Advice on Travelling alone

[tess]

Hi folks,

I really want to go back to PR this Sept but dont have anyone to travel with. I dont mind pondering around by myself during the day it's night time i'm more worried about. I dont think i would feel safe heading out at night on my own. Would it be wise to travel alone or safest to stay put. Is anyone heading out early september.????

[karen]

I have travelled on my own a few times Tess. Luckily I have good friends in Pickwicks and I can comfortabily sit in the bar and chat to the customers. I think, if you can happily chat to strangers who sit down next to you or stand beside you at a bar you will fine.

[redswanlady]

Loads of single people travel here alone and it is safe to do so, most bars are friendly and you will make some friends whilst here, go for it Tess you know you want to LOL:tinysmile_fatgrin_t

[tess]

Thanks for the comment, appreciate them. I dont have problem chatting to strangers etc, lol i'm ususally the one that meets new people while on hols, it's shutting me up that can be the problem. Think they call it gift of the gab lol. or maybe it's an irish trait. Suppose next step is to check out and see if can get good deal for ONE. Stayed in Monte Verde last time, as accomdation goes it was ok, but think if travelling alone would like to be bit nearer to beach and commercial centre. Anyone got list of places that are with irish travel agents.

[MARCUS]

Hello!
Well as for accomodation i would recommend the " EL Greco" right on the beachfront. Excellent quality.
There is nothing wrong in travelling alone,the great thing is you can do what exactly what YOU want all the time!
(it must be noted that i quite enjoy "living on my own" nothing worse than having somebody " harping on" in your ears 24 hours a day.)

Of course if you would like to meet up Tess i am always available...........(sshhh....don't tell anybody......) x

:heart: Mr M x

[tess]

Thanks for the post Marcus, would you be one of the stranger that i would be advised to AVOID lol. Only kidding, i've heard of El Grecco, bumped into some nice women from Cork on the beach last sept who were staying there. Will have a look.

[yflood]

hi tess sunwaytravel.ie have the morasol apartments at the harbour, budgettravel have the marina suites in their brochure,i dont know who does the el greco from ireland bit i think first choice tour operator have them if you leave from belfast.

[tess]

Thanks, gonna browse around and see who has best price, budget travel will cost me an extra 200euro as i'm travelling alone, and basically taking up a room that could hold 3 people.

[big craig]

Hi folks,

I really want to go back to PR this Sept but dont have anyone to travel with. I dont mind pondering around by myself during the day it's night time i'm more worried about. I dont think i would feel safe heading out at night on my own. Would it be wise to travel alone or safest to stay put. Is anyone heading out early september.????tess i will let you buy me a pint again lol :fatgrin::boozy:

[tess]

No worries Big C, sure i can stretch to buying u a pint. Was checking out prices, crikey it expensive to travel solo

[big craig]

No worries Big C, sure i can stretch to buying u a pint. Was checking out prices, crikey it expensive to travel solo well keep us posted how you get on.remeber you can always help us prop up a bar lol

[tess]

Just been checking out prices Big C. Cheapest flight and acc is over 800 euro. only paid 485 each last sept. My head is all muddled with it. Been checking out just flights they coming in at round 280-300 euro. Mite have to look at renting private, without using travel agent.

[yflood]

hi tess have you checked aer lingus.com for flights they have flights on a tuesday and saturday, tuesday flights start at 85 euro one way ive found them to be cheapest from ireland or try justtheflight.co.uk they will search all the tour operators.

[tess]

Thanks yflood, will check it out. had quick look at aer lingus, prices have gone up over last few weeks, never thought about going mid week, might work out a bit cheaper.

[j3nfx]

I will be travelling alone next week. I am going to PR and staying in the solana. I have found when looking for mine Thomas cook and Going places seem to do things for single people. I am not paying too much of a supplement this time ...

I am sure I will be fine alone the only thing I am nervous about is evening meals alone. Might be a bit lonely but the rest of the time am sure I will be fine ...

