Safety is an important aspect to keep in mind when traveling alone. When you are traveling alone in a foreign country, you may feel afraid because you aren’t familiar with the country’s culture or customs. However, it is important to act confident in what you are doing because con artists seek out people who appear naïve. Here are a few ways you can look more confident when you travel alone:
- Hold your head up. This will improve your visibility as you travel as well as make you appear more confident.
- Stand tall and keep your back straight. This will show that you are alert to your surroundings.
- Pull your shoulders slightly back so that they widen. This will make you appear more relaxed.
- Be alert. Constantly look around and be aware of where you are walking.
- Walk with determination, making it clear that you know where you’re going.
- Swing your arms naturally when you walk so that you appear calm.
- When standing still, stand with your feet apart (as much as 12 inches) and have your weight evenly distributed.
- Make brief eye contact with those around you. If you look at people’s eyes, you appear more trustworthy, and this will make it easier for the local people to accept you.
Safety is always important, especially when traveling solo. In most countries, the local people are very friendly and welcoming to travelers. So don’t worry too much and have fun!
Rather than traveling completely alone, if you’d be more comfortable with “safety in numbers”, join one of SoloMate’s amazing trips for solo travelers. We take groups of solo travelers to luxurious destinations all over the world such as Italy, Canada, Ireland, Peru, and more!
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“The unmarried are typically portrayed as unencumbered by family obligations, or even as self-centered individuals who do not help out in the community the way married couples do.” This, according to Dr. Naomi Gerstel, a University of Massachusetts sociologist. The fact is that unmarried adults pitch in with their parents more than their married siblings do, they help their neighbors more frequently than married counterparts do, and they have more friends – and treat them better than marrieds do.
Based on data collected by Dr. Gerstel, unmarried women are the most likely to pitch in with their aging parents: “While 68 percent of married women give help to their parents, 84 percent of the never-married provide such care.”
Let’s not forget those never-married men who help plenty too: 67 percent versus just 38 percent of husbands.
Even singles who have children are more likely than married people to contribute outside their immediate family.
We at SoloMate Travel have first-hand experience when it comes to the expectations placed on singles to care for those around us. It is very rewarding, but also quite stressful. We often can feel very overwhelmed and isolated. We are left feeling like there’s no way out and are afraid to ask for help. In many cases, there remains little time and energy to have fun and meet new people, and even less opportunity to take a vacation for singles.
Yet, it is so important to give ourselves a chance to recharge our batteries. We then return refreshed and stronger. We can once again be ready to take on life’s challenges. Time away can even allow us to reflect, and make difficult decisions about our own life, and the life of those we care so much about.
Our mission at SoloMate is to make it possible for singles to simply get away on a vacation geared especially to single travelers, without thinking about anything other than relaxing and enjoying their vacation with their single travel companions.
Now you have research to support you. You’re not alone, and your contributions to society in general, and to your family in particular, have been formally recognized. Let SoloMate Travel help you give yourself that break you so richly deserve. If you don’t feel comfortable going overseas or leaving for an extended period of time, SoloMate Travel offers short four day singles trips, closer to home.
There’s no need for you to worry about being out of touch during your much needed single travel adventure. Our Travel Directors are always in touch with our head-office through Facebook and Twitter, and by phone and email. Our single travelers can always be reached in case of emergency, and can let us know of any special situation that may require particular attention. Moreover, loved-ones back home can follow our singles travel group on Facebook or Twitter.
Visit our website at www.solomatetravel.com, or contact one of our Travel Experts at 1-855-290-7050 today to find out which one of our exciting singles vacations fits into your demanding schedule. We’re here for you.
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When traveling to a foreign city, museums are almost always on that long list of things to see and do, but admission fees can add up quickly. However, most museums throughout the world offer free admission on certain days. Moreover, many of the world’s most prestigious museums offer free access year-round. SoloMate Travel has assembled some useful information to help its solo travelers in their quest to visit the world’s best museums while minimizing costs. Single travelers beware: museum free days or museums that offer free admission are well suited to early risers.
Single travelers headed to Italy have many opportunities to visit a wide-range of museums free of charge throughout the year. For example, the Vatican Museum offers free access on the last Sunday of every month. The country also celebrates the arrival of spring with annual Spring Open Days, during which admission to all museums and archeological areas is free. Then, there’s an annual Culture Week in Italy - Settimana della Cultura – when single travelers to Italy can save dozens of Euros on visits to all state-run and most city-run museums and archeological sites, as they offer free entrance. Moreover, museums and galleries that are normally closed open their doors to the general public. This free museum week usually begins the weekend after Easter.
