Solo Travel on a Budget Part I: avoiding the single supplement

Published August 4, 2010 | By solotraveler

A solo traveler on a Gap Adventures trip.

“No Single Supplement”. That’s the term that every solo traveler is looking for in package holidays.

The single supplement is the bane of solo travelers who want to take a vacation and relax on a tour, a cruise or at a resort.

While I get the economics of it, this idea of paying more because you’re only half of a couple is counter intuitive , frustrating and sometimes paralyzing.

This past Sunday I was quoted in the LA Times giving one tip on how to find trips with no single supplement. I have a few more. In fact, I have 7 ways to help single travelers find deals with no single supplement.

7 Ways to Find Deals with No Single Supplement

Google Alerts: When you start dreaming about a trip, create a Google Alert for a few destinations and the term “single supplement waived”. For example: “Caribbean resort single supplement waived” or “Caribbean resort no single supplement”. When a notice that the single supplement is waived at a Caribbean resort goes up on the web, you’ll receive an email alert from Google.
Timing and Asking: Book your package either a long way out from your departure date or at the last minute. If it doesn’t say that there is no single supplement request that it be waived. Depending on their confidence in selling out the package, they may do so. Of course, it helps if you’re willing to walk away from the deal if you don’t get what you want.
Pairing You Up: Some tour companies, especially adventure tour companies like Intrepid Travel, tend to waive the single supplement if you’re willing to share accommodation with another person of the same gender. Being paired up with someone isn’t my first choice but it can add an exciting wild card to a trip and I expect would work out more often than not.
Finding a Travel Partner: If the travel company you want to go with doesn’t offer this matching service, you may find a travel partner through friends, Facebook or other specialty sites on the web. Simply Google “find a travel partner” and you’ll find many options. But please, don’t just go with anyone. Be picky about who you’ll spend your travel time with and how you’ll spend it. If you’re just sharing a room and not the day, it will be a lot easier.
Find a Deal so Great…: Find a deal so great that the single supplement isn’t really an issue. To find the best website for deals from your location just Google “travel deals”. You may still have to pay a supplement but if you find a screaming deal it won’t be quite so painful.
Go on the Shoulder Season: The off-season is usually “off” for a reason. But the shoulder season can be a spectacular time to travel. With less crowds it can be more enjoyable and you may be more successful in negotiating away the single supplement.
Keep on an Eye on the Solo Travel Deals page: I try to keep this page current with solo travel deals I find online using a number of Google Alerts. I hope it is of help.

Finding a travel package with no single supplement can be a challenge. I do my best with the deals page to keep you apprised of opportunities that arise..

What You Focus on Will Grow: You can travel solo.

Pic of the Week: Pico de Orizaba, Mexico

Solo Travel Destination: Amsterdam, Netherlands

Posted in How to Travel Alone

http://solotravelerblog.com Janice Waugh

Fantastic! If you have not yet booked it, could you please check to see if Premier River Cruises can do so for you. They have been supporting Solo Traveler for a year now with a special page for readers. http://www.premierrivercruises.com/river-cruises-for-the-single-traveler

However you book, have a fabulous time. And check out some of my posts on the river cruise I took in November.

Best,
Janice
Di

Fantastic suggestions. I set up a google alert and immediately found the European River Cruise I want – WITH NO SINGLE SUPPLEMENT!!
Thank you so much!!
Already4gail

Overseas Adventure Travel has no single supplement ever. Check it out. I’m headed to India in December.
solotraveler

Wow. You did very well with the Scotland tour. That’s very fair. As for India, I met many solo women in India. It is a challenging idea but it is doable. Have fun in Scotland.
Wi1dmo

Some great ideas here thanks. I will look up some of them befoer I plan my next trip.I travel alot on my own but fancy the idea of finding someone to travel with to India or some parts of Africa.Also thinking of cruise through Norwegian fijords.

Im going on acoach trip to Scotland with Highland Heritage and they only added £20 for a 6 day trip which I thinks OK for a single room.
http://solotravelerblog.com Janice Waugh

Hi Patricia,

What a terrible experience. Are you still in hospital? Are you able to go home. Please email me at info@solotravelerblog.com if you need any help and I’ll see if I can get some for you. We could activate the six degrees of separation theory.

Please take care and let me know when you’re home safely.

Kindly,
Janice
Panneohara

I want to add I’ve traveled solo most of my life with no problems, and yes it is exhilarating and confidence building, until you are totally helpless and at the mercy of hopefully kindness of others.
Panneohara

I took a cruise alone, and now am in a Barcelona hospital alone after a massive asthma attack in the airport to come home.
My solo traveler confidence is shattered, and it has only been thru people’s kindness here that I plan to go home after 4 days in critical care. The consulates here were useless and this has truly been one of the worst(yet interesting. ) experiences of my life. No euros, phone charge in the bag already checked at airport, no one spoke english. I don’t see a way of preventing what happened, I saw the asthma getting worse, but I just wanted to get home, (15 hours of travel.) no advice, just my experience,
Patricia Ohara
Happy Cruiser

