Going solo on holiday has never been easier, thanks to a growing number of tour operators offering singles-focused group trips in a safe and friendly setting to destinations far and wide.
Even better, such trips now mostly come minus the punishing single supplement that mainstream operators often add on.
So, if you’re plotting a solo adventure, here’s our pick of the best tour companies to choose from, with everything from laid-back beach breaks to city escapes and once-in-a-lifetime global adventures on offer…
Single trips for the over-50s
One Traveller, a Norfolk-based, family-run operator, flashes ‘no single supplements’ across its website and woos mature travellers with its carefully crafted group itineraries, ranging from Oxford walking tours to epic three-week South American jaunts.
Our guide to the best tour companies for solo travellers includes One Traveller, which has a seven-night Andalusian holiday that takes in Jerez, Seville, Cadiz (pictured) and Gibraltar
It’s certainly not a budget option, but there’s little to worry about once you’ve booked — travel, trusted accommodation, most meals and imaginative excursions are included in the up-front price.
Book it: A seven-night Andalusian holiday departing September 11 and taking in Jerez, Seville, Cadiz and Gibraltar, costs £1,990, including half-board accommodation at the four-star Hotel Playa de la Luz in Rota, transfers and excursions. Call One Traveller on 01760 722 011, or visit onetraveller.co.uk
Small group, big adventure
Fancy a spontaneous sunrise in the Costa Rican jungle? Or an e-bike tour of Montenegro? While not specifically a specialist singles operator, Explore, founded in 1981, has enduring appeal with solo travellers thanks to its tried-and-tested small group adventures to 100 countries worldwide.
Itinerary themes include food, activity and rail as well as ‘classic’ tourist destinations.
The average group size is 11, comprising singles, friends and couples, with varying ages. Check on ‘pace’ before booking; some trips require high levels of fitness.
Book it: A 15-day Best Of Morocco trip including visits to Fes, Marrakech and Essaouira costs £1,294 including flights and B&B accommodation, based on October 1 departures. Call 01252 240 690 or visit explore.co.uk
Ladies first
You’re in charge: Just You, which specialises in escorted group tours, says its best-sellers in 2022 included a Taj Mahal tour
Travellers at the Holi Festival in India, one of the destinations visited by Just You. The tour firm offers women-only trips
Established more than 20 years ago, and with TV personality Claire Sweeney as its travel ambassador, Just You puts holiday fun front and centre. Knowledgeable guides lead escorted tours across the globe but there are plenty of UK stays too — and all trips come with a ‘room of your own guarantee’.
The firm says its best-sellers in 2022 included Uganda trekking and a Taj Mahal tour. ‘Just Women’, a selection of women-only trips run by the firm, launched last year.
Book it: A 14-day America’s Music Heritage trip, taking in New Orleans, Memphis and Nashville, departs the UK on April 28 next year, and costs £4,849. Price includes hotel accommodation, flights and sightseeing tours. Call 01858 415 043, or visit justyou.co.uk
No shared rooms
Mystical: Solos Holidays started as a golf breaks operator but is now firmly mainstream, with destinations such as Antigua, Iceland and Thailand on offer. Above is Kirkjufell, a hill in Iceland
A traveller soaks in the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, one of Solo Holidays’ tour destinations
Solos Holidays started as a golf breaks operator but is now firmly mainstream, with destinations such as Antigua, Iceland and Thailand on offer, although active holidays — tennis, golf, skiing — still feature.
Rooms are sole occupancy and there’s a real community feel; the operator’s Facebook page has 11,000 members.
‘Exclusive’ breaks, where Solo Holidays takes over a family-run property, have proved a hit — with the Beyaz Suite Hotel in Bodrum, Turkey, the brand’s best-seller for 2023 so far.
Book it: A week-long Northern Cyprus golf break, staying half-board at the Korineum Golf and Beach Resort and including four rounds of golf, flights and transfers costs £1,859, based on October 2 departures. Call Solo Holidays on 0208 951 2900, or visit solosholidays.co.uk
Backpacking for the young
Bali (pictured) is one of the tour destinations visited by tour group Flash Pack, which offers tours to travellers aged in their 30s and 40s
Flash Pack offers a ‘Wild Tanzania’ tour. Above are zebras in Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park
Spotting a void between 18-30s holidays and Saga-style trips for the over 50s, husband and wife Radha Vyas and Lee Thompson created Flash Pack to bridge the solo travel gap.
