vacation alone

Good points by TrooperBari on the pros and cons.

I've been on a lot of vacations alone. The first time was for Spring Break junior year in college. I decided to go to Cancun at the last minute. A lot of people I knew were going to be there, but I stayed by myself and stayed two days longer than everyone else. As an adult, I've been on a bunch of solo vacations - to Europe, to the Caribbean and all around the country. I'm an introvert, so I don't seek out other people to talk to/hang out with when I travel. I just do my own thing at my pace, on my own schedule.

Are you comfortable going places alone? Do you ever go to the movies alone? Eat in a restaurant alone? If you feel awkward about any of that, it probably won't feel any different just because you're away.

 

Yeah, being on the road as much as I am for the job (and being on a one-man beat with very little colleague contact), I'm totally used to eating at restaurants by myself. Good chance to flirt with the waitresses.

 

You can have the last weekend in March off.

Went to Europe alone for 10 months when I was 21 (well, no, not her, my age at the time). Doesn't really count as a vacation

I have a brother in law who goes to Algonquin Park in Northern Ontario every year and spends two weeks canoeing and camping by himself. Once you get a couple of portages out, you're in the middle of the fucking wilderness. My sister stopped worrying about this around 20 years ago.

 

The only solo vacation I've taken was a week in Nova Scotia. I loved it. Stayed at a school dorm for like $30 a night (it was summer) and just wandered the city, ate where I wanted, didn't have to spend certain amounts of time anywhere. It was great.

 

You should have peed on the lawn of Sidney Crosby's childhood home while you were there.

(I keed.)


(Maybe.)

 

If you do, and I suggest it, bring a Flip camera or something to document some experiences. Sometimes it's hard to translate things when you return. Also, it incorporates your friends and family, as in "See, I wanted to show you." Take notes, too. Just a couple scribbles.

 

hahahaha i'm going to keep posting after you to keep the Vandermemes rolling in a row!

(DAMN YOU, JLEE!)

 

Sorry I ruined such a glorious streak before it began.

 

I've done it & loved it. Used to work for an airline so I went to Europe by myself several times.

You go where you want. You sleep when you want, get up when you want, eat when you want.

And, in a foreign country, I have no problem talking to strangers. Met a lot of cool people that way. I prefer traveling alone in a foreign country to going out by myself at home on a Saturday night.

Plan your trip well and do the things you want to do with no rush and no one else to have to please.

 

A few times when unattached. Loved it.
But each time I knew people at the destination.
Went to Vermont for a week one summer and stayed with friends. I wasn in my mid 20s and between girlfriends
Have gone back to NJ to visit twice by myself, once from Guam while unattached and once from California without the GF with whom I was about to breakup. Those would be mid-20s and 30.
After that breakup, I went to San Francisco for a week and stayed with a friend. Still 30.

 

Went to Cooperstown by myself. Kind of a last minute trip somewhat. Spent three days there and enjoyed every minute of it.

Went there in early September, so there weren't many crowds. I almost at the Hall to myself during the evening.

 

I've done it each of the last two years, once to Iceland and then once to Scandinavia and had a blast each time. I was a little more organized for tourist stuff in Iceland (i.e., national park tour) because I wasn't exactly sure what there was to do during the day when it went outside Reykjavik, but the mass transit in European cities makes it wonderfully flexible when you go solo. And talking to locals who speak English as well if not better than you is both amusing and humbling so I always tried to learn one local phrase from each person I came into contact with.