Italy, Go Solo, Enjoy

Solo Travel In Italy


I usually post anything about Italy on http://www.hometoitaly.com, but Solo Travel In Italy some challenges I shall add to this blog as well.

Italy may have more travelers than many other countries in Europe.   After traveling there for years and for 4 to 6 weeks at a time, I fully understand why.
With all those ‘tourists’ being a traveler has some challenges. 

I never thought it was ‘odd’ to travel solo.  I am solo but not sad.  I travel solo because I have no friends who would EVER travel in the style I do.   And the one  perception I continue to receive is that only gay people travel solo.  What?    During my 3 month sabbatical I became friends with two lovely much younger woman who I met at the local Internet café.  While having dinner early in our friendship the both agreed that ‘no Italian woman would this’.  I was VERY surprised.   Apparently it may not have been socially unacceptable but solo travel was NOT something an Italian woman would do…..

There are endless benefits to solo travel but I want to cover a few of the ‘challenges’ solo travel in Italy may present:
1.  With the crowds of tourists in Italy it can be difficult to visit ‘tourist spots’ solo.    Tour buses do not know what to do with a solo.  Other travelers do not want to sit with a solo person….
2.  Reaction of Italians that solo travel is ‘odd’.   In Italy the family has great importance.  It may not occur to Italians to go off by themselves and travel.
3.  Economics:  Italy as other countries are in an economic situation.   A solo traveler may be perceived as wealthy.    On one trip I wanted to compare living costs in Italy with the USA and as I compared the salaries with the USA, I understood this misconception.   Housing is expensive in Italy and this may be another reason family members remain at ‘home’ until they marry.
4.  Travel in Italy during tourist season means crowds on buses and trains.  Solo travel means you have no one to ‘watch your bags’ while you use the WC or even go to an ATM.
One year, before ATM’s were on each corner, I could not enter the money exchange at the Rome termini because they used a revolving door and my bag would not fit in the door!
5.  You spend more time planning and organizing solo, no one to share the work.
6.  For me dining is the hardest part of solo travel anywhere but the USA.  Here in the USA we have so many casual restaurants and my favorite, diners, that you are mostly unnoticed.  The disadvantage is you are unnoticed in some restaurants and service is ‘different’.  I understand the tip will be less than a couple, but I also don’t take up as much time at the table.

In Italy eating is VERY important.  Going to diner is the entertainment for the evening often taking hours.   I only remember seeing one other solo diner in a restaurant in Florence.  And they put us next to each other.   I have had waiters look at me with pity and surprise that I am sitting alone.    Why do people assume solo is sad?

While these may be some challenges to solo travel, some of the perks in Italy:
vendors in markets will often chat with you
You can often observe without being noticed….take a peek into daily life.
You can walk by the same corner countless times while looking for the correct turn and no
             one notices, no one ridicules you, no one gets impatient.
You can stroll the town center without dragging a reluctant companion or child with you.

One of the sadist days in Sorrento was hearing a couple just off the cruise line for the day.
The husband loudly insisted, pick ONE thing you want to see.......implying that that was         enough    and back to the boat.    One look at the woman's face was enough for me to pledge to always go solo.

Solo Travel with a Purpose

I have been using a new mantra this year:

Be a Traveler NOT a tourist
Learn something new,
Find a new adventure
Experience the local life
In 2008, after many years of trying to do or see everything in the  2 or 3 weeks a year my 24/7 job allowed, I finally took a sabbatical.

I had been dreaming of moving to Italy for part of the year for a long time.   All my vacations to Italy were wonderful.  My business trips were "interesting" but allowed me to see new parts of Italy.
But would I enjoy living there?   I am an Italian American but would real Italians accept me?  How do you manage in a town where you do not know anyone and do not speak the language fluently?
But it was now or never and I closed my business, obtained a dog sitter and took off for Sorrento for 3 months.  I know I would not have enjoyed or on some days survived this adventure without my weeks at Sorrento Lingue.    For all of you who already travel solo, I won't comment on solo travel, but long term travel opened a new door to my travel adventures.     
During my months in Italy "living as an Italian, not a tourist"  I searched for ways to enrich my days.
I spent hours exploring the towns along the sea.  Walking with a view of the sea was an endless pleasure.   But I still looked for a way to fit in, to participate,  not just another member of the expats organizations.

