• Home
  • Start
  • How-to Tips
    • Tips for Solo Travel
    • Planning
  • Trips/Deals
    • Tours – Searchable
    • All Trips by Advertiser
  • Stats
  • Home
  • Start
  • How-to Tips
    • Tips for Solo Travel
    • Planning
  • Trips/Deals
    • Tours – Searchable
    • All Trips by Advertiser
  • Stats

Solo Traveler

Solo travel tips, destinations, stories... the source for those who travel alone.

Sign Up

You are here: Home / How to Travel Alone / Solo Travel Planning / Packing for Travel: Lists, Tips and Product Reviews / Winter Solo Travel: Destinations, Planning, and Packing

Winter Solo Travel: Destinations, Planning, and Packing

Janice Waugh

January 21, 2019 by Janice Waugh

Woman snow shoeing.

Snowshoeing is a great winter activity.

I love winter. I like the cold. I like bundling up and going out into a bright, cold day. So, as you can imagine, I love winter solo travel.

I have taken many winter trips over the years. I never let the temperature stop me. Typically, the brighter the day, the colder it is outside. When it's really cold, the inside of my nostrils freeze. Layers and face protectors, hoods and down-filled leather mitts, all protect me from the elements and allow me to enjoy them.

As a result I have lots of recommendations for great winter solo trips, I have a good sense of how to plan for one, and I know how to pack for a winter trip while still only using a carry-on suitcase. Here's my advice for great solo travel in winter.

photo, image, mont royal, run crew, winter solo travel

Meeting up with a Run Crew in Montreal to sprint up Mont Royal in the winter.

Table of Contents

  • Great Winter Solo Travel Destinations
  • Trip Planning for Cold Winter Travels
  • Packing for Winter Travels
  • Winter Road Trips Are an Option

Great Winter Solo Travel Destinations

Here are a few recommendations for winter destinations based on my travels and those of our readers.

  • Wilderness Adventures  Going into the wilderness is particularly magical in winter. A blanket of snow captures sound making it noticeably quiet. The exception to the quiet is the crunch of the snow beneath your boots, especially when it is very cold. The colder it is, the more the snow crunches. Here are a couple of recommendations:
    • Back country adventure in western Canada. Read Adventure Travel in Western Canada
    • Soft adventure in Canada's Rocky Mountains. Read Solo Travel Destination: Rocky Mountains, Alberta, Canada
  • Urban Adventures  Northern cities know how to make the most of winter. You get the urban experience with outdoor activities as well. Three cities in particular come to mind.
    • Ottawa is great for skating on the famous Rideau Canal; Winterlude, their annual February festival; and cross-country ski trails along the Ottawa River. Read Ottawa Getaway: Warm Memories from a Winter Trip.
    • Montreal has its old city where you can walk from the cold to the warmth of bistros, cafes, and pubs. There's also Mount Royal where you can go skating on Beaver Lake, cross-country skiing along the side of the mountain, and even take in a guided snowshoe event in the evenings. You can also read Solo Travel, Running and Run Crews.
    • Quebec City is probably the coldest of these three cities but, again, it has so much to offer, such as its Carnival in February. Read Solo Travel Destination: Quebec City, Canada for one of our reader's winter experiences in Quebec City.
  • Skiing and Winter Resorts
    • Mont Tremblant.  Read Mont Tremblant: The Perfect Winter Getaway and Taking on My Zipline Fear – With Mixed Results.
    • Whistler-Blackcomb, British Columbia. While there, try Ziplining and, in Whistler, skiing. See A Solo Ski Trip is a Social Affair and Solo At Whistler Blackcomb: 32 Tips You Need to Know While you're there, try some other outdoor activities.
  • Small Town Winter Travel  Small towns are just that: small. They are easy to navigate, usually friendly, close to nature, and are typically very safe. Here are a few small towns that are great in winter.
    • Whitehorse is a town that many southerners have moved to. It's a town full of lots to do all year around and, if you're lucky, you'll see the northern lights. Read Solo Travel to Whitehorse: Highlights & No Lights in Canada’s North.
    • Plaster Rock, New Brunswick is a destination well off the beaten path, but come February it's a hot spot for pond hockey. The World Pond Hockey Championships attract visitors from Europe and North America.
    • Muonio, Finland is a destination I'd like to reach based on a readers report: Solo Travel Destination: Muonio, Finland.
  • European Choices  There isn't a European destination that I wouldn't visit in winter, though there are some more attractive than others. I can certainly recommend Switzerland where I lived in 2002. There's nothing better than a day of skiing followed by fondue by a fireplace in a chalet. Here are a few posts we have on winter European destinations.
    • Christmas Markets in Munich: Perfect for Solo Travelers
    • Solo Travel Destination: Bansko, Bulgaria
    • Solo Travel Destination: Sweden
photo, image, mont tremblant, winter solo travel

Apres Ski at the Fairmont Hotel, Mont Tremblant, Quebec (north of Montreal).

