You've seen Bridget Jones' Diary. You know how it goes. But rather
than being a reason to reach for the tissues, research shows that rising
numbers of women are craving "me-time" and long to be by
themselves, even in situations which previously attracted social stigma.
The research, by solo travel specialists Just You, says that 19 per cent
prefer to travel by themselves, and 14 per cent would rather go on holiday
alone. The new breed of liberated women has been labelled WISE (Women who
Insist on Single Experiences)...
Wise was not how I felt as I emerged, a fledgling backpacker, at Christchurch
airport in New Zealand. Weary and woefully out of my depth would be more
accurate. After spending three months working in Sydney, I'd decided to
spend a few weeks backpacking in NZ before travelling around Australia.
I'd heard it was a small, safe country. Nevertheless I was carrying expensive
camera equipment, and had read so many alarming stories on travel blogs, I
was almost expecting to see a mugger around every corner. My aim was to
travel round the South Island: I'd booked my flight to Christchurch, and a
couple of nights in a backpackers hostel in Kaikoura.
During the three hour bus journey to Kaikoura, I was feeling not just a little
bit lonely; friends, family and boyfriend back at home seemed so far away.
Luckily there was soon plenty to take my mind off pining. The scenery was
spectacular: Mist-shrouded mountains met us around every corner. Having
meticulously studied independent hostel reviews on the web, I'd finally
chosen The Sleepy Whale, a small, central hostel in Kairoura with
single sex dorms. Over the next few days I walked to seal colonies, went
whale watching, and swam with dolphins.
One backpacker gave me a copy of the Lonely Planet guide that had
been left behind in their room. I was a little skeptical about using it to
choose accommodation but most of the information was accurate, including
that for The popular Purple Cow in Wanaka (the book hadn't told me it would
sound like there was a herd of them stampeding down the corridors every
night) and Ivory Towers in Fox.
Word of mouth was a good guide. I was told about a new backpacker hostel in
Christchurch, which I was travelling back down to before I headed west for
fiordland. (With hindsight I should have booked the spectacular TranzAlpine
railway across the Southern Alps from Christchurch to Greymouth: I ended up
reading about it on the bus.)
Sometimes it pays to do your research - however, booking some things on the
spot can be fruitful. If I'd booked all my accommodation, say, on
www.hostelworld.com before I arrived, I would have missed the pleasure of
the boutique-like Coachman on the Square in Christchurch, with its brand
spanking new showers, walls that weren't made of cardboard and a huge warm
lounge area with a bar.
I used independent bus companies because I wanted to avoid the 'tour-group'
mentality of the backpacker bus companies that are basically organised
tours. I mainly used Atomic Shuttles. After I'd bused it back to
Christchurch I took an early morning one to Wanaka, then Fox (where I did a
heli-hike up a glacier), then to the adrenaline capital Queenstown, and over
to Te Anau and Milford Sound, for a spot of sea-kayaking, another
last-minute decision which turned out to be one of my best memories.
New Zealand was easy to get around and safe, and I used the same common sense
I'd apply at home. I didn't arrive at any new place in the middle of the
night, and if I was going off for a long walk on my own I let someone
working at my hostel know. I survived three weeks of solo backpacking with
my shiny new padlocks still in their packaging, and armed with just stacks
of amazing memories. If you want 'Backpacking for beginners' then New
Zealand is the place.
Details: Before my trip I visited www.ehow.com for travel safety tips,
reviewed hostels on www.bugpacific.com and www.travellerspoint.com. I booked
trips with www.dolphin.co.nz and www.whalewatch.co.nz.
Rachel Morgan-Trimmer, 31, now runs her own company
www.thecareerbreaksite.com
Two years ago Rachel was working for a gap year company in Leeds giving others
advice on how to travel, "Spending all that time talking to teenagers
about their gap year options made me want to do it too."
Until then, a fear of flying developed just after 9/11 (she was in America at
the time) had kept her close to home. And that wasn't her only concern.
"I was also afraid of the unknown. I wanted to go to Asia to experience
different cultures, but I'd heard so many horror stories, like corrupt
officials planting drugs on travellers, or getting mugged. But I knew if I
didn't go I would spend the rest of my life regretting it, so I bit the
bullet and went."
