GUIDE: Single and solo travel

Gemma Nisbet finds tour and cruise operators have lifted their game to better meet the needs of the burgeoning solo-travel market.

A cruise or organised tour seems like an obvious fit for a person travelling on their own — you get a ready-made bunch of travelling companions, plus the safety and convenience of being in a group. That is, of course, until you realise you have to pay a single supplement, potentially adding a significant cost.

Single supplements are, understandably, the bane of many a solo traveller, and some single travellers see them as price gouging on the part of the touring companies and cruise lines. The rationale from the travel industry is that, in many cases, a person travelling alone might be occupying a twin room or cabin which could be occupied by two guests. Charging the solo traveller the same per person rate as the couple would result in less income for the company in question. Joost Timmer, managing director of luxury coach touring company Insight Vacations, explains that “the hotel industry bases its room charges on double occupancy”.

Mr Timmer adds that Insight is seeing “a substantial surge in the number of solo travellers” on its tours — and this seems to be a trend across the industry, prompting many operators to work out ways to offer solo travellers a better deal. As a result, the options available to people travelling on their own have broadened considerably.

SHARING A ROOM

For some operators, the solution to the single-supplement problem is to match up solo travellers with another traveller of the same sex to share a twin room or cabin. Thus, they avoid paying the supplement and — in the best-case scenario, at least — make a new friend to share the experience with.

Some of Trafalgar’s Turkey tours are available with single-supplement waivers.

For example, Insight (insightvacations.com) and sibling companies Trafalgar (trafalgar.com) and AAT Kings (aatkings.com) — all part of The Travel Corporation group — will match single travellers with another traveller of the same sex to share rooms. If a suitable match can’t be found, a single room will be provided at no extra cost.

Other tour operators with “guaranteed share” policies of this kind on all or some of their itineraries include: Captain’s Choice (captainschoice.com.au), Travel Directors (traveldirectors.com.au), Cosmos (cosmostours.com.au), Albatross Tours (albatrosstours.com.au), Wendy Wu Tours (wendywutours.com.au), and World Expeditions (worldexpeditions.com).

Others, such as Bunnik Tours (bunniktours.com.au), Eastern Europe specialist Beyond Travel (beyondtravel.com.au) and Africa specialist Traveljoy (traveljoy.com.au), offer this service subject to availability on selected tours.

Special-interest tours have an obvious appeal for solo travellers, whether you’re a single person hoping to meet like-minded people or are leaving your spouse at home to follow an interest they don’t share. Companies operating these kinds of trips often cater well to single travellers. For example, Peter Sommer Travels (petersommer.com) — which specialises in cultural, historical and archaeological tours and gulet cruises in Turkey, Greece, and Italy — waives single supplements for solo travellers willing to share a room. Perth-based Global Gypsies (globalgypsies.com.au) — which focuses on adventurous tours, and in particularly outback four-wheel-drive trips — has lots of solo travellers on its tours and, depending on the type of trip, may not charge a single supplement or may try to pair single travellers to share a twin room.

Global Gypsies has lots of solo travellers on its tours.

Among tour operators aimed predominantly at younger travellers or that offer more adventurous, outdoorsy trips — on which solo travellers are relatively common — pairing solo travellers tends to be a fairly standard practice. Such companies include: Contiki (contiki.com), G Adventures (gadventures.com), Peregrine (peregrineadventures.com), Intrepid Travel (intrepidtravel.com) and Geckos Adventures (geckosadventures.com).

Most still offer the option of a private single room for an extra cost.

These kinds of matching services are not quite as common in the cruising world, but some lines do offer them. Holland America (hollandamerica.com) has a Single Partners Program, which works in a similar way to the guaranteed share policies of the tour operators and is valid on selected cabins on all of its ships, but not on its Grand Voyages or Alaska Cruisetours. Such policies are fairly common with expedition cruise companies with the following all having similar programs: Linblad (au.expeditions.com), Quark (quarkexpeditions.com), Aurora (auroraexpeditions.com.au) and One Ocean (oneoceanexpeditions.com)

Australian website Companion Cruising (companioncruising.com.au), a specialist in solo cruising, is a useful resource. Solo travellers can register their details to be matched with a cabin mate of the same sex and a similar age, or browse a noticeboard of travellers looking for a cruise companion. The site also has cruise deals for solo travellers.