I wasn’t aware of the single supplement, though i booked a cruise with http://www.lovecruise.co.uk who found me a great deal on a studio cabin on the Norwegian Epic. The supplement was very minimal and the Cabins and Solo travelers lounge are ideal for meeting people on a cruise.
solo travel in India

Well if anyone wants to travel to India, you can check “I Discover India” (link above) which offers travel deals for single’s where they can save upto 40% on their travel cost by sharing a trip with someone
Lynda Greer

Some great ideas in this article. Thanks! Am currently planning a trip to Turkey.
solotraveler

Thanks Lynn. All your comments are most welcome.
Lynn Adamson

Hi – I just had to add my 2 cents worth into this post. I found the words “solo travel” and “single supplement” to be a disjointed idea. If one is truly traveling solo, one shouldn’t be worried about whether or not they can get around a single supplement…as was said those usually only apply at resorts, tours and arranged travel events where you are traveling with others. That is not Solo Travel – one really has to be brave and venture out into the world on one’s own and learn how to cope and get around without help from anyone. I have traveled extensively on my own without any backup and have found it to be an exhilerating experience – one learns to manoveur through the world and gains nothing but confidence. Traveling in groups by yourself is just joining a tour, truly it is not solo travel.
solotraveler

I totally agree. When you buy theater tickets and the seats have a partially obstructed view, they let you know and usually discount the tickets. Why not for less that ideal hotel rooms. Thanks for the comment.
http://www.whithernubia.co.uk Claire Nicholas

Hi, this is fascinating stuff. As someone who has found herself in the situation of having to travel solo, not by choice, it was an ordeal to begin with. Now I would consider doing it by choice, because of the freedom, but would still probably be very careful about the location. However, what really bugs me about the hotel industry’s attitude towards single rooms, is that they are so often sub-standard – and this seems to be particularly bad in Europe.

Single rooms are so often cramped in the back corner of the hotel, without an external window, probably overlooking the bins. The furniture – if there is room for it – is often very makeshift. There is rarely room to walk around the bed.

Yet – the drop in facilities is not reflected in the price.

Would it be so difficult to introduce a pricing policy that allowed a truthful reflection of the quality of the room? For example:

Single room (standard) = £75 per night
(this room matches the quality of all standard double rooms)
Single room (sub-standard) = £55 per night
(this room does not have an external window and floor space is more limited)
Single room (executive) = £100 per night
(this room offers a sea view and has wi-fi access)
http://www.cruises.co.uk Cruises

As a regular cruiser I was glad to read your tips and have found some great cheap cruise deals since i have set up the google alerts. http://www.cruise.co.uk has really good deals for NCL and P&O cruises where the single supplement is always reduced.
http://www.examiner.com/x-10429-Chicago-Adventure-Travel-Examiner Ted Nelson

Great tips. I will remember these as I often travel solo myself.
solotraveler

Thanks Loren. It’s always valuable to get a first hand account.
Loren

I did a trip with GAP in the fall. There was an odd number of solo travelers, which meant each of us had a single room some of the time–and in the Galapagos portion, since the boat was not full, they gave all the solo travelers a single cabin. Considering that the single supplement was substantial and I ended up having a single room without paying it for over half the trip–and since on an active vacation like an “adventure trip” one doesn’t spend all that much time in the room anyway–I think it was well worth it.
http://www.singlestravelintl.com Tammy

All great ways to save and for many singles who just want to go and don’t have access to a travel companion, there are singles vacation companies that cater exclusively to solo travelers and find a match for you! Singles Travel International even has an online community of over 11,000 travelers so you actually get to meet your travel companions before you go.
http://www.singlestravelintl.com

Tammy
http://www.acacia-africa.com Sam Ward

If Africa is top of the list try overlanding – a form of travel where the single supplement doesn’t apply. With up to 24 people travelling on any one tour it’s also a great way to meet a mix of people with different travel tastes and experiences to share. Tours with Acacia Africa start from just 6-days so you can sample the experience and if it’s really for you perhaps take a longer four or five week trip.
http://fiberwoman15.wordpress.com/ Heidi Reyes

These are great ideas! I particularly like the Google alert idea. Thanks for the tips!
http://pinaytraveller.com Pauline

Tried the google alerts just now. Thanks for the tip. Happy travels!
Pingback: Read how to? for internet, travel, gadgets
http://www.wanderingcarol.com Carol Perehudoff

The roommate match up thing has never appealed to me. My idea of solo travel is enjoying some personal space and having a place to ‘time out’ to – especially when the stimulus from being in a new destination can be overwhelming. Other people seem to like it though. The google alert is a terrific idea. Thanks!

Solo Travel on a Budget Part I: avoiding the single supplement

7 Ways to Find Deals with No Single Supplement

Related posts:

Search Solo Traveler

About Janice Waugh and Tracey Nesbitt

Get the Solo Traveler Newsletter…

Subscribe Now!

As Seen In…

2nd edition of The Solo Traveler’s Handbook

Follow Solo Traveler

Popular Posts

Archives

RESULTS MAY VARY (The disclaimer.)