Teresa Rodriguez Williamson - Fly Solo: The 50 Best Places on Earth for a Girl to Travel Alone

Table of Contents

Whether your dream adventure involves catching waves on Waikiki or scoring bargains in Bangkok, this is the only travel companion youll need.

Carrie Sloan, senior editor, Marie Claire

Fly Solo is a must for every girls coffee table. Teresa offers you solid, fun, honest information about the best places to go alone. I love the Top 10 listings of things to dowhat a great way to get started on a new adventure. Im ready to pack my bags!

Holly Payne, award-winning, bestselling author of The Virgins Knot and The Sound of Blue

Teresa perfectly captures the adventure and excitement of traveling alone with her pithy, practical, and insightful summaries of exotic destinations. As a woman who has traveled solo to six of the seven continents, I highly recommend this guide as an indispensable insiders take on how any girl with gumption can best enjoy exploring the world on her own.

Cheryl Dahle, author of No Horizon Is So Far and contributing writer at Fast Company magazine

Jetting off to new places alone is a cinch; its skillfully writing about where to go and what to do thats the hard part. This book would not be in your hot hands without the help of some remarkable spirits who believed in this project as much as I did. I am so grateful to have an incredibly supportive and handsome husband, Timothy Williamson, who kisses me goodbye and always wishes me good fortune, as I fly off to distant shores solo. The biggest influence on this book is from my director, cheerleader, coach, therapist, and friendStephanie Block. She is a rock star, and I adore her for her unending dedication to me and Tango Diva. She was able to take my broken thoughts and string them back together like magic. I am forever grateful for her skillful editing and fierce honesty. Stephanies brilliant writing shimmers in Waikiki, Buenos Aires, Tokyo, Cartagena de Indias, Panama City, Montreal, and Beijing. A million mercis to the diligently delightful Sarah Naimark for her positively awesome research, editing, and management of the mle of chapters. Her input on Vienna, Dubrovnik, and Moab is beautiful. With her help, I was able to tackle each chapterone by one.

I am so grateful to Cheri Molnar for her skillful suggestions, support, and kind words just when I needed them. Many thanks to Suzanne Dunning for her research and lovely presence at Tango Diva. May the world be filled with more souls like her. Willow Cooks editing skills are stellar, and I thank her for her input. To the global gallivanting girls who shared insights about their travels: Jennifer Crawford for meeting me in Paris to show me the sights and her wonderful tips about Dubai, Krissie Dempsey for her enthusiastic information on Thailand, Anna Aliotos Waikiki expertise, Amy Chens help on Hong Kong, Meegan Adamsons ideas for Sydney, and Jill Christina Hansens thoughts on CopenhagenI thank you all for your precious time to share. I am so grateful for all the fantastic editorial staff at Tango Diva who shared their personal experiences with me. Stephanie Kulik, Alyssa Morrissey, Janet Lipkin Bein, Ashly Roof, Alexa Trotta, Ashley Zoellner, Lisa Esquivel, Callie Silver, Ashly Zoellner, Melissa Josue, and Daniel Lasman. I am so thankful for Monica Woelfels fact-checking skills and patience, as I careened into the writing abyss.

Super-duper special thanks go out to Eli Block, who cared enough about this project to find my fifty chapters that mysteriously went missing on my hard drive. And extra-special thanks to all those in the travel world who believed me when I said I was writing a book and helped me out with resources, information, press passes, and insights. From the fabulous people at Hotel Josef in Prague to the amazing tourist boards in Dublin, Lisbon, Berlin, Budapest, San Diego, and London. I really appreciate your priceless information.

There are a few others who were lucky enough not to be a part of my daily run-on sentences, dangling modifiers, and misplaced pronounsbut they were there from the beginning and will be there forever. I would not be where I am without the love and constant support from Patti Mangan. She met me when I was a young girl returning from five years in Australia, and she has watched me grow, marry, travel, and write a book. Together we built Tango Diva. And to my best friend and favorite play-mate, Heidi Arrizabalaga. She believed in me, took the idea of Tango Diva, created an inspiring brand, and lovingly designed my first book, which ended up transforming into this travel guide.

Finally, to Christel Winkler, my editor at Perigee, for the inspiring phone calls, encouragement, and direction. To Meg Leder for enthusiastically running with this project and managing it through its completion. And most of all, I thank Stephanie Kip Rostan, my agent extraordinaire, mentor, friend, and coach. Without her passion for this project, this book would still be stuck somewhere between my heart and my head.

Before zipping up your suitcase filled with untold pairs of stilettos and Brazilian bikinis, or snorkeling gear and sunscreen, take a moment to reflect on what you want to do (besides flirt!) on your next vacation. Are you setting out to discover why the world went crazy over Dada, or do you plan on getting cozy with jet-setters? Or both?

In Fly Solo, Im going to share with you the 50 best places on earth for a girl to travel alone, so that you can. How did I magically choose these fabulous 50 destinations?