Try Holiday Hypermarket too as thats where I have booked mine through ... xx

[Holly Dayze]

Hope you have a great time j3nfx. I've often thought about travelling alone and must admit that eating out alone is one of the very few things that puts me off. I'd love to hear how you get on. :)

[Tammie]

Ive been to pr lots of times on my own. I use to eat at the same place most days and nights some times i would have a take away meal from the same place and sit on my balcony to eat it and enjoy the veiw. Lots of people eat out on their own like "marcus" im sure he would like you to join him for a meal .Also another time i went i met a lady from scotland on the beach who was on her own we spent the 2 weeks going to the beach and having dinner every evening she wasnt one for clubbing so i use to go out on my own and met some women from manchester find a bar you are comfortable with going in on your own you will be suprised how other holiday makers and people who live there chat to you, you will be ok:tinysmile_fatgrin_t

[j3nfx]

Thank you. I am sure I will be fine but you lot are really great at putting people at ease.
Like I said the only thing that makes me nervous is eating alone but I have changed hotels to the castillo which I believe is self catering so I can eat there if I want.
May I ask which restaurant you eat in Tammie? I may give it a go as it has such a high recommendation.

I will of course let you know how I get on but I am sure I will be fine I have 4 books and a mp3 player ... can't be bad!

Jen x

[Tammie]

I use to eat at the le chef, but its now closed. I put a post on the woes of europa about it. I would sit at the table and chairs outide, some times take a book or magazine to read or just people watch, also use to go to the cocktail bar nice staff were working there the last time i was in pr.

[oor wullie]

I love to sit in a bar on my own, drinking a beer and watching the world go by , trouble is the bloody wife always able to find me...and goes and spoil my peace and quiet..

[Sunshine girl]

Thank you. I am sure I will be fine but you lot are really great at putting people at ease.
Like I said the only thing that makes me nervous is eating alone but I have changed hotels to the castillo which I believe is self catering so I can eat there if I want.
May I ask which restaurant you eat in Tammie? I may give it a go as it has such a high recommendation.

I will of course let you know how I get on but I am sure I will be fine I have 4 books and a mp3 player ... can't be bad!

Jen x
4 books!! I'd take more than that..I could read that the first day. Eating out would be the only drawback for me..When my husband goes with me I'm usually lying on the beach by myself anyway!! You will be fine. I would go at the drop of a hat as everyone is very froendly

[santino]

hope you have a great holiday :fatgrin: I've never travelled alone but i think it's a good place to start as everyone looks after you in both the bars and restaurants . good luck !:boozy:

[bfrank]

You'll be fine Jen, you know people in the Europa e.g. Chill & Carla in Pickwicks, (you can exchange your books in there too) and you'll never be alone in the Bistro, Alice will chat to you all night!!! You'll have a ball, and you never know the sun might even pop out to say hello:cool:

[deisegirl]

After our usual holiday in march, when my friends went home, i stayed for a week on my own ( also at the solana). you will be fine there, i wasn,t at all uneasy staying there on my own.
As for the days it was really relaxing and i read loads of books!!
At night it was also fine, met lots of people to chat too, puerto ricos a really friendly place!!
It was so good that im going back in the summer for SIX WEEKS!!!:tinysmile_fatgrin_t
You will have a ball!!!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!:boozy:

[j3nfx]

Well a quick run down of the holiday alone. It was excellent. I guess I cheated a little as I did already have a mate out there but the people are so friendly and nice that I feel I now have quite a few more friends out there.

The hardest bit I found was the travelling. The feeling of being so very alone watching families and couples getting excited toegther and just sitting in the corner reading my book just waiting to get there and back.

Once there I didn't bother at all. Eating out wasn't a problem after all and going to bars was very nice. I met Carla from Pickwicks am sure she is able to make anyone welcome so friendly and nice in there. I went in Chill Bar to see my friend where I was welcomed with open arms and made to feel comfortable and at ease instantly. Barbacoa was great for entertainment - even managed to throw knickers at a boy band one night!!

Didn't meet as many people on here as I should of done after all. But next time I still have people to meet so that is excellent.

The only place I didn't feel as comfy was the bottom centre I personally didn't feel as happy down there alone whereas at the Europa I felt people were much more inclusive and chatty. But thats just personal opinion after all. I could have just gone in the wrong places as I didn't go to many down there.

