5 New Solo Travel Spring Deals

5 New Solo Travel Spring Deals Always looking for quality at a good price, I have 5 more personal recommendations for spring for solo travelers. (For 700,000+ lodging options at all price levels, return to our home page search box in the right hand column!)

5 New Solo Travel Spring Deals: Islands:

1. Cephalonia-the “other” Greek Isles. The latter quickly come to mind as Santorini and Mykonos off Greece’s eastern shores.  However, I was intrigued when a friend from Athens told me about the islands to the west of the Greek peninsula, the largest of which is Cephalonia.  Besides sunshine and beaches, it offers an historic past and even caves to explore.

5 New Solo Travel Spring Deals: River Cruises/Skiing:

2. European River Cruises including France.  I highly recommend river cruises if you can book with no single supplement. (Please note those slots are always limited so don’t delay.)  If you compare included meals, tours and accommodations, the pricing is very competitive with typically loftier western European options. Secondly, especially for first time solo travelers, it affords an opportunity for privacy but with a ready-made group for tours and meals. Lastly, if security is a concern, a river cruise allows you to avoid being alone in a new foreign city after dark looking for dinner.

3. Ski-Montana/Whistler. As an “intermittent Intermediate” skier, I always find mid-season ski resort prices higher than I want to spend. The solution? Spring skiing where prices are lower. I spent an early April week in Big Sky, Montana. Although I found the slopes challenging, everyone was warmly welcoming and adding a day trip to national parks like Yellowstone was easy and rounded out the trip for me. (Look for the “bison”/don’t say “buffalo” despite having sung “Home on the Range” as a child!) (Big Sky had discounted offerings for late spring skiing. Whistler in western Canada had 4-star listings at competitive rates.)

5 New Solo Travel Spring Deals: Off the Beaten Path:

4. Central and Eastern Europe are still affordable even at the high-end and especially off-season. Think Hungary, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Romania and Slovenia. I have had a decades’ long fascination with the former Yugoslavia’s small, storied spas at Bled, Slovenia. Fans of Downton Abbey will regale in this chic Old Europe destination. Admittedly arriving without much style by public bus from the capital, I did have a real change of pace staying at one of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World, the 5-star Grand Hotel Toplice.

5. Crete. Not every island is only a honeymooners’ destination. Crete is a great example because it offers historical and archaeological sites not merely sunshine and beaches. Although 5-star offerings do increase from Feb. to May 2016, check out our Booking.com search box for more economical offerings.

If you can’t take advantage of April-May pre-season price reductions, look for bookings now for Sept. 9 and thereafter. In ski resorts, if you miss the end of the season, try their promotions when they open each year before the holidays.