DISCOUNTS AND DEALS

Of course, sharing with a stranger is not for everyone, and it is possible to have your own room on a cruise or tour without a prohibitive additional cost. The most obvious route is to look out for special deals offering reduced or even no single supplements.

A number of touring and cruising operators regularly offer reduced or no single supplements on selected itineraries and departures. A good travel agent will be able to advise on this, but be prepared either to start planning well in advance to take advantage of earlybird offers or be flexible and look out for last-minute deals. You may find you have the best luck travelling in the shoulder season, when tourist numbers are lower and companies have greater incentives to offer special deals.

For example, a number of Travel Corporation brands, including Trafalgar, Insight and river-cruise line Uniworld (uniworldcruises.com.au) are now offering discounts of up to 100 per cent on single supplements on selected departures in their 2015-16 programs, motivated by an increase in single travellers. For example, Trafalgar has waived single supplements on the June 27, August 29 and October 24 departures of its eight-day Highlights of Turkey guided holiday (a $410 saving) and Insight has waived the single supplement on selected Egypt departures, such as the May 7, June 4 or July 9 departures of its nine-day Wonders of Egypt tour (a saving of up to $570).

Great Trains of Europe Tours is offering tours including its 20-day Winter Wonderland itinerary without single supplements.

Rail travel specialist Great Trains of Europe Tours (greattrainsofeurope.com.au) is offering almost all of its escorted tours without a single supplement. For example, its 20-day Off the Beaten Track tour of Europe, from Rome to Paris from October 5, costs $12,950, while its 20-day Winter Wonderland tour, travelling from Paris via the Swiss and Austrian Alps to Prague from December 28, is $10,950.

A number of cruise lines regularly offer reduced or no single supplements, either on selected voyages or across their product offering.

Specialist agencies such as cruiseabout.com.au and cruiseexpress.com.au have dedicated sections on their websites with solo deals.

On selected Azamara Club Cruises voyages (azamaraclub cruises.com), single travellers can pay 125 per cent of a double- occupancy fare to have their own cabin (that is 25 per cent more than the per-person, twin- share rate).

Silversea (silversea.com) also offers selected voyages with low single supplements of 10 or 25 per cent — for example, a nine-day voyage aboard Silver Wind, which normally costs from $5350 per person twin share and travels from Istanbul to Pireaus (Athens) on October 21, is available with a 10 per cent single supplement.

Scenic (scenictours.com.au) has single-traveller offers on its 2016 Europe river cruises. Solo travellers can book any suite on selected Scenic “space ship” departures in March, April and October to December and pay no single supplement. For example, single travellers can join the April 27 departure of the 15-day Jewels of Europe cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest from $8095, or the April 26 departure of the 11-day Breathtaking Bordeaux voyage from $6695. Alternatively, book a standard suite on selected departures from May to September and receive 50 per cent off the single supplement.

APT (aptouring.com.au) has early-booking deals for solo travellers on selected 2016 European river cruises, valid for booking until July 31. There are no single supplement deals on selected cruises departing in March, April, October, November and December next year and 50 per cent off single supplements on selected cruises departing from April- September. For example, the 15-day Rhine & Moselle Discoveries cruise, departing in October next year, is available without a single supplement — and solo travellers who book and pay in full 10 months before departure can save an extra $400. Prices are from $8095.

Avalon Waterways (avalonwaterways.com.au) sometimes offers single supplement waivers, which allow single travellers to get a cabin to themselves for the same cost as a pair sharing, particularly if they’re flexible with dates. For example, the July 3 departure of its 15-day Magnificent Europe river cruise between Amsterdam and Budapest is from $9114 for solo travellers, and solo travellers can join the August 24 departure of the 11-day Burgundy and Provence cruise, between the Cote d’Azur and Paris, from $5993.

