Over 50 Aussie female solo traveller USA road trip and beyond

New Years Eve Wolli Creek 2024

A New Year, and my first New Year’s Eve celebration in my new home in Wolli Creek felt like a good time to commence a new blog.

This is my first post on the blogger site. I have a blog edibiasutti.au which I have been running since 2018 when my older son, Carlos, suggested I document my travels. In 2018 I did a 5 month roadtrip of back roads of every contiguous USA state and can proudly say I have been to every USA state. I then added my travels around Australia and other countries.

After 16 years in a 4 bedroom/2 bathroom 115 year old house in Sydenham under the Sydney Airport flight path, I decided to downsize to a 2 bedroom/2 bathroom 20 year old unit in Wolli Creek, 5 minute drive down the road.

I now have spectacular views of Sydney Airport and water views of Wolli Creek and Botany Bay out to the ocean.

For several years I spent NYE somewhere on Sydney Harbour or its foreshore to enjoy the spectacular Sydney fireworks. This year I thought we might enjoy my new home and perhaps find some entertainment by some illegal fireworks as the lead up to NYE, there have been many fireworks going off in this area. I have many fond and scary memories of “cracker night” where we let off fireworks at home, in local parks, had parties and BBQs and let off fireworks anywhere. The Government banned fireworks in NSW in 1986 due to pressure from the Royal College of Physicians because of the many injuries and deaths caused by ignorance and accidents. However in my new home we had some unexpected entertainment.

Just prior to the above lot of fireworks, 3 firebrigades were called to a fire caused by illegal fireworks which could have caused a lot more damage. My pickleball centre was nearby and was at risk!!

Happy New Year to all and may 2025 bring wonderful memories, joy with people you love and many exciting adventures.

Hobart Tasmania

In September 2024 I finally got to explore my final state of Australia. A little embarrassing considering I have been to every USA state on a roadtrip in 2018, most of which you can check out here edibiasutti.au.

Well Tasmania was a delight and a surprise. So much to see and do that I will break it down into areas. Tasmania is often forgotten on maps, but this gem should never be considered an inferior place in any way. I would put it on my list of first places to explore after Sydney. I would be so happy to go back there, even though I am not a fan of cold weather, Tasmania is beautiful, quirky, stunning, historical, modern – a must go to place.

I had wonderful company on this almost 2 week trip with Tess, who had started as my Airbnb guest in October 2023 and she just never left. Tess was on a work holiday visa and used my Sydney home as a base to live and learn the Aussie city culture but went off on trips around Australia for weekends and a week at a time. I was fortunate to have her company for her last few days in Australia on this wonderful trip.

We picked up our rental car at Hobart Airport. I get my rental cars through the broker billiger-mietwagen.de with whom I always get amazing deals. They are a German company and most of the information is in German but I have had no difficulty getting translations with Google and communication by email is efficient in English.

We based ourselves in the Waterfront Lodge Motel just outside of Hobart city for the first three days. Warm, clean, comfortable and good communication with management.

Hobart has it all. Great food, history, culture, beautiful waterfront, mountains and wildlife. A must do is the MONA (Museum of Old and New Art). You can either drive or I highly recommend taking the ferry and you can go as a Pleb or a Posh. Tess and I decided to go Posh.

This Museum requires a bit of a warning that some things may offend if a bit prudish, but we loved it all. I loved the resident composer. It was his last day. He had been there for 360 days. Every day he composed a piece of music for a quartet. Every day a new quartet would come in and perform the piece he composed. What an amazing piece of art!

There are many walks around Hobart including the Battery Point Sculputure Trail or the In Bobby’s Footsteps are self guided walks. These walks show you some beautiful old residential areas, Salamanca Markets area and the beautiful waterfront. And it is where the Sydney to Hobart yacht race ends on New Year’s Eve.

We got up close and fed some Aussie wildlife at the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary Highly recommend the after hours tour.

Mount Wellington is an amazing drive. Be aware not to look over the edge of the road if you suffer vertigo. It is bitterly cold and windy but the views are spectacular.

Puerto Rico

My flight from Houston to San Juan was delayed by 8 hours as the copilot did not present for work. United Airlines provided a $250USD credit for accommodation but I have requested it for a future flight credit. Once on the flight at 8am I arrived in San Juan without a hitch.