Trip Planning for Cold Winter Travels

  • Decide on your winter activities. Do you want to ski, traipse around a city, or take in a winter festival? Decide what you want to do on your winter getaway first and then choose your destination accordingly.
  • Choose your destination. In some cases, you can have it all. Skiing is available within an hour of Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec City. Know what you want to do first and the location will fall into place.
  • Plan your transportation. Now that you know where you want to go you want to know what it will take to get there. If you're not sure, use Rome2Rio.com. This site gives, in great detail, all the options of how to get from one place to another, how long it will take, and how much it will cost.
  • Book your accommodation. Booking.com is the most popular site for booking hotels, hostels, and B&Bs according to our readers. I also like VRBO.com, a site similar to Airbnb on which I've had better success.
  • Monitor the weather. Two weeks before leaving, start monitoring the weather at your destination. I use the Weather app on my phone and add my destination to it. This makes it easy to get the 14-day outlook.
  • Pack according to the weather. See the next section.

Read detailed information on solo trip planning. Check out our Trip Planning Resources page. Read How to Travel Alone: Solo Travel Planning, and Successful Trip Planning: Address the Obstacles First.

photo, image, mounties, winter solo travel

The Pond Hockey Championships in Plaster Rock, New Brunswick, Canada is a novel small town destination for a winter trip. The ladies winning team in 2018 was the Eh Team – obviously Canadian. The men's winning team was from the Czech Republic.

Packing for Winter Travels

My biggest concerns are cold feet, cold hands, and a cold back. If I can keep all these warm, I'm okay. Please see my standard carry-on packing list here. Below are special items for cold weather travel. Most were worn onto the plane so they didn't affect my carry-on capacity at all.

  • Boots  My boots are rated for 25 below zero Celsius. You might not need your boots to be that warm, but I love knowing that my feet will never get cold. Bottom line: you need warm boots.
  • Shoes  It's common when you're traipsing about in the snow in boots to carry a pair of light shoes with you for when you go inside. Choose a pair of indoor shoes that are light and easy to pack.
  • Parka  You can spend a lot on a parka but that's not really necessary. The key to a warm parka is a good layer of down or quality insulation and the right fit. It can't fit too close to your body. There needs to be air between your body and the jacket to act as another layer of insulation. A hood is essential on particularly cold or windy days. A 3/4 length is ideal.
  • Pants  Jeans are not great in really cold weather. Corduroy pants are much better. The wales in the fabric create space for air and some insulation and prevent the fabric from becoming stiff with cold.
  • Wind Pants  You can buy insulated snow pants but I find wind pants over pants and long underwear do the job in most cases. I spent my week in Quebec city wearing cords and wind pants when out and about and found my legs were just fine. These are the pants from my rain suit.
  • Layers  You have to travel with long underwear. I prefer silk for warmth because the layer is so thin it's barely noticeable and because, unlike synthetic fabric, it keeps smelling fresh.
  • Scarf and Neck Warmer  These are so important. On really cold days I wear both. The neckie does what it should. It keeps my neck warm and stops any wind from going down my jacket. The scarf is more flexible and goes around my face if required.
  • Mittens  You need a pair of gloves but you also need a great pair of mitts. My mitts make me smile every time I see them. They remind me of being warm on really cold days. They're too warm for most days in Toronto but when I'm in a really cold environment they are perfect.
  • Hat  In Canada we call a knitted wool hat a toque. Even with a hood up you need a toque.

Winter Road Trips Are an Option

Winter driving can be different than the rest of the year but not always. Most of the time, weather isn't an issue. However, you do have to plan for the possibility. To do so, read A Winter Road Trip Alone: 32+ Tips You Need to Know.

Last updated: 14th December, 2022

Sharing is caring!

176 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email

Trips for Solo Travelers

Travel Insurance for Solo Travelers

Posts You Want to Read

Top Categories on Solo Traveler

Solo Female Travel

Road Trips

A Solo Point of View

All Articles

Destinations

Travel Money

Deals

  • Solo Female Travel Tips: Advice from Women Who Know
  • Road Trips: Tips & Itineraries for Solo Travelers
  • Packing for Travel |
  • A Solo Point of View |
  • All Articles
  • Destinations
  • Travel Money
  • Deals

Contact Us

Publisher Janice: info @ solotravelerworld.com

Editor Tracey: tracey @ solotravelerworld.com

Sales Simon: simon @ solotravelerworld.com

Get Solo Travel News & Deals

  • Home
  • About
  • Advertise with Solo Traveler
    • Create Your Advertiser Account
    • Login to Your Advertiser Account
  • Deals
  • Solo Travel Statistics
  • Media & Speaking
  • Privacy Policy & Disclosure
  • Contact
A Proud Member of the Travel Media Association of Canada
RESULTS MAY VARY (THE DISCLAIMER)

The content of Solo Traveler and any resources published by Solo Traveler are meant for entertainment and inspiration only. Please note that while we have advertising clients promoting destinations, products, services, trips and tours on Solo Traveler and that we endeavour to only work with companies in which we have confidence, we are not responsible for the delivery or quality of their products or services. Every person and every travel situation is different. Your safety, satisfaction and fun traveling solo are your responsibility alone and not that of Solo Traveler, its publisher, editor and/or writers.

PRIVACY POLICY & DISCLOSURE: In accordance with FTC guidelines, I disclose that I may be compensated if consumers choose to utilize links located throughout the content on this site. Additionally, some posts might be sponsored to support this site. Please do the appropriate research before participating in any third party offers. All opinions are my own. Please read our full Privacy Policy here.

Copyright © 2023 · Solo Traveler · Site By RTW Labs

176 shares