re: Solo travel advice for widower

International travel can really help you get your mojo back Men generally have a need to be wild at heart. It’s good for us to do difficult and challenging things outside of our comfort zones. But I warn you, if you don’t have someone to hang out with, a local for instance, you may become even more lonely than you were at home. Just tailor the travel around your sincere interests. Hiking, scuba, museums, food whatever you truly enjoy.

Get a diesel truck, one of those campers that fit in the bed, get on I-10, ride to Jacksonville, then go to Maine, then ride to Washington, then up to Alaska, skip California, and drive the west and mid west to Texas.

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I’m talking about 7-14 day trips anywhere in the world. Give me your ideas and advice. Appreciate it.

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Its very easy. Get a passport if you dont have one. Book a flight on Kiwi or Google flights and stay at a nice Airbnb. For golf and fishing, the first thing that comes to mind is Baja California peninsula.

A family member did something like this after his wife died from cancer and Alzheimer's. Hate to say it but the cancer probably cut off years of suffering for both.

Rent a cottage in Ireland or walk the st James way in Spain. Both were great for him. You need time to heal your soul.

You can try the Camino de Santiago in Spain. A pilgrimage walk with plenty of people from all over the world making the same walk to find themselves at different stages of life. You’ll have days/nights filled with conversation and days/nights alone to your own thoughts. One of the best trips I’ve ever made

Thank you. Take care of yourself. Grief counseling has been a huge help to me. I avoided so many mistakes thanks to it. Give it a try if you haven’t already.

The day after my divorce was final, I booked two trips to the EU.

Did I need to? Of course not. But years of "there's dance, the kids are at their cousin's that weekend," evaporated.

I pay attention to a frequent flyer forum. One of the fares that has been available for years, on Star Alliance, gets you from Paris, around the world, landing in Paris, is $2600 in Business Class with stopovers permitted.

Again, I suggest English speaking countries (if you speak Spanish, you'll be fine in Paris.) If you're doing esoteric WWI and WWII crap like I do, you can do plenty on your own, but nothing compares to the Irish, who, outside of Dublin, want to talk. Talking to people, even people you will never see again, can be magical.

You need to talk to people. Also, you can schedule a couple of tele-visits with a therapist to find out what works best for your personality. Isolation (Japan, etc.) is almost certainly not the answer. Men do not do well in isolation.

I'm not a tour group guy, I'm old enough and don't need my hand held. The lack of alone time may impede your recovery. It's up to you, but why not spend time with a therapist to figure it out before you do something like book a Viking River cruise from people you can't get away from? :D

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I don't have a whole lot of advice

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then.....

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I'm sorry for your loss. I don't have a whole lot of advice on how to manage traveling while grieving, but I do think it's important to do what you set out to do when traveling. Go someplace you have always wanted to visit. Make plans to do a few specific things in that visit, but keep the door open to changing things up since you never know if something can cause a bump in your plans.

My grandma travels more now that my grandpa passed. She goes with a friend or two, but only to foreign countries where English isn't the native language and she does group tours thay are fully prepared for them.

I would say the biggest thing to do is go somewhere you haven't been, maybe someplace you and your wife had wanted to go. Live your life for her. It also doesn't have to be that serious. You can just go to an exotic country and relax for a week. Hit up a local coffee shop and people watch. Do what you want to enjoy your time.

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Bruh

I've found over-planning ruins the trip. Find a place that offers multiple things and go keeping the plan to a minimum.

- getting there is always easy. Plan return, if possible, that is flexible so you can leave early if you want.

- just buy the clothes you need when you ge there. Shoes, socks, coat, headgear take with you broken in that you know you like. I prefer a windbreaker with a removable fleece liner for coat (with hood). Some places, in my experience, you want to look like a local.

- if you absolutely have to carry a bunch of stuff consider shipping ahead. I use cheap rolling coolers for this. They make for very tough rolling luggage and, well, you also have a cooler. Especially good for fishing trips.

- don't be on a schedule while on location. It's too much like work. Explore and go with the flow.

- if driving don't leave all your shite in the car. Your plates mark you as a target for theft.

- have a paper and micro SD card copy of ID, a credit card, and passport ID page. I put the micro SD card in a slit cut into heel of shoe; make sure dry before putting in a phone.

- one piece of planning that is worthwhile is if driving check out the parking situation. If parking is impossible consider alternatives.

- if traveling to shitholes, which I have done extensively, make sure you check out the exit visa situation.

- don't do like I did in Lisbon and send all your clothes to hotel laundry. They never came back so I had to go stealing in n o thin but gym shorts. Always keep a set that you can go shopping in if necessary.

- keep yor assumptions and expectations to a minimum. If you expect people and places to conform to your norms and world view you'll be disappointed. Don't be afraid to be an obvious stranger/tourist, but realize it's their world you are in. You have to conform to them.

Some people mentioned European River cruises... I traveled the middle to lower Volga and it was great. I hear the Danube one is very awesome.

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Jonathan Larson has edelweiss tours and he does small groups like 8-10 people. I have been to Switzerland and Italy with him

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I’ll vouch for the alps. Northern Italy and Austria are just incredible. Find a mountain bar, grab a seat out in the garden and just enjoy the view. You won’t budge for hours unless you have to take a piss.