Promising ‘trips you can’t replicate’, the company puts luxury and adventure on the menu with its bespoke-feel short and long haul itineraries — with 98 per cent of customers single. Choose from 31 destinations, with trips including Spiritual Bali, Wild Tanzania and Adriatic Adventures. Flights aren’t currently included.
Book it: A four-day trip to a ‘secret’ Finnish island costs from £2,640, including activities, apartment accommodation and meals, based on February 2024 departures, visit flashpack.com. EasyJet flights to Rovaniemi from £339, easyjet.com
Go-to brand for older travellers
Probably the first company that springs to mind when one thinks of holidays aimed at singles over 50, Saga’s seven decades of experience — and a flexible cancellation policy — still make it the first choice for many mature travellers.
A dedicated singles holidays section focuses on four areas: hotel stays, escorted tours and river and ocean cruises. If only a proper later life adventure will do, then the sky’s the limit — a collaboration with Titan Tours means everything from Wild Borneo to Ancient Jordan is up for grabs.
Book it: A seven-night all-inclusive Resplendent Rhine river cruise costs £1,673, based on November 2 departures, and includes stops in Koblenz, Bonn and Amsterdam, with travel on Eurostar. Call 0808 239 7057, or visit travel.saga.co.uk
Singles-friendly holiday operator
G Adventures is running a 12-day Namibia and Victoria Falls (above) tour that’s priced at £3,699
THE DO’S AND DON’TS OF SINGLE TRAVEL There’s no stigma to travelling alone — so just go for it.Don’t overdo the vino on the first night on an escorted tour.Learn the language, even a few words can be an icebreaker.Be spontaneous. Booking too many excursions ahead can tie you down.Seek out festivals, markets and concerts to give yourself a chance to mingle with the locals and immerse yourself.On a group tour, don’t be the travel bore or the one who talks too much.Quiz guides for insider advice — you’ve paid for them, after all.Go to proper restaurants: there’s no shame in dining solo in style.If you’re not a night owl, wake early to avoid the crowds.Take photographs and send them to friends and family. Let them know you’re safe — and make them jealous.
Since its launch in 1990, G Adventures has boomed, thanks to its conscientious trips to over 100 countries. Singles adventure is the mainstay, but classic tours and wellness breaks are also in the mix.
A shift into the older market has seen the launch of National Geographic Journeys, average group size ten, putting fact-filled trips to Belize, Nepal and Greece in the mix. Accommodation is often twin rooms, so check ahead for sole occupancy supplements.
Book it: A 12-day Namibia and Victoria Falls tour departing November 1, costs £3,699 including local flights, activities, accommodation, transfers and some meals.
Call 0207 313 6953 or visit gadventures.com. Return flights with British Airways to Windhoek from £900, visit ba.com
Tiny group escorted tours
Perfect for the discerning solo traveller, Voyage Jules Verne was founded in 1978 by Philip Morrell, after he successfully hosted an epic rail journey from London to Hong Kong.
Now, 45 years on, the company promises to unlock both near and far destinations via small group trips led by guides who go the extra mile.
There’s no single supplements on many tours, as well as a raft of solos-only trips to places such as Lake Como, Cuba and Albania.
Book it: An eight-day Pyramids and the Nile trip, with no single supplements, costs £2,995 based on October 14 departures. Prices include hotel and cruise accommodation, a guide and some meals. Call 0203 733 4017, or visit vjv.com
Relaxed solo breaks to hotspots
One of the first tour operators dedicated entirely to singles, Friendship Travel has a loyal following thanks to its laid-back holidays — including over the often tricky Christmas and New Year period.
Group meals and welcome drinks encourage people to mingle. Possible destinations you could tick off this year? St Lucia, Cape Verde and the Alps in winter.
Book it: An all-inclusive week at the five-star Royal Mare Thalasso Resort in Crete on September 7 costs from £1,575, including flights from a selection of UK airports. Call 0289 446 2211, or visit friendshiptravel.com
Educational trips with a sustainable focus
With 500 itineraries across more than 90 countries, Exodus has a specialist solo offering but singles will likely feel at home on any of their trips — 50 per cent of travellers go it alone (although there are supplements).
Popular trips include Dubrovnik And The Dalmatian Coast, The Inca Trail and Discover Sri Lanka.
Book it: Join a 14-day Cycling In Vietnam group trip from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi for £1,965, including accommodation and based on November 2 departures.
