Going solo? These are the best holidays for single travellers

Whether you're looking for beachy escapes or an action-packed city trip, take your pick from these tours made with single travellers in mind
Whether you're looking for a beachy escape or an action-packed city trip, take your pick from these tours made with single travellers in mind Credit: iStock

It takes guts to go on holiday solo for the first time. Many singles worry about appearing a Sally-no-mates, the pitying looks of smug couples in French bistros, or experiencing an overwhelming loneliness. Recognising this, travel companies are working much harder to ensure solo travellers feel relaxed and happy, from hosted house-party style beach holidays to tours that include convivial dinners each night.

You don’t have to be outgoing or socially skilled to get on with new people. The travel experiences you share will automatically bring you closer to other members of the group. What’s important is to book the right holiday in the first place, one where you have the greatest chance of meeting people with shared interests and a similar outlook on life. To this end it can be helpful to book later rather than sooner, when the tour operator knows the age and sex of the other participants.

Here are ten suggestions for ways to meet other solo travellers, either on dedicated singles holidays or by joining a trip where care is taken to bring people travelling on their own together. The trips cover destinations including Turkey, Italy, New England, India, Prague, the Canary Islands, South America, the Mediterranean, Malaga, the Bahamas, Tuscany and the Arctic. All prices quoted below include the single supplement for sole use of a double room where applicable.

Turkey

For a house party

To avoid that Shirley Valentine feeling, Friendship Travel (0871 200 2035; friendshiptravel.com) offers sociable weeks for singles – most aged 40–60  at a selection of small, friendly, family-owned beach hotels in the Mediterranean. 

One option is the Forever Hotel near Oludeniz, Turkey. The lively beach town is one of the most popular on Turkey's turquoise coast, but a short bus ride up a hill there is tranquility to be found. This hillside hotel is a place for cooling breezes and sunsets over the mountains, although there's a livelier feel to Hisaronu 'village' resort, a 15-minute walk away. A week at the Forever Hotel starts from £665 per person including flights, transfers and four dinners.

Friendship Travel offers sociable weeks for singles at a selection of beach hotels in the Mediterranean
Friendship Travel offers sociable weeks for singles at a selection of beach hotels on the Mediterranean Credit: iStock

Italy

To walk in style 

There’s something life-affirming about walking through a beautiful landscape - especially in the right company. For those who enjoy a good walk but want a comfortable bed, good food and wine at the day’s end, ATG-Oxford (01865 315678; atg-oxford.co.uk) fits the bill perfectly. Its meticulously researched walks, most in Europe, are escorted by a British tour leader and tour manager. Their lunchtime picnics are legendary.

Fellow walkers will be mostly over 55; professional, educated and well-travelled. Particularly convivial are hosted weeks based at medieval Pieve a Castello near Siena which ATG has restored; from £2,495 including all meals and wine, escorted day walks and transfer from Pisa Airport. 

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View from the terrace at Pieve a Castello Credit: Dave Pattison

For more adventurous walking in a group of 12 (average age 30-55) and suppers with local hosts, Wild Frontiers (020 8741 7390; wildfrontierstravel.com) still has space on summer walks in Kyrgyzstan, Namibia, Mongolia and India.

New England

To see autumn colours on a tailor-made tour

Aimed squarely at solo travellers looking to explore a new corner of the world, Just You (0333 414 4776; justyou.co.uk) offers over 50 destinations from Norway to New Zealand. All tours are led by the company’s own experienced tour managers. The more active tours, which include an Ultimate Ranch Experience for riders in Arizona, tend to attract a younger 40-55 age group.

The company’s North America programme is its bestseller, appealing to a wide age range. They run Fall tours in September and October; 12 days from £3,489 including flights and most dinners. You can add on a New York extension for an additional fee.

New England is simply beautiful in the fall
New England is simply beautiful in the fall Credit: iStock

For top-end tours led by engaging lecturers supported by tour managers, Martin Randall Travel (020 8742 3355; martinrandall.com) takes special care of solo travellers to make sure they don't feel left out and offers a choice of over 250 cultural tours and music festivals.

India

On two wheels 

As more of us take to the saddle to improve our fitness, cycling holidays are booming. Newcastle-based Saddle Skedaddle (0191 265 1110; skedaddle.co.uk) has a programme of carefully researched escorted rides worldwide. It offers an impressive choice of rides, both on and off road, catering for both beginners (La Via Claudia in Austria is recommended) and experienced mountain bikers.

