Solo winter sun

[TwoLeggedGrooveMachine]

Our family holidays are self catering mix of camping, Eurocamp, city breaks. We all have a fab time but I organise everything and we often get poor weather.

I’m craving a solo holiday in the sun where I don’t need to consider any one else. Pool, beach, books and a few cocktails. We don’t usually do resort holidays so not sure where to look. I want 4/5 nights flying from Bristol or somewhere not too far from the South West that would be warm in mid March. Budget £800 half board or AI. Am thinking maybe Eqypt? I’ve heard negative things but not planning on leaving the hotel. As long as the hotel had beach access. I’m usually really adventurous but really want a lazy time for a change.

Any ideas? Book in advance or just book a week A/L and get a deal?

I’d go for a canary island or Malta rather than North Africa as a lone traveller.

Definitely the Canary Islands

Tenerife, I'm thinking of it myself as a lone woman.

Canaries. I go alone several times per year (also flying from Bristol).

Is there nowhere else warm?

Cape Verde is incredible in winter. Sal is the busiest island with gorgeous hotels and you can wander around the town too. Boa Vista is the quieter island but has the most incredible beaches and is more of a resort destination. I prefer Sal but would probably go to Boa Vista if I was alone.

Watching with interest. Wouldn’t recommend Egypt/Morocco for a single woman, got lots of hassle there previously in a mixed group/with another female friend. A friend is going to Mauritius and I have seen it in TUI for £1700 a week all inclusive for one which I didn’t think was bad.
My partner isn’t a lover of holidays and neither is my son, who can’t go on holiday in term time anyway, I would be keen on a last minutey week alone somewhere warm in the winter months like you.

I’m currently in Egypt on my own (I also went on
a solo holiday to Tunisia two years ago) and I’ve had an absolutely fantastic week.
I booked it just before I went. I chose a five star all inclusive hotel and booked a trip to Luxor and a wonderful boat trip (I wish I had booked an additional one as didn’t realise how good it would be).
I have spent long days on the beach, in the sea on my float or swimming, at the beach bar reading and the beach restaurant for lunch.
My hotel has about 7 restaurants that are easy to book, I tried a couple but actually found the buffet works better as a solo guest.
The resort is lit up with hundreds and hundreds of lamps in the evening and I enjoyed walking around before watching the nightly musical fountain light show.
I read two and a bit books and feel really chilled and recharged.
I have not received one bit of hassle, I probably get more in the UK. All the staff have been really helpful and kind, TBH the guests here are treated like VIPs.

I visited Tunisia, Morocco, Canary Islands and Egypt (twice in six months) solo and had an incredible time!🧳 @MyElatedUmberFinch, are you in Hurghada or Sharm? Which hotel are you in? I'm keen to visit Egypt again! ☺️ I loved the boat rides too and the snorkeling in the Red Sea! The day trips to Luxor and Cairo were fun! 😎 Turkey will be nice and warm in March too...Oludeniz looks fabulous! Enjoy! 🧳

I’d go to the canaries. Puerto Rico or mogan. Lots to do and see.
I would have no problem going AI on my own to a five star resort in Morroco or egypt though I probably wouldn’t leave the complex alone.

I would also go to the Canaries, in fact I'm doing just that. I've booked 4 nights half board in Playa Blanca Lanzarote in mid November.

I plan to walk, read, swim, sleep and have a couple of cocktails by the pool in the afternoons. I might book on a coach tour of the north of the island too.

So far it's cost just over £800 for the flight and hotel and I'll just get the public bus from the airport to PB. I'm currently weighing up whether to upgrade to AI on arrival because its cheaper to do it then than it was on booking.

I could have shaved £100/200 off the cost but I wanted to stay in a particular hotel and the flights were more expensive than they had to be, but I was put off by Ryanair's talk of strikes at Spanish airports and the Jet2 flight times are better.

Other places I'd look are Puerto Mogan or Meloneras on Gran Canaria. I'm sure you'd also get what you're looking for in Tenerife or Fuerteventura but I don't know much about those islands.

Wondered about CV. Someone told me it was full of flies - is this true?

Hi is it good for swimming in the sea there?
The beaches look so good I’d like to try it.

You will get hassle in the hotel in Egypt. When I went there half the staff were engaged to elderly british women. The canaries are fine.

Costa de Sol would be good. Good weather, lots to do. Mix of accommodations and easy public transport options. Maybe somewhere like Mijas or Fuengirola?

Dubai

I have read reviews talking about flies and mosquitoes, perhaps OK if you go prepared, does look a nice temperature for winter sun.
As far as Egypt/North Africa goes, it probably depends on what hotel you go to. I went to Morocco a few years ago with a female friend and we made the mistake of chatting to a local guy at the hotel and we couldn’t shake him off all week, he kept wanting us to go to the nightclub at the hotel and on an adventure holiday in Egypt we had hassle + a lot of begging. Sharm el Sheik was fine though and Hurghada too and great snorkelling.

Canaries are a good bet but I would not book now, look at the flight days from Bristol to provisionally book annual leave but only book last minute, there’s always availability I’ve found. Fuerteventura is the place where I felt safest but not as easy to go about without a car and less to do,

I’m in Hurghada and may try El Gouna next time and come back here the time after as I’ve been to this area twice now so have been on most of the days out.

Thinking of Alicante now since can fly from local airport which would be very convenient, probably in March. I would miss partner/kid a bit however also imagining what it would be like to go around the art gallery/museums in my own time without being beholden to DS’s demands. Has a beach too for some winter sun.

Madeira.

I'd much prefer to go the Canaries than Egypt, but your budget is very modest for a week HB, so I don't know whether you'd manage it for £800. See what's available, but is that why you're looking at Egypt, because it's cheap? Almost everyone who goes to Egypt seems to get a tummy bug, which would really put me off. Edited to say: mainland (southern) Spain might be an option, but again the price might not be right. See what you can find, but I wouldn't choose to go to a Muslim country as a lone woman.

If anyone follows Northern Nic's Back Kitchen on FB, she is in Cape Verde (Santa Maria) at the moment, and honestly it looks great, far nicer than I would have thought judging by various comments I read elsewhere. She is staying in the Riu Palace hotel.

I've been in January and flies were not a problem. I think there are times when they can be quite bad - usually it's summer time and after the rains, end of summer to October I think.

Santa Maria in Sal is fab for swimming. It can be a bit rough as it is the Atlantic but stay on the beaches that have life guards. Boa Vista is a bit rougher from my experience and the currents can be a bit scary so I avoided them mostly, but there are a few beaches there that are much calmer - Sal-Rei Bay is gorgeous and fab for snorkelling.