Being single certainly has its benefits — you always get control of the TV
remote, and that last slurp of wine in the fridge is definitely yours — but
the 30% of British adults who are currently not in long-term relationships
don’t always get the best deal from going on holiday.
For single travellers, the choice can seem stark — sitting alone at the pool
bar, surrounded by couples, or, worse still, suffocating in the enforced
jollity of a “single but looking for love” group holiday. And all beneath
the shadow of the dreaded single supplement on the bill.
Now, at last, the travel industry is waking up to the needs of solo travellers
— not necessarily to find true love on holiday, but simply to have a good
holiday. And not get stuck on a week-long blind date with a creepy person.
And not pay a hefty supplement for the privilege. Not too much to ask, is
it? Here is our roundup of the best solo holidays, free from any cringingly
embarrassing “get to know each other” cocktail hours and full of adventure,
activity and fun — so much fun, your married friends might consider leaving
the other half at home and joining in.
Unless stated otherwise, package prices include flights from London. Ask the
operator for details of UK regional or Irish departures
HIT THE BEACH
In St Lucia, the all-inclusive hotel Le Sport is a perennial favourite of well-heeled
singles. Facilities include sailing, water-skiing and an 18-hole golf
course, although many guests choose simply to lie poolside. A week in a single
room starts at £1,820, including one daily spa treatment and flights, through
Tropical Locations (020 7229 9199, www.tropical-locations.com).
Mark Warner (0870 770 4222, www.markwarner.co.uk) has single rooms at three of its
beach clubs: San Agostino, in Greece; Palm Beach, in Turkey; and its new Abamar
beach resort, in Sardinia. Palm Beach, which is adults-only throughout the
season, also has twin rooms available to singles at no extra cost in May, June,
September and October.
Sunsail (0870 777 0318, www.sunsail.com) has single rooms with no supplement year-round
at its Club Colonna, in Antigua, and throughout the summer at Club Perili,
in Turkey. Its other Mediterranean resorts have single rooms with no supplements
outside the school holidays. A week’s half-board, including flights,
sailing, windsurfing, tennis and cycling, starts at £719 in Antigua and £415
in the Mediterranean.
SERIOUS ADVENTURE
In Namibia, Audley Travel (01869 276200, www.audleytravel.com) has a 13-day camping
safari, with no single supplements, that includes climbing the dunes at
Sossusvlei, walking the Skeleton Coast, tracking wild black rhinos in northern
Damaraland and meeting the San Bushman communities of Ombili. Sleeping in
tents and travelling by 4WD, you dine under leadwood trees and take bucket
showers beneath the stars. Prices start at £2,206, including flights,
meals and game-viewing.
More than half the people who book with the Adventure Company (01420 541007, www.adventurecompany.co.uk)
travel alone. The company has no single supplements but, depending on the
trip, it may arrange for clients to share a room or tent. It recommends a
16-day trip to Mali, which includes visits to Djenné and Timbuktu, a
canoe trip down the Niger to the island city of Mopti, three days’
trekking in the Dogon country and the Douentza elephant reserve; £1,699,
including flights and some meals.
Another operator with a high proportion of single clients is Explore Worldwide (0870
333 4001, www.exploreworldwide.com). On most of its escorted tours, you can
share a twin room or pay a modest single supplement. Popular trips for singles
include walking in Tuscany or Greece, and sailing on a gulet in Turkey
(from £630 for a week, full-board, including flights).
Exsus Travel (020 7292 5050, www.exsus.com) says solo travellers are demanding ever
more adventurous trips that go off the beaten track. It recently launched a
10-day tour of Guatemala, the Highland & Rainforest Taster, available only
to single travellers. The trip includes visits to the colonial city of Antigua,
Lake Atitlan and the Mayan ruins at Tikal, and prices start at £1,625,
including single-occupancy rooms in luxury boutique hotels, flights and some
meals.
ACTIVITY HOLIDAYS
Sign up for a week’s cookery course at a 250-acre organic farm near San Gimignano,
in Tuscany, and you are guaranteed your own room with a shared terrace and
pool. The holiday, for both novice and expert cooks, includes hands-on
tuition from professional Tuscan chefs, shopping trips, and cheese, wine and
olive-oil tastings, as well as behind-the-scenes visits to local restaurants.
