Vacation Ideas for a Sole Traveller...

[Pwenet]

It's that time. I have vacation time burning a hole in my pocket and the desire to go out and do something for myself.:smallbiggrin:

The problem is that I have no idea what I want to do :smallfrown:

So I was wondering what kinds of vacations people here have taken without anyone else?

[DraPrime]

This depends on several things.

1. How far away can you go?
2. What sorts of transportation do you have available?
3. How big is your budget?
4. What sorts of things do you enjoy?

[wxdruid]

Hm, Pwenet, there is a Chicago meet up coming up in November... :smalltongue:

[TheBST]

Solo travelling's pretty expensive. Do your research.

Depends what you're after. Culture? Leisure? History? How exotic?

[Pwenet]

This depends on several things.

1. How far away can you go?
2. What sorts of transportation do you have available?
3. How big is your budget?
4. What sorts of things do you enjoy?

1. Anywhere.
2. I have my own car, and don't mind trains/planes.
3. Depends on what I choose to do.
4. That is the fun question! Far too many things :smallmad:

I am looking for something more along leisure. Cruises were something that caught my eye however the cost is a bit prohibitive, especially with me going solo (was curious if anyone did a cruise by themselves).

[DraPrime]

1. Anywhere.
2. I have my own car, and don't mind trains/planes.
3. Depends on what I choose to do.
4. That is the fun question! Far too many things :smallmad:

I am looking for something more along leisure. Cruises were something that caught my eye however the cost is a bit prohibitive, especially with me going solo (was curious if anyone did a cruise by themselves).

Ok, I have an idea. Simply, a roadtrip. Decide where you wanna go, and where you'll turn around. Just go around, and check out whatever catches your eye. Make this fairly laid back. It's very relaxing to just drive and listen to your favorite music, in solitude. Check out various big cities (if you decide to come to Boston, I can recommend some stuff). Along the way you'll find stuff that you didn't know was there. It should be fun.

[Cruxador]

Go see some art in foreign parts. Paris is the place for impressionism, and the Louvre is great too. Barcelona has interesting architecture. If you prefer urban, Buenos Aires is nice. You like modern art? San Francisco. There's plenty of other fun stuff in most of those places too, just avoid the touristy parts, or the crowds will bog you down.

Tickets should run you a couple hundred, and lodging is pretty variably priced.

[Roukon]

I have just come back from a 3 day cruise earlier this week, and it isn't as expensive as it looks. Only a little more than $100 a night, and that includes meals. My cruise was partly vacation and partly my uncle getting married and my grandmother's 80th birthday. While I was there with family, except for those two occasions, we were really told that we could do whatever we wanted to, so about half the time, I was with family and the other half I was on my own. Granted, it is a bit more expensive for a week cruise, but you have to consider that you'd be spending about the same amount for a hotel each night you'd be staying somewhere else.

If you are feeling a bit more adventrous, however, I would recommend something else. Choose an area where you would want to vacation to. It can be anywhere in the world/country/state or something different. Then, find a map of that area, and put it on a corkboard. Then, throw a dart and go to the place nearest where it lands. It will give you some randomness and if you research it well before you leave, a lot of fun and you might do something that you wouldn't have thought of before.

There's my 2c. Have fun, I know I did on my Caribbean vacation.

Later Days,
Roukon

[Cruxador]

I have just come back from a 3 day cruise earlier this week, and it isn't as expensive as it looks. Only a little more than $100 a night, and that includes meals. My cruise was partly vacation and partly my uncle getting married and my grandmother's 80th birthday. While I was there with family, except for those two occasions, we were really told that we could do whatever we wanted to, so about half the time, I was with family and the other half I was on my own. Granted, it is a bit more expensive for a week cruise, but you have to consider that you'd be spending about the same amount for a hotel each night you'd be staying somewhere else.


Good God, I hope not. I've never spent that much on a hotel. And honestly, you'd have to be eating at either tourist places or some real fancy restaurants to get that high even with food. And at that point you're having nicer stuff than most cruises. Stuff that hasn't been sitting in a freezer all week.

[Roukon]

Good God, I hope not. I've never spent that much on a hotel. And honestly, you'd have to be eating at either tourist places or some real fancy restaurants to get that high even with food. And at that point you're having nicer stuff than most cruises. Stuff that hasn't been sitting in a freezer all week.

We might be talking about different types of hotels. The ones I have stayed in are about $80+ a night. They were in larger cities, and most were closer to $100 a night. Add in food, which will mostly be out in restaruants, and it will get to about $100-130 a day. Also, the food I had was actually very good. Didn't feel like freezer food at all to me.