For next winter there are exciting new rides through Myanmar, Laos and India including a 12-day Palaces and Lakes of Rajasthan ride staying in luxury hotels; from £2,295 excluding flights. 

Prague

For a city break

A city break is a good way to find your feet as a solo traveller. One Traveller (01760 722011; onetraveller.co.uk) reckons it has created the ideal introduction: a five-night holiday at a four-star hotel in Prague. The breaks are aimed at the over 50s, many of whom are newly divorced or widowed.

Group size is 18–28 and the itinerary is nicely structured with hosted dinners (there are two tour managers), lunch on a private cruise boat on the Vltava river, and leisurely sightseeing (a walk through the old city, visits to the spa town of Karlovy Vary, and pretty Karlstejn) as well as opportunities to wander on your own. Space remains on departures in September and October: £1,150 including most meals and flights.

One Traveller runs city tours of Prague targeted at solo tourists
One Traveller runs city tours of Prague targeted at solo tourists Credit: iStock

Canary Islands

For an ocean voyage

Affordable cabins for single travellers on cruise ships are a rarity. Solos Holidays (0844 815 0005; solosholidays.co.uk) is working with four cruise lines – Fred Olsen, Thomson, Cruise & Maritime and Voyages to Antiquity – to secure single cabins and good discounts on sole use of twin cabins.

There's a programme aboard Cruise & Maritime's Columbus including short breaks to Holland, cruises around Britain and to the Canary Islands. The 15-night Canary Islands & Madeira cruise starts from £1,089 per person. A Solos Tour Leader accompanies the group. 

South America

For an overland adventure 

If you are short on time and money but want a big adventure, consider an overland journey with Suffolk-based Dragoman (01728 861133; dragoman.com) in one of its robust, well-equipped expedition trucks. The trips are led by two British-trained Dragoman crew; group size is limited to 22 and most will be travelling solo. Its South America tours appeal to a younger under 40 crowd (silver gappers prefer Asia).

Dragoman runs a 22-day tour through South America, incorporating Machu Picchu
Dragoman runs a 22-day tour through South America, incorporating Machu Picchu Credit: Getty

All itineraries have plenty of community engagement along the way. A particular favourite is its 22-day Lima to La Paz run, which includes the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. Regular departures: from £2,218 including all accommodation, meals and activities; flight extra. 

The Mediterranean

For the love of wine (on a yacht)

Convivial company and the chance to learn more about your favourite tipple, entices many solo travellers to join Arblaster & Clarke (01730 263111; winetours.co.uk). Its wine tours combine vineyard tastings and hosted dinners on top wine estates with guided sightseeing and a chance to wander on your own. On evenings when no meal is included, the tour manager is always available to dine with single guests. Destinations include France, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Chile, New Zealand and South Africa. A luxury wine cruise starting in Valetta and finishing in Nice starts from £7,494.

Malaga

To find inner peace 

Many more of us are seeking a holiday to calm our mind and exercise our body. Some of the best retreats for yoga, meditation and fitness boosting holidays are featured by Wellbeing Escapes (020 3735 7555; wellbeingescapes.com). 

Shanti-Som in the hills above Malaga is a big favourite and features a choice of yoga, fitness, detox and weight loss breaks from £1,700 for a week including meals. 

Yoga at Shanti-Som
Yoga at Shanti-Som Credit: Shanti-Som

The Bahamas, Arctic or Tuscany

To give a helping hand 

For the ultimate in altruistic working holidays, join a scientific research expedition run by Earthwatch (01865 318838; earthwatch.org) which brings together people from all walks of life and world-class scientists. There are 51 projects taking place in fascinating corners of the world: unearthing ancient history in Tuscany, monitoring climate change in the Canadian Arctic, and tracking sea turtles in the Bahamas.

With Earthwatch, citizen scientists can help to track sea turtles in the Bahamas
With Earthwatch, citizen scientists can help to track sea turtles in the Bahamas Credit: iStock

There’s a great sense of camaraderie and many of the paying volunteers are successful professionals - European and American - looking for a different kind of holiday. 

Do you frequently travel solo? What do you think of this list of holidays? Do you have any solo travel tips or destinations of your own? Tell us in the comments section below.

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