Solo travel advice & recommendations

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Notworthy said:
My (Male) Osteo travels a lot on his own. He just came back from S. Africa and from what he said, it's not a place for tourists right now let alone single female tourists so anyone contemplating it, probably better to consider Namibia or Botswana. He's travelled all through S. America with no qualms but he said S. Africa was a whole different ballgame, he couldn't even stand outside the Hotel to wait for his cab in case he was kidnapped.
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yikes, what part of south africa was he in?!? i have family who go to cape town (in particular) very frequently and love it. my sister also went there as a solo traveller a little while back (and she’s a seasoned solo traveller who was literally been everywhere). the only place i’ve really heard bad things about was pretoria!
 
There’s a Facebook group called girls love travel. I don’t spend a lot of time in there but I have joined and I use group search bar for specific questions. Lots of travel around the world and lots of helpful tips from women travelers. Could be helpful for specific questions.

Also solo travel blogs or Reddit are helpful as I don’t love watching long form video. I’m old. Just give me answers asap 😂
 
Former_Antelopee said:
I have heard the same so put me off. Someone told me they don’t stop at traffic lights at night they just carry on as people will kidnap you from cars, and they have a gun under the car seat.
They lock you in the rooms at night to prevent break ins.
Even just coming out the airport at one airport you come out in a cage and there are people there at the cage shouting and spitting at you.
I’ve been told to look at Kenya apparently felt safer and better wildlife
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I have heard the same, apparently the soun of shootings is just all over the place. People I know went and thought it was a car backfiring or something and the taxi driver (pretty nonplussed) said it wS probably a shooting
 
Notworthy said:
My (Male) Osteo travels a lot on his own. He just came back from S. Africa and from what he said, it's not a place for tourists right now let alone single female tourists so anyone contemplating it, probably better to consider Namibia or Botswana. He's travelled all through S. America with no qualms but he said S. Africa was a whole different ballgame, he couldn't even stand outside the Hotel to wait for his cab in case he was kidnapped.
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This is all absolute bollocks
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LaBlonde said:
yikes, what part of south africa was he in?!? i have family who go to cape town (in particular) very frequently and love it. my sister also went there as a solo traveller a little while back (and she’s a seasoned solo traveller who was literally been everywhere). the only place i’ve really heard bad things about was pretoria!
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Yeah, people talking absolute rubbish about SA. I've just been for two weeks and go often. No worse than some parts of America and far safer than South America
 
OnlyHereForTheLolz said:
This is all absolute bollocks
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Yeah, people talking absolute rubbish about SA. I've just been for two weeks and go often. No worse than some parts of America and far safer than South America
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My Osteo is a youngish Male and well travelled, he frequently disappears off for a couple of months of travelling and that was his experience of S. Africa. It's safe only if you take extreme care. When he stood outside the Hotel waiting for his cab (as is pretty normal behaviour) He was told to go back in and wait inside until the cab showed up as there was a risk of kidnapping. My Son went a few years ago with his School and it wasn't like that at all. The situation is deteriorating and caution is needed at all times. Caution somewhere like Rome where you get pickpocketed is one thing, having to be cautious because there is a risk of kidnapping is a whole different level. He spent 2 months travelling through Colombia and didn't experience anything like that.
 
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Notworthy said:
My Osteo is a youngish Male and well travelled, he frequently disappears off for a couple of months of travelling and that was his experience of S. Africa. It's safe only if you take extreme care. When he stood outside the Hotel waiting for his cab (as is pretty normal behaviour) He was told to go back in and wait inside until the cab showed up as there was a risk of kidnapping. My Son went a few years ago with his School and it wasn't like that at all. The situation is deteriorating and caution is needed at all times. Caution somewhere like Rome where you get pickpocketed is one thing, having to be cautious because there is a risk of kidnapping is a whole different level. He spent 2 months travelling through Colombia and didn't experience anything like that.
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He’s talking absolute crap and I would reconsider he’s exaggeration abilities.
 