Get a cultural fix on International Museum Day, held on or around May 18 in museums the world over, and visit Buenos Aires’ government-owned museums for free. Special documentaries, free guided tours and other activities keep visitors entertained in the capital’s cultural institutions every year.
In the US, the Smithsonian Institution—the world’s largest museum and research complex— which includes 19 museums and galleries, and the National Zoological Park, offers free admission to most of its museums every day of the year.
For those solo travelers who elect to join SoloMate on its exciting singles adventure to China and Tibet in 2013, the Shanghai Museum, located in the center of the city, offers free admission year-round. This large museum showcases ancient Chinese art.
The National Museum of Ireland also puts its collection on display for free, so singles that travel to Ireland with SoloMate Travel are sure to have an enriching experience.
Montreal celebrates International Museum Day by granting free access to its plethora of fantastic museums, and even offers free public transit to help single travelers get from one exciting museum to the next in one day.
Of course, we cannot cover all the fascinating museums in the world, but contact SoloMate Travel now to enquire about museums located in the cities we will visit during your singles vacation.
Visit our Trips page at www.solomatetravel.com/trips/, or call 1-855-290-7050 to book the singles adventure of a lifetime now, and let SoloMate Travel help you Live, Connect, Explore!
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Though the exact origins of tango — both the dance and the word itself — are unclear, the generally accepted theory is that in the mid-1800s, African slaves were brought to Argentina and began to influence the local culture.
During the late 1800s and early 1900s, Argentina underwent a massive wave of immigration. Most immigrants were then single men, who were typically poor and desperate. Therefore, at the time, tango was considered a dance from the poor “barrios” (neighborhoods).
Eventually though, everyone found out about tango and, by the beginning of the twentieth century, both the dance and popular music had firmly established themselves in Buenos Aires, the city of its birth. It soon spread to provincial towns of Argentina and across the River Plate to Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. Today, the avenues and boulevards of Buenos Aires are packed with “milongas”, essentially any place or event where people gather to dance tango.
In fact, tango has become so wide-spread throughout the world that, in 2009, the U.N. declared this dance tradition of Argentina and Uruguay a world cultural treasure, adding its sultry dance steps and melancholy song lyrics to UNESCO’s heritage list.
Every night, professional tango dancers blend in with the masses, who gather in community centers, dance halls and recreational facilities across Buenos Aires, to enjoy one of multiple “milongas” or “prácticas” taking place. These gatherings are the best way for single travelers on a solo adventure to Argentina to experience this largely improvised and very sensual dance that shares little with the ballroom or show tango that most of us have seen on television.
Argentine tango is danced in an embrace that can vary from very open, in which leader and follower connect at arms length, to very closed, in which the connection is chest-to-chest, or anywhere in between.
Argentine tango is danced counterclockwise around the outside of the dance floor, and is essentially walking with a partner and the music. A good dancer is one who transmits a feeling of the music to the partner, leading them effectively throughout the dance. Also, dancers generally keep their feet close to the floor as they walk, the ankles and knees brushing as one leg passes the other.
Since Argentine tango is almost entirely improvisational, there needs to be clear communication between partners. Even when dancing in a very open embrace, Argentine tango dancers do not hold their upper bodies arched away from each other; each partner is over their own axis. Whether open or closed, a tango embrace is not rigid, but relaxed, like a hug.
Join SoloMate Travel on our fun-filled singles vacation to Argentina. Contact one of our Single Travel Experts today at 1-855-290-7050 or visit our Trips page.
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What could be more fun for a group of solo travelers on a singles vacation to Ireland than the Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival?
Matchmaking is one of Ireland’s oldest traditions and, for the last 150 years, much of it has taken place in Lisdoonvarna, a small village in County Clare, on the West Coast of Ireland.
As early as the mid-18th century, people started flocking to Lisdoonvarna to take advantage of the beneficial effects of this small town’s mineral waters. Rich in iron, sulphur and magnesium, the waters relieved the symptoms of certain diseases.
