Solo trip at 60. Too old or too young for the options?!

[Lumpycat]

Thinking about booking a solo holiday. I am a divorced 59 year old woman. Very active and sociable and am confident in travelling and life in general. I work full time. Live in London.
I live with my adult children and have zero interest in a new relationship.

Want to book a trip to ‘somewhere’ in September to celebrate my 60th. Thinking culture and history and beautiful landscapes and great food. So have decided Italy might work. Tuscany/Florence area.

As I want to explore the area and only have a week it might be useful to go on an organised tour. So the logistics and travel are handled and the itinerary organised in a logical way.

Might be nice to have some company for some of the trip such as mealtimes and then have my own room to retreat to and free time to fill how I want.
Am a bit unsure about the organised aspect of it though. I have always travelled independently before or with friend or family. I have visions of being herded by a tour guide and the time being over controlled.

Was almost ready to book when I saw on a review that a guide might meet me at Heathrow to help with the journey. Really don’t need that level of support! I know people are all different and it might just be an option for more anxious or disabled people.

I would also need to pick from a very limited range of options as the tour groups obviously have a few departure dates. In fact I can only find one option for the date and region I want. It’s around £2300 for one week Heathrow to Pisa. That is fine but I could obviously do it more cheaply and flexibly myself.

Anyway. Thoughts on how to travel solo as an independent person but with some elements of an organised tour? There will be local companies offering day trips and excursions but less likely to have company at mealtimes and get to know people.

The G adventure type places seem to run much younger and I don’t want to be 40 years older than everyone else!

No advice re this trip - other than go it alone, then you have the option to talk to other tourists if you want to - but for future trips have a look at Honor Mark’s Metreats. She runs trips for groups of women around your (my!) age to loads of places. Lots of good reviews.

G Adventures does run very young. I’d do it myself and book the occasional day trip which would usually include lunch, you may find people on those that are happy to get dinner with you. Although I love a meal on my own, people watching with a book!

Thanks both. Going to look up HM’s site now. And yes, I am half inclined just to go it all alone. Half inclined to want to just throw money at it and have it all organised. Appreciate the responses.

Have you thought about doing something independent and then booking local guides? So easy to do these days after some research.

I would hate the coach journeys and herding as well.

Ok self organisation wouldn't necessarily provide meal time company but again the internet can be your friend to organise group activities when you are there.

Apart from anything else there are often things like local expat pub meets etc where new people (even tourists) are always in demand!

The almost total universality of the English language in tourism in Italy makes this so much easier than it used to be.

I am your age and did Japan solo . A bit further than Europe but fantastic. To ensure I did have some English I did some day trips with your guide . I am a total solo travel convert now . The sense of freedom was amazing .

You could book your own flights and hotel and then use Get Your Guide to book trips and excursions. I’ve only used them for day trips but my son uses them for tours of up to 4 days.

Thanks. Yes. Maybe an evening on the internet will sort me a good itinerary and some meet up options. I like the idea of hiring a local guide.
I looked at the Honor Marks site and it’s all retreats and women only which isn’t really what I’m after. Want to explore!
OK. I think I’ll book the flights and a lovely central hotel in Florence and one other location and start the planning. This will be my first completely solo trip since before marriage and children and will be my future.

I am your age and regularly go on solo trips. It’s really so easy to organise it all yourself.

If you book your flights and hotel for Florence, you already have so many things to do within walking distance.

Then google Things to do in Florence/Tuscany and you’ll get aviator type organised trips to more out of town excursions.

Another option is to book with someone like TUI and then do a few of their add on excursions. I did that on a solo trip to Amalfi Coast and it was amazing.

Have a fantastic time

Just checked out Get your Guide. Brilliant. So many options for Tuscany. Thanks.

ive done solo travel and on the train right now to Portsmouth for a holiday in France

I’ve travelled in a group with Exodus twice, India and Cuba- they do have culture trips in Europe and cycling. I found the level of support was just right and varied ages.

https://www.viator.com/?gclsrc=aw.ds&&m=63845&supag=116418691826&supca=12132299450&supsc=kwd-409207340612&supai=632041262612&supdv=m&supnt=g&suplp=9251679&supli=9108210&supti=kwd-409207340612&tsem=true&supci=kwd-409207340612&supap1=&supap2=&supfi=&synthetic_keyword=&suppmas=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=12132299450&gbraid=0AAAAAD-gbd6L1CXcO8HQtvAzT0GES64eR&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4cS5wv7JlQMV45toCR3DHhMiEAAYASAAEgIeM_D_BwE This company has also been recommended to me but I’ve not used them

If you’re on Facebook I recommend joining https://www.facebook.com/share/g/18LmLyNkDr/?mibextid=wwXIfr , Solo in Style: Women over 50 travelling solo & loving it!
Great group with lots of helpful & knowledgeable women.

