Wife Doesn't Want to Travel Anymore

Have you looked at https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/travel-partners ?

Gary,

If you neither want to travel solo nor join a tour, that doesn't leave many options. Finding a travel partner is certainly an option, but it would have to be someone you know well as an incompatible partner could result in a miserable holiday.

FWIW, I routinely travel solo (as well as on tours) and it's not really too bad. Solo travel has its advantages.

Good luck!

If you do find a friend who would like to travel with you, I recommend taking a weekend trip first as a trial. Different people have different travel styles. No matter how close you are to someone and think you know them well, traveling with them is a different thing altogether. And taking a long trip with an incompatible person can be miserable. Trust me, I learned that the hard way.

Going solo can be fun!! But if not interested then how about an unstructured tour like an " My Way" tour with RS. I really not sure why other good options are, since I would rather be alone then stuck in a trip with a travel partner that doesn't work put well. I recommend only sharing a trip with someone you have at least met and set out CLEAR rules( is how much time together,budget limits, and priorities on sightseeing, find out how much they like to drink,and if they are a night owl or early bird etc.

Change wife or find a mistress.

Roberto - you crack me up !!!!

Gary, I travel solo all the time and also go on tours as a solo - no problem for me.
I find that on tours I have met so many friends that I have kept in touch with for
years and years and we swap travel stories and hints all the time.
When I travel solo I feel that I get much closer to the locals and one is forced to
interact and make new acquaintances.
I say GO FOR IT !!!

With all the classes at RS headquarters, maybe there's a compatible travel buddy waiting for you ??
But as others have said, travel with an incompatible buddy is way worse than going solo.

have you traveled solo before? If not, you might try it and find that ypu enjoy it. I travel solo almost all the tome and I medt more people than when I am with a friend or two. last month I decided to scrap my itinerary and visit a few different places - harder to do if your travel partner has their mind set on something. Even with a travel partner you could plan some time apart.

if you travel for more than a few weeks at a time, you could mix a solo portion of travel with a brief tour (like a 7-day ES tour, or a My Way tour), or meet up with a friend or a couple for a week or so.

In UK, there are several very small group tours with companies like Rabbie's trailburners which are freestyle in nature. You travel to sites as a group. But, once there - you roam at your own pace. This type of travel could be a good compromise for you. Then, as mentioned above, tack on a few more days for solo travel.

I travel solo sometimes, and my favorite thing to do is arrange to meet friends for parts of the trip. That way I am not traveling with anyone the entire time, but I get to break up the alone parts and have some company. I am fortunate to have a few friends living in Europe to help with that. Maybe you could attend travel classes to meet people, or start one of the travel discussion groups in your area to meet others who like to travel. You might meet someone who you wouldn't mind meeting up with for at least a few days of a trip.

Don't dismiss traveling alone without giving it a whirl.

My wife's the best travel partner in the world, but we have divergent interests.

Last year she left me behind to go to Antarctica. She'd go nuts tromping through sheep dung in my quest to find stone circles. Sometimes on a month-long trip we'll split up for a week or so while I hike and she prowls museums and antique joints. It works out great.

All of my European travel has been either with friends or solo. Hubby dear has family in India, so he spends his travel budget going to visit them, and I use mine to travel where I like. He and I have vastly different ideas on how to travel anyway, that this works very well for us. He would like to go see as much as possible seeing a new destination every day and checking things off the "must see" list, while I prefer a mix of sights and leisure.

Oh Geez Roberto! You crack me up too but Gary might be looking for a divorce attorney if he took your suggestion! :-) I'm with a lot of the folks here Gary, don't knock solo travel until you try it. Its different and meals are a bit different on your own but you are forced to be with the locals, and you can do things at your own pace. Besides, what's that saying, 'absence makes the heart grow fonder'???? Perhaps there will be some side benefits to the solo travel once you return home!

Lots of good advice above! Another place that you may meet up with possibly like-minded travelers as you go is at "youth" hostels, especially those that provide a kitchen or other useful/attractive communal space.

While I have loved the freedom and occasional challenge of traveling solo, one of Rick's My Way Unguided Tours could indeed strike a good balance between organization, people to share with, and independent activity choices. You also have the choice whether to accept a random single-male roommate, if there is another one in the group, or to pay for a single-room supplement. 2015 tour dates and itineraries will be announced online in a week or two.

Perhaps you could travel with the purpose of attending a festival, conference or event that would interest you. The travel would be solo, but once there you could interact with like-minded people as much or as little as you wish. Your trip would have a focus and at least some activities already built into the itinerary.

Great responses from everyone thank you What do you think of this idea? I book a nice villa on the Amalfi coast with 4 or more bedrooms. Then find other like minded people to share the cost. They can be single or couples doesn't matter. We then have a meet and greet somewhere in the Seattle area. Travel together (or not). Everyone can just do their own thing upon arrival.

I would look for the travel companions before booking anything. If you book, then look for people, you might not have any takers. Then you'd be stuck footing the bill.

I've heard worse ideas - - among them, the notion of a square wheel.

How's about four mistresses?

Gary. You are in Edmonds, home of RS. Go to the annual meeting and I bet you will meet other like-minded travelers.
Forget mistresses - get a second wife who lives there.

Take a day trip to a city near you, be a tourist.
You may enjoy it and sharing your day with your wife after may inspire her to go with you next time.
Travel while you can, maybe she needs some specific adjustments rather than staying home?

Good luck!

My husband and I frequently split up when we travel...he goes to some obscure literary, far-flung thingamajig while I head off to hiking with sheep or traipsing through some historic garden in the other direction...sometimes for a week or two. Traveling alone is actually nice if you have a plan and get into the right mindset. I always meet interesting people and really never feel lonely as there is so much to see and do and you find folks to chat with along the way. Give solo travel a try!
I also recruit friends to come along if I want to go somewhere and the hubby can't. I only take people who I know travel in a similar style as I do, or who are OK with sometimes going our separate ways during the day and then meeting up in the evening to have dinner and talk about our respective adventures during the day.

Check out http://www.meetup.com for ways to meet others with common interests.