the times Saturday January 1 202242 Travel
46 Nature and culture
in Japan
Best for The green heart of Honshu
Two-day stays in Tokyo and Kyoto
bookend this new 12-day solos tour of
central Honshu. But, like a tamago sando
sandwich, the best bits are in the middle.d’Ampezzo and the Hidden Valley,
tailoring every outing to the abilities
of the group. Accommodation is in
private rooms in hotels with no
single supplements.
Details Seven nights’ half-board from
£1,499pp, including flights and guiding
(wowskitours.com)Details Eight nights from £879pp
(mainly half-board), including flights.
Departs on October 1 (leger.co.uk)44 Culture and chilling
in Cuba
Best for Caribbean classics
Part culture trip, part beach holiday, this
ten-night Cuban trip for solos combines
all the important stuff — Oldsmobiles,
cigars, salsa and mojitos — with the
self-indulgence of a seaside break on the
island of Cayo Ensenachos. Arguably
two days on the white sands isn’t
enough, but there’s so much more to see:
pretty Trinidad, the grand port of
Cienfuegos, then back to Havana.
You will be picked up and dropped
off at your home, and travel in Cuba
by coach.
Details Ten nights from £2,899pp
(mainly full board), including flights.
Departs on October 13 (titantravel.co.uk)45 Ski in the Dolomites
— for women only
Best for Discovering the Dolomites
Lizzie Russell sells women-only ski
weeks in the Dolomites — the
Italian mountain paradise that offers
700 miles of prepared pistes in a dozen
areas all covered by one £233 lift pass.
Steering clear of the weekend-warrior
crowd, you will spend your time with a
guide who will take you on a different
tour each day to Alta Badia, CortinaDetails Seven nights’ full board from
£1,799pp, including flights. Departs on
June 4 (solosholidays.co.uk)
40 Greek hideaway
Best for Regaining your sanity
If sometime over the past two years,
while locked down under grey skies with
the world falling apart, you fantasised
about loafing in the sunshine at a small,
family-run Greek hotel, it might have
been the Hotel Meganisi. Standing on
the outskirts of the village of Katomeri
on the eponymous Ionian island and a
15-minute walk from the beach at Mikro
Limonari, the 35-room property is run
by the lovely Dimi and Christina Politis,
assisted by their various offspring.
There are footpaths radiating from
Katomeri for the curious, and a pool
terrace for the idle.
Details Seven nights’ B&B from
£852pp, including flights
(ionianislandholidays.com)
41 Hike the Austrian
Alps
Best for Summer in the mountains
In winter it’s a glitzy ski resort in the
High Tauern range, but in summer Bad
Hofgastein is transformed into a hiker’s
paradise of Alpine meadows, cool pine
woods and crystal lakes — all connected
by Austria’s excellent Post Bus network,
which seems to have a stop at the end of
every walk. On this eight-day holiday
you’ll follow your guide up peaks
including the 7,000ft Huttenkogel and
Stubnerkogel, explore the valley’s
goldmining history, and soak away the
pain in Bad Gastein’s fabulous outdoor
thermal baths. How much pain? Well, it’s
rated moderate, which means you need
to be up for tackling full-day walks with
long ascents and steep descents.
Details Seven nights’ half-board from
£1,399pp, including flights
(ramblersholidays.co.uk)
42 Explore the
Canadian Rockies
Best for Active solo travellers
Look north from Waterton Lakes on
the second day of this eight-day hiking
and camping trip to the Canadian
Rockies and spare a thought for
Alexander Mackenzie, the explorer
who made the first east-to-west crossing
of America in 1793 and who headed
into these great mountains with no clue
of what lay ahead. You’ll be following
in his footsteps with a bit more
information as part of a new small-group
adventure that takes you from Calgary
to Lake Louise and the Iceline Trail. It’s
a demanding itinerary requiring a
decent level of fitness and includes
hiking, rafting and camping under a
billion stars.
Details Seven nights from £1,399pp,
mainly full board (gadventures.com).
Fly to Calgary
43 The heart of Italy
Best for Hassle-free exploring
The escorted tour operator Leger has
thought of everything for this eight-
night Treasures of Tuscany, Rome
and the Green Heart of Italy tour for
solos: there’s pick-up from your home
if you want it; no flights; and one base —
Hotel Astra in the spa town of
Chianciano Terme — for the entire
trip, which means you don’t have to
pack up every day and have your own
room. The itinerary also does what it
says on the tin, visiting Florence, Assisi,
Rome, San Gimignano, Siena and
Montepulciano.
42 Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies
50 Borgo Egnazia, Italy