Solo and Safe not Sorry

For solo travelers one ever present concern can be safety.

Short or long trips, local or long distance, when you travel solo there is no one to notice if you do not return on time from a day of exploring or an evening meal.   Many travelers buy trip insurance to cover the unexpected, but how do you answer the questions SafeCheckin.com posses?

       If you go out alone and something bad happens, will someone notice you're missing?

          Realizing you are missing, will anyone know where to start looking?

 



Solo travels may need to be more careful that those in two's or larger groups.   SafeCheckin makes some interesting points:

"You do not need to be in the wilderness or out alone to go "missing"! It can happen on a date, a road trip, out for a run, taking a bike ride, or any activity. It happens EVERYDAY to individuals who least expect it."

Children, students, elderly, if you are traveling solo, on a date with a new 'friend' you may benefit from having someone watching our back.    This is fee memebership.  

When you leave for a trip or an outing, members will tell SafeCheckIn when ther are expected to return

The member will email or text SafeCheckIn when they return.
What i like BEST is what the company does if you do NOT check back in: 

• If the member becomes overdue, SafeCheckIn will attempt first to call the individual by cell phone. If we cannot reach the member, SafeCheckIn will begin to notify and inform the member's primary contacts of the member's overdue status

If you are hiking or walking, have car trouble in a remote area and no cell service, off on a solo adventrue, having someone checking if you do NOT return can give you additional peace of mind.
http://www.safecheckin.com

 

I am waiting for SafeCheckIn to expand to countries

 outside the USA......  

Solo Fares on Cunard: Single Occupancy Rates! It is about time.....

Cunard is Breaking Waves with  Single Occupancy Rates!

For all my fellow solo travelers who have the time and funds to travel by ship, or what other travelers call cruises, the BEST NEWS was sent to me today. 

As a former Cunard passenger, I just received notice that there are SINGLE OCCUPANCY RATES on several of their trans Atlantic and New England cruises.

Here is the email......   Just be sure to leave one cabin for me!

There are other sailing dates and destinations offered.

Now what must be done to encourage other cruise lines to offer NO SOLO SUPPLEMENTS?

 

It is Time!

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.