Tina, a former student at Sorrento Lingue, found a GREAT solution.        She did volunteer work!  See her story below.

Meet for a meal all over the World

Wish I had found this site sooner, but thanks to a popular blogger, Grey, I now have an option for eating solo while traveling the world......

Invite for a Bite

When traveling on business or pleasure does the fear of eating alone in a restaurant keep you from traveling solo?


You can book travel, find hotels, navigate the train system if not the bus routes alone, but sitting 
in a restaurant is the equivalent to a root canal!


Now a woman has found a solution to our problem!   You can request a companion to meet you for a bite!    


The full story below!

Don't eat alone: INVITE FOR A BITE

Invite For A Bite is a new online social network for women who don't want to eat alone. Wherever they are in the world - traveling solo for business or pleasure, or home alone on a Saturday night - Invite For A Bite helps women get together with other women for a meal and a great time.

The Inspiration

Invite For A Bite came about after founder Cressida Howard heard a programme on BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour. A group of women were talking about how they loved traveling alone. But they all agreed on one thing: they hated eating alone.

“It's a problem I've had myself in the past,” says Cressida, who has spent time traveling and teaching in Spain and Japan. “Most women aren't comfortable going into a bar or restaurant on their own, especially in the evenings when they're surrounded by romantic couples, or drunk men with not very romantic intentions! I thought, wouldn't it be great if there was a website where women who didn't want to eat alone could hook up with one another and have fun eating together. That's when I decided to create Invite For A Bite.”

Although the inspiration for Invite For A Bite came from solving a problem for female travelers, women can also use the site to meet people in their own town. “Maybe you're new to a town,” says Cressida, “or you've lived there all your life and want to meet new people. Invite For A Bite can help you do that. It could be over a meal in a restaurant, at your house, or a picnic in the park. Eating together is a really relaxed way to get to know people. When you think about it, it's the oldest social network there is. We're just giving it a 21st century twist!”

How It Works

Women go on the site and create an invite to meet and eat, or accept one that someone else has created. Then they meet up and eat together. They can use the site whether they're at home or traveling thousands of miles away. “It's as easy as falling off a log. . . after a glass of wine!” says Cressida. “We're also happy if women use the site to meet for activities that don't involve eating. It's as much about the fun as the food.'

Growing Trend

The number of ‘social discovery’ websites that encourage users to go online to meet offline is growing. Invite For A Bite is at the forefront of a growing trend in online social dining networks that enable users to meet new people over food. It's the first to cater specifically for women.

About Invite For A Bite's Founder

Cressida Howard is a jazz piano teacher from Cheltenham, England. She describes herself as a reformed ‘technomoron’. She created the site with the help of two friends, web developer George Farron and web designer Kayleigh Witts-Thomas. “When I told my family and friends I was starting an online social network they thought it was hilarious. But they really liked the idea of the site, and I believed in it so much that I wasn't going to be put off by my own lack of knowledge. I've certainly learnt a lot in the last year!”

Launched: March 8^th 2012

see the web site:  http://inviteforabite.com/about.

“Invite For A Bite was inspired by a radio program I heard on BBC Woman's Hour. A group of female travelers were talking about how much they loved traveling alone. But they all agreed on one thing: they hated eating alone. I thought, ‘Wow, wouldn't it be great if there was a website where women who didn't want to eat alone could hook up with one another and eat together?’

Invite For A Bite solves the problem of what to do when you don't want to eat alone. Wherever you are in the world.

You might be traveling for business or pleasure. Or you might not be traveling at all! On Invite For A Bite you can meet people who live in your own town, as well as those traveling through. It doesn't matter if the ‘bite’ is a three-course meal in Amsterdam or a packet of peanuts at your local cinema. In fact, we're perfectly happy if you use the site to meet and not eat. It's as much about the fun as the food! All you have to do is create an invite and see who's up for joining you.

So wherever you are or wherever you're going, Invite For A Bite is here to help you: to find people to eat with, to have a great time.

Good health and happiness to you!”

Cressida Howard

Founder of Invite For A Bite