Boldly Go Solo

Philadelphia offers many options for the solo traveler

Like every city, Philadelphia has a range of activities for single, as well as partnered residents.Though they may be geared for locals, they are a good way for solo travelers to ease any isolation they may feel while visiting a big city. Philly also offers some excellent dining and drinking options for those on their own.

Let's start with some activities. The Bicycle Club of Philadelphia has regularly scheduled free rides in the evenings and on weekends, plus special events such as barbecues, banquets and picnics.

Are you a runner? The Fishtown Beer Runners has three- to five-mile runs on Thursday evenings followed by a visit to a local pub for some quality craft beer. The motto on their blog:

"Responsible running and drinking in the interest of science. 'So, ya wanna join us?' "

Fun! I might have to drive to Philly one Thursday just to experience that.

Dancer, or wannabe dancer? Try the Society Hill Dance Academy, where $20 gets you a drop-in class with a 45-minute intro to salsa, cha-cha, foxtrot and rumba. At DanceSport Academy, the timing might be tricky for visitors. The ballroom and Latin dance socials for $10, including drinks, dancing and performances, are only held monthly.

These dance socials usually are ways for studios to sell ongoing lessons to prospective dancers. But there's no reason you can't go and enjoy the dance as an out-of-towner, then be on your way. The Peppermint Dance Club caters to an older crowd, offering beginner and intermediate dance lessons followed by a dance party, three nights a week.

Cape May, NJ, historic district, free for the solo traveler...and others

You don't often get to barter labor for lodgings. Those "I Love Lucy" episodes where you have to wash dishes if you don't have enough money to pay for dinner? Seldom happens.

But at the historic Chalfonte Hotel in Cape May, New Jersey, you really can stay free. And get your meals free. In exchange for doing a little, shall we say, "housework." We not talking dusting and vacuuming. We're talking painting, scraping, landscaping, cooking and laundry.

Each year, the 132-year-old hotel invites volunteers to help open the National Historic Landmark for summer and shut it down for winter. So far, people from 27 states have showed up for the weekends, offering 10 hours of labor in exchange for some good old Southern cooking and a room by the shore.

And a chance to visit a lovely, historic town full of Victorian-style, or "gingerbread" houses. The pretty downtown area is filled with little shops, cafes, nice restaurants and taffy and fudge stores.

The beach offers skeeball addicts a small arcade. And you'll have miles of white sandy beaches to wander. If you're the gambling type, Atlantic City is about 40 minutes away. So if you can't find someone to go to Cape May with, vacation alone. Comfortably. You have people to eat dinner with and time to sightsee.

Lions and Tigers and Teaching, Oh My

Not all travel has to be about vacationing, in the sense of wining, dining and sightseeing. You could choose, instead, to wade into a culture or a community by serving as a volunteer. 

It's almost a guarantee that lots of people will arrive solo. Imagine trying to convince a travel buddy to catch, color-band and release migratory songbirds in the Tetons the exact same week you want to catch, color-band and release migratory songbirds in the Tetons. 

Several organizations offer opportunities for "voluntourism." Here are a few:

Earthwatch invites people to work on scientific field research or conservation projects in one of about 50 countries. Volunteers range in age from 10 to 90. Examples of Earthwatch's activities include banding penguins in South Africa or tagging sea turtles on Pacific beaches.

And who knows when Leo DiCaprio might show up to give you a pat on the back. He's currently an organization spokesman.

Big-name newspapers around the world becoming aware of solo travelers

The Washington Post devoted an entire travel section to how to "travel wisely." It was directed at a Washington audience, naturally. But even if you're not from the local area, the info on "specialty" travel could be of great value. 

The "specialties" range from single/solo to volunteer to African American to gay and lesbian. Any of those categories could offer opportunities for solo travel. As could a section on traveling with pets.

The paper provided info on organizations and travel agents and listed Web sites and phone numbers.

The New York Daily News ran a story Saturday on the topic of solo travel. For the record, I don't much care for the term "solo-cation." But let the tour operators call it whatever they want as long as they're passing out deals.

Several of the deals are pricey, but the article offered a nice variety of trips, from cruises to hiking to beach vacations.

Just a few days ago, the Times of London also ran a story on "holidays for single travellers." Which in American English is "vacations for single travelers." Gotta love that British English.

The paper provided a long list of travel companies. I'm thinking it could be fun to be the only American on a trip for a change.

That's all for now. Cheerio until next time.

Photo: Ellen Perlman. The Washington Post Travel Section front page.