Top Four Solo Vacays

Iceland

Ditch the Eurail pass and forego the usual suspects around Europe. Opt for something more unique like Europe's lesser-visited Iceland. Iceland is not for those on a shoe-string budget, Iceland is one of Europe's most expensive countries.  But its totally worth it as Iceland does not skimp on nature or luxury! Majestic glacier-wrought scenery and healing hot pools, turquoise pools, toppling cascades, and glaring-white icecaps await you.  Head to Reykjavik if you are itching for a more a more cosmopolitan locale . For the ultimate in luxury, check into the Blue Lagoon, where you can take a  dip in healing waters pool and lava rocks flanked by surreal Icelandic scenery.

Arizona

Ok so Arizona is not a glamorous far away land but for what it lacks in mystique it more than makes up for in spas, open roads, and tranquility. Rent a convertible, rock a fab-scarf,  and take a drive la Savannah in Waiting to Exhale. See first-hand the Sonoran Desert on your way to Sedona. Savor the diverse scenery as you go from desert to chapparal to tall Ponderosa Pine forests. Visit the Grand Canyon or just relax and rejuvenate in one of Arizona's many 5-star spas. Try Miraval (www.miravalresorts.com) Miraval is a top-rated all-inclusive resort, and award-winning spa situated in the warm shade of Santa Catalina Mountains in northern Tucson, Arizona on 400 acres of idyllic land, Miraval is a place dedicated to opening eyes, minds, and hearts. Hey if its good enoug for Oprah and Gayle...

England

England is an obvious choice, not just because they speak the same language, but because they speak the universal language - shopping. London has some of the trendiest boutiques and shops. Whether you are bargain hunting on the high street, digging for treasures in Camden Market,  or salivating over the hottest fashion in Harrods, there is something for everyone.  Fawn over Kate Middleton's impeccable sense of fashion like we do? Head towww.katemiddletonstyle.org to plan a shopping trip fit for a Queen. If the exchange rate has you shaking in your welly's, there is still plenty to do that does not involve burning up your credit card. Visit the city's many museums and cultural institutions, tour Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace, or retrace the infamous steps of Jack The Ripper. Be sure to journey to some neighboring towns that over a bevy of  charming castles and inns like Bath or Cornwall.  

Croatia

The Dalmatian coast is quite simply a slice of heaven here on earth.  To call it one of Europe’s most stunning escapes is an understatement. The azure waters of the Adriatic provide the perfect backdrop for my search for self fulfillment,  the coastline is punctuated by a series of lively towns, old castles and city walls, and cute restaurants with the freshest seafood and great wine. If you are on a time crunch, set your sites on Dubrovnik, This tiny town packs in all of the best Croatia has to offer, not to mention the people are beyond friendly and always willing to help a lone traveler. Despite the recent hype, Croatia’s pleasures are more timeless than trendy. Along its 1778km coastline, a glistening sea winds around rocky coves, lapping at pine-fringed beaches. City centers throb with nightlife and pop culture amid ancient Roman ruins. Your favorite movie star probably already snapped up one if its many tiny islands or docks his/her yacht there on a regular as Dalmatia is a fave in celebrityville.

It Was All A Dream!

  "It was all a dream....I used to read National Geographic Magazine..."

I know that's not how the song goes but that was indeed the story of my life. Unlike B.I.G I used to hang pictures of the Sphinx and the Champs Ellyses on my wall...next to my poster of Salt-n-Peppa and Heavy D up in the limosine. Despite my young age I knew that it was quite possible I'd meet them all at some point (and I did). Like most 80's brown babies I grew up reading VIBE, Essence, Ebony and the rest but I had a secret obsession with my dad's Robb Report and National Geographic magazines. I would make mental notes of all the fabulous and mysterious places I would one day visit once I was able to break from the confines of homework and chores.........