I wouldn't advise staying in the Castillo de Sol like I ended up doing. Had a few problems there but even managed to sort those on my own. At night it was quite dark in the complex and the steps up to it were a little testing when you were alone.

All in all a very successful holiday like I said hard bit for me was travelling the rest was easy enough and fun. Enjoyed every minute.

Good luck Tess I know you can do it and you will really enjoy it. Lots of people to meet and things to do and the best thing you can do what you want when you want as you have no one to disagree with you ...

xJenx

[Holly Dayze]

Glad to hear you had a great time. :)

[Holly Dayze]

Just been re-reading this thread as I'm off to PR on my own in a fortnight. I'm really excited about it, but also starting to feel a wee bit anxious. I'm noticing that most of the posts here by people travelling alone have talked mostly about eating and drinking in the Europa centre... I'm not likely to be up there much (if at all), so I hope I have a similar positive experience in the lower part of the resort. I'm sure I will. :boozy:

[oor wullie]

Don't worry Holly i'm comming with you lol...i've had enough of this bloody country....http://www.smilies-smilies.de/smilies/fahrzeug_smilies/flugzeug.gif (http://webkatalog.snukk.de)

[Holly Dayze]

Don't forget your bucket Wullie! ;)

[tess]

Holly you will have a ball no matter which part u stay in, unfortunately i didnt get to travel in Sept as my dad had recently passed away. It is definitely on my list of things to do for 2009 as well as finding a job to pay for the holiday. After reading all the comments on here i feel confident enough heading away on my own, as with Jen i think the travel there and back alone will be the test. God gave me the gift of speech and i tend to use it to the best of its advantage. enjoy your holiday and any tips you pick up on ur travels about us solo travellers will be more than welcome.

P.S. how do u apply suncream to ur back and hard to reach areas, hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmm there could be a market there for someone lol

[Holly Dayze]

P.S. how do u apply suncream to ur back and hard to reach areas, hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmm there could be a market there for someone lol
hehe I'm a bit worried about that one... I guess I'll have to try to find a volunteer! :wink:

Shame you didn't manage your holiday... hope you manage to get away in 2009. I'll let you know how I get on. :fatgrin:

[karen]

Buy one of the spray on suntan lotions that you dont need to rub in.
Its easy.

:fatgrin:

[Holly Dayze]

I still seem to manage to miss a bit in the middle of my back, but if I fail to find a volunteer then the spray it'll have to be! ;)

[MARCUS]

I still seem to manage to miss a bit in the middle of my back, but if I fail to find a volunteer then the spray it'll have to be! ;)

You know that i will be " in the area" to help out...........
:wink: Mr M x

[Holly Dayze]

Very kind of you to volunteer Marcus. ;) x

[sunny d]

I used to dread holidays alone, it was more the worry that id get lost, my luggage go missing, id have nobody to speak to,that id have to wear a tag /label like paddington bear mine saying if found please return to.. Like most things in this life, its never as bad as you think, i'd just go, do it, give it a try. When I was younger I was always off somewhere, with mates and on my own abroad, if you dont try it, you miss out and we all agree life too short not to go try something new:wink:
Travelling alone obviously take your commonsense, other than that youd be ok, theres always someone to speak to /hang out with and when you are out and about people i find will always talk to you. I know when ive been out to gran canaria with Graham , with or without the kids, i need time on my own, sometimes just a mooch about in the shops, sitting by the pool, or over the road for a drink people will always stop and have a chat. Its quite a friendly place, you see the same faces time and time again during the same hol, or over the years. In the afternoons usually ive found me,and or Graham be sat in the same bar daily in the centre just chatting and passing time with people.

[Holly Dayze]

Two more sleeps :fatgrin: and I can safely say that I'm no longer worried about going on my own... in fact I can't wait!!!!!!!! :wink: My suitcase is packed already! lol

[nina]

have a great holiday,and save some sun for us coming on the 5th

[Holly Dayze]

Thanks nina :)

Shame I'm leaving the day you arrive... hopefully we'll all get our fair share of the sunshine.