As I have been to all 50 States of the United States I am now trying to tick off the territories. Although Puerto Rico is on my list because I love salsa dancing and this is another must go to place for latino dancing. An example of this is the local bus has “loud” salsa music playing. As I mention in the clip, the bus fare is very cheap, 75cents US but there is an election coming up and all fares have been scrapped until August for everyone. So free bus rides!! First off I did the free walking tour with Old San Juan Free Walking Tour and if you get Carmen you will get the best tour guide in Puerto Rico. You will even get a salsa dance class with her. She is fabulous. She also does private tours Explora Daily Tours. Th e weather was great, 32degrees, felt like 38degrees. I find it amusing that I am often the oldest in most events I go to (I am not that old) and everyone was always checking I was ok. Mainly because they were sweltering in the humidity and heat. I was fine. They do not realise that Sydney heat is exactly the same in summer.

I went searching for sea turtles at Escambron Beach. I was hoping I might see some turtles come up to the sand but these turtles remain in the water and you can only see them snorkling but I was not prepared. It was pouring with rain. I was so drenched I could have gone into the water though. I caught the bus, free of course and walked through the Luis Munoz Rivera Park.

The highlight of the Puerto Rico was a kayaking bioluminescence tour with Eco Action Tours. I was prepared for disappointment as I was warned that I may not see much luminescence as it was close to the full moon. However, it was an enchanting experience kayaking in the dark, seeing the flickering of fireflies and the splash of the luminescent water. Once again I was the oldest and the organisers were impressed with me keeping up with the “young” ones. I gave up long ago reacting indignantly. I am pretty lucky I am able to travel and do things no matter what my age. I did have a tandem kayak and Dee was my partner and she was pretty strong. I will say I was the steering and control strength of the team. It was wonderful to have met Dee on the Host a Sister Facebook site.

I stayed in the Condado area which is a bit pricey but I stayed in one of the cheaper style apartments La Mona Loiza. Very clean in a great area with easy transport, lots of restaurants bars and cafes and a 24 hour supermarket 2 minute walk. My room was at the front so on the road and Puerto Ricans drive with their car windows down and their music “loud” so it is noisy but nothing that earplugs didn’t fix. There is a wonderful community library right out the front.

I finished off the trip with looking for dancing at La Placita where there are so many dance venues to choose from. This area is a market through the day and then opens up to dancing at night but true to latino style does not start until 10pm. This video above was just around 10pm so still very early.

Mexico

Had a wonderful day in Tijuana with a walking tour through Border Tours. I first tried to do this tour 6 years ago when on my roadtrip but when I parked my car at San Ysidro at the USA/Mexico border I actually cancelled as I found the area so seedy I got worried and did not go ahead with the tour. I was concerned about leaving my rental car with all my belongings for my roadtrip in this area. This time a friend dropped me off at San Ysidro. Border Tours met me and the other clients at the front of McDonalds, they provided us details of the tour guide who would meet us at the Mexican border and then walked us to the USA side of the border entrance.

Once through immigration we were met by the tour guide, Carlos, at the Mexican border and were escorted by local bus to downtown. We were taken through some wonderful markets and food venues. Of course the famous home of caesar salad.

But the best was the Tequila. What a shame I cannot take the Mescal home to Australia

Mystery Island Vanuatu

I am on the Carnival Luminosa which has a stop at Mystery Island. I have been to Mystery Island many times and it is one of my favourites in the South Pacific. An island belonging to Vanuatu and it has no inhabitants. The locals come over from nearby islands to sell their wares, braid locks and provide massages. You can have some “kava” a local hallucinagen which tastes like dirt. You can hire snorkeling gear and check out the lovely fish, rays and turtles. Get a photo in the cannibal pot, walk around the island which takes 45 minutes. There is an air strip which was used during WWII.

Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

Today I experienced another “first”. Born and bred in Sydney, only 15 minutes from Sydney Harbour, I finally attended my first Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race start . It is known as the Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race for the past 77 years. This race commences in Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day and finishes in Hobart on New Years Eve. I normally am too hungover on Boxing Day to get to this event. Not this year though. A friend, Brian, purchased a ticket for me on the Sydney Princess Cruises MV Jerry Bailey. It is ticketed as a Boxing Day Cruise so most may not realise that it goes to the yacht race starting area. The race is across 1,000 kilometres (628 nautical miles) and there is no prize money. Many of the sails are now black as they are made with carbon fibers, the strongest material for sails. I will try to do this again as I don’t need a reason to sail on Sydney Harbour because I love it so much, but it is quite the experience watching this race start and all the boats trying to get a great spot. It is very dangerous and you need to be on a boat with an experienced captain as there are many small boats on the harbour who are so inexperienced they can cause havoc. I highly recommend Sydney Princess Cruises as the ticket was $75 for 3 hours and included a lovely hot buffet of pasta, beef stew, chicken, salads, tea, coffee and dessert. The boat only had 70 people (can take 150) but everyone had a table allocated. There is a top deck but you could view the race from any part of the boat. This was a very unexpected surprise.

