Single and tired of reading about Valentine's Day? As if the Cellophane-wrapped sentiments sweeping the country weren't bad enough, try to escape and you will find that travel companies make you fork out for a supplement.

But with Mintel predicting that almost 19 million Britons will go on holiday abroad on their own by 2011 (that's one holiday in three), the industry is waking up to the fact that solo travellers are big business. Here are our top ten holidays for singles.

Go wild

No single supplements is a seldom-heard slogan in the safari world. But if you eschew expensive lodges and opt for camping, you can hog your own two-man tent (space permitting) and head off to Namibia or Botswana. It's not slumming it either; your tent is put up for you and you'll find a thick foam mattress and comfortable bedding. Wild about Africa (020-8758 4717, www.wildaboutafrica.com) runs a Jackalberry Safari, including a visit to the Kalahari Desert, navigating the channels of Botswana's Okavango Delta, Chobe National Park and two nights on the banks of the Zambezi close to the Victoria Falls. Prices start at £1,690pp including flights, eight nights' full-board camping, and one night in a guesthouse.

Your Top 10 solo traveller questions

Thinking of travelling alone? Start with this selection of your best solo travel questions

Related Links

• Your Top 10 solo traveller questions

Dive in

Buddy up with another diver in Grenada on a special solo diver's week run by the specialist company Regaldive (01353 659999, www.regaldive.co.uk). Rooms are based on two sharing, so when booking, solo travellers are paired up with another member of the same sex. Stay at the True Blue Bay Resort, where one week starting June 3 or September 2 costs from £1,149pp, including flights, seven nights' B&B, ten dives, a BBQ and a welcome dinner.

Throw a party

What better way to meet new people than at a house party? Friendship Travel (0871 2002035, www.friendshiptravel.com) hosts a week-long break at Oludeniz in Turkey for groups of up to 20 people, half male, half female. Prices start at £580pp in May, including flights from Gatwick, transfers, all meals and drinks, plus single occupancy in a twin room.

In the snow

It's no fun on the pistes on your own, which is why Redpoint (0845 6801214, www.redpoint.co.uk) runs solo ski weeks in Austria throughout the season. Groups of up to eight stay in the four-star Hotel Bruno in the Ziller Valley resort. Four days of guided skiing are followed by a one-day optional trip to the Hintertux Glacier and one day of skiing with your new friends. Skiers must be capable of descending red runs. The price of £588pp in March includes seven nights' B&B, four evening meals and the services of a ski guide, but not flights to Munich.

Go east

Contrast Hanoi's temples with the humble stilt houses on the Mekong Delta on a 16-day tour of Vietnam. It includes a visit to the Vietcong hideaways and a walk up Marble Mountain. This is one of the small group adventure holidays with Explore (0844 4990901, www.explore.co.uk), which assigns single travellers on most of its trips a room shared with another adult of the same sex. The Vietnam tour costs £1,679pp, including flights, transport, 12 nights' B&B, three other meals and guides, with departures on February 28 or March 7 and 14.

Times recommends

• 10 of Rough Guides' best images
• How to do Florence for free
• The UK and Ireland's 25 best Christmas events