When booking a holiday, being single there is always an element of apprehension of who will also be on the holiday and will you get on with them. Having said that, I have been on 2 previous singles holidays and everyone has been great, and you have the luxury of being able to do your own things should you wish to. I always look forward to meeting local people as you can get the best real experience from those who live at the location and they are always willing to share their knowledge. The fact you usually get your own room is also important as when you get to a certain age, it is difficult to share!!

I've voted for arriving at the destination, quickly followed by all the others in no particular order!

Sylvia

I book a tour for what I can see and do while I am there. Everything else is a bonus. I love flights to be on time and luggage to be on the carousel is always a bonus. Meeting a new bunch of people and getting on with them is great fun. Having done many tours I have stayed in a variety of rooms from very grand to very basic, as long as its clean, and has a functioning bathroom I am happy, tea/coffee making facility's, iron, ironing board, hairdryer and air con are all a bonus. I am a total bore with food so great banquets or something different is not for me. Same goes for the locals I am happy to pass the time of day, but I would rather be seeing and doing than chatting to locals. I have shared a room on a Kenyan tour, but much prefer the solitude of my own room.

Cindy

Well, I have realised that I often have a different perspective, but the results of this poll seem to be confirming that !! I was torn between meeting the locals (my first choice) & learning from the local guides or trying the local food, clearly not favourites with other travellers, though I'm not suprised as I've seen it in action. You won't find me in the rush to get photographed by some iconic monument or say, at Macchu Pichu....exciting yes, but I don't get such a great rush from seeing in person what I've already seen hundreds of photos of. However, actually experiencing the spirit of a new country through its people & food is, to me, the all. Actually, my first thought was that what I enjoy most is the hours & hours, or rather days & weeks that it takes me to weigh up all the holidays on offer & decide which holiday to book. Factored in are things such as in a country like Iran it would be difficult for me, as a single woman, to communicate freely with the locals....or in Peru I had the opportunity to eat grilled maggots, not simply more pasta or tapas! Nowt so weird as folks!

Hi Julia

i would say arriving at my destination after a long flight and either diving straight into bed or getting into holiday mode with the shorts and cap before venturing out to explore the area, hopefully without getting lost and i'll never forget my first visit down under arriving in strong wind late at night and awkening to such beautiful early morning light the next morning in the middle of November

best wishes

Dave

Hello All,

My first JY was Jordan, Sinai and Cairo in October 2010. Two huge ticks for iconic landmarks (hence #5) Petra and the Giza Pyramids. It was such a wonderful experience with so many fond memories. The food and hotels were brilliant- who else has slept in a cave as in Petra- being woken at 04.30 by the local muezzin calling the faithful for prayer.

Wadi Rum and the Seven Pillars of Wisdom- so much history. Dip in the Dead Sea and the Red Sea. Ancient ruins at Jerash, Karak and Madaba. Sinai was reached by a ferry from Aqaba to Nuweiba. Watching the men pushing their new goods in wheelbarrows back home. The burning bush at St Catherine's Monastery. Crossing The Sinai Desert to reach the Suez Canal, watching huge container ships coming out.

Cairo was so different. Saw the Bent and Steps Pyramids beside Giza. Tick the Sphinx as well. My Arabic has become better with shukran or La shukran- thank you or no thank you 🙂 Now been to both Memphis- Egypt and Tennessee.

I thought I would have a problem just choosing one, but maybe not :heart: 

Jan

Hi Julia

There are so many different highlights on each holiday but the overriding highlight on each holiday for me has got to be actually arriving at the destination and being able to say "made it" especially after a long haul flight.

Best wishes

Di

Well I voted for #5 - seeing a landmark up close which is essentially what I am spending my money on! Most people voting so far seem to be of the same opinion and I, and I guess most other people, will choose a tour primarily because of the destination. It might be interesting to see how the vote turned out were there a sliding scale of 1 to 10 in order of personal importance! All factors are important to the wider success and enjoyment of a tour and whilst I, for example, enjoy the single room it is not somewhere I want to spend more time than absolutely necessary!

Sorry Julia. I can't comment on just one. Each holiday is a blend of many factors

Hi Julia 

Can I say that all of the options above go to making the holiday for me.

My first JustYou trip was the National Parks and Little Big Horn in October 2011. Highlights for me,before I went,were Little Big Horn,Yellowstone,Mount Rushmore and the Grand Canyon,which all were better than I expected. In addition,I enjoyed the Badlands and Salt Lake City,where I got to see ice hockey,at the 2002 Olympic arena, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir practice.

All the National Parks had something interesting to see,my one regret was not collecting the Park stamps from the start of the tour,so an excuse to,hopefully,go back to get the missing ones.

Keith