The Carthusian monks are probably the closest to hermits in the Catholic Church. They spend almost all of their time alone in their cells. Although they don't take a formal vow of silence, unnecessary talking is discouraged. The one exception is that they take a communal walk on Mondays where they're allowed to talk about whatever they want.
(As an aside, for anyone interested in their lives, there's a great documentary called Into Great Silence. It's long and has no narration, but there's a great scene at the very end where it shows the monks on one of their Monday walks going sledding in the Alps.)
(As an aside, for anyone interested in their lives, there's a great documentary called Into Great Silence. It's long and has no narration, but there's a great scene at the very end where it shows the monks on one of their Monday walks going sledding in the Alps.)