Hi everyone, I have started this chat to help give an idea of how some of us are coping on solo holidays and to maybe encourage others to try something new.
I lost my husband in July 2023 from stomach
cancer and thought my world had ended but I promised him that I wouldnt give up and I would take on new challenges.
I travelled to york in January for 2 nights to see how I managed and I will admit it was lonley but i enjoyed looking at new things.
I am now on my way home from Bavaria and found that new places help me (not everyone will be the same) make new memories and rekax. It was a shearing coach trip with lots of driving and trips out. I met new people and am already looking at options for next year.
Losing my Husband has made me realise life is for living as we dont know how long we have left, he was only 60 and had never had a day off from work till September 2022 when chemo started.
I just hope others will read this and maybe decide to try a holiday.
I lost my husband 18 months ago. Last year I had a long weekend at Butlins with my son and two grandsons. It was stressful trying to book it and make preparations. I found all the overcrowding in the pool overwhelming. However I liked seeing my grandsons enjoying themselves. I had to have time on my own when it got a bit hectic. Then my son took me and his eldest son to the Gower for a holiday in self catering bungalow. They stayed for a long weekend a and left me on my own for the weekdays and my son came on the Friday afternoon and he went on a hike and I walked and sat in the pub at Rossilli. Saturday he took me on a walk over the National Trust cliff top to Pobbles Bay. It was a b
My partner passed away in December.
He’d booked a holiday last September but had to cancel as he was in and out of hospital.
The company he’d booked with allowed us to roll the holiday over, so I’m doing the trip in November.
It’s going to be one of the most difficult things I’ll do, but I’ll do it in his memory
When my man was courting and trying to impress me he took me walking all around Gower. He was from Mumbles and a surfer in his youth. It worked! I fell in love with the scenery and with him! So I can see why it would’ve been a good place to go for a break. So far I’ve only been to see my sons in Cambridge and in Cumbria. Can’t imagine booking an actual holiday. We always went on walking holidays but COVID and the metastatic cancer in his bones put paid to that. My brother in law , who lost his partner, my sister, only a few days after I lost my Neil has been a cycling tours with friends and on trip to Outer Hebrides that they had booked last year. I’m nowhere near ready for that yet.
Thanks. Though, like you, Gower is only an hour or so away from here. Maybe I should start local and fix up to do some walking or a beach day perhaps with his old rugby playing friends. They know how much the coast meant to him.
Im going to South Wales at the end of June. My husband and I belong to a holiday bond, and they have a place there. I’m going on my own as we never had a family and i have no one else to ask. Looking forward to it, but a bit nervous.
He also booked a trip to Sicily for September (but never told me), but we had talked about going. After huge hassles with the tour company, i’ve arranged to go alone. I hope there will be people on the trip to talk to.
I think if you feel the time is right, you’ve just got to go for it.
My husband died at the end of December. He had rapid MND and from start to finish it was 16 months of agony. Since then I have so far been on 3 holidays abroad. The first was horrendous - school holidays and I was too raw. I then felt compelled to do it again to see if it was better and it was - adults only, all inclusive. Met a lovely couple from Swansea who looked after me. I’ve just come back from Formentera - beautiful place but not for grieving singles as not a lot of English people so I didn’t speak to anyone for a week. Felt very lonely. I’m fortunate I can go away so much - has it helped - sometimes but I’ve realised that at the moment all inclusive is the best option for me as I don’t feel so lonely.
My wife died in January and because of her illness and covid it had been 5 years since i was last away.
My son was married in Cyprus and as it had been booked before Susan died, I had to travel a day later than the wedding party.
The lone travelling was fine and another of my sons, his wife and my 7month grandson were staying at the same hotel.
The wedding was beautiful, but i was a bit upset during the ceremony as my wife, the grooms mum was not there. She would have been so proud.
I danced, for the first time in years and thoroughly enjoyed the reception.
The following days were filled with good company and laughter and it was wonderful to see the baby everyday.
