The Great 'Singles holidays... revisited' Hunt

smala01

I have travelled solo many, many times over the past years, beginning backpacking in my twenties to something a little more comfortable latterly!

I don't really see the issue with rooms to be honest. I always book rooms via hotels.com or booking.com and all hotels are based on a room basis (not occupancy).

The way to avoid problems - as other contributors have already stated - is to make your own arrangements and avoid package deals.

Some other tips:
O Use skyscanner.net to find cheap flights if you are not too choosey on location you can bag some massive bargains. My best fare was Marrakesh for £20 return. I have just booked for Iceland for £78 return for next year.

O Use booking.com or hotels.com to find the best hotel deals

O To make budget accommodation comfortable, ensure you pack quality ear plugs (I suggest howard leights) and an eye mask.

O In high cost cities, hostels are a superb option to stay from as little as £8 per night. Often you can pay a little more to stay in a smaller room (say 4 person) and these days are usually very clean and welcome older people.

O Even if you don't fancy staying in a hostel - I sometimes book a hostel room, but do not use it! Then I can use the facilities during the day and use as a base for exploring the city. This is particularly useful when doing day trips that involve a long travel, or just to make life more comfortable.

O To break from the hustle and bustle, its often nice to take some time out in the lobby/caf! area of expensive hotels. They will have well kept toilets to freshen up, plus these days business travellers dress casually so you will fit right in. A pint of orange squash is very affordable:)

O To avoid the expensive taxi from the airport research the airport-website to see if local buses offer a service. On my recent trip I saved about £30 by opting for the local bus costing £1.20

O On your smartphone to avoid roaming data charges, cache the map of your locality before you leave, or over a wifi connection then you can use the GPS function of your phone to find your way around a strange city.

Happy travels

Smala01

Doshwaster

smala01 wrote: »

I have travelled solo many, many times over the past years, beginning backpacking in my twenties to something a little more comfortable latterly!

I don't really see the issue with rooms to be honest. I always book rooms via hotels.com or booking.com and all hotels are based on a room basis (not occupancy).

Same here. I've been holidaying on my own for over 10 years and have never paid a single person supplement. The secret is just to avoid travel agents and book everything direct with airlines and hotels.

I'm just back from Thailand which is one of the best countries in the world for a solo holiday as there are always loads of other people travelling on their own so it's very easy to meet other people. However, I did run into a group on an Intrepid tour - one of them dragged me over to their table as they said I must be "very lonely" yet I've never met a more miserable bunch in my life. They seemed incapable of understanding that someone could have a better and cheaper and time on their own rather than travelling with a group of strangers.

2010

Use booking.com or hotels.com to find the best hotel deals

From my experience both these sites are on the expensive side.
I`d use the likes of travel republic and alppharooms.

pretzelnut

2010 wrote: »

Use booking.com or hotels.com to find the best hotel deals

From my experience both these sites are on the expensive side.
I`d use the likes of travel republic and alppharooms.

Depends what type of accommodation you are booking but i use them a lot for booking my hostel rooms

forgottenlife

I found the Norwegian Epic, provided a reasonably priced and very enjoyable experience.

Hope this is use someone.

:beer:

katejo

Daggers wrote: »

Further to dr_bluestone's suggestions above (#8), a number of similar companies exist. I've been with each of the following, and can recommend them all:

Explore (Just seen these are also mentioned at #9)
Exodus
The Adventure Company
Imaginative Traveller

I can support this re. Explore and Exodus
i haven't tried the other two. i am shocked at the previous 2 accounts where single customers were actually completely refused a booking. Surely this counts as discrimination? If I were refused in this way, I would make an official complaint.

smala01

2010 wrote: »

Use booking.com or hotels.com to find the best hotel deals

From my experience both these sites are on the expensive side.
I`d use the likes of travel republic and alppharooms.

Thanks - i will have a look at these next time.

colmil

I agree with you about single cabins on a cruise.

However, the cruise companies are realising they are missing out on customers, and MSC offer cruises with no single supplements at some times

Also Norwegian Cruise lines on their 'EPIC' have 80 single cabins with a singles lounge.

Worth checking out