I take most of my vacations alone. I like exploring cities or small coastal towns by walking around, visiting shops and talking to the locals. I don't like hunting or camping, but I don't want to take that enjoyment away from others, so separate vacations work. Generally, we are not on vacation at the same time, either.

Not a whole vacation but I meet a girlfriend at Disney World once and she had to leave a day before me. I spent a day there by myself. It was a little strange but also really great. I had no one to please but myself! I did exactly what I wanted. It helped that the weather was perfect (this was November) and the parks weren't crowded.

Another time I had to drive across country by myself. I took an extra day and stopped and did some stuff that interested me. I toured Graceland, Andrew Jackson's Hermitage, went to the Grand Ole Opry, and toured some caves in Virginia. I had fun!

Yes. But the first few days I go away by myself can be disorienting because I am used to a busy household with spouse and children. Because I'm so involved with my family, being away and not having to think about how I'm going to fit everything around other people feels like one of the most luxurious things in the world. As for destinations, I have gone to yoga retreats alone (but usually meet nice people so it's not entirely solo.) I also once rented a house at the beach, I was there for 4 days by myself than a friend came for 5 days. I also go to work related conferences on my own all the time. My husband travels a lot on business leaving me alone with our kids/pets and doing things separately is fairly routine for us. He is about to go to Europe for vacation on his own, btw.

I often take vacations by myself. IN fact, I am leaving soon for a few days in the Finger Lakes region by myself.

I go to Cape Cod often on my own. Their are plusses and minuses to each. One time a took a friend along to Cape Cod. It was nice to have company to go out to dinner and on some tours, but she almost drove me nuts with incessant calls to her family on her cell phone. I like to enjoy the quiet and beauty of a beach, not listen to what her sisters have been doing. She also turned on the tv in the morning, and I prefer quiet mornings on the deck. Oh well.

I do hate eating in restaurants alone, but for the most part I like being free to do things as I please.

Going on a vacation alone is different than going on a vacation without your husband. I've taken trips to see friends without my DH and he's taken ski or camping trips without me. And when I have the house to myself, that's almost like a vacation! But I've never purposely planned and taken a trip by myself. I took a 'marriage/motherhood breather' at a hotel several years ago but that wasn't a vacation since I was still going to work. I'd probably enjoy a few days of a retreat type vacation by myself - you know, yoga, hiking, seminars, spa stuff..... where there are specific activities. But I'm not sure I'd enjoy really exploring a new place alone, in this country or another. I'd constantly be thinking that I have to remember to tell DH about this thing and that. He's my buddy and sharing experiences with him is part of what makes us tick.

But I'm not sure I'd enjoy really exploring a new place alone, in this country or another. I'd constantly be thinking that I have to remember to tell DH about this thing and that. He's my buddy and sharing experiences with him is part of what makes us tick.

Yes, I know what you mean. That's why the ideal situation for me is a trip where he has something to do during the day, and I can have time to myself to explore. Not that I don't like doing some exploring with my DH, but too much togetherness can just be - too much! We went to Mexico together for a week this year for our anniversary, and the day that he suggested that I spend the rest of the afternoon shopping alone while he stayed by the pool to read I practically skipped out the door. I was so relieved to be alone!

I started going to NYC completely alone in 2007. I loved/love it. I had to really take my brave pills as I had never one anything quite so daring before.

I got off the plane at LaGuardia and took Dial 7 car into the city. I took my stuff up to my DB's apt . and immediately went right back out and walked to the local bicycle shop. I had planned exhaustively all the things I wanted to see and do prior to the initial visit.

Within 2 hrs of getting off the plane I had a bicycle and was riding in Central Park ! I stayed 2 weeks !! Lots of trips later to NYC and I am an old hand now at going anywhere and everywhere alone. Never ever would you have been able to tell me that I would like doing this or be good at it. It feels like a second home to me and I know where everything is and how to get anywhere I want to go and how to get tickets and shop for food etc.

I have rented a cabin alone in North Alabama and biked and run alone for 3 days up there. I have traveled to Arkansas and MS alone to do ultramarathons.

