Home :: Travel Resources
Solo Travel Clubs and Networks
Solo-Friendly Tour Companies
Single Parents
Around the World
About the World
Planet Navigation
Transportation
Working and Learning Vacations
Cultural/Language Immersion Travel
Health
The Basics
Money
Travel Safety
Insurance Companies and Comparison Sites
Solo Travel Clubs and Networks
Though some of the networks described below use the word, "singles" these companies run trips for "solo" travelers - any traveler who is traveling without a companion regardless of marital or partner status. These are not romantic matchmaking services, though several such travel organizations exist and are easily searchable on the Web. The "matching" refers to roommates to avoid the single supplement.
www.BootsnAll.com - A comprehensive resources site for the "independent traveler."
503-528-1005.
Connecting: Solo Travel Network
Members communicate through a bi-monthly newsletter. Offers reader recommendations for solo-friendly homestays, bed and breakfasts and hotels. 800-557-1757.
O Solo Mio
Organizes solo traveler group tours. Single supplement waived through room sharing.
800-959-8568.
Singles Travel International
Organizes cruises and tours for solo travelers only. Guaranteed roommate if clients pay in full by the final payment date. If the company cannot find a roommate, it will waive the single supplement. 877-SOLO-TRIP (765-6874).
TravelChums
A travel companion-matching site.
Solo-Friendly Tour Companies
The World Outdoors
Off-the-beaten path worldwide active adventures for small groups of no more than 13 travelers. Fifty percent of the guests are solo travelers who may choose from a mixed group of families and couples or a group composed entirely of solo travelers. Single supplement range: $170 to $695 on trips costing $1,595 to $2,695. Room shares available. 800-488-8483. I went on the company's "Grand Canyon Rambler" in 1999, and I took advantage of their roomshare program to avoid the single supplement.
Classic Journeys
International and domestic cultural walking adventures for small groups. More than one-third of the customers are solo travelers. Single supplement range: $285 to $750 depending on itineraries that cost from $2,565 to $2,995. Room shares available. 800-200-3887.
Grand Circle Travel
Worldwide operator that caters to travelers 50 years of age and older. Offers large group bus tours and a limited number of single rooms at no additional charge on some trips. Single supplement range: $295 to $925 on trips that cost $1,395 to $1,995. Room shares available. 800-955-1034.
Overseas Adventure Travel
Sister organization to Grand Circle Travel. Specializes in physically active international tours for groups of 10-16 travelers. Single supplement range: $250 to $1,840 on trips ranging in cost from $1,490 to $3,790. Room shares available. 800-955-1925. I've traveled with OAT to Peru (2001), Nepal (2001), and Morocco (2002), and I've taken advantage of its roomshare program.
Asia Transpacific Journeys
Below-the-surface cultural adventure travel. It offers small group tours but also specializes in customized travel programs for independent groups and solo travelers. This was the company that my travel agent used to create the Asia portion of my new world itinerary when my cruise went bankrupt.
Single Parents
Single Parent Travel
Information, resources and community for single adults traveling with children.
Around the World
Air Tickets/Multi-stop International Airfares
www.BootsnAll.com offers a round-the-world trip planner.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about my trip around the world.
About the World
Hillman's Wonders of the World/The Top 100 Wonders
A user-friendly and informative ranking of the world's greatest wonders and locales.
CIA World Fact Book
Search any country in the world and get the facts. Just the facts.
Planet Navigation
World Atlas.com
A comprehensive, user-friendly world resource broken out into neat categories such as deepest lakes, major rivers, youngest countries, hottest/coldest/driest/wettest and largest cities on the planet.
How Far Is It?
Calculate the distance between any two places on the map.
Mapblast
Find any international address and corresponding map.
Transportation
Run the Planet
From Antarctica to Zimbabwe, this site offers 2,908 descriptions of where to run and walk in 2,179 cities around the world.
RoadTrip America
North American road trip information. Includes safety tips and resources for solo travelers.
Working and Learning Vacations
The Working Vacation
This company invites well informed, interesting, personable and polished individuals onto cruise ships as presenters, speakers, instructors, activity leaders and chaplains. Click on "Presenters" for more information. I went on a "Working Vacation" with this company in 1992 as a health lecturer.
Looking for something to do Shaw Guides
Learning vacations and creative career programs while traveling.
Cultural/Language Immersion Travel
CCI Language School
Offers short- and long-term "Discovery Abroad" programs for teens and adults, which include foreign language schools, independent homestays, college and high school abroad, internships, youth and group programs.
Go Abroad
Teach, work, volunteer or study overseas.
Global Volunteers
A nonprofit organization that places volunteers in 150 programs in 19 countries, including the United States.
Global Volunteer Network
A non profit organization that places volunteers in community projects in China, Ecuador, Ghana, Nepal, New Zealand, Romania, Russia, Thailand, and Uganda.
HomeLink International
Fee-based home exchange organization.
International Travel News
There's good information on its website, but the 200-page monthly print magazine is phenomenal.
Peace Corps
It's never too late to join. In fact, the corps is actively recruiting for volunteers age 50 and over.
Servas International
An international, non-governmental, non profit organization founded on a platform of understanding, tolerance and world peace. They offer a "hosts" and "travelers" homestay network.
Transitions Abroad Magazine
A guide to learning, living and working overseas.
Health
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
International Association for Medical Assistance to Travelers
The Basics
Passports and Visas
Money
X-rates.com
Calculate conversions from one currency to another with three clicks of the mouse.
Travel Safety
Articles
Information and Instinct: Your Keys to Safety and Security When Traveling Solo
Safe Travel: A Little Research Goes a Long Way
No Terrorist Is Going To Stop My Travel Plans
State Department Travel Warnings
"Fifty Travel Safety Tips for Women Travelers" by Detective Kevin Coffey.
i-Prepare.com
Emergency supplies.
Country-specific Women-friendliness Rating
I define "Women-friendliness" as a function of perceived safety, degrees of unwanted male attention and cultural responses toward women that might render travel in a particular region anywhere from frustrating to dangerous.
I developed this at-a-glance rating system during my trip around the world. It is a snapshot of my experience in a particular area of a given country, the details of which I share in each "Journey With Gina" column. It does not, and cannot, reflect the ethos of an entire nation.
Women-Friendly Factor Scale:
1. Don't walk alone.
2. Walk alone, but carry a big stick.
3. Walk alone but dress from neck to wrist to ankle.
4. Walk alone and chat with everyone.
5. Walk alone, even at night, and accept reasonable invitations.
Insurance Companies and Comparison Sites
Health isn't the only issue when traveling. The coverage for trip cancellation, theft, supplier default or negligence, legal services, terrorist threats and acts of terrorism are other considerations. Also, benefits differ from company to company and depend on whether travelers purchase a "retail" policy directly from an insurance provider or travel agent or a "wholesale" policy from tour operators or other third parties. The choice and extent of insurance coverage also depend on travelers' perception of personal risk, which can vary from trip to trip and throughout stages of life.
CSA Travel Protection
Travel Guard
Access America
Insuremytrip.com
Travel insurance comparison site.
Quotetravelinsurance.com
Travel insurance comparison site.
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