Your first post-divorce holiday doesn't have to be an Eat, Pray, Love cliché! Follow these expert tips for a truly restorative solo break - from pamper weekends to far-flung adventures

Divorce, it is said, is the psychological equivalent of a triple heart bypass. Or bereavement. Often painful and traumatic, it can leave you feeling exhausted, in shock, grieving the future you once envisaged.

Little wonder many people mourning the end of a marriage or long relationship often feel the need to recuperate – and what better way than on holiday?

With 42 per cent of marriages ending in divorce, solo travel and group tours are soaring in popularity as the newly single spread their wings. So, what does a post-divorce trip look like?

It does not have to resemble Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir of her post-divorce spiritual and geographical journey. Few people have the time or inclination to embark on a global, soul-searching odyssey after divorce.

But there are plenty of less radical options for those seeking a fresh start.

Tracey Davies is co-author of Wayward Women: Sex, Friendship And The Midlife Reset, a memoir of two divorced friends travelling the world, and editor of 101 Singles Holidays.

Divorce can have the same psychological impact as a triple heart bypass -so what better way to recuperate your spirits than a holiday?

She says: ‘Divorce can be the catalyst to do something different. For women, it’s liberating not answering to anyone else and what they want to do. It can be anything: a Pilates course in Morocco, a painting holiday, learning to cook in Italy.

‘There are lots of group activity holidays aimed at people who want to travel on their own but still be sociable.’

If divorce coincides with the children leaving home, this opens the door for more far-flung travels. ‘Women tend to be more adventurous than men,’ says Tracey. ‘As men get older, they want to nest but women want to get out there. They see divorce as a catalyst, a chance to try something new.’

Intrepid Travel, which organises group tours and adventure travel, reports that since 2021 some 43 per cent of their UK solo traveller bookings are made by midlife women.

Bridget Chadwick, from Intrepid, says: ‘Anecdotally, we hear often from these customers that the reason they’re embarking on a solo travel adventure is because they’re at a big turning-point in their life – it is often divorce, but it can also be kids fleeing the nest, retirement or becoming a widower.

'The common theme is that they have reached a stage in their lives where they can focus on their dreams and ambitions, and travel tends to be a big priority.'

‘They don’t want to lie around on a beach – they want something more fulfilling, more adventurous, more challenging.’

This year, female bookings for Intrepid’s active trips are up 30 per cent with walking/trekking up 43 per cent. The camaraderie of such tours is all part of the allure.

For me, travel was balm for my soul in the months before, during and after the turmoil of divorce. It is difficult to feel miserable in magical places, or when exploring somewhere new and exciting.

Women tend to be more adventurous than men when it comes to post-divorce holidays, says Tracey Davies, co-author of Wayward Women: Sex, Friendship And The Midlife Reset

It was liberating to make decisions on my own, with no compromises. I find water soothing, so a month after filing for divorce, I took my daughter for a long weekend at the Hilton Molino Stucky Venice. Gliding along La Serenissima’s tranquil turquoise canals in a gondola restored my serenity.

In contrast, a friend took her children and dogs campervanning around Europe for six weeks straight after her divorce. The children loved it and she found it empowering.

Annabel Lane, a divorce coach, advises choosing somewhere new to create fresh memories. She says: ‘There isn’t one “right” kind of trip. Your identity shifts when you go through a divorce - and that means your requirements for a holiday shift too.’

Holidays as a single parent can be daunting at first, particularly if your ex previously organised the holiday or did the driving.

For practical and financial reasons, some couples holiday together post-split. But if you go it alone, what are the best breaks post-divorce? It depends on preferences, budget and the ages of your children.

Some tour operators specialise in breaks for single parents. Acorn Family Holidays offers no-hassle adventure single-parent family holidays across Europe, such as a water sports break in Spain where, after paddleboarding and kayaking, you hang out with other families.

Camp Mates has all-inclusive UK camping holidays and holidays abroad for single-parent families, while High Adventure Holidays runs activity-based breaks in the Yorkshire Dales.

But if you are travelling child-free, then the options are endless and enticing.

You could combine safari with yoga in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro at Great Plains’ ol Donyo lodge in Kenya, alternating game drives with guided yoga sessions to the sounds of birds chirping in the background and elephants slurping from the water hole below the lodge, then finish your day with a peaceful, silent guided bush walk.

There are also on-site therapists who deliver pampering treatments. Of course, travel is not the panacea for all ills, and we return home to whatever we left behind, but even a brief break from them can be incredibly restorative.

Stefan Walters, of Harley Therapy, explains: ‘Travel promotes a growth mindset, helping us break out of certain thinking and behavioural habits.

‘When you go somewhere new, everything seems fresh, possible, there is a new sense of potential, we discover new parts of ourselves.’

TRAVEL FACTS 

Places on 13-day ‘India: Women’s Expedition’ tours cost from £1,175 (intrepidtravel.com). Doubles at Hilton Molino Stucky Venice from £315 (hilton.com). See Acorn Family Holidays (acornfamilyholidays.co.uk). Camp Mates (campmates.co.uk). High Adventure Holidays (high adventureholidays.co.uk). Great Plains’ Ol Donyo lodge (greatplainsconservation.com).