Boldly Go Solo

Trips and tours for singles, also known as solos who are looking

A Brazil cultural and multisport tour. A Napa Valley long weekend wine tour. A Montana camping trip. Skiing in Chile in July. These are some of the vacations offered by Singles Travel.

I can't vouch for this particular tour operator. But I'm impressed with the variety of adventure trips they offer all over the world. It's worth taking a look and weighing them as an option. Especially of you are single and looking. Or single and looking for a vacation fling.

I like the fact that they offer a fair number of camping options. Those are great for saving money, although I know a lot of you like your luxuries. But these are not cheap trips so you may be a convert to camping for the sheer economics.

Be aware that if you want a private room on some of these trips, you might still pay a single supplement. But the organization does offer roommate matching if you're willing to bunk with a stranger. I've done that many a time. Let me clarify. I've bunked with a roommate of the same sex.

I can't say I love sharing a room. I like my privacy as much as the next guy. But the match up was never a disaster and I got to go on some pretty amazing vacations, for less money, by willing to make that compromise.

Photos: Singles Travel

Ice, ice everywhere at Minus 5, an entertaining ice lounge in Australia, New Zealand and the United States

They call a 2,000 square foot ice lounge in Las Vegas an incredible "Arctic" experience, "one that takes guests into an icy wonderland of intricately hand-crafted ice sculptures..."

For me, it was more like an "Antarctic" experience. You see, I went to the Minus 5 in Queenstown, New Zealand, much closer to the South Pole than the North. 

It was one of those times I was really glad I had joined a group, in this case a multi-sport trip Down Under. I was glad for many reasons. I loved this group of people and we had a blast throughout our trip, biking, hiking, kayaking, admiring all the sheep, then eating lamb for dinner.

But also, the ice bar is not the type of thing I would have gone into on my own. You have to get suited up in parkas, boots and gloves they lend you. Too much hassle for someone on her own just looking to poke her head in to see what's going on.

But with a gang egging each other on, off we went. We paid something like $15 to get in. That included a fruity vodka drink in a glass made of ice. (No cubes needed!) We admired the ice walls. And the ice seats. And the ice counters. And the ice sculptures.

We giggled and oohed and aahed and took pictures of one another. Then we got booted. There's a time limit. The people behind you need your parka and your space in the freezer...um...bar.

We moved on to the warmer lounge next door and continued to pay exorbitantly for more drinks. We were able to look through a porthole into the icy lounge next door and see how others were enjoying their time.

And giggle some more.

 

Photos: By Ellen Perlman, or friends. Minus 5 Ice Lounge, New Zealand

Travel writers offer 10 tips for better photos and solo travelers can benefit from the advice

One of the best tips a solo traveler can learn about photography is number nine on a list of 10 tips released by the Society of American Travel Writers Tuesday: "Put local people in your photos."

SATW says to do it because it gives your photos a sense of size and scale. I say to do it because it breaks down that wall between visitor and local and gives you an excuse to talk to people.

Yes, it takes a smattering of courage to approach strangers and ask permission to "make a picture" as professional photographers say. ("Shoot" is so violent...!!)

But with a digital camera, it takes little more than showing your photo to your subject to elicit a smile. And make them feel like they got something out of obliging you.

Children all over the world these days, it seems, know that their faces appear in the back of that little box that just flashed and will pull on you to see themselves. The smiles that appear from these encounters will include your own.

For instance, I saw a photogenic family at a shisha bar in Cairo. The father was smoking from a hookah while the wife and three children sat around the table with tea and other drinks. I thought they were Egyptian. It turns out they were tourists like me. From Armenia. Still worth a photo.

Despite not being able to speak English they tried to talk to me. The toddler could speak little of either of our languages. His mother worked on getting him to look at me. It was exhilarating having our little interchange and showing the children their animated faces between each shot. They leaned in close to see and then posed some more.

Same thing happened at the Sphinx, where I got smiles all around from a young family after I showed them photos of themselves.

The other tip that could be helpful to solo travelers is the one about getting up early, before the harsh light of day flattens the light. When a place isn't yet packed with tourists, both you and the locals will be less irritated by the madding crowds. 

