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Dreaming of adventure…
As of press time, the COVID-19 pandemic is still making all but the most essential travel impossible. However, for many people, the ban has merely strengthened their resolve to travel once we can safely do so again. The pandemic has had an unexpected side effect: we appreciate our regular freedoms much more, as well as the suddenness with which life can change completely, and our wanderlust has gone off the charts. There is a feeling that, once the pandemic is over, we will make up for the living we were not allowed to do while it was going on, and for many of us, this means seeking out adventure and new experiences. Stay-at-home orders give us the perfect time to dream and plan, to consider destinations we might have overlooked, different goals in our travels, such as visiting the 50 most beautiful cities in the world, volunteering, or supporting local environmental efforts, and ways of traveling that might have given us pause before, like traveling solo. Many of us have spent the year cooped up with family or roommates, and are desperate for time alone to process. Others have been alone far too much, and crave social connection. The solo trip serves both these needs, and these are the best destinations for one.
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Everywhere, Costa Rica
Though Stacy Schwartz is a born-and-raised New Yorker, the urge to quit her full-time gig to travel the world—alone—for three months struck her hard and she hasn’t looked back since. Eventually, she started her own travel company, Ketanga Fitness Retreats. One trend she sees emerging is Costa Rica, where people are kind and welcoming, and weather provides a healthy blend of ease and chaos, as both sunshine and rainstorms abound. Why does it make for a great solo getaway? One word: variety. “There are options to go to highly-visible, touristy areas or explore less-traveled areas depending on your level of comfort,” she says. Whether you stick to the shore or hike through the rainforest, pack an external battery pack because let’s be real: you’re going to run out of battery snapping pictures of monkeys, sunsets, rainbows, and more. These are the most popular destinations in Central America.