Avalon has waived single supplements on selected voyages. (pictured here cruising the Rhine)

Tauck (tauck.com.au) has waived single supplements on category-one cabins on its 2015 and 2016 European river cruises, and has reduced single supplements on category-four and five cabins on selected river cruises. For example, the June 23 departure of its 12-day Blue Danube Eastbound cruise, from Prague to Budapest, costs from $5190 for a single traveller in a category-one cabin. The company also has reduced single supplements on a selection of its 2015 land tours in North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

CMV Australia (cmvaustralia. com) offers a low single supplement for solo travellers to occupy a twin cabin on board its ship Astor at a cost of 127 per cent of a twin- share fare. When available, the company also offers solo passengers the chance to stay in a category- four (superior twin inner) cabin for the price of a category-five (standard single inner) cabin, or a category-six (standard twin ocean-view) cabin for the price of a category-10 (standard single oceanview).

Small-ship cruise line Ponant (en.ponant.com) has no-single- supplement deals on a limited number of cabins on a selection of voyages, such as the eight-day Dalmatian Odyssey, departing round trip from Venice on August 22, from $3260.

Special solo traveller fares are available from Crystal Cruises (crystalcruises.com) on selected 2015 departures, for bookings made by July 1. For example, a seven-day voyage from Venice to Monte Carlo, departing on October 18 and visiting Kotor, Naples, Rome (Civitavecchia) and Florence (Livorno) is from $US3095 ($3925).

Until May 31, Active Travel (activetravel.com.au) is waiving single supplements and offering discounts of up to 20 per cent on nine new Pandaw river expeditions in northern Vietnam. The discounted 10-night Red River and Halong Bay river cruises will run from September this year to October next and cost from $3292.

SOLO SPECIALISTS

Although solo travellers are obviously not exclusively women, the various female- focused small-group tour operators often cater well to women travelling alone. Women’s Own Adventure (womensownadventure.com.au) has about 90 per cent solo travellers on its tours and encourages them to share a room, both for companionship and to avoid single supplements. Fellow female-travel specialist Travelling Divas (travelling divas.com.au) also helps solo travellers to pair up and share a room, and Adventurous Women (adventurouswomen.com.au) offers a room-buddy roster system whereby each solo traveller shares with a different person at each stop, helping solo travellers to get to know one another and alleviating the risk of getting stuck with someone you don’t gel with. Some more general tour operators, such as Indus (indus.travel), also offer a selection of women-only tours.

Women's Own Adventure has about 90 per cent solo travellers on its tours.

Other companies offer tours designed specifically for people travelling on their own. For example, Busselton-based Villa Carlotta Travel (villa.com.au) has a range of Just for Singles holidays with discounted single supplements. Examples include the eight-day Just for Singles Highlights of Victoria holiday, departing from Perth on November 16, which costs $4335 for a single room (or share and save $785) including flights. Villa can put solo travellers in touch with a potential travel companion on any of its tours and runs Villa Connect, a travel- companion register for solo travellers. It also has an information session for solo travellers coming up at the State Library of WA on May 26.

Grand Pacific Tours (grandpacifictours.com), a specialist in New Zealand coach holidays, has tours designed for solo travellers, such as the 11-day Ultimate Solo Travellers Tour, from December 30, which flies into Wellington and explores the South Island. The small-group tour costs $7204 per person for a single room, including return flights from Perth, and includes thoughtful touches such as an introductory dinner and complimentary welcome drink on the first night to help travellers get to know one another, plus reserved seating at breakfasts and dinners to ensure you dine in company.

Grand Pacific Tours, a specialist in New Zealand coach holidays, has tours designed specifically for solo travellers.

Adventure tour company Exodus (exodustravels.com) has high numbers of solo travellers on its tours and, in addition to matching solo travellers to share, designates a selection of its trips as Solo Departures suitable for people travelling alone, with the aim of drawing like-minded people. For example, the June 6 and September 5 departures of its eight-day Cycle Cilento & the Amalfi Coast tour, which includes five days of cycling in Italy, is a Solo Departure and costs from $2050 per person.

Mandurah travel agent Travel With Me (travelwithme.com.au) is a solo specialist and runs escorted tours specially designed for solo travellers in addition to offering other tours and cruises that are suitable for singles, including deals with a low or no single supplement. It can help solo travellers pair up on various holidays — like Adventurous Women, it mixes up the roommate pairings on its escorted small-group tours.