Solo Traveller

Today I bought the Magazine That’s Life Mega Monthly, an Australian publication. I had a personal reason, I have an article in this month’s issue!

I was approached by the Editor, who has been following my blog, to do a story on my travels. It was decided to start with information for solo travellers. So, as my niece stated “you are a published blogger!”. How exciting is this! “Travelling Solo”

In my travels I meet so many solo travellers who inspire me and then I find I inspire them in various ways also. I never thought that my travels would inspire others. I love how Peter Nicklin, a fellow solo traveller I met on the Norwegian Jewel in 2019, on a B2B (that is back to back in cruise talk), 26 days Transpacific cruise, would include me in his first book he wrote during Covid.

Seen by Peter Nicklin at 20:34 — Peter Nicklin

I am not the main character, just a mention, but it is very flattering to be included in a book. “This Girl: The adventures of a fun loving twenty something in the seventies”

And then I was the inspiration for a character and a couple of cheeky events in “Bob and Sofia: Bobs chaotic travel adventures with Sofia”. Again, I am not the main character, although some of my friends may think so.

I hope you get to enjoy my article, Peter’s books and my blog. Perhaps I will see you on one of my future cruises. I’m already booked on another for November.

How Easy Is It To Travel Solo

“You must be rich!”. This is something people often say to me.I don’t even get a pension yet and as a mum working several casual jobs, I didn’t even get much of a superannuation package. I have worked up to 3 jobs most of my life while juggling children and a home. Now I have a home which provides me an income. Many questioned why I would purchase a home in the flight path of a capital city airport. That was all I could afford at the time but it is in such a sought after location for travellers to Sydney due to its proximity to the airport, easy access to the City, lots of nearby restaurants and entertainment venues, it has turned out ok for me. I am happy to share some of my “strategies” but mostly I have a four bedroom house and I Airbnb or rent out my rooms. I go without total privacy to allow me to travel the world.

As a solo traveller I have to be resourceful and research to stretch my dollar. Cruising is my favourite form of travel and I actually don’t really care where the ship goes to, I just love being on the water. Other pluses are meeting people from all over the world, not having to drag my bags onto buses or trains, being able to unpack and not live out of a suitcase and being allowed more than 20kg of luggage. I am looking forward to being able to cruise around the world, not on one cruise, but to do what is known as B2B (back to back) cruising.

I try to keep my luggage minimal but as I never know where I will go, I need to have clothing for all types of climate. My last trip I went from -5 Celsius in London to 40 Celsius in Cyprus. I was very proud of myself keeping my luggage to 20kg check in and 10kg carry on. I am not sure how much longer I can lift these bags up stairs onto trains, up and down escalators, up stairs (the stairs in UK homes are killers). I do find people are very kind and many assist me with my bags but it takes a lot of psyching up to keep going. Particularly I have to be prepared to carry my bags up station steps if there is no lift and if noone is around to help me.

Walking into a restaurant or nightclub alone can be daunting when everyone looks at you. I often need to take deep breaths before entering and saying to myself “you do this or go back to your room and stay alone”. I do enjoy my own company but also do get lonely sometimes. Luckily I have lots of friends around the world who are a phone call away and they give me my fix to perk me up.

Travelling alone you meet many more people than if you are a couple. I do like people and will talk to anyone on the plane, on a bus or train and I often wonder if being of a mature age whether this helps me. I was thinking the other day if a 70 year old man approaches someone to ask for assistance whether he would get the same assistance and response I do. Being female can be an advantage as we are seen as vulnerable, but that vulnerability can also attract danger. When travelling around Columbia my son (who was on exchange at George Washington University in the USA), told me that his university colleagues told him that I was in a very dangerous country and that I shouldn’t be there travelling alone. My son’s response was “my mum will walk around like she belongs there”. I try to take care and be aware of my surroundings, try not to look anxious, walk purposefully, hold onto my shoulder bag loosely but ready to react if needed. I don’t know how I will react if someone tries to rob me but I walk with awareness. When people ask if I am scared to travel alone, I recount the time that my home was broken into while I was sleeping. Luckily I was not harmed but it makes you realise that you really are not safe anywhere.

I have lost a lot of friends through accidents and illness and I am at the age where this is happening more, so this also spurs me on to live every moment I can. I will slow down my travel when I have grandchildren so for now, while I can I will try explore as much of the world as I possible.

