that's what matters.

I think your report shows that Italy is not the "den of thieves" some people would have you think it is. You never needed your whistle and it seems as though none of your belongings were stolen. A good pick pockets can open a zipper without you knowing it, even on one of those vests. They probably avoided you because you were walking with confidence and not acting "clueless".

Donna

Bravo! In my experience, each solo trip gets easier, especially if you apply lessons learned to your next adventure (as you are doing). I've heard similar comments about my travels. I never know what to say in response, other than life is too short to wait for someone to bring you along.

... for the month-long trip I intend for my 70th birthday.
That's the spirit! You enjoyed and experienced what all those fearmongers denied themselves.

Nice report, Angelina, and as Donna said, it's very nice to hear from someone else that Italy is not the "den of thieves" that it's all too often portrayed - and we've never found it - to be.

I've a mid- 60's female friend in England who travels solo extensively all over Europe and beyond and she's never, ever run into serious difficulty nor felt unsafe at any of the locations she's yet been to.

Bravo from me as well for proving the naysayers wrong! Travel on!

Loved your summary. My first completely solo trip was last year to Sweden for about 3 weeks. People are so much friendlier when you travel alone. It's my sense that most women I know won't travel by themselves from the remarks I still get from people. I've yet to come down off of my travel high! I, too, have a whistle with my keys. This was something that was in vogue many decades ago recommended for young women living alone in the city, and I guess I'm still stuck with it...the days before cell phones, I guess. My whistle is on the lanyard with my hotel keys, which are not always around my neck. I'm going to check out the vest you recommended as I have a vest from Chico's that I've worn traveling for years because of the zippered pockets and it's time I moved on. I'd love to ditch my purse but between my eyeglasses and DSLR, I think I'm stuck! I'd love to see a more detailed report on your trip! Men's pants I haven't worn since my 20's, but maybe I'll try that... Wray

Angelina, congratulations on what sounds like a Very successful "trial run"! I hope you are proud of yourself, you should be. I very much admire your spirit and quite impressed with your future solo journey. I hope it turns out as wonderful as the first. You are an inspiration to all who hesitate to go it alone.

Thanks for sharing your report, and with your positive attitude & planning you will definitely enjoy your 70th celebration! There are lots of options for solo travelers now - no excuse to miss out on adventures. : )

I am glad you had a wonderful time! Over the last 3 years I've done several solo trips altho I combined solo time with some Rick Steves tours as well as time in Paris with a friend. It always surprises me when people at home say what I've done is brave because it just feels like travel to me, lol!

Have a terrific time planning your birthday tour!

I'm female and 67 years old, and I can't explain why I have loved my first forays into solo travel, the last two years! I've also found that I love staying in hostels, or in the cheaper kind of hotels which advertise in hostels.com. It's just delicious, somehow. Makes me feel young, somehow, maybe because it's something new, and I end up talking to new people so much more. Enjoyed reading your post about how you do it, Angelina!

Angelina, thanks for your posting. I've made a couple of solo trips to Europe, but not recently. Most of my trips have been with a friend or a tour.
But I am thinking of doing a longer solo trip next year and you are an inspiration! A friend of mine recently returned from 2 months in Italy on her own and I can't hear enough about her adventures! I will look forward to your report when you return from the planned longer one in May.
And if you have any more details from your test trip, I know that I am not the only one who would enjoy reading them.

Very encouraging your solo travel , I look forward to the second installment !

