Better Deals for Single Travelers - traveling alone now more affordable

Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, April, 1999 by Lynn Woods

People who go it atone are getting more choices and more attractive prices.

The travel business has always been a Noah's-ark world, where two can go more cheaply than one--if one is even welcome at all. For solo travelers, cruise lines and tour packages often charge twice as much as you'd pay if you were traveling with a companion. Single travelers have tended to be swallowed up by a sea of couples unless their tastes ran to swinging-singles resorts or tour buses that cater to a more sedentary crowd.

But Joe Condrill, single and in his forties, has no qualms about traveling alone. He has booked four cruises through Majestic Sun Tours International, which specializes in cruise packages for singles, and appreciates the "community-type atmosphere." Joyce Kalstein of East Windsor, N.J., felt right at home with a group of singles when she took a Caribbean cruise with her elderly father and left her husband and son behind. William Halliday, a retired Japan Airlines pilot, routinely travels alone on scientific expeditions sponsored by Earthwatch Institute, which recruits ordinary people to help scientists on field-research expeditions. His girlfriend "isn't the outdoor type," says Halliday.

Solo travelers--once only people who were divorced, widowed, never married or who preferred traveling alone because their significant others have different interests or schedules--now include urban professionals who don't have time to plan their own trips and often enjoy outdoor and educational activities. As demand has grown, so has the supply--and variety--of solo-travel opportunities. At Backroads (800-462-2848), which specializes in biking, walking and multisport tours, sales of solo-traveler trips have jumped 150% since 1994.

Travel agencies and tour operators are also offering flexible singles-only packages that let participants share meals, for example, without having to participate in all of the group's activities. On special-interest tours, marital status is often irrelevant. On Earthwatch expeditions, "of the people who are married, about half go solo," says spokesperson Blue Magruder.

Singles-friendly fees

Room prices are traditionally based on double occupancy. Singles do not pay half the double rate, however. Instead, they pay half that rate plus a supplement.

But the cost of solo travel is becoming more reasonable. Linda Register, owner of Twin Travel & Cruises, in Wilmington, N.C., makes a point of working with "singles-