Simply sitting beside someone on a bench or at the edge of a fountain might lead to conversation. If nothing else, it's a beautiful time to be out. Good for reflection and a little peaceful interlude before the rush of trying to see and do and get somewhere. 

As for the rest of the photo tips, well, they might not pertain to solo travel, but they're certainly useful for making better pictures.

Photos: Ellen Perlman. An Armenian family; a felucca captain on the Nile; an Egyptian family visiting the Sphinx.

All seemed to delight in seeing photos of themselves. (I think that silly head garb on the man on the right in the last photo is something he bought for cheap to keep the sun off him. Lots of vendors were trying to sell those to me. A square of cheap cloth with a ring you pop on your head to hold it down.)

It's not too early to plan for the 2009 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

Hundreds of colorful balloons ascend into the sky in Albuquerque, New Mexico, during the annual autumn balloon fiesta, leaving visitors craning their necks, snapping photo after photo. Though Egypt was the first place I ascended in a balloon, as I wrote in my last post, it wasn't the first time I'd been nose-to-basket with one of these inflatable giants.

I went solo on a hiking and biking trip in New Mexico with The World Outdoors one year and it happened to fall during the two-week balloon fiesta. I'd heard about the fiesta during yet another solo trip--that one rafting in Utah--and had always dreamed of going one day.

So after biking in and around Taos, Santa Fe and other beautiful places in New Mexico, I headed for Albuquerque.

The sky was a dark, deep blue in the wee hours of the morning when I set out for the day's events. I nearly crashed my rental car trying to catch a glimpse of the balloon glow in the distance, created by inflated balloons on the ground, the burners lighting them from the inside.

I realized I needed to keep my eyes on the road and wait until I reached the field of balloons to gawk. What a sight. When I arrived and parked, the sun was coming up. Dozens of balloons were already lifting into the sky, while scores of others lay flat out on the ground, their owners getting ready to inflate them.

These were not just your typical teardrop-shaped flyers. There were balloons shaped like a shoe, a house, a pig. Nothing makes you feel more like a kid than being surrounded by these huge, magical toy-like floating objects. I felt awed. And small. In a good way.

I bought a breakfast burrito, one of my all-time favorite Southwestern meals, at one of the many food stands. And then I wandered for a long time. I watched as balloons were filled with gas while still tethered to the ground. And watched as they were unclasped from their stakes and allowed to lift gently into the cerulean sky.

There were balloons everywhere, seemingly for miles, resembling the patterns created by bubbles blown from a wand dipped in soapy liquid. They scattered in the wind, some getting smaller and farther away, while new ones ascended and made their mark.

I didn't feel the need for companionship as I wandered this way and that. I stopped at a t-shirt stand to buy the best depiction of balloons on cotton. I admired that year's official balloon fiesta poster, and viewed those from previous years.

And when I'd had my fill, I took my leave exactly when I wanted. Ah, the freedom of solo travel. 

--This year, the Alburquerque International Balloon Fiesta will be held from October 3 - 11. With 600 balloons participating, it is billed as the "largest ballooning event on earth."

Ballooning over the Valley of the Kings in Egypt and other exotic hot air adventures

The balloon lifted off the ground at dawn, the peaceful silence interrupted intermittently by a blast of noise and a wave of heat from the gas jets filling the huge orb above us. We were headed for the Valley of the Kings.

We didn't get there. We had signed up for a balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings where tombs of the pharoahs and other nobles are buried. But on the day of our adventure, the wind had other ideas. And none of the best laid plans of ours were going to change that.  

It was a glorious experience nonetheless. We glided over the monumental and the ordinary. Over the Temple of Hatshepsut and over little villages. Other balloons rose and floated along with us. We soared over cemeteries that looked like archaeological digs and little domed mosques.

I was reminded of this after coming across an MSNBC article from last June on the "coolest, most exotic" balloon adventures.

