GOING IT ALONE: 8 Great Solo-friendly Vacations

YES YOU CAN leave the guilt, kids, spouse, BFF, or significant other behind and set off solo for your next vacation. Increasing numbers of savvy travelers are doing just that and returning home the better for it.

Single or not, male or female, on a budget or ready to splurge, looking to learn or seeking solitude, traveling on your own is so much easier when you take out the guesswork.

To get you started, here’s a selection of best bets for solo-friendly travel in 2011.

CITY BREAK: San Francisco, California

Perched on the hilly edge of culinary, high-tech, music and seriously funky good times, San Francisco is one of the planet’s most eclectic and dynamic cities. With its fabled cable cars, stunning vistas, distinctive neighborhoods and innovative food scene, no-matter what your budget, this city features enough sensory delights to round out a vibrant and happening city break. www.OnlyInSanFrancisco.com

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE: US National Parks

Fall asleep to a chorus of howling wolves, cycle an alligator-strewn loop, or bed down with bears as your only neighbors. You don’t have to go far to enjoy the wilderness experience of a lifetime thanks to the U.S. National Park System. The network of mountain, desert, coastal and wetland parks are brimming with wildlife. With 394 areas covering more than 84 million acres in every state (except Delaware), there are plenty of places to put you in the presence of eagles, buffalo, whales and some 400 endangered species. The parks are readily accessible to be explored independently or with organized tours. www.nps.gov

ADRENALIN RUSH: Heli-skiing, Canadian Mountain Holidays (CMH)

Canadian Mountain Holidays invented heli-skiing in the Bugaboo Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, and that’s no surprise: home to some of the best snow conditions in the world, it’s an absolutely prime location for making fresh tracks solo style. And after a day of letting it rip Warren Miller style, you’ll head back to one of CMH’s 11 luxury lodges to relax, recuperate and recount the day’s adventures in style and comfort. Whether you ski or board, are a strong skier or never skied, CMH heli-skiing is the ultimate adrenalin rush. Be sure to check out their heli-hiking and summer adventures, too. www.CanadianMountainHolidays.com

LIVE AND LEARN: ShawGuides.com Learning Vacations

Return home from vacation this year with something more than snapshots and souvenirs to show off. Instead, impress em’ with your newfound knowledge and enjoy yourself while you’re at it. Whether it’s a Tuscany culinary adventure, learning the tango in Buenos Aires, or brushing up your language skills in Spain, Shaw Guides, an Internet directory for travel learning opportunities, offers a road map for new experiences, destinations and journeys of discovery. www.ShawGuides.com

THE LUXE LIFE: Aman Resorts, Worldwide

Amanjunkies have been known to criss-cross the globe just for a fix. Stay in any one of the small luxury Aman Resorts in Asia, Europe, or North America and you’ll understand why. Amazing properties in extraordinary settings boasting exquisite service and exotic graciousness, is an elixir that’s highly addictive. From the turquoise waters and powder-fine white-sand beaches of the Turks and Caicos Islands to action-packed days on the slopes in the fashionable French Alps to meditating in Rajasthan, an Aman getaway will leave you loving the luxe life. www.AmanResorts.com

VOLUNTEER: Elephant Adventure Park, Chiang Mai, Thailand

If you get that warm and fuzzy feeling from being part of something special while gaining insight into a foreign place, the Elephant Adventure Park, a unique elephant rescue project in Chiang Mai, Thailand, is a volunteer vacation to consider. While you help feed, bathe, and get to know the stories and spirit of the individual elephants, every volunteer baht goes towards elephant conservation, habitat restoration, and creating awareness. Better still, the program is suitable for all ages. www.ElephantNaturePark.org For additional voluntourism opportunities visit www.TheVoluntaryTraveler.com

BODY, MIND AND SPIRIT: Canyon Ranch Hotel & Spa Miami Beach

Since opening in 2008, a growing chorus is singing the praises of the trendsetting Canyon Ranch Hotel & Spa in Miami Beach as a premier escape to reawaken your spirit, refresh your soul, and seduce your inner bliss. Overachievers will love the two-story climbing wall, though sybarites tend to make a beeline for one of the 54 treatment rooms or four soothing pools. Shed some stress with morning walks on the beach, delicious nourishing meals, and top health and wellness experts who may even give you a new outlook on life. But be forewarned: You may never want to come back. www.CanyonRanchMiamiBeach.com

WHITEWATER THRILLS: Rafting the Grand Canyon with O.A.R.S. 

If whitewater thrills are topping your Life List, then look no further than a Colorado River Grand Canyon rafting vacation. O.A.R.S. president and founder, George Wendt, was one of the first ever to go down the Grand Canyon’s Colorado River in a raft. Today, with more experience running the Colorado River than any other outfitter out there, O.A.R.S. Grand Canyon rafting vacations are recognized as one of the best vacation experiences on the planet. And unlike many lodge-based adventures where trip prices are based on double occupancy rates, there’s no single supplement. www.oars.com

Photo: © Ellen Barone. 

Comments

[Forte Village Resort]

The places that you mentioned seems beautiful one for solo fun.
But I think that it would be a waste of time and also wastage of the place itself to go on a vacation or to go and enjoy a place solo. As in my personal view I cannot have any enjoyment without my friends or my family member to company me. Also if i am alone than I will surely find any person to give me a company.
Thanks for the blog and keep sharing your information.
http://www.remarkablevacations.net/luxury-nile-cruises.html

[Donna Davidge]

Dear Ellen: While these are wonderful vacations there are so many options out there beyond the Canyon Ranch experience for wellness these days. Our small retreat is one as you know and we have had people who have gone to the larger places like Canyon Ranch with mega treatments but are looking for something simpler where they can also come without anyone else. We often get people saying that they had thought of coming with a friend but really needed this alone time to process their own place in life in the hands of someone who just lets them be- and does everything else for them..at a great price too. We are near Mt Katahdin and Baxter State Park and other beautiful hikes and lakes in an historic B and B where TR did much the same thing tho he hikes more and hunted too! Sewall House/ Island Falls Maine

[Ellen Barone]

You're right, Donna. Small, intimate Inns like Sewall House provide a great alternative for a wellness vacation. You're definitely on my wanderlist!

Thanks for sharing,

Ellen