I started off not taking no for an answer. I saw no reason why I couldn't see the world even though I had no real income to speak of and barely knew how to get around the block. At 17 I decided Martha's Vineyard wasn't an option for my senior trip since a friends parents had a time share in the Bahamas. I convinced my parents that a week in the Bahamas was a better investment in my future. At 18 a professor told me I wasn't qualified to be a delegate for the school in Argentina for the Model Organization of American States because I wasn't a political science major. I told him I was a better politician than he could ever be and proceeded to convince his boss that I was not only going on the trip, but that I would co-lead the delegation. And I did, the rest as they say, is history. The following fall, at 19, I moved to Tokyo to study Japanese and International Business. Since then I've been to China, England, Scotland, Wales, Canada (yes it counts dammit), Ireland, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, the Czech Republic, The Netherlands, Croatia, Montenegro, Egypt, Brazil, Dominican Republic.

What I've learned over the years is that the destination is really the journey. The greatest reward in travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted. I live for the possibility to experience a thousand sunsets a thousand different ways, and most importantly, I believe its my life's purpose to bring that experience to everyone. With that said, I present to you the "Adventures in Divaland" logo. It's just a step, but we all know a journey of a thousand begins with just that.....

 To me this is much more than a logo, this is something I can look at, along with the stamps on my passport, to remind me where I've been but most importantly where I'm going. There's so much love left to spread over the  world to see and I'm just the girl for the job.

-Carmen

 “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” - St. Augustine


o. 

The 30th

After 3 planes, 2 continents, 1 flight cancellation and numerous layovers and mental meltdowns, I was finally flying over the Adriatic Sea en route to the my promise land, Croatia, when I read this passage:

That’s what I mean by routine, You think that you exist because you’re unhappy. Other people exist merely as a function of their problems and spend all their time talking compulsively about their children, school, work, etc .They never stop to think: I’m here. I am the result of everything that happened and will happen, but I’m here. If I did something wrong, I can put it right or at least ask forgiveness. “you are not here any more. You’ve got to leave in order to return to the present”…

-“The Aleph”, Paulo Cohelo

And that’s what I did…I left in hopes to return to the present, refreshed, renewed in spirit and prepared to finish walking in my destiny.

  The Dalmatian coast is quite simply a slice of heaven here on earth.  To call it one of Europe’s most stunning escapes is an understatement. The azure waters of the Adriatic provided the perfect backdrop for my search for self fulfillment,  the coastline is punctuated by a series of lively towns, old castles and city walls, and cute restaurants with the freshest seafood and GREAT wine, which I partook in many…many times. 

I spent my days lounging by the beach near Hotel Dubrovnik... 

I cruised to Korcula Town, rumored to be the birth place of Marco Polo. This place is absolutely sublime. It’s set on it’s own peninsula framed by the sea and the mountains...

I swam in the Adriatic at Lopud Beach. Which is by far the most beautiful beach I’ve ever seen...

  I climbed the walls in Old Town and walked through the Strandun also known as the Placa, Dubrovnik’s main thoroughfare 

  The highlight of the trip was my day trip to Montenegro. Montenegro formerly belonged to Serbia before claiming its independence after the war in Yugoslavia.   Just look at that view! 

 

Many don‘t understand my desire to travel alone. Why would you want to celebrate your 30^th birthday in a strange land with people you don‘t know?  Why would you spend all that money to be by yourself, you can do that at home? The answer? I‘m not sure that I‘ve found one sufficient enough, but I will leave you with the words of Paulo Cohelo

 “Travel is never a matter of money, but of courage. After weeks on the road, listening to a language you don’t understand, using a currency whose value you don’t fully comprehend, walking down streets you‘ve never walked before, you discover that your old “I“ along with everything you ever learned, is absolutely no use at all in the face of those new challenges and you begin to realize that, buried deep in your unconscious mind, there is someone much more interesting and adventurous and more open to the world and to new experiences. ”

The journey to Croatia took  2.5 days. I left a stormy foggy New York on Thursday and did not get there until Saturday, but I know that’s its by no mistake at all that I arrived exactly when I did. I’m sure it may take me another 2.5 months, or maybe even a life time,  to be able to put in words what this trip meant to me. I returned to New York with that same spirit that guided me here four years ago in the first place, my inner Carmen Sandiego is ready to leave you all wondering "Where in the world is Ms. Guyton?"