Occasionally in the past, I'd been tempted to try ballooning. I had read about excursions in nearby Virginia, but never felt motivated to spend the money. At the International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I was awed by the array of balloons in the air at sunrise. But that was thrilling enough. The sights were available from the ground.

In Egypt, however, it felt like a once-in-a-lifetime thing. And being in a group provided ease--just sign up on a sheet of paper--and a bit of peer pressure. What if it was fantastic and I hadn't gone? Better not miss that and have everyone be talking about it...

Having done it for the first time over amazing, unique sights, I realized the view is as important as the ballooning itself. If I were to do it again, it wouldn't be for the floating, which was lovely, but for a chance to see something I couldn't see any other way. Or, something that was worth seeing from every angle. 

For instance, Serendipity Adventures, mentioned in the MSNBC piece, takes you over an area where monkeys, sloths and toucans cavort. Or perch. The area can't be accessed on foot so ballooning is the ticket in.

Buddy Bombard's Europe puts guests up at chateaus and afternoon balloon rides take them over castles and vineyards.

Mount Washington Valley, New Hampshire, is on sale for solo travelers and others

It's not often that a whole region goes on sale but welcome to the recession economy. Businesses throughout the Mt. Washington Valley in New Hampshire are cutting their rates through the end of this month.

For instance, the White Mountain Hotel and Resort is offering a third night during a mid-week stay for $20.09. As in, the year 2009. Get it?

Old Saco Inn tops that. Stay any two mid-week nights and get the third night fee. Includes a full fireside breakfast (fantastic idea), "bottomless cookie jar," free beverage and snacks and tickets to a garden show in May if you're able to stick around. Or return.

Here's the nice thing about the Mt. Washington Valley, where I have cross-country skied for three out of the past four winters, on the many trails maintained by the Jackson Ski Touring Foundation: It's difficult to find a chain store.

I won't say they don't exist. But the character of North Conway, where I stayed, and its surroundings, stems from the plethora of unique shops. A penny candy shop. Clothing stores that don't sell the same things you see everywhere. Locally owned restaurants serving Italian, Indian, Thai, Chinese and other other cuisines, and American food too. Great breakfast places. (Remember where maple syrup comes from? Ayup. New England.)

And good news for solo travelers: the Mount Washington Valley Velo Club, a biking club, welcomes visiting cyclists. Hard to say whether any rides will be scheduled this early (it's cold up north!) but there's an organizational meeting April 16 to make some of those decisions.

Back to the valley on sale...

For the rest of this month, one restaurant is serving ribeye steak for $1 a pound and another is serving, ahem, a meal for two is $35. What about us solo travelers, folks? Does that mean a meal for one is $17.50? Hard to say.

Local stores also are offering discounts on various goods. It's worth checking the website to see what appeals to you.

Full disclosure: I was in NH with friends. But if I were to go alone, as a first-time visitor, I know what I'd be doing. I'd be on that main street flitting into every shop and taking my time, going in and out as I pleased.

I'd sit by a roaring fire as often as possible. And I'd be at a different breakfast place every morning, testing pancake and French toast variations. As we all know, breakfast alone doesn't cause nearly the apprehension that going out to dinner does.

Photo: North Conway Train Station. Starting point for scenic train rides.

Tonging for oysters, making moonshine or painting watercolors may appeal to solo travelers in Canada

Four Canadian provinces are offering unusual and interesting activities that might draw goal-oriented solo travelers. 

You can "Live Like an Islander," on Prince Edward Island, learning to tong oysters, make moonshine (legally), be a lobsterman or try harness racing. There are dozens of island experiences such as these. Most, if not all, involve meeting up with a guide or other guests, lessening any potential feelings of isolation that traveling solo might kick up.

In New Brunswick's cultural capital, Fredericton, you can choose from classes in painting, photography, fiction writing, jewelry making, pottery and quilting. And then explore the riverfront city on your own. Or, perhaps, with people you meet in a class.

If you want to explore Newfoundland and Labrador for a week, an outfitter offers a seven-night iceberg-tracking trip.  

Many travel destinations have classes and day adventures that provide a way to find companionship, as I wrote here. It's just a matter of finding them.