Have a look at Virgin Voyages cruises. Lots of solo people go on those. There is one in early Sept which includes Rome, Florence, Amalfii Coast, Sicily plus Greek Islands. You can sign up for whichever tours you fancy or explore independently at each port

Glad I posted. Decision made. Going to book all independently and will have so much more money to fling at a beautiful central hotel and the excursions I actually want.
Why does nearly everything in Tuscany involve drinking unlimited wine? 😁 (I don’t drink wine). Found a zip line thing and horseback tour and a mozzarella making thing and a cave tour. Brilliant.

I’ve always been a bit unsure about cruises. My best mate goes a lot but I haven’t been persuaded. I think it’s the dressing smartly and being trapped on a ship that puts me off. Like the idea of covering lots of places but I think I prefer to be on land.

That is the kind of holiday I will be looking at, and I am the same age. I hope you find a niche company that does exactly that kind of thing. There seems to be this idea that you hit 60 (or 55) and suddenly you are incapable of doing much and need to be handled with kid gloves. I wonder if it's because travel companies haven't yet moved from the era of a whole generation where many women relied on their husbands to manage money and travel and had to give up work when they got married, to the next generation of women who are entirely independent! Many women of your age will have backpacked around Europe or Asia in their gap year and won't sweat the travel aspect, but like you just want some company.

Having worked for a tour operator in Tuscany I would say you're bang on the money with this comment it might just be an option for more anxious or disabled people. TBF, I didn't have any disabled people, but I had a lot of anxious people around your age. Italy is an easy destination, so you really don't need to be with a group and the thought of being herded around on and off buses and following a tour leader around for a week is enough to make me want to stick pins in my eyes. A week-long itinerary is going to be jam-packed too, you won't get much time to enjoy things on your own. So, you've made the right decision. I was going to recommend you do it on your own too, but you had already decided to do that. You'll have a lovely time, without all the timid travellers.

Yes.To you and PP with the observation that we need an option for G adventures type stuff for middle aged folk. We have the money so was expecting my initial internet search to bring up a company that does this.
I have indeed backpacked solo all around the world when younger. Including very challenging destinations. Have lived abroad. Just at a different stage now and after a bit more comfort and have less time to spend on aimless wandering.

I am your age and travel solo. I went to Pisa last year, explored the city, train to the coast, rented an apartment, travelled all over the Cinqueterra, ate out at lunchtime and in apartment in the evening. Well prepared me & my Kindle were alone but not lonely. I think I read 4 books!
This year I am planning similar in other European countries

I did an Explore holiday in Asia at 59. Small group of 11 people and everyone bar one 40 year old was 55 to 65, so perfect. The advantage of Explore is that you can ring up and go through the composition of the group in terms of how many solo travellers, age and sex of who has booked. This is fantastic if you have a selection of dates that you can go, they’ll go through all the departure dates to work out which group would work best for you as a solo 59 year old woman.
You get enough time on your own, depending how full on the trip is. There was no ‘herding’ and they use local, very knowledgable guides

Glad you’ve got this sorted and sounds amazing. Just adding for future opportunities when I contemplated an organised trip (looking at Exodus) I mailed them and they did tell me the demographics of who was booked which helped. It wasn’t a destination that seemed that likely to attract the super anxious though!

You’d want something like Jules Verne rather than G adventures. Equally, somewhere like that you would be absolutely fine on your own! But for future trips where you do want a bit more structure, look at Jules Verne :).

Exodus is basically that. My parents went to S Africa with them (camping safari and hiking) when they were roughly your age and my dad has also done a few big Himalayan treks with them (Annapurna circuit etc). It doesn't advertise itself as that age range but it clusters around mid 40's to mid 60's. Now my parents are a lot older (nearly 80) and they have had mixed success with group walking holidays targeting older people as people tend to massively overestimate their abilities and they have found it a bit frustrating to have walks constantly shortened etc.

a lady i know goes on these tour holidays but sits out many of the excursions . just fyi

Just to say, I have done a lot of solo travel in life. I was a backpacker originally but as I got older, I went for hotels and luggage wheels and a bit more comfort. Around the world I have met ladies (and men) who started solo travelling abroad in their fifties, sixties and seventies or resumed solo travelling then (after children or grandchildren no longer need their care). I am the sort of person strangers talk to (including locals) and so it is not at all lonely. I do like to sit a while, people watching and having a coffee. If you aren't in a hurry, people are more inclined make a remark or two to you. Or you can have a handy book if you don't want to have a conversation. It sounds like an excellent trip!

I too am 60 ( well 61) I have been travelling solo for 40 years and its great as you can please yourself what time uou have breakfast, whether you are hoing to have a chilled day or full on exploring etc.

I tend to use skyscanner, booking.com and then hire a car. I often use Get your Guide.

You could use AI to write you an itinerary. Put in as much detail as you can eg, 'I'm a female going so to Tuscany, for ( however many days)' then say what you like doing and what you dont want to do and theres your plan.

Your itinerary will be done in seconds a d you can keep tweaking it to suit you.it will give you hotel recommendations to suit your vibe.