Notworthy said:
My Osteo is a youngish Male and well travelled, he frequently disappears off for a couple of months of travelling and that was his experience of S. Africa. It's safe only if you take extreme care. When he stood outside the Hotel waiting for his cab (as is pretty normal behaviour) He was told to go back in and wait inside until the cab showed up as there was a risk of kidnapping. My Son went a few years ago with his School and it wasn't like that at all. The situation is deteriorating and caution is needed at all times. Caution somewhere like Rome where you get pickpocketed is one thing, having to be cautious because there is a risk of kidnapping is a whole different level. He spent 2 months travelling through Colombia and didn't experience anything like that.
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i would really love to know what part! as i said above, my sister was a solo traveller there and drove herself also - and felt fine about it. there are iffy spots (as with anywhere) and she was recommended to avoid townships and got a lot of warnings about pretoria in particular but she’s a seasoned traveller and it was really no different to going anywhere (like going to a city in the us and being told the no go areas). my parents also go very frequently, again seasoned travellers, and said the same.

to be told not to stand outside your hotel or someone will kidnap you is something i would only expect from an extremely hostile and dangerous environment. i can’t see that was the case in cape town (as an example) which still has a large tourist population from all over. serious crimes on tourists are also extremely rare in most places because the criminals just don’t want to get involved with the embassies or international police forces.

it is relative though i guess! i’ve been all over, in particular the us, and the only place i truly felt unsafe was new orleans. my sister has been all over the world and the only place she truly felt unsafe was egypt. yet other people have told me the exact opposite about both these places!
 
LaBlonde said:
valencia is a great shout! beautiful, with so much to see and, like you say, amazing in june.

also hugely enjoyed seville (also in june): again a lot of history to see but also lots of opportunities to chill out (and great food).
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Seville is also great, as is granada (you can go to amazing Arabic style spas which are amazing ) but with the crazy heatwave andalusia has been experiencing atm might be too hot
 
SpindleWhorl said:
I have 2 weeks off in June, solo holiday needs booking today. Need somewhere in the med, hot, sunny, beaches, affordable but with history and culture as well. Any ideas?
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I know it's not immediately appealing but I'd look at one of the beach resorts in mainland Spain. If you stay on the outskirts you bypass all the 'all day breakfast' crew completely and you benefit from beaches and easy access to lots of great cities. I stayed in Calella down the coast from Barcelona and got the train in. You can also get to Valencia really easily. These resorts tend not to be popular with Brits so much these days but the beaches are great. Great value too.
 
emm said:
Seville is also great, as is granada (you can go to amazing Arabic style spas which are amazing ) but with the crazy heatwave andalusia has been experiencing atm might be too hot
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have been to Valencia and Seville. Loved both. Both easy to get around and explore as a solo traveler. but the heat in Andalucía is intense in the summer.

If you go to Seville there’s an Arabic spa called Aire that is amazing. I didn’t do any massage but just did the pools and I can’t recommend it enough.
 
petitspois said:
I know it's not immediately appealing but I'd look at one of the beach resorts in mainland Spain. If you stay on the outskirts you bypass all the 'all day breakfast' crew completely and you benefit from beaches and easy access to lots of great cities. I stayed in Calella down the coast from Barcelona and got the train in. You can also get to Valencia really easily. These resorts tend not to be popular with Brits so much these days but the beaches are great. Great value too.
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Sitges, just a bit outside Barcelona, is really nice
 
SpindleWhorl said:
I have 2 weeks off in June, solo holiday needs booking today. Need somewhere in the med, hot, sunny, beaches, affordable but with history and culture as well. Any ideas?
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Booked 3 nights in Milan - been before but plan to do day trips to Turin and Verona, or maybe Varenna for a swim in Lake Como. And then getting the train to the coast near Portofino and staying for 7 nights there for walking/swimming/sunning. So that's 10 nights in total x
 
SpindleWhorl said:
Booked 3 nights in Milan - been before but plan to do day trips to Turin and Verona, or maybe Varenna for a swim in Lake Como. And then getting the train to the coast near Portofino and staying for 7 nights there for walking/swimming/sunning. So that's 10 nights in total x
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Milan is very nice and actually underrated, be sure to go to the navigli area for aperitivo in the evening! Turin is also very nice but I went so long ago I have no advice. Enjoy!
 
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