As a solo traveller I have learned many ways to stretch my travel dollar. One of the down sides of solo travel is that the cost is often double. A cruise cabin is normally priced for two people. However, cruise lines such as Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) and recently MSC often drop the solo supplement. There are several cruise sites which can assist you work out if the solo supplement has been dropped. Vacationstogo is one of my go to sites. Another solo travellers’ travel group is PassionForCruising who source amazing solo pricing.

As I do not have any set time to travel I take advantage of last minute pricing. This is not recommended for cruises around peak times such as Christmas as these cruises book out quickly. Sometimes as a solo traveller you might get a last minute booking for just one person but it can be rare. I find that booking cruises in Australia can be much more expensive than booking through an overseas travel agent. Some people are hesitant to pay with a different currency because of exchange rates but I find that USA has cheaper cruises than Australia even after factoring in the exchange rate. USA, UK and Europe offer travellers cheaper flights with their fly cruise deals. I have never seen a fly cruise deal from Australia. Not even if a cruise is going from a different state in Australia. Repositioning cruises are another way for solo travellers to get good deals. An example is a Transatlantic cruise. I have done 2 and my second one was in April 2022 from New York to Barcelona and the cost was $AUD3000. This was for a balcony cabin and included premium alcohol package, internet package, 2 speciality dining, $50US off a tour in each port, flight from London to New York and bus from airport to port. The price I was quoted in Australia was $AUD4000 which did not include flight or bus transfer.

To save money I book most of my travel myself, all my flights, trains, buses and accommodation. You need to be flexible to get the best deals. The way I travel I have no fixed agenda so look for the cheapest flights. An example was when I could not decide whether to go to Budapest or Prague. Flights to London were cheaper from Prague so I went there for a week. I took a train from Berlin to the border of Czech Republic as at the time Germany had a travel ticket for 9 Euro for the whole month no matter where you travelled and how often. This was the German government response to the fuel price increase caused by the Russian attack on Ukraine.

I have learned a lot from other solo travellers around the world. Everyone gives you tips on the latest deals for car hire, cruises, train apps, accommodation booking and best places to stay. I have friends who pay thousands for a holiday for 2 weeks and I can travel for 2 months for the same budget. The difference is I prefer to stay in areas where the locals live and not where tourists stay. I book everything myself so I do not pay for an agent’s booking fee. I join Facebook groups and Cruise Critic is a website which also has great information for cruise travel. This link is the USA site which is my preference but there is also a Cruise Critic Australian site you can check out.

Someone asked me how old the solo travellers are on cruises. My response was that solo travellers are ageless. They are a culture of people who are adventurous but most importantly want to travel. I have found that if I waited for every person who has said to me “I want to travel with you”, “I want to meet up with you on your travels” I would not have gone anywhere. I, like all the solos I have met, do not wait for anyone. Most of us start off anxious about travelling alone but if you start with a cruise, you can learn from other solos and also learn that there are many many solos travelling the world. I have a giggle when someone says “you are going on a cruise alone?” Well, alone with up to 6000 other people is not really alone. NCL cruises have a great program on all their cruises for solos to meet. It is a daily solo travellers meet up, not a pick up group, although sometimes people do pair up, but more often than not, solos are free spirited to meet other like minded travellers. Or they are travelling because their partner is working or they do not like cruising. I would like to point out that as a solo traveller I still make friends with couples and families whom I have made lasting friendships and communicate with regularly. Cruising is a culture of people and I love that I bump into people on cruises around the world whom I had met on a previous cruise or connect with their friends.

I am happy to share my travel experience with anyone who is thinking about the solo traveller experience or any general travel advice. We definitely are a culture which I am so happy to be a part of.

End of UK Trip

Well what started as a 6 month trip around UK ended up being a UK trip with many diversions. My previous trips to Europe were planned to meet family in Italy or a Transatlantic cruise from Florida to Barcelona which was a diversion from my USA roadtrip. This time, knowing I had 6 months so close to Europe, it was difficult to not experience places so close. I also needed to leave UK several times to not overload on the magnificent history of the place. I had to have a break and that was something I am glad I did so every time I returned I appreciated their historical magnificence even more.

Another reason I did so much, I am not sure how much longer I can travel in this way, lifting 20kg and 10kg bags into trains, up and down escalators, up stairs (the stairs in UK homes are killers) so tried to do as much as I can now. The cruises in between each trip to UK gave me time to reset and not live out of a suit case for more than a week. AND trying to keep my luggage within those weights was a feat in itself. The picture above shows my luggage for this trip and I would like to add that I am very proud of myself that I left London with the same weight of luggage from Sydney. Not sure how many people can do this after a 6 month trip.

A summary of some of my travel is below and I have included some pricing as many have asked about costs.