Solo Women Travelers, Part II

1. REI SLACKS: Better looking than you might suspect (given ALL REI slacks are fairly ugly!). The right-hand pocket has a coins slot. Excellent for euro coins - they don't slosh around in the pocket. Easy access. Today I modified the slacks by hand-stitching 2 Dritz Sew-In Side Pockets (approx $2.50 each) in the front panel. One will be for my passport, the other will be the printout of flight info. Men's slacks come waist/length, you can get exactly the length you need. No hemming. [REI is re-designing their product line next year - I hope they'll make smarter slacks for women travelers ...]
2. Ex-Officio Vest: Don't purchase the one with velcro closures. The zippers vest is best. Important items I locate in the inner pockets, including my iPhone - completely inaccessible to thieves when the vest itself is zipped closed. The outer pockets are for kleenex, lip gloss, and a street map. (purchase vest through TravelSmith.)
3. INSPIRATION: There's a series: "Women Who Travel" books - various titles (start with "A Woman's Europe"), all edited by Marybeth Bond. If you need inspiration and courage you will find these books on amazon.com. Buy used copies.
4. HIGHLIGHTERS: Take highlighters. Orange is the best. Blue - too dark, yellow - too light. Purchase the highlighter with "flags" (post-its) in the shaft of the pen. Also take a few cheap ball point pens, maybe a click-lead pencil (no sharpening), and a thin 4x6 pad of paper to write a daily "schedule" on.
5. MOLESKIN NOTEBOOK: I take a 5x8 leather moleskin sketchbook with me on each trip. I gluestick a small map, a "calendar" with squares for all the days I'm on the trip. As each day ends, I write in where I've been with a good quality Staedler ink pen. Because I do art, I take a small watercolor set, Niji water brushes, to sit at a cafe and "paint a little picture". Great fun and wonderful way to recall memories. I also use gluestick to add my receipts or any other fun paper things to my "journal". Take 2 gluesticks with you if you take a Moleskin book. If you run out of gluestick, you can purchase one at almost any Tabac store - as I needed to do in Siracusa last October.
6. MAKE A SCHEDULE AND BREAK IT: I'm a planner. I love to make plans - and then break them. Example: After flying 14 hours, I did not "expect" to want to hike up the Vatican Duomo (524 steps up. 524 steps down. 6 euros). But I did. And so I did. (A plus when traveling alone - you get to do whatever you want - whenever you want!). On the last day in Florence, I did not "expect" to go to Siena - my "schedule" was #7 bus from San Marco Piazza to Fiesole. But with 4 minutes to departure time for the blue Sita Rapido bus to Siena (15.70 euros round trip) I jumped on the bus and had a great day. A FABULOUS DAY!
7. PLANNING CALENDAR: I xerox the page from my "At-A-Glance" Month Datebook - several copies. It's on these papers, while still at home, that I plot out my "attack" for my adventure. Once I have a good plan, I take a clean copy and PENCIL in my plans. They only go into the Moleskin book in ink AFTER I've executed my plans (which always change!)
8. No MAKEUP. Skin care products, yes. No war paint. One bracelet, one set earrings, one small necklace.
9. FOOD: Take Kirkland Trail mix packs, and Oreo Cookie packs. (Costco) Good for the plane or a hike.
10. PHONE APPS: Of course all of Rick's apps (Audio Europe). Used them all. Also: Google Translate. City Maps. Google Offline Maps. Roma Bus. CityMaps2Go. Airportrs. (that's not a typo.) Ulmon Rome (or whatever city).Duolingo. And the airline app of the plane you're using.
11. Only 4 pairs of underwear. Yes, really. On Rick's podcast, his travel-packing lady suggested taking your underpants into the shower with you. Ugh. Not bad. I used only 2 for the entire 10 days - I washed in the shower daily.
12. Whistle/ lanyard.
13. Flashlight.
14. POSTPONE NOTHING.

I love reading posts like this! I hope when I turn 70 I can do the same!

What a great post about a great trip! You are an inspiration for all us solo travelers out here. I thank you for all the encouragement-and the fun read.

Thank you so much for posting! Good stuff!

Angelina, I love your posts. So lively! I'll be on my own in Italy for a month next year and I will borrow some of your tips and your spirit. Two points especially resonated with me: make plans and break them; and postpone nothing. I'll follow your lead on that.

Thanks for posting.

I just spent 5 weeks in October and November traveling alone in Italy as my transition from full time work to retirement at age 71. My travel followed a loop from Milan to Venice for Expo and the Biennale, then to Ferrara for 3 days, a brief stop in Rimini, and Pesaro overnight for a day trip by bus to Urbino. Then it was off to Rome for a week with a day trip to Orvieto before heading to Perugia, headquarters for my time in Umbria. Having read the story about St. Francis and Il Lupo di Gubbio years ago while in college, I was delighted to take the bus from Perugia to the marvelous hill town of Gubbio and learn that there is actually a grotto containing remains of a wolf. An added bonus was to take the funicular cage to the basilica of St. Ubaldo perched on top of a hill overlooking the town. Of course, I went to Assisi but Gubbio was the highlight of my time in Umbria.
Back then to Emilia-Romagna with the destination of Parma. I liked Parma so much that I extended my stay there for a total of a week. And a night in Roncale to attend an opera at the Verdi Theater was spent at a bed and breakfast that was run by the maestro's wife. (Not known when I made the reservation, but certainly an added bonus). Final stop was back in Milan for the flight home.. Travel was via rail and bus and, like others, I found shop keepers, hotel desk clerks, tourist office personnel, bus drivers and many others to be most willing to offer assistance. At no time did I feel threatened, at risk, or even in danger of being overcharged.

My advice to any woman contemplating a solo trip to Italy is just to go, enjoy every moment, and do not let fear prevent experiencing the wonder of travel.

Love this one you mentioned: "MAKE A SCHEDULE AND BREAK IT: I'm a planner. I love to make plans - and then break them. "
Isn't it fun to do something spur of the moment, i.e. going to Siena during a well-planned trip? : )