The Sanctuary of Solo Travel

Entrepreneur and philanthropist, Zoë Watson is a successful Australian business woman whose personal solo travel journey led her to set up a holistic escape company for women. Here, she shares some of her top tips for travelling on your own, highlighting some very practical and some more emotional necessities.

Holidaymakers aren’t as predictable as they used to be. The world offers a more diverse and accessible travel market with previous niches becoming the norm and those hard to reach places becoming reachable. One of the biggest changes is who we go on holiday with, ourselves. It’s no longer restricted to family friendly resorts, romantic weekend breaks or a fun-packed getaway with friends – as the world becomes more accessible we are becoming braver and stepping out to explore the world on our own.

All you need do is attend a dinner party or two and you will hear about travels and adventures all over the world, from a stressed out mum needing some ‘me time’ to a workaholic spending her spa weekend solo. And it seems that even more of us are due to jump on the bandwagon this year.

A recent survey revealed that 69% of Brits say they’ll be flying solo when it comes to their next holiday and that’s not all – 29% said they want to explore a new destination – we are feeling brave aren’t we?!

Not content on simply going it alone, we also don’t want to communicate with anyone back in the office while we’re busy escaping, with 75% of us wanting to completely unplug from our jobs. We need to doth our berets at the French here who have just won their big unplug movement giving French workers the ‘right to disconnect’ outside of work hours. The whole point of a holiday is to relax, unwind and forget about the stresses and strains of work so you can go back to normal life refreshed and ready to go. There’s even been an increase in retreats that specialise in ‘no technology holidays’ where all phones, laptops, tablets and anything else with plugs and buttons are banned.

The biggest statistic from this survey was a massive 230% increase in traffic to women-only travel companies. As the owner of a woman’s only retreat in Bali, this resonated with my whole reason for starting this business in understanding there is a real need for us to take more time out. I speak to women every day who have felt the need to escape everything and everyone and to reconnect with themselves. It’s like a reset button: stop, and take-stock, refocus and then you’re ready to go again. Most women I meet are frantically juggling families, careers, homes, friends and other commitments leaving precious little time for themselves. This fast-paced and demanding lifestyle can only be maintained for so long before we reach burn-out which is exactly what happened to me and why I started Bliss Sanctuary for Women.

However, it can be difficult sometimes to take the solo travel plunge, and equally hard to know how to make the most of your travel time. Here are some top tips for those of you heading out into the world on your own:

The Flight – Make Sure You’re Comfortable 

• Always pack a comfortable pillow even ifit’s one of those ‘U’ shaped neck pillows you can buy in airports. If you’re comfortable you’ll hopefully sleep and that’s always important when traveling as it can be hard work.
• Always have a pair of leggings, warm socks and a cardigan or wrap of some sort – night flights can get really cold.
• I have a large light handbag that I can put under the seat in front with everything I need at arm’s length.
• To stay fresh carry a spritzer for yourface to keep your skin hydrated and a cream for face, hands, arms and legs.
• Some carriershave in-flight entertainment designed for your tablet or phone, so it’s worthwhile investing in some headphones before you leave and ensure you download your favourite music and movies.

Luggage 

• I find it’s worthwhile having hand luggage on wheels so if you’re stuck in lines you don’t have heavy bags weighing you down.
• If you’re backpacking that’s a whole different scenario.Make sure everything is lightweight and your backpack is the right size and weight for you.

The Language 

• Always try to learn at least a few phrases in another language… hello, goodbye, thankyou, excuse me, and learn the word for toilet! I learnt that after traveling to China and needing the toilet urgently in a department store. After playing charades with lots of squatting, the girls still had no idea what I meant and there was no signage to point to. Lucky I saw a McDonalds sign just in time and ran for it!

Combat Loneliness 

• One of the hardest thingsabout traveling on your own can be loneliness. Although you do meet many other people when on your own, there are also times – usually mealtimes – when you can feel a bit exposed. Couples seem to stare at you rather than speaking to each other and not all of us can go up to every person we see. So arm yourself with a good book or an electronic device. Mealtimes are a good time to catch up on Facebook, download photos, send emails or even Skype. In many countries restaurants have free Wi-Fi!
• Music is agreat way to elevate your mood.  

For more tips visit Zoe’s blog on solo travel www.blisssanctuaryforwomen.com