With Summer’s Leases (0845 230 2223, www.summersleases.com), a week
costs £1,475, which covers all meals, including a farewell banquet, but not
flights. Ryanair (0871 246 0000, www.ryanair.com) flies from Stansted to Pisa;
from £36.
Sailing is great for singles, but your chances of getting a cabin to youself are
almost zero. With this in mind, one operator, Neilson (0870 909 9099, www.neilson.com),
has launched Crew Finder, a service that allows solo travellers to pair up
on the internet before they book. You simply go to the online message board
and enter your preferred dates, where you want to go and your previous
experience.
Neilson says that Crew Finder is not a dating service, but admits that at least
one couple who met using it subsequently got engaged. For beginners, Sunvil
Sailing (020 8758 4780, www.sunvil.co.uk) runs learn-to-sail weeks in the
Ionian, living aboard and sharing a cabin with somebody of the same sex. Prices
start at £465, including flights.
If you feel adventurous, how about paragliding in the French Alps? Perfect Places
(0870 366 7562, www.perfectplacesonline.co.uk) has a week in a self-catering
apartment at Avoriaz, where you can learn the ropes, as well as enjoying
hiking, riding and golf. A week, departing on July 30, costs £325, with
no single supplement; Perfect Places has fares from Luton to Geneva from £60.
Andalucian Adventures (01453 834137, www.andalucian-adventures.co.uk) offers same-sex
room shares on its yoga and walking holidays in Spain’s Subbetica Natural
Park, as does Regaldive (0870 2201 777, www.regaldive.co.uk) on its live-aboard
dive boat in the Red Sea; from £599, full-board, including flights and
up to three dives a day.
SPAS FOR SINGLES
A spa holiday can be a chance to unwind alone or seek encouragement from other singles
on a health drive. Some hotels waive single supplements during the low season.
One such is the Hotel Marinedda, a thalassotherapy spa in northern Sardinia,
which has no supplement from the end of April until mid-June, then from
early September until early October; a week’s half-board starts at £725,
including a 50-minute massage, a Turkish bath, one thalassotherapy treatment and
transfers. Book with The Holiday Planner (020 8255 7702, www.theholidayplanner.co.uk).
Ryanair (0871 246 0000, www.ryanair.com) flies from Stansted to Alghero;
from £42.
Erna Low (020 7594 0290, www.bodyandsoulholidays.info) has several spa hotels for
singles, including the Hotel Jagdhof, in Neustift, Austria, which has 15 types
of bath, a long menu of treatments and a fitness programme that includes guided
cycle excursions and aquafit. There is no single supplement on seven-night
half-board packages in April or May, with prices starting at £1,165,
including flights and five spa treatments.
Chiva-Som, in Thailand, is the ultimate holistic spa for stressed singletons. It’s
not cheap, but there is no single supplement and the price includes a daily
spa treatment, spa cuisine, health consultation and meditation. With Essential
Escapes (020 7284 3344, www.essentialescapes.com), a week costs £2,555,
including flights.
SPLASH OUT
Once Easter has passed, the Caribbean plunges into low season. In April, the Hotel
St Barth Isle de France, on St Barts, will waive room supplements and offer
single guests cocktails every evening between 6pm and 8pm, as well as six
days’ free car hire. A week starts at £2,450, B&B, including
flights and transfers, with Seasons in Style (0151 342 0505, www.seasonsinstyle.co.uk).
In Tobago, an all-inclusive week at the four-star Coco Reef Resort & Spa in
May costs £1,479, including flights, with no single supplement. A
second week is free of charge if you pay for your meals (£55 per day).
Book through Voyana (020 8515 4608, www.voyana.com/caribbean).
Orpheus & Bacchus (01403 820806, www.orpheusandbacchus.com) promises a sociable
atmosphere at its classical-music and wine weekends in Bordeaux. A month-long
festival at the Domaine du Faure, an 18th-century estate near St Emilion,
features evening concerts of chamber music, singing and piano recitals; from £295
for two nights, half-board, including concerts.
SINGLES SPECIALISTS
Several companies deal exclusively with solo travellers. Try Friendship Travel (028
9446 2211, www.friendshiptravel.com); Kindred Spirits (020 8731 1388, www.kindredspiritstravel.com);
One Parent Family Holidays (01465 821288, www.opfh.org.uk); Solo’s
Holidays (0870 499 7997, www.solosholidays.co.uk); or Travel One (0870 787
5414, www.travelone.co.uk).
