Solo holiday ideas for nervous divorcee

[sunnyday2025]

I divorced last year after 30 years and have never had a holiday on my own.

I am desperate for a break but irrationally worried about doing or enjoying it on my own. I do have late teen children but feel I want to do a break just for me.

Where do I start? My rough wish list would be

somewhere warm/hot
safe for women to explore
independence but safety of some sort of base/group if needed
nice mix of sightseeing / sunbathing / culture.
I did think maybe a cruise (never done one) but worry I would be lonely
Also love Ancient Greece, the mythology and culture but not keen on idea of super organised tours

havent really thought about budget but maybe up to £5k for a week to 10 days in early summer.

How about Sicily? Lots of good sightseeing, good tourist infrastructure (trains and buses), safe cities and stunning sandy beaches.

Have a look at Explore or Exodus or G Adventures for small group tours.

In terms of places I'd suggest Malta.

If you do go on your own:

• people are more inclined to speak to you when you're on your own. Random passing conversations are fun
• take a book to meals. Take a book and camera everywhere, then you always have something to concentrate on
• take your time if you're feeling stressed by whatever the next step is. Slow down rather than bulldoze (which is my instinct). If in doubt ask for directions, people are mostly lovely and happy to help
• have a plan so you know what you're doing each day as it helps to have a structure (and if in UK have a contingency plan in case the weather changes).

My sister has just booked to stay in an air bnb villa with a pool in playa Blanca in Lanzarote for quite a good price.
It’s near a marina with a shops bars restaurants & a ferry trip to Fuerteventura; and a ten minute walk to a beautiful nature reserve beach, I think called Pozo or Papagoyo beach? Also it’s across the road from the basic town beach.
It’s easy to get buses & coaches round the island to see the sights & attractions.
Its very dramatic & volcanic landscape.
I would happily go to certain places in Lanzarote alone. The locals are nice.
If I was going alone I would be choosy about where to stay, Eg Playa Blanca is fine, also Matagorda & Playa Pocillos are nice but I don’t like the centre of Puerto del Carmen. I also personally don’t like the resort of Costa Teguise.
Some of the old towns are lovely but very quiet and can be a bit up in the clouds depending on the weather.

Sorry meant to say my sister is going on her own to Lanzarote & has been before on her own and liked it.

I went away with exodus- they don’t charge a single supplement and do have solo groups

Athens and then a ferry to one of the islands from Piraeus. Naxos would be my choice.

I might suggest Merano. It's in the South Tyrolean Alps (in Italy nowadays), but very warm in the summer as it's in a sheltered valley. Lots of interesting places to visit easily by public transport, very pretty, and it feels very safe.

I stayed in the Meranerhof hotel, which is owned and run by a mother.grandmother.daughter family. Sunbathing would be in the small garden, but there is a lovely indoor pool as well.

I found Rovinj in Croatia very safe too, but public transport is poor so sightseeing is a bit trickier.

I would probably look at a package rather than DIY just for the transport between hotel and airport as it's your first solo trip.

I think a cruise would be a great idea. Solo cruises can be expensive but there’s a specialist travel agency that gets great deals called Passion for Cruises. They set up events on fb so you can get to know people before you sail and most (all?) cruise lines hold solo traveller meet ups. You can dip in and out as much as you like.

whatever you end up doing have a great time!