Photo: Back Roads Folk Art. Prince Edward Island

Couchsurfing makes an appearance in "US Now," a documentary on the newest uses of the Internet

"US Now," a soon-to-be-released documentary film out of the United Kingdom, is all about the new ways people are working together and sharing their lives through the Internet.

I was surprised and intrigued to see an extensive section about an American who tries couchsurfing. We follow our solo traveler as he finds his way to a London flat and knocks on the door. The host welcomes him inside. A scene shows them eating dinner together and talking.

It was useful to me for showing the reality of couchsurfing. I have to admit, I felt uncomfortable watching the two guys meet and get to know each other that first night. I was feeling awkward and I wasn't even there.

Couchsurfing is not like hosteling or staying at a bed and breakfast. You are there by the good graces of your hosts and you may or may not have alone time while you are at their houses. You need to be ready to interact with and share your hosts' lives.

And if it's truly a couch you're staying on, as opposed to a spare room, you may have no door to shut to be alone. Which is the point of couchsurfing. It's about "making connections between travelers and the local communities they visit," according to the web site. It's about your host being your conduit to that community.

If you want anonymity and freedom to roam as you please at any hour, or you're on a tight schedule, it might not be for you. That's the sensation I got from this one little episode. Of course, it's not a statistically significant sample...

On the upside, the American did seem to become an insider in London. In one scene, he's drinking with three other guys at an outdoor table. Yes, some of it could have been contrived because of the filming.

Still, it felt like a good view into the possibilities and realities of a couchsurfing experience.

Photo: Ellen Perlman. A couch in Amsterdam

Five high-adrenaline adventures for daring solo travelers

After writing about adventure travel ideas for men, a reader checked in with suggestions for VERY adventurous travelers. From what I can tell, most blog readers don't check back to the blog for comments (since many of you get it through RSS and email notification of new posts) so I thought I'd alert you to the adventure suggestions from Tom, the e-mailer.

These are not trips so much as activities to build a vacation around.

They are:

1. Tandem HALO jumping--High Altitude, Low Open--parachute jumping. Which basically means you're free falling for a looonnnggg time. Love this caveat on the site:

"Skydiving is inherently risky. You could die. You will be required to sign a release of liability. That said, the guy strapped to you throughout your HALO tandem jump has no desire to die young. He’s an expert jumper who will be using the best possible equipment and taking all steps humanly possible to make your adventure as safe as it can be."

2. Then there's El Caminito del Rey, or the King's Little Pathway, a walkway along the steep walls of a narrow gorge in Malaga, Spain.



3. Next up, shooting the rapids on the Gauley River in West Virginia.

"Your heart will pound with great anticipation as you witness the release of raging whitewater shooting from 3 colossal tubes. You will navigate through five Class V+ rapids. Insignificant, Pillow Rock, Lost Paddle, Iron Ring, and Sweets Falls (a 12' waterfall). Previous rafting experience is recommended and good physical condition is highly recommended."

4. How about the "Tough Guy" challenge, open to both sexes. It took place in February this year. Start training now for next year.

"Billed as "the safest most dangerous taste of physical and mental endurance pain in the world", the Tough Guy Challenge took place yesterday, February 1st, on South Perton Farm, near Wolverhampton, England. Thousands of challengers (men and women) started the endurance race, with hundreds dropping out along the way due to exhaustion or injury - broken bones, dislocations, and over 600 cases of hypothermia. Even the overall winner, James Appleton, was treated briefly for hypothermia. The course takes racers through 21 obstacles - through mud, freezing water, across ropes and burning terrain."

5. And finally, bungee jumping into an active volcano Whaaa??

"How about bungee jumping from the skid of a helicopter into the gaping maw of a bubbling active volcano? No. We're not kidding and yes this is for real! Our Stunts division set up this jump for MTV a while back. We loved the jump so much, we knew we had to bring it to the small percentage of the public who, like us, has that something special in their genes."

I release myself from any and all responsibility for what happens if you choose to engage in these activities! But have a blast. Well, not a blast in the dangerous sense...well, you know what I mean.