Now I go on my bike trips. While not alone all the time I am on my own all the time. Two months at a time. Last year I stayed on for 2 days alone in San Diego. I then took the train alone back to AL. This year I stayed on for one day alone in Bar Harbor and flew home to Atlanta. I have become quite the adventurer.

I can't think of others but I know there have been. Go for it !!!

I am working on my next one....once you do it you will never look back. Start small and work up. It really is a growing experience and one I am so glad I pursued. c

I did a 3 week trip in Alaska alone. It was wonderful! Of course, this was before I was married with children.

Oh, I just remembered another semi-solo trip I took. When my daughter was in HS she wanted to go to a 3 day camp/seminar at the Art Institute in San Diego. We weren't comfortable with the idea of her going flying down there alone, so we both flew down, then we spent the first and last few nights in the hotel together, and I had the 3 days/nights to myself while she was at the seminar where she had separate lodging. It was great, spending time there by myself. I have also gone on shopping weekends by myself, but never an entire vacation solo.

Only once. I went away for a long weekend to a spa/hotel for my 40th birthday. I loved it, but by the 3rd day I was talking to strangers everywhere. It was weird to be alone for that long! As a mom of 3 kids and 3 dogs, I looooved not having a schedule and not having anyone asking me for anything for that whole weekend!

Before I married, I took many vacations alone. I did 6 months in Europe and 2 weeks in Japan by myself. The biggest downside to that is there isn't anyone who shares the same memories. I kept a journal & have photos but I can't turn to someone and say remember when we did such & such. It wasn't a big enough downside to stop me from traveling but it was/is a downside to solo travel.

Since my marriage, a number of times I've been in HHI for a few weeks alone. I travel to Switzerland every year without my DH but I stay with my sister & her family so I'm not alone.

I think it's healthy and important to do this, in MY MARRIAGE (I have no idea what anyone else needs). Some people are joined at the hip but we would find that stifling. This works for us. I'm more interested in traveling and he prefers to work & stay home. Everybody is happy.

We just spent 4 days in DC and had a great mix of time apart and together. We have things to share and also things to tell each other about later.

Years ago, my DH told me I earn 1 week of vacation for every year married. I asked if I could bank the weeks I don't use and cash them in later. So far I haven't taken all my allotted weeks.

I went to Disney World by myself when I was in my mid-twenties. I'd never been there as a child, had always wanted to go, and didn't have close friends nearby at the time - I had recently spent a year in England (after heading there on my own after college) and was in kind of a strange place in life, where I wasn't sure what to do next.

I was a little uncomfortable at times, since Disney is such a family-oriented place. But I ended up really enjoying myself and feeling proud that I was brave enough to do something I wanted without depending on anyone else. I've always been a bit of a loner, but was still self-conscious about eating alone at that point in life. Now, it wouldn't bother me.

Dedtired - I love Cape Cod and think that would be a great place to relax alone. My husband and I go there every few years, but this time I spent more time on my own. I really prefer shopping, visiting art galleries, etc. on my own terms.

Yes, the Cape is a good place to explore on your own. I also rented a very rustic (maybe too rustic?) cabin on the northern shore of Lake Winnipesaukee in NH one year. That was my first solo vacation. I have to admit that I do sometimes wish for someone to talk to and end up gabbing with the checkout clerks and others on tours. In Cape Cod, I made a friend in a nearby cottage and always look her up when I go back. I stay in Chatham.

I have other friends who are solo travelers and have no problem with eating dinner while sitting at the bar and chatting with people sitting there.

I think the trick is to schedule the trip to coincide with some event that will bring you into contact with others and then choose just how much/little contact you want. You meet all kinds of interesting people when you travel alone, taking intelligent precautions of course is important. You can also make the trip to a place where you have friends who you can see for dinner. Nighttimes alone sometimes feel long but you can plan for that.

I've done a few girls trips, but never totally alone. I don't have a desire to do a solo trip. Honestly, my husband is my preferred traveling companion.

tina

I've been on my own while travelling, either visiting my kids at their universities, and having a lot of time while waiting for them, or else having DH be occupied with conference calls for whole afternoons while in Europe, so I'll gladly take off no matter where we are. I've never purposely planned a vacation on my own though,
DH and I take those together but I could see that it's a preferred method for some couples.