the times Saturday January 1 2022
100 trips for 2022 Travel 41
More trips next page
GETTY IMAGES; CHRISTOPHER CYPERT; NOMADIC RESORTS39 Turquoise Coast, Turkey
SOLO
*Multiple departures unless stated. None
of the trips include single supplements35 New Zealand refresh
Best for Intrepid singletons
New Zealand plans to open for tourism
on April 30, more than two years after
going into self-isolation, and operatorsoffering driving itineraries immersed
in numinous desert scenery, motoring
along pencil-straight, empty roads
and taking in some of the most
captivating sections of Route 66.
The arrival of the eagerly awaited
Ambiente hotel in early 2022 adds
an extra cool dimension. Embedded
in the red rocks of Sedona, Ambiente
is North America’s first “landscape”
hotel, a term for resorts that blend
into the natural topography. Its
40 cube-shaped rooms are wrapped
in floor-to-ceiling bronze-tinted
glass, with minimalist interiors
including rough wood furniture
and rooftop fire pits to watch those
starry dark skies.
Details Fourteen nights’ room only
from £2,699pp, including flights
and car hire (bon-voyage.co.uk)
34 Ferraris and
gastronomy in Italy
Best for Gourmet petrolheads
Food and fast cars are national
obsessions in Italy, so make like
a local under the guidance of the
country’s greatest chef, Massimo
Bottura. His restaurant Osteria
Francescana in Modena has a waiting
list to rival the Glastonbury ticket
queue, but stay at his super-stylish
Casa Maria Luigi country house
outside town and you can also sample
his signature dishes. You’ll enjoy
slow-food experiences such as tours
of artisan balsamic vinegar and
parmesan producers, and then hit
the accelerato — literally. Bottura
has recently opened Ristorante
Cavallino in nearby Maranello, the
home of Ferrari, where lunch is wisely
scheduled after you’ve completed
your laps of the Modena racetrack
in a Ferrari Challenge Car.
Details Two nights’ half-board from
£3,500pp, including tours and one
tasting menu lunch (bellinitravel.com).
Fly to Bologna
vineyards and hill villages slide by. Who
knows what could happen — by 2023
you may no longer be a solo traveller.
Details Seven nights’ full board from
£2,209pp, including flights. Departs on
November 4 (rivieratravel.co.uk)38 India by rail
Best for A grand tour of the
subcontinent
Dozens of books have been written
about Indian rail, but perhaps only
Arup K Chatterjee’s The Great Indian
Railways captures the wonder of a
behemoth made of 42,226 miles of track,
108,000 daily services to 7,325 stations
and 1.2 million employees. Yes, the
stations are chaotic, the booking
byzantine and the third-class carriages
only a little more comfortable than a
low-cost airline, but think of the views.
This unforgettable 15-night solo
departure includes a VIP pick-up from
home, airport lounges and a tour of the
Golden Triangle by first-class train,
stopping at Delhi, Agra, Ranthambore,
Amritsar, Chandigarh and Shimla.
Details Fifteen nights from £2,699pp
(mainly half-board), including flights.
Departs on September 19
(travel.saga.co.uk)39 Turkey by gulet
Best for Rest and relaxation afloat
A gulet is a hand-built, two or three-
masted wooden sailing ship made in the
shipyards of Bodrum and Marmaris. It
offers the most luxurious way to explore
Turkey’s Turquoise Coast — dining on
fresh fish and raki, dropping anchor in
hidden coves, swimming off empty
beaches and, on deck or in your cabin,
enjoying perhaps the most restful sleep
you’ll experience. The only thing wrong
with this seven-night cruise aboard the
nine-cabin Beyzade from Fethiye to
Batikkaya Bay is that it’s too short.say that demand is huge — not only
with new bookings, but with those who
deferred from 2020. This new group tour
from Wendy Wu offers 50 per cent off
the flight price for solo travellers but also
forces you to make difficult decisions: do
you go for the 13-day North Island tour
— including Wellington, Auckland and
the volcanoes of the Tongariro National
Park; the 13-day South Island tour,
featuring Christchurch, Dunedin and the
Fjordlands; or the 23-day option that
does it all?
Details Thirteen nights’ full board from
£4,190pp, including flights
(wendywutours.co.uk)36 Splendours of
Sri Lanka
Best for Culture and beach
If you worry that you’re an oddity as a
solo traveller, don’t: in September 2021
almost half of all trips sold by Cox &
Kings were to people planning to travel
alone. This two-week Splendours of
Sri Lanka tour follows the classic circuit
from Colombo to Wilpattu National Park
in search of elephants and leopards
before heading through the island’s green
heart via the ancient cities of the Cultural
Triangle, the tea country and the beach.
There’s a bit of climbing and the odd hike
involved, so you do need to be mobile.
Details Thirteen nights from £2,645pp
(mix of B&B and half board), including
flights. Departs on March 2
(coxandkings.co.uk)37 Douro River cruise
Best for Romantic pottering
Solo tours aren’t necessarily quests for
love, but let’s face it, a slow cruise up the
River Douro fuelled by red wine and the
warm Portuguese sun is going to be
achingly, unavoidably romantic. The
itinerary lists eight guided visits and
excursions, including a flamenco tour
over the border in Salamanca, on-board
fado music and lots of time to watch the32 Ritz-Carlton Maldives
31 Wild Coast Tented Lodge, Sri Lanka