followmesky is offline followmesky Post #1  September 26,2009, 2:32pm
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any female traveled alone or with an agency group, such as, "gutsy women travel"?
I'm curious to see if they are cost effecient and worth it.
 
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TravelBarbie is offline TravelBarbie Post #2  September 28,2009, 3:03pm
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I have traveled solo many times....and its THE BEST!! Well, it would of course be "The Best" to travel with the man of my dreams...but as of yet, I have not found that So solo is the next best...so liberating...so freeing...so adventurous!!

Anyway...I have been everywhere from Scotland to Turkey solo, and never encountered any serious problems and always felt very safe. I never felt like I needed an agency. People LOVE to help solo women...they are so nice to you and so helpful.

Granted you have to be careful of aggressively helpful men But I have found that generally people are drawn to you in a very protective sort of way. Plus then you truly have the freedom to do your own thing. And just get a private room in a hostel if you are lonely, and you will have tons of people around you suddenly - some of which you may become great traveling friends with.

I traveled solo (no agency...just me and my bag) this summer in Greece and Turkey and honestly felt like I was with people more than I was alone. Plus...then you can have that romantic fling you always dreamed of!! I had few this summer....PURE ROMANTIC BLISS!!

I say, if your gonna go solo...GO SOLO! And I bet, once you've done it once, you'd never consider an agency again. Of course...a first time venture into Asia, Afria or certain part of South America and you may want your first trip to be with an agency just to get the lay of the land. G.A.P Adventures is not a solo women traveling company...but they have small groups (7-12), local guides and let you pick how much "groupness" you want. Some are very independant and just give you basically a contact in country.

Anyway...good luck and HAPPY TRAVELS!!
 
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i8barbie is offline i8barbie Post #3  September 28,2009, 5:55pm
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I have also travelled solo numerous times, and have encountered no problems. rather, the exact opposite. Everyone has always been very friendly, helpful, and they even give discounts for solo female travellers! It's not something to be worried about, but I would be cautious in countries where women are not respected or regarded as highly as men.

You're common sense has a lot to play in it as well. Don't be naive or gullible, that will onlyg et you into trouble.
 
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followmesky is offline followmesky Post #4  September 29,2009, 9:10pm
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wow, ladies thanks so much for your replies. Hats off to you both. I think its really brave.

So, what places would you consider for a first timer - w/ agency and without?
 
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TravelBarbie is offline TravelBarbie Post #5  September 30,2009, 2:12pm
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Well...I would say Europe in general is SOOO traveler friendly, that you could get by in almost any western European country no prob. My very first solo travel was in France/ UK-Scotland...and it is nice to be somewhere they speak English...for a first-time-solo trip anyway. Australia & New Zealand are also very traveler friendly. I think thats the key for a maiden solo voyage is being in a traveler friendly place. If you start out somewhere that caters to travelers/tourists in general, it makes things go very smoothly. And that will give you the confidence to go anywhere

South America is full of solo travelers in the more touristy areas as well...but I think if you don't know Spanish, you may wanna take a tour for at least your first time there. The corruption and instability of the governments and political climates in many of those countries might not make it a place you wanna be totally alone wihtout being able to communicate. Plus its harder to blend in in those places, unless you are of the same ethnic background. And sometimes its just nice to be able to blend in when you are traveling alone.

Africa and Asia....well....I would do a group thing until you feel confident making your way around a less developed or communist country

Anyway, as you can see I could ramble on and on...I just think solo travel is such a unique and fun way to go. You really get to feel the place, ya know. And the innate human need we have for other people, leads you to make some pretty amazing connections with locals and other complete strangers...which is what makes a trip so unforgetable. Its truly a powerful adventure!!
 
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Bitrix is offline Bitrix Post #6  October 1,2009, 8:19pm
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Dear Followmesky,
I cuold say I am adicted to solo traveling. I think it's the only way to take a true and actuall break from work, routine and everything we are used to call "normal life". Most of all, I like not having to negociate every move I make, like "let's sit down on that bench for a while". I jut sit down and that's it.

So... I've done a lot of solo traveling for the last ten years-- just me and my backpack, and have always fel quite safe. I've even walked the Compostella Way for 6 days (120 kilometers of mountains, from the portuguese border to Santiago), all by myself. But, of course, Europe is very safe-- only two dangerous events in dozens of trips: I had my wallet pickpocketed in New Years Eve in Barcelona and I've had quite a hard time to buy tampoons in Budapest, in a neighborhood where no one seemed to understand english or german.

