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Solo Traveler

Posted on May 7, 2009 - by Janice

Solo Walking: Slow down and enjoy

Perspectives

A walking holiday is an opportunity to slow down and explore paths less traveled. It’s a chance to enjoy sights, sounds and smells that you would otherwise miss.  It offers time to relax, think and ponder on a journey that can be as spiritual as it is physical.

womanwalkingThere are many people who are avid long distance walkers but for me, solo walking has simply been a way to explore cities. I cover miles on foot without even thinking about it until I fall exhausted into bed at the end of the day. Because a true walking holiday has not been my thing, I contacted a friend of a friend, Kathy Stewart, who also happens to be veteran of walking tours and trip planner with Butterfield & Robinson (B&R), for insight.

“Walking is a tradition in Europe,” explained Kathy. “You can go through fields, vineyards and nature preserves.” This surprised me. But , I learned, you can’t cross every field or vineyard. You have to know where to go. Fortunately, there are books and maps you can buy that offer lots of information on independent walking tours.

Prepare for your walking holiday
Before you go on your walking holiday, Kathy suggests the following:

  • Get out and do some walking. You may think you’re fit but long distance walking can be a surprising challenge.
  • Buy good quality, comfortable walking shoes with ankle support. The tread is also important for proper grip.  And break them in a bit before your trip. Depending on your luck with the sales, you’ll pay between $80 and $200.
  • You also need proper hiking socks. They breathe and offer better support.
  • Consider using walking sticks
  • Definitely have good quality rain gear.
  • Pack clothes that breathe and can be layered. Sports gear is best. Cotton is not ideal.

Not so solo walking
As a solo traveler, you may choose to participate in one of many guided walking holidays available. B&R offers some of the more luxurious walking trips. “Our tours of Tuscany, Provence, the Lake District, Peru and Patagonia are the most popular,” says Kathy. A typical walking day includes a 10 mile walk, with the group or alone if you keep one of the group in sight. There’s a break for lunch and you arrive at your hotel around 4pm with enough time for a rest or massage before dinner. Most walks have a theme such as the food and wine of Italy.

I have been on cycling vacations before and enjoyed the slower pace. Walking, especially across fields and nature preserves is slower still and very appealing. I think I’ll have to give it a try.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, May 7th, 2009 at 12:44 pm and is filed under Perspectives. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 Comments

We'd love to hear yours!



  1. Visit My Website

    May 18, 2009

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    Sam Chandler said:


    Walking holidays are a great way to meet like minded people and travelling alone needn’t be daunting.

    Make sure you select acccommodation that suits your needs on a social level should be as important as where you are going and how strenuous you want the walking to be.

    Look at walking holidays and tours that offer a little extra, a good choice of activity and timetables to pick and choose from is harder than you might think. You should be able to tailor your walking itineraries to suit and not be route marched every day on a set timtable that doesn’t take into account various abilities. You should be able to find a walking holiday where you can do as little or as much as you please joining in as and when it suits you (you are on holiday after all!)

    Some holidays can be arranged to suit so you can book your own flights, transfers or car hire and only book accommodation and activities. Avoid weekend flights as prices generally soar – some companies offer walking holidays on an arrive anyday – depart anyday basis allowing you to fit the trip around your plans and the cheapest flights.



  2. Visit My Website

    May 8, 2009

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    Keith Jenkins said:


    I’m not a big walker but I do love city and nature walks. A good, sturdy pair of walking shoes is indeed essential, along with a small backpack and a bottle of water. I’ve had the most memorable walking experiences in cities like London, Paris, Sydney and Buenos Aires. The great diversity of neighbourhoods is really special. My hometown, Amsterdam, is also a great walking city. Nature-wise, my most memorable walking experiences have been in the Dolomites (northern Italy), Pyrenees (France/Spain), Crete, Corsica, Atacama (Chile) and the Azores (Portugal). I’ll be visiting the Azores again this summer. Looking forward to some fantastic trekking there!




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