Flights = 15

I flew with Singapore Airlines from Sydney/Singapore/London return. All internal flights in Europe I travelled mostly with RyanAir.
1 March Sydney to Singapore
Singapore to London
1 April London to New York
24 April Barcelona to London
25 April London to Luxor
2 May Luxor to Cairo
4 May Cairo to London
27 May Copenhagen to Edinburgh
13 June Liverpool to Valletta Malta
23 June Valletta Malta to Paphos Cyprus
13 July Paphos Cyprus to Krakow Poland
18 July Krakow to Berlin
31 July Prague to Stansted London
1 September London Singapore
2 September Singapore Sydney

Cruises = 7

I booked my cruises through vacationstogo or through my NCL consultant in Florida or through Passion For Cruises for solo travellers. All the cruises included alcohol and internet. Some included additional perks such as speciality dining and $AUD75 credit towards a tour in every port. Something to remember when cruising, everything is included: entertainment, meals, alcohol, accommodation and travel. The cruises I did averaged around $200 per night. The most expensive was the River Nile cruise but I think the reason is selfexplanatory.
2 April/17 April New York to Barcelona Trans Atlantic NCL Epic $AUD3000 (Balcony)
17 April/24 April Barcelona Mediterranean NCL Epic (inside)
25 April/ 2 May River Nile MS Emilio $2200 (Balcony)
8 May/18 May Europe: France Germany Norway Denmark B2B NCL Getaway $1500 (Balcony)
18 May/27 May Balkan Baltic NCL Getaway $1200 (Balcony)
1 August/13 August British Isles Emerald Princess $2300 (inside)
13 August/25 August Canary Islands MSC Virtuosa $2230 (inside)

Trains = 15 (these do not include the numerous trains and tube within London and surrounds)
Watford to London/Watford £22 return
Watford to Bletchley Park/Watford £18 return
Watford to London £22 return
London to Canterbury/London $30.60 return
Heathrow to Salisbury £42
Salisbury to Southhampton £10.90
Edinburgh to Newcastle £23
Newcastle to York £13.00
Newcastle to Southport (£48.40
Southport to Liverpool £7
Berlin to Prague (£40)
London to Southampton (£39.00)
Glasgow to Edinburgh (£40 return)
Southampton to Bath (£22.20)
Bath to Chippenham (£6.50 return)
Bath to London (£59.70)

Countries and islands visited 28
England
Scotland
Ireland
Orkney Islands
Shetland Islands
Canary Islands
Madeira
Italy
Malta
Cyprus
Egypt
USA
Estonia
Denmark
Sweden
The Netherlands
Spain
Norway
Sweden
Czech Republic
France
Portugal
Corsica
Poland
Germany
Bermuda
Tenerife
Gran Canaria

My accommodation when not cruising was found either through Airbnb or Booking.com. I will add my accommodation at a later date.

Prague walking solo

Today I decided on a day of tourist sightseeing zig zagging the city to all the obscure places. I bought a one day ticket for 120czk ($AUD7) and started with the 11 tram down the road from my hotel to the R2D2 sculpture. It is an air ventilation shaft which has been artified. I didn’t realise I would have to walk this hill.. I can walk for hours but as soon as I hit stairs or a hill like this I slow down . Luckily I can use some of this time to write some blog while catching my breath. Going downhill is no bother, uphill kills me. Tried walking part backwards even. This hill is nowhere near as bad as the streets of San Francisco my son, “gently encouraged” me to walk, but this was still difficult in 30degrees but I made it.

I went to the “Dancing House” and had lunch in the terrace restaurant. Magnificent views. This has made me make this disloyal comment that I honestly believe this is the prettiest city in the world. I like to think Sydney is but I will have to say that Sydney has the most beautiful harbour in the world. Prague is gorgeous.

I then proceeded to Prague Meridian is a brass strip in Prague’s Old Town Square used to tell the time from 1652 to 1918, although no longer a marker for noon. The Velvet Revolution Memorial marking a non-violent student uprising that led to the downfall of Communism in Czechoslovakia. The outstretched hands, and fingers form a “V: for victory. and Sigmund Freud hanging. This statue startles people. Man Hanging Out looks like a suicide happening but is a statue of Sigmund Freud making a statement around uncertainty around intellectualism. National Memorial to the Heroes of the Heydrich Terror. In 1942 7 paratroopers were gunned down and this wall still displays the bullet marks.

Some of the quirky statues around the city.

Not long after the death of John Lennon, this wall was transformed into a memorial for John as well as including messages of peace during the Communist regime. Several artists over the years have contributed to the wall memorial. It currently also exhibits many poems and messages to the people of the Ukraine during this sad time of Putin taking over their homeland.