Lisdoonvarna’s matchmaking tradition arose from the immense popularity of these mineral springs. In September, after the harvest, single farmers, too busy to find a bride during the rest of the year, descended upon the town in search of love.
Today, Mr. Willie Daly, who runs the riding center outside Ennistymon, and practices matchmaking part time, is the only remaining official matchmaker in County Clare. During the festivities you’ll find him, and his precious notebook of love-seeking profiles, in his “office”, The Matchmaker bar. Hopeful single travelers of all ages and nationalities line-up at his table, trusting him to find them a mate.
With the exception of the pairings he plans and negotiates, very little genuine matchmaking takes place nowadays. However, Lisdoonvarna’s annual festival has evolved into one of the world’s largest singles events. Single travelers come by the thousands in search of a good time.
During the entire month of September, people dance in the streets every day, starting at noon, and carrying on well into the early hours of the next morning. The festival also features dancing exhibitions, and most local pubs offer live Irish music. This is the perfect time for a singles adventure to Ireland.
Join SoloMate Travel for an unforgettable singles vacation to Ireland this September, and head to Lisdoonvarna. You never know what you’ll find there! Don’t forget to submit your Irish limerick to win a $250 SoloMate Travel certificate, applicable toward our fabulous solo trip to Ireland, or any of our other week-long singles vacations.
Visit our Trips page to see our upcoming singles adventures, and our Blog page for limerick contest details.
You can also contact a SoloMate Travel Expert at 1-855-290-7050 any time. We will be happy to assist you.
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If you have checked out SoloMate Travel’s Trips page, you know that we will be in Quebec City from July 12 to 15, 2012 to take in that city’s music festival.
Why not let SoloMate help you plan a side-trip to Montreal? As Canada’s second largest city, and one of the world’s largest French-speaking places, Montreal is bursting with festivals, world-class restaurants, museums, and a very exciting and diverse night-life. Only 2.5 hours from Quebec City, it is just perfect to spice-up your singles adventure to La Belle Province.
This July, single travelers to Montreal will also have the opportunity to attend the 30th edition of Just For Laughs, the world’s biggest comedy festival, featuring gala performances, theatre, club acts and outdoor shows by the planet’s funniest people. SoloMate Travel will keep you posted as more show information is announced.
Solo travelers to Montreal can also attend Cirque du Soleil’s Amaluna, an emotional love story set on a mysterious island governed by goddesses and guided by the moon.
Don’t forget Montreal’s 28th International Fireworks Competition, the most prestigious event of its kind in the world.
Contact a SoloMate Travel expert at 1-855-290-7050 for more information about our singles trip to Quebec City or to help plan your singles trip to Montreal. You can also email andrea@solomatetravel.com or visit our website at www.solomatetravel.com for details on any of our other exciting singles travel adventures.
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Part 3 – After Pompeii and Vesuvius, It’s Time to Go Home
Upon our arrival in Pompeii, we are met by our very knowledgeable guide. We are awe struck as she describes daily life at the time. Her passionate account of the devastation caused by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius is chilling. It’s difficult to fathom that the town remained buried under 13 to 20 feet of volcanic ash and pumice for 1,700 years. Archeologists continue to uncover relics of the time.
We all remain rather quiet and deep in thought as we take-in this awesome experience.
Our driver Fernando has scouted a quaint little restaurant for us, away from the tourist area. Bruschetta, salad, pizza, and fresh strawberries and cream are truly delicious and satisfying.
This afternoon, we climb Mt. Vesuvius, where we get to see the still active crater. The view is spectacular.
Tomorrow is the last day of our extraordinary singles adventure to Italy, and I am sad to see it end.
We all enjoy the last day of our fabulous singles trip in our own way. Some of us simply stay at the hotel to relax and admire the beautiful grounds, while others do some last minute shopping. A few of us elect to return to Capri, and others explore the coast and nearby fishing villages on a private boat.
At the end of this perfect day of leisure, we meet one last time for an early dinner at a charming little restaurant appropriately named Di Leva le 5 Sorelle, or 5 sisters, located in Marina Grande. Here, we savor the best fresh sardines ever, amazing red snapper, one of the sisters’ homemade lasagna and yes, a tiramisu as good as our own. This idyllic setting and our sincere camaraderie make this an unforgettable farewell dinner.
With a heavy heart, I admire the superb sunset from this picturesque fishing port, and reflect on what has been one of my best solo travel experiences ever.
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