I cant deny, that i kept expecting to turn around and Susan to be there. I did have a major wobbly on the last day as i was truly on my own. I kept looking at the empty chair across from me with tears running down my face, because Susan should have been there.
I have learnt that life is not over for me, actually I can laugh and enjoy company. Ive overcome my fear of lone travel.
I took Robs wedding ring with me so he was still part of the holiday. I have overcome the travel alone part as well, but wish I had him there to share the experience with. Life is to live and I will make new memories to share with my kids and grandkids.
A year after my husband died suddenly I took myself off to Australia on my own even stopping in Singapore on the way. We had been invited out so many times but my husband didn’t do long haul well so when I was invited after he died I decided to bite the bullet and went. Was I terrified course I was but did it all the same and that trip gave me so much confidence to take my life forward and enjoy every second. There’s not a minute of my life I don’t think about my husband - married 44 years and together 2 years before but I know he would say “good on ya girl” !!!
I’ve some of my wife’s ashes in a pendant that I wear on a chain , going to travel to the places we said we would go to when the kids were old enough to be left in their own , so she will be coming with me .
Firstly my daughter’s coming with me to Venice in a couple of weeks , then thinking about driving through France down to Nice/Monaco later in the summer as a road trip.
Before covid we used to travel a lot , both holidays with the kids and weekends away together , then covid stopped that and we got comfortable just staying at home , putting off travelling thinking we had forever to go see places , clearly we didn’t so no chance I’m sitting here , with all the memories throughout the house / area reminding me of what I’ve lost .
At least when it’s my time to go join her I will be able to say I didn’t waste the rest of my life , but took her with me on the adventures we had planned .
I have Susan’s wedding ring on a chain.
At the guests book, the groom had a beautiful framed picture of Susan in her wedding dress.
I melted when he showed me it.
I lost my husband in May 2023. He was only 60 and died suddenly and unexpectedly from a heart attack, so we never really had those conversations about how we would do life without each other. We loved to cruise and travel and like us all had so many plans for the future and our retirement together.
After he died I still wanted to go away on holiday but just didn’t have it in me last year.
My son had a work trip to Dubai in April this year and was taking my daughter in law and baby son, so I went along too. I definitely had moments where I was overwhelmed with the absence of my husband but overall had a lovely time.
Being on my own in the hotel room was hard at first but no different than at home so that was ok. I had some meals on my own and that was fine as it was in the hotel. Not sure how I would have coped having to go out and find a restaurant by myself.
However, I enjoyed being away and like others on here, have got over the lone travel thing. I wasn’t alone on this trip but I know now that I could do it by myself and it would be ok, so I have booked a solo holiday in October.
I would like to cruise again and don’t mind paying a single supplement but they all seem to charge double
@Dino13 I promised Nigel I’d find a way to take him with me on all the adventures we had planned.
I’ve had a ring made that contains some of his ashes.
Never thought I’d be that person!
I will travel eveywhere wearing it, so I will have a small part of him with me physically, and in my heart.
Same , thought we had years ahead of us to go to all the places we wanted , I spent the last couple of years learning how to trade so I could work remotely from anywhere and we could travel . It’s horrible how our lives can be so destroyed in an instant by losing our soulmates , all the plans gone .
If I’m going to be upset and missing her for the rest of my life , may as well do it seeing as much of the world as I can.
I had a solo holiday to Italy in early April, just over a month after I’d lost my husband, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I nearly chickened out at the last minute but everything was so wonderfully organised and everybody else on the trip were single some way or another. The company I used was Leger, it was a coach holiday, got picked up about 10 minutes from where I live and dropped off at the same place. I had never been to Italy before and loved it so much, not enough time really, that I’m going on a longer one with the same company next July. All through the holiday I wore a necklace I had made which has an indentation of his fingerprint on, so I felt that he was with me all of the time. Next holiday is to Disneyland Paris with my daughter and grandkids in October, then I’m off on another solo coach one in December to the German Christmas Markets.
so no chance I’m sitting here , with all the memories throughout the house / area reminding me of what I’ve lost .