Solo Travel

I was a solo traveller and had never gone on a group trip before. The trip covered so much ground, I saw loads.

AMANDA PATHE Essential China

Madagascar is a truly special place and this trip is a real adventure. I have heard Madagascar described as one for the “seasoned traveller” and this is pretty accurate – certainly it is somewhere that you should go with your eyes and mind open and prepare for the rugged terrain and slightly uncomfortable journeys. That said, I would not trade a thing as the experiences are all part of its charm and more than made up for by the beautiful scenery and amazing wildlife.

I loved the entire trip and thoroughly enjoyed the variety of experiences, from the slightly chaotic capital Tana, to the jagged UNESCO site of the Grand Tsingy, to the peace and tranquillity of Ifaty, all interspersed with amazing national parks and wildlife including lemurs, chameleons, fossa and owls.

We were incredibly lucky with our wildlife viewings, with red-fronted brown lemurs, greater bamboo lemur, Goodman’s mouse lemur, dwarf lemur, grey mouse lemur, sportive lemur, ring-tailed lemur, indri, diademed sifaka, Verreaux’s sifaka, Milne-Edwards sifaka and many many more. We went in October and the babies were out in force – so many incredibly playful young lemur could be seen and photographed, all apparently quite indifferent to our presence. The day and night walks were all very well organised and provided plenty of opportunity to just stand back and observe these creatures in their natural habitat. We were rarely rushed on the walks (only when the guides had heard tell of something else exciting up ahead) and the local guides were expert at finding the best angles and lighting for some great photographs, even in challenging conditions.

I found the hotels to be of a general good standard and, as a solo traveller, did not feel as though I was in any way penalised by room size or quality. In fact, by luck of the draw, in one location I ended up with the suite! We had at least warm water most of the time and the food was generally good if a little repetitive after a while. Breakfast was generally fruit, breads, jams, and eggs cooked to order. Where there was nowhere appropriate to stop for lunch, we were able to order sandwiches to go so we never went hungry on the long drive days.

Angela Beckwith Madagascan Discoverer

This was my first experience of travelling solo and my first experience doing an organized cycle tour. So I had a few concerns about whether I would like the group, would the cycling be interesting and challenging enough, would I meet people that I could become long term friends with. Well I should not have worried. The group dynamics were fantastic with a range of ages and professions from all corners of the world and we all got on wonderfully. The cycling was beautiful – I had heard so much about the Amalfi coast so was very surprised that the Cilento coast was even better to cycle with a little less traffic and a lot less touristy. And it was certainly challenging – not ever so much that you think you can’t make it but even the fittest of us felt some of the long hills. And we did develop friendships that are enduring – even looking at more trips together.

Two thumbs up to Paolo the guide – absolutely brilliant. Accomplishes everything with a smile on his face. He really did an outstanding job keeping us all on track and making sure we were all looked after.

But the most pleasant surprise for me was how relaxed you become so quickly. Everything is taken care of for you so the 100 decisions you normally make on holiday such as “where shall we have lunch?” or “what time should we have breakfast or dinner?” are all taken care of for you. In fact by day 3 you didn’t have to care about where you slept that night or how far you were going to cycle – you just got on the bike and knew everything would be taken care of. A really relaxing experience!

Martin Wright Cycle Cilento & the Amalfi Coast