singles holidays - anyone been with a specialist company?

toffee'n'tom

Hi

I'm a 48 and divorced female. I have two teenage children who will soon leave home for uni. I've holidayed with them alone for the past 7 years. All my friends are married and probably next year the children won't want to come with me.

I'm just not confident enough to holiday alone but can't bear the thought of not going at all. I was planning a holiday next year with a partner but that relationship had now ended .

Has anyone been away with specialist single holiday companies and what have been your experiences?

Love to hear from you

Ilona

Hi, not a specialist singles company, but a company that specialises in holidays for blind and visually impaired people. Sighted people act as the eyes for those who cannot see properly. Usually a small group. You get paired up, a new partner every day so you get to meet everyone. They go out as a group so you are not left on your own to cope. The atmosphere is great fun, there are guided tours and time to chill out. I have been to Sorrento and Yorkshire with them. It's an immensely rewarding and enjoyable holiday. traveleyes.co.uk
Ilona

lemontart

looked at singles holidays and found them to be somewhat expensive so just booked via expedia etc for myself

cupcake4

Hi toffee'n'tom, I went on a Solos holiday several years ago, not a great experience. It was a walking holiday based in Italy and I had thought that I would make new friends whilst seeing beautiful scenery. The scenery was beautiful, but the majority (mostly women with hungry eyes) treated the holiday as a 'copping off' opportunity from the moment the meet'n'greet drinks started!
Seasoned travellers told me this was generally the case.

susan070571

Try a cruise, just been on a P & O cruise, noticed they had events on for singles. Also, when you book you get allocated a table for dinner, pick a table for 8 and you will get to meet people, also quite often wandered around the ship on my own and didn't feel out of place.

Brian8888

If your budget allows have a look at bodyholiday in st. Lucia. It's a resort known for many single british holidaymakers who just want to get away to the sun, healthy food, exercise and relax. It's neither a pressure single environment as there are also couples nor some family resort. If I remember correct it was no-kids there.

cupcake4

I've been on cruises with my ex and would love to go again, but if you are going as a single, then they charge almost the same for a single cabin as for 2 people sharing. That's the catch, or I would go again in a shot

dandelionclock30

Just go by yourself honestly you'll be o.k, my ex went to India and China by herself and was fine, no problems. Or go on a walking holiday or cycling holiday or some type of activity break where the emphasis is upon the activity.
I personally wouldnt pay the prices for an arranged holiday and would do it all myself to save costs. Have you considered Youth Hosteling or camping? Most Youth hostels are cheapish for a dorm room and if you go off season you can usually get a whole room to yourself for £20-25 per night.
Also theres usually other people around to talk to if you want.

Tuesday_Tenor

A few different ideas for you:

1) Try HF (Holiday Fellowship)
http://www.hfholidays.co.uk/
I've never used them as I'm happy planning and holidaying alone.
But several single friends have used repeatedly.
Walking holidays are a major focus, but they do city breaks and cruises as well.
Not specifically singles, but you'll find all sorts of people expecting a 'group' rather than a 'couples' holiday, on these.

2) Inviting others to join YOU:
Rent a cottage for 2 weeks and spend some time on your own, and invite others for part of the holiday. A 2 bed-cottage isn't usually much more than a 1-bed one:
I once rented a 2-bed cottage in Dorset for 2 weeks. I spent mid-weeks on my own, and invited different friends to stay for 2 long weekends.
For me it was a nice combination of time to myself to do exactly what I wanted, and time socialising.
You could invite friends(singles or couples)/family/the teenagers for part. You could do this expecting them to pay, or if you're flush, treat them as their birthday present. For a weekend, you might find a friend would come without her husband, as it'd be an 'extra', not their main holiday ... [I was near Sherborne for this one; very rural for lots of walking, but with a lovely town nearby for good food, cafes, concert, castle, beauty salon if you wanted a pamper day ...]

3) Think of an activity you like, or would like to try, and see if you can find a holiday that focusses on this: yoga, bell-ringing, cookery, painting, an archeological dig .... .and just google the word and 'holiday'. On such activities you'll get a mixture of couples and singles, so less 'socially-artificial' than holidays aimed only at singles.

4) Consider travelling with Servas, where you get to stay with local people in their own homes. I've hosted with this international scheme for travellers for 20 years.
Might suit if you're happy doing the planning/organising on your own, but just don't like the ideal of 'being alone on holiday', as you'll get to meet all sorts of people.
http://www.servasbritain.u-net.com/
You might be familiar with 'couchsurfers'; Servas has some similarities but pre-dates the internet, is based on connecting with people from different cultures, and has a basic level of 'vetting': hosts and travellers are both intervieiwed when applying to join. I wouldn't host on couchsufers as I wouldn't host complete random strangers, but I'm happy hosting people who've been through this simple screening process. As a result I've made many friends, some of whom have served as a focus for subsequent holidays in Spain and America!
[Or maybe this is for when you've built up more confidence travelling alone ...]

Hope some useful ideas there.
Good luck!