Weekend Intelligence: April 23-24, 2011

I’m ecstatic to see solo travel come to the forefront as more and more people ditch the idea of traveling as a couple or with a group and strike out on their own. Enjoy reading these articles–I hope they advise and inspire you in your wanderlust for one.

Dream destinations for solo travelers

Have you decided on your summer travel plans yet? The Guardian (UK) offers a list of 10 great destinations for solo summer travel. Personally, I think you can enjoy travelling alone anywhere but some of the vacations on the list I’m just aching to try! How does a cooking holiday in Turkey’s Taurus Mountains sound? Or a yoga-riffic  escape to the Greek seaside? Ummm…..yes, please! Check out the whole list and dream…or start making plans for your best solo summer ever!

Facing solo travel fears

Beth Whitman, author and solo traveler extraordinaire, opens up to Matt Gibson about her transformation from college student to adventurer. Beth’s most eye-opening revelation: she still gets a little scared, but this quote sums up her whole approach to that fear: “..the fear of NOT going is always overridden by the desire for new experiences.” Something I can completely agree with. Beth’s story is a great source of inspiration. Check it out.

Addressing the single supplement

The single supplement, the bane of every solo traveler’s existence is getting a—shall we say—a little more relaxed, thanks to the growing numbers of solo travelers. To accommodate the needs of the burgeoning segment of the travel population, hotels and resorts are more open than ever to reducing the single supplement or waiving it completely. I touched on this last week but it’s come up again, courtesy of this article I discovered on Bankrate.com.

Solo travel is solo travel right?

Wrong. Women solo travelers have a whole bunch of issues to deal with that men don’t and vice versa, which I why I was thrilled to discover this comprehensive list of tips for solo female travelers compiled by Caz Makepeace of yTravel Blog. I don’t entirely agree with her first tip (“Don’t  think about the possible dangers”) as my stance on that is to think about the possible dangers to be prepared for them, but all in all it’s a solid list of suggestions for women traveling alone with some input for some well-known women travelers from across the blogosphere.

The hits keep comin’

More tips on solo travel, this time courtesy of a piece I found in the Chicago Tribune. One piece of advice doled out in this article that travelers rarely think about? Finding a hotel with interior room doors as an added measure of security. Good call. You’ll find more advice on solo travel from how to start out to doing a solo road trip if you read on.

My solo travel tip on dining alone: A lot of people advocate taking a book to read, but I’m a huge fan of using the time to write in my pocket-sized travel journal. In addition to giving you something to do so you’re not just waiting around by yourself, plus I think sometimes the wait staff thinks you’re critiquing the establishment when you’re writing stuff down, so I’ve gotten really good service from time to time that way. Seriously.