She booked her four-month trip with STA Travel, and flew to Bangkok in
September, 2004, then mostly stuck to the dates and destinations on her
ticket. Apart from that, she "sort of made it up." She ended up
doing a diving course ("I'd never been told I was good at a sport
before so I felt very proud of myself!") and taking Vietnamese cookery
lessons: "I'd never have done these if I'd planned every detail before
I left."
Rachel had gone alone partly because no-one she knew was in a position to
take a career break at the time. She missed her boyfriend but was glad she'd
gone solo. "It's a lot easier if there's only yourself to consider. If
I do another long trip, I would do it alone again, as I think it's the best
way to travel, especially for a young woman."
As part of her job Rachel had done a three-day gap traveller safety course.
She was vigilant at all times, keeping her money and passports in her money
belt, locking her bag to her bed when she was unsure about security, and she
wasn't shy about asking other people for help if she needed it.
"A man on his motorbike kept popping up, so I went into a hotel and the
woman who owned it made him go away. It turned out he just wanted my
transport business, but it was still quite frightening."
And her favourite memories? "All the lovely people who bent over
backwards to help me - from sharing their food, to helping me find where I
needed to go, and the memorable Chinese couple in Singapore who had a heated
argument with each other about which bus I needed to get!"
The trip changed her outlook in unexpected ways: Not only did she find herself
becoming "less selfish" and worrying less, her confidence
developed to the extent that she felt she could now cope with the challenges
of running her own business.
The ultimate benefit was that her experience actually qualified her to answer
questions from other career breakers: "It makes me a better source of
information, as so many of the things on my site, like the planning lists
and timelines, are things that I wished I had when I was taking my break."
Rachel's tips: I bought my malaria pills from
www.travelpharm.com (almost half the price of those sold at a high street
chemist). On the road, I used www.statravel.com and www.hostelworld.com to
book accommodation. I signed up to email alerts from www.fco.gov.uk/travel
which helped me out on a couple of occasions, once when Vietnam suddenly
changed its visa restrictions and once when there was some civil unrest in a
part of Thailand I was travelling through.
Imogen Warren, 37, works for a bank
Imogen Warren is a prime example of a "wise" woman. From Telford,
Shropshire, she wanted to travel the world and so booked nine back-to-back single
travel holidays this year. Crossing three continents in three months, Imogen
returned to the UK in June. "I was aware there was a big world out
there and was anxious to explore, but I work hard and I study hard, and
there never seems enough time to play. My answer was taking a sabbatical,
and I had the time of my life!"
Imogen wasn't going to let her single status get in the way of her passion
for travel. But having never been on a package holiday designed for single
people, she didn't know what to expect when she left the UK for New Zealand
at the end of February: "I cried for two hours on the flight to LA."
Safety was her main concern. "One of the reasons I chose
www.justyou.co.uk was because there would be other people around if I wanted
some company, a tour manager and back up."
She travelled mainly by coach in a group that varied from 20-38 people aged
20-80. Accommodation varied: "from the occasionally fab room (a
female-run eco-friendly hotel in New Zealand and a 24th floor room in New
York overlooking Central Park and downtown Manhattan) to the hilariously bad
(a motel that had just finished hosting a greyhound convention in Utah where
the dogs had clearly slept in the rooms!)."
Only once did she feel unsafe: "I was on a deserted beach in Spain
flanked by woods. I felt uneasy, so I just walked back towards the hotel."
Contrary to her expectations, Warren actually felt incredibly secure in New
York, travelling the Metro late at night without any concerns.
She threw herself into being a tourist, spending twice her budget on doing "all
the ridiculous touristy things, from kissing dolphins in the Bahamas to
riding a camel in a fake cowboy town, to eating fried green tomatoes and
hushpuppies."
She has no regrets about taking time out. "Seeing glaciers, canyons,
mountains, geysers and man-made wonders like the Empire State Building, San
Francisco bridges, Eiffel Tower and the Brandeburg Gate was just
incredible.The only thing I would have done differently would have been to
research the places more before I went so I would have known about other
things I wanted to do."
The trip hasn't transformed her life: "But I didn't really expect to
have an epiphany or discover anything deep and meaningful about myself. My
travels only really confirmed that my life is pretty much the way I want it
and I am happy."
Details
Imogen's tips: I did research travel companies on the web,
High Street (Thomas Cook) and specialised singles operators (Solo,
Solitaire) and used www.justyou.co.uk to choose locations.
