I'm writing to wish you a very happy and healthy 2021.

I feel very grateful right now. My family, friends and I are all well. Much has changed in my life (and yours too, I suspect), but good health and good relationships, despite sustaining them by technology such as zoom, are to be thankful for. I hope that you are in a similar position.

I am also very thankful for the support our readers have given us over these past nine months. I have received many letters of encouragement and appreciation. Our readers have kept reading and that means a lot to us. It also meant that we could bring you the giveaway from Riviera River Cruises last week. Once the winner is confirmed, Tracey will make the announcement.

But what about travel? I am confident that I'll be traveling internationally again in 2021. It will likely be in the second half of the year and all destinations may not be available, but many will. So, the big question is, where to go first? Hmm, maybe I'll put a shortlist out to our community to help me decide.

I am excited about our first three speakers of 2021 for the Solo Traveler Insiders. We have Elizabeth Verwey in January sharing how she planned her nine week, six country and 2 continent grand adventure. In February Catherine Driver will tell us about her experience of walking the camino and in March Shivya Nath will help us understand how we can be more sustainable in our travels.

While I plan for travel in the second half of the year, I will also develop some travel skills. I'll get out hiking, snowshoeing and kick sledding (that's new for me) so that I build strength over the winter despite no gym access and no great travel adventures. I will also continue with my effort to become fluent in French. I hope you have some personal goals to keep you going as well.

Once again, I wish you the very best in 2021.

Warm hugs from Canada,
Janice

• The Wits & Wonder Travel Course Solo travelers have given the course 4.4 stars out of 5 and 79% say they are likely to recommend it to a friend. Many already have!
• Going Alone? Travel Insurance is a Must - why I never travel without insurance, how I've used it to recover losses, and how to buy it. 
• VPN for Travel: What, Why and an Easy Setup Guide - it will protect your identity on public WiFi and let's you browse the net in English even if you're in a foreign country.
• Solo Travel Deals Page. Updated monthly, to our knowledge this is the only list of tours with no or low single supplements on the Internet.
• Bare Minimum Packing: Here’s Your Packing List - our ultimate packing check list which I continue to use for every trip.