[Roland St. Jude]

Have you been to Washington D.C.? If you haven't or haven't really taken the time to look around, it's a fantastic city. You can plane, train, or automobile it from NY in very little time. There are hotels that run the gamut price and amenity-wise. There are lots of free things to do and see, including many great museums and national monuments. The Air and Space Museum and National Museum of the American Indian are particularly cool. There are theater shows both professional and amateur, and an excellent Shakespeare theater (the Folger). I think every citizen should visit the House and Senate galleries (though that takes some advance planning), the White House (this is actually a pain to do and not part of a leisurely vacation plan), and the Supreme Court, but I suppose many people aren't into that. Tours, especially nighttime tours of the city can be very cool and informative (although sometimes mis-informative as tour guides like to make things up).

There's lots of green space for a city and it's a very different atmosphere from most other large cities I've been to.

[Berserk Monk]

I'd suggest Valhalla but you don't wanna know ho to get there.

[drakir_nosslin]

I was on a longer trip with a couple of friends to asia this winter/spring, and after a while we split up for two weeks, where I went to Perhentian Islands, Malaysia, and they stayed in Thailand before we all met again on Borneo.

If you want to have some sun, amazing diving and really nice locals, try Perhentian, it's awesome! (also comes with really large lizards!)

[Zeb The Troll]

Have you been to Washington D.C.? If you haven't or haven't really taken the time to look around, it's a fantastic city. You can plane, train, or automobile it from NY in very little time. There are hotels that run the gamut price and amenity-wise. There are lots of free things to do and see, including many great museums and national monuments. The Air and Space Museum and National Museum of the American Indian are particularly cool. There are theater shows both professional and amateur, and an excellent Shakespeare theater (the Folger). I think every citizen should visit the House and Senate galleries (though that takes some advance planning), the White House (this is actually a pain to do and not part of a leisurely vacation plan), and the Supreme Court, but I suppose many people aren't into that. Tours, especially nighttime tours of the city can be very cool and informative (although sometimes mis-informative as tour guides like to make things up).

There's lots of green space for a city and it's a very different atmosphere from most other large cities I've been to.Everything he said, and add the fact that Zeb and Alarra live a mere 30 miles away (I commute to downtown DC to give you an idea of how close we are) and would love to hang out with you while you're not touring it up. :smallcool:

*points to Balto-DC area meetup (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122269) coming up*

I know AmTrak has a train station within 5 minutes of our house, so we could easily arrange pickup and dropoff and we could coordinate transportation if needed, or point you to a rental car place if you'd prefer.

[Alarra]

Yes, yes.....take a vacation to DC.... And make it in 2 weeks so you can go to renfest with us and hang out with the people coming up from Johnson City. Plus we have a new baby, and you know you want to meet him. :smallbiggrin:

I will second...err.. third? the sentiment that DC is a ton of fun and has lots and lots and lots to do. And nearly all the museums are free.

[Pwenet]

Have you been to Washington D.C.?

Actually some really good friends of mine live near Manassas Virginia and I've gone down to DC with them several times (was down there in May actually). It really is a good place!


*points to Balto-DC area meetup (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122269) coming up*

Sadly I have appointments the day before up here so that would be tricky. Plus the following weekend I'm flying to Colorado for a wedding (sort of a vacation but not a lot of time).


I was on a longer trip with a couple of friends to asia this winter/spring, and after a while we split up for two weeks, where I went to Perhentian Islands, Malaysia, and they stayed in Thailand before we all met again on Borneo.

If you want to have some sun, amazing diving and really nice locals, try Perhentian, it's awesome! (also comes with really large lizards!)

That does sound interesting! I'm a bit envious.

Thanks for the ideas.

[Tharivol123]

I've enjoyed my trips to Baltimore and would recommend it to anyone. I didn't get to spend much time in Boston the last time I was out that way, unfortunately, but did have a good time there. If you go to the Boston area on a Thursday, check out an awesome Boston band at The Burren in Davis Square in Somerville. Philly and Pittsburgh are nice, if you know people there. D.C. is great and I really want to go back out there myself someday.

[Dracomorph]

My scout troop used to hike the battlefield in Shiloh, TN. It's pretty cool, and I'd imagine a lot more awe inspiring if you weren't surrounded by 15-year-olds. Plus, you could visit Nashville while you're in state without too much added trouble.

Or you could come visit Missouri's ludicrous cave system. Seriously, there's a cave like every five feet here. It's awesome.

[Felixaar]

Put a map on a corkboard and throw darts at it until you pick a spot. Or spin a globe and stop it with your finger.

Oh, or if you're holding it off for a few months or so you could join me in Tasmania. Ten days or so of walking through the wilderness. Top that.

[Thiel]

Go sailing. I don't know how the situation is in the US, but there's quite a few nice charter sailing ships in Europe, like Stad Amsterdam (http://www.stadamsterdam.com/content/home/index.xml), Europa (http://www.barkeuropa.com/en/home/1-Tall_ship_barque_europa), Christian Radich (http://radich.no/en/front-page/) and Sørlandet. (http://www.schoolship.no/)
You'll get to know a whole lot of people you wouldn't have met otherwise and you get to sail a honest-to-god tall ship.