[tess]

have a ball holly dayze, i'm def planning a trip this year, dont care if have to beg borrow or steal lol

[Holly Dayze]

Well I survived! I'll post more when I thaw out........ brrrrrrrrrrrrr it's bluddy cold back here!

[tess]

Hiya,

Can i assume by the "bbbbrrrrrrrrrrr" that you are not happy to be back home and wish you were back in PR. Hope you had a great time and wait in anticipation to hear how you got on and any helpful tips for the rest of us who are planning on travelling on our own some.

[twinkletoes1471]

I got back from Lanzarote last Thursday night and can't wait to get back on the plane again next week, Puerto Rico here I come,
I'm travelling on my own and it doesn't worry me 1 little bit, the kids will be safely at home with their nan and not missing any school, my only problem will be which pub to go to 1st, Pickwicks might be top of the list at the moment folks so if you can suggest another in close proximity to Europa Centre then feel free to let me know, 9 days to lift off!
see you all in P R soon xxx:wink:

[Holly Dayze]

Hiya,

Can i assume by the "bbbbrrrrrrrrrrr" that you are not happy to be back home and wish you were back in PR. Hope you had a great time and wait in anticipation to hear how you got on and any helpful tips for the rest of us who are planning on travelling on our own some.
Not happy to be home at all! Real life sucks! lol

Not sure I can offer much in the way of tips. My holiday didn't turn out quite as I expected... I learned that I'm not quite as happy in my own company as I thought, and I'm not as confident as I thought either. :blush:

My week started very well... had a bit of a dip in the middle (New Year, so was still better than being alone at home!)... and ended on a nice high. :fatgrin:

I met a few forum members, which was a pleasure indeed. And I met some old friends too.

I will go alone again, however I'll do things a bit differently... one of the main things being I would try to stay somewhere with a pool bar. My privately owned apartment was too quiet. I need to work on getting over worrying about what people think of seeing a woman out alone. I found it extremely difficult to go into restaurants on my own... thankfully I didn't have to every night :wink: ... and found it even more difficult to go into bars on my own. I now have a couple of bars I feel I can go into for a quiet drink... but I'm still not sure I could go into somewhere like Harleys on my own... which was one place I was looking forward to going without my girls in tow! lol

All in all I did have a great time though. The weather was fantastic after my first day when it rained. And I had a couple of really nice nights out in good company. :boozy:

[Sapphoxxx]

I went alone a few years ago for a week of relaxation at the end of the year when no-one else had holidays/spare money left. I was perfectly happy to sit by the pool all day and I booked half board so that I didn't have to go into restaurants on my own. On top of that, I would have been perfectly happy sitting on my balcony in the evening having a few G&T's. First day there, I met another girl on her own down beside the pool, who in turn introduced me to a few other people who where travelling alone and that resulted in us going out for meals every night (a blessing as the hotel meals were not the best) and we were out most nights till well into the small hours as well. Not quite the relaxing holiday I expected, I don't even think I read 1 of the books out of the 4 I packed but I made some great friends and I really appreciated the company. The only thing I didn't really like was travelling to the airport alone and the flight, it's really boring when you've no company in the airport and time seemed to drag.

[tess]

Hi Hollydayze,

I understand how u felt, i wont walk into a bar at home on my own and dont think i would be any different away, eating out i feel would be a bit of a problem, the laid back no rush atmosphere in restaurants would be a bit iffy, not having someone to chat to while u wait for ur meal to arrive, oops i think i will have to re-think my strategy plan. and here was i only worrying about applying suncreams lol. Its nice when u meet up with other forumers but u dont want to outstay ur welcome either............ maybe i can hire a friend for holidays and then rent them out to others. Any offers

[Holly Dayze]

lol I thought I had hired out a friend, but it didn't quite work out that way... ;) (I think I outstayed my welcome!! :blush: )

I did manage to go and have a couple of meals on my own. I found it easier to go early evening, straight from the beach, with my book and the sunset to watch.

I took Karen's advice and got spray sun tan lotion which was fine... not sure I'd like to risk it in high summer though.