As a Brazilian, I desagree with TravelBarbie's point of view about South America. I've travelled all over South America and I asure you it's beutifull, inexpensive and, most of the time, very safe. Of course you wuoldn't walk alone in a hardcore neighbourhood at night-- but you wuoldn't do that in KarlsPlatz (Vienna) either, nor in the Colisseum area, in Rome. .

Just avoid spots where tourism is based in sexual exploitation-- places where tourists go mainly to get laid, like Cuba or Tayland. Not because it's dangerous, but becauseit's so boring to be arassed all the time with "professionals" trying to "take you out to dance". I got tired of saying "no thanks, not interested".

I haven't had the guts to travel solo in Asia or Africa, but I'm working on it...
It's just like the song: "There's such a lot of world to see". Just make sure you learn some basic words like "good morning", "please" and "thank you" in the local languages and you'll ses they are magic words everywhere-- my french is poor, but since I've always tried to speak french, I have alqways been treated extremely nice even by the parisians

So, enjoy your solo trip.

Bets wishes
 
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TravelBarbie is offline TravelBarbie Post #7  October 2,2009, 4:04pm
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Bitrix wrote :

As a Brazilian, I desagree with TravelBarbie's point of view about South America. I've travelled all over South America and I asure you it's beutifull, inexpensive and, most of the time, very safe. Of course you wuoldn't walk alone in a hardcore neighbourhood at night-- but you wuoldn't do that in KarlsPlatz (Vienna) either, nor in the Colisseum area, in Rome. .

Don't get me wrong...South America is FABULOUS & BEAUTIFUL!!! But for a first time English speaking solo traveler it may not the the best place to start out. Go there for trip #2 or 3....but not #1. Bitrix, being Brazilian, you are comfortable with the culture and perhaps even speak or understand Spanish. But if an inexperienced traveler tried to venture into some countries there - it may be stressful to make your way around and feel confident in what you are doing. I was also alluding to the fact that the transportation system can be a bit more complex in South America than Europe's train system...its cheaper - but not always readily available in comparison with Europe.....and making your way from one place to another can be the tricky part of travel for someone new the gig. But again...I ADORE South America and it is wonderfully inexpensive in many ways...however - to a newbie solo traveler, I would suggest starting out easy so its a sure-fire success and THEN you have the confidence to get out there and really explore!! (and ps...I lived in Vienna for 6 months and hopped on the Ubahn alone, many a night, in Karlsplatz and did it without incident...just avoid eye contact with the druggies and you are fine LOL )
 
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Bitrix is offline Bitrix Post #8  October 2,2009, 8:57pm
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(and ps...I lived in Vienna for 6 months and hopped on the Ubahn alone, many a night, in Karlsplatz and did it without incident...just avoid eye contact with the druggies and you are fine LOL )[/quote]

Avoid eye contact: that's something very, very hard for a brazilian . But of course that's the wisest thing to do around Karlsplatz Ubahn Station... I simplily LOVE Vienna, it's funny, because it's very diferent from everything in my background (I cross the street from my font door and there's the beach!), but everytime my train is approaching Vienna I feel as if I was arriving at home.

But, of couse, you're right: it's not easy to travel solo to a place you don't know the language. I speak spanish, but even if I didn't, its very close to portuguese. And the people in Latin America is always very friendly, so they make every effort to understand and help travelers. But we can never forget that there are a lot of "malandros" around, always trying to trick a tourist, to make a buck or even rob then-- I always avoid the "very, extremely, excedingly nice" ones: that's the red flag for a trap.

So, I guess we should all agree: Europe is the place (and what a palce it is!);
 
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followmesky is offline followmesky Post #9  October 4,2009, 12:55pm
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I appreciate all the feed back. This is all good stuff. I guess, I just have to get the guts to go and just do it. For me the travel group is ideal but it can get reaaally expensive. I don't know, maybe I should try Greece , Spain or Italy first...? But more then anything... I need to get the guts!!!! aghhhh... lol
 
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YYsmiley is offline YYsmiley Post #10  October 5,2009, 8:25pm
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So, how do you girls deal with the possible loneliness in the trip?

I have so many paid vacations (and some budget), but I'm so afraid to go on the road alone.

Any advice please?
 
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