Call 0203 966 7811 or visit exodus.co.uk. Singapore Airline flights to Ho Chi Minh City from £904.11, singaporeair.com
TOP TIPS FOR SOLO TRIPS
By Tom Chesshyre
Solo travel offers endless rewards, but if you haven’t tried it before it can feel daunting.
Here, we answer some of the most common questions about solo travel to help you get the most out of the experience.
Q. Why do tour operators often charge more for single travellers than for those in couples?
A. This is all down to the dreaded ‘single supplement’ — a charge tour operators justify by saying that rooms with one person in them generate less income.
Q. But this is surely unfair if you are put in a single room?
Solo travel offers endless rewards, but if you haven’t tried it before it can feel daunting
A. Yes, when there is a single room there should be no single supplement. When booking, make sure you establish what type of room you are in. Where there is an extra payment, you should at least be in a double room.
Q. How can you find holidays without single supplements?
A. With the number of people living alone rising, operators are starting to adapt and offer such trips. Look at the ‘holidays and tours with no single supplements’ page of responsibletravel.com, which has trips in Italy, France, Costa Rica and Somalia.
And Mercury Holidays’ website has a listing of ‘no single supplement and solo offers’ at mercuryholidays.co.uk. Also check out the Solo Holidays section at trailfinders.com. Most tour operators’ websites now have such sections.
Q. What about specialist companies for solo travellers?
A. Established in 1982, Solos Holidays offers breaks across the globe with no single supplements, including group tours in Africa, the Caribbean, America and Australia (solosholidays.co.uk). There is also Friendship Travel, which has beach holidays, escorted tours and ski getaways (friendshiptravel.com). Just You is another market leader, with tours in America and India, festive period breaks and some tours exclusively for female travellers.
Q. Are there operators that specially cater for older holidaymakers?
Many [cruise] ships now have supplement-free single cabins, but you need to snap them up quickly as they can be limited in number
A. Yes. Try One Traveller, a family-run company that pitches itself at the ‘mature solo traveller’. It was set up in 2007 and offers guaranteed private rooms and no single supplements with trips as varied as five days in Norfolk (from £990) to 16 days in China (from £4,390) — see onetraveller.co.uk.
Meanwhile, Saga Holidays has trips designed for solo travellers aged over 50, including tours, hotel stays and cruises. Its fun-looking Astronomy And Geology In Tenerife seven-night tour is from £1,403pp with no supplement (travel.saga.co.uk).
Q. Are there any other solo cruise specialists?
A. Many ships now have supplement-free single cabins, but you need to snap them up quickly as they can be limited in number. Saga’s new ship, Spirit Of Discovery, has a particularly good selection though, with 100 cabins, which works out as a fifth of them all, an ‘industry first’, it says — so Saga is definitely worth trying. Alternatively, see the P&O’s Cruises for Solo Travellers page at pocruises.com, which is highlighting a 24-night cruise in America and Canada from £1,999.
Meanwhile, Riviera is a good pick for European river cruises on the Danube and the Rhine (rivieratravel.co.uk).
When travelling solo, it’s recommended that you learn a little of the local lingo to help enhance the experience
Q. Some firms offer ‘supplement-free’ trips, but you have to share rooms — how do you avoid that?
A. Check very carefully when booking. Such trips are often arranged by adventure tour companies, with shared rooms always on a single sex basis — and this is declared upfront (although the detail may be slighty buried on websites). See ‘solo adventure holidays’ at explore.co.uk or ‘solo travel holidays’ at exodus.co.uk.
Q. Are there any must-dos when travelling overseas?
A. It’s best not to wander too much off the beaten track, especially in riskier countries. Go with another member of a group tour when, for example, visiting a bustling bazaar or venturing out to experience nightlife.
Q. What other safety precautions should you take?
A. If someone strikes up a conversation with you out of the blue, always be wary, especially if they offer to show you around. And only take what you need in terms of cash and credit cards when going out and about (leave other valuables secured in a room safe).
Q. Any other tips that will enhance my experience?
A. Learn a little of the local lingo and pack a phrasebook. Download the Google Map of your destination ahead of going so you can access it offline.
Try one of the increasingly common ‘free tours’ of cities, as they can be both informative and sociable.
Q. Is there an online forum for us solo travellers?
A. Yes, take a look at solotravelerworld.com and also the ‘chat room’ at singlesholiday.co.uk.
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