For example, it has a selection of walks on the Cape to Cape Track in October for single travellers, including a five-day walk staying in deluxe accommodation, from $1480 per person for a solo room, and a full eight-night walk from $2750.

Travel with Me operates a number of Cape to Cape walks specially designed for solo travellers.

And it will be escorting a week-long holiday to Mauritius from November 15, from $3945 per person, with discounts available for solo travellers willing to share. Travel with Me also has a Solo Traveller Club with monthly coffee meet-ups in Mandurah, the CBD and Carine to allow solo travellers to get to know one another, and has an information evening for solo travellers coming up on May 27 in Mandurah.

CRUISING FOR ONE

Cruise lines are increasingly including single cabins in their new ships to cater for people travelling on their own. These are generally offered either with no single supplement (i.e. the same price as a per-person twin-share fare in a comparable cabin) or with a relatively small additional cost.

Norwegian Cruise Line (norwegiancruiseline.com.au) has been something of a pioneer in terms of offering accommodation for solo travellers, and offers studio accommodation designed for one — in a private area with their own lounge and bar area — with no single supplement aboard Norwegian Breakaway, Getaway, Epic, Escape and Pride of America.

Cunard’s (cunardline.com.au) Queen Elizabeth offers nine single cabins (eight oceanview, one inside), while its ship Queen Victoria recently emerged from an extensive refit with nine new single cabins on board (again, eight oceanview and one inside).

P&O Cruises World Cruising’s (pocruises.com) new flagship Britannia has 27 single cabins, many with balconies, while a number of the line’s other ships — including Azura, Arcadia, Aurora, Oriana and Ventura — also incorporate single cabins.

Royal Caribbean (royalcaribbean.com.au) has studio cabins which are not subject to a single supplement for solo travellers on Anthem, Ovation and Quantum of the Seas. Some of its other ships, including Radiance of the Seas, have single cabins which are subject to a single supplement.

Holland America’s (hollandamerica.com) MS Prinsendam has some solo cabins, while MS Koningsdam, due for completion in March next year, will have 12 oceanview single cabins, ranging in size from 11.8-16sqm.

All of CMV’s ocean-going ships — Astor, Marco Polo, Azores and Magellan — have interior and oceanview single cabins.

UK-based Fred Olsen Cruises (fredolsencruises.com) has single cabins aboard all of its ships, and regularly offers deals for solo occupancy of its twin cabins. Fellow UK company Saga (travel.saga.co.uk), which specialises in holidays for over- 50s, also has single cabins aboard its two ships.

It can also be worth considering smaller boutique lines. Voyages to Antiquity (au.voyagestoantiquity.com), which specialises in boutique cultural cruises, has 26 single cabins on its small ship, Aegean Odyssey, with single supplements as low as 15 per cent. Boutique Scottish cruise company Majestic Line (themajesticline.co.uk) reserves two of its double cabins for single travellers with no supplement on every cruise. Pearl Seas Cruises (pearlseascruises.com), which cruises in North America, has single-occupancy cabins on its small ships. And Aranui Cruises (aranuicruises.com.au), which has voyages in the South Pacific, has announced that its new Aranui 5 — due to start cruising next year — will have single cabins, a first for the line.

The new Aranui 5, due to start cruising next year, will have single cabins.

In terms of river cruising, Tauck’s vessels Inspire and Savour each have four single cabins, as will its new ships Grace and Joy, which are due to start cruising next year. Scenic’s new river-cruising “space ship” Jasper has one single cabin, and a number of AmaWaterway’s European river cruisers have single cabins.

Beyond Travel is an agent for a number of smaller river cruisers in Europe and Russia offering single cabins.

Some cruise lines offer special events and programs to help solo travellers feel welcome. For example, lines including P&O Cruises World Cruising, Holland America and CMV offer solo-traveller events on board to help people travelling alone meet each other.

Tauck has a Solo Travel Forum on its website for people travelling alone. The likes of Cunard, Holland America and Silversea have gentlemen hosts on selected voyages to act as dance partners for single women. Last year Crystal Cruises debuted female dance partners called Ambassador Hostesses on selected voyages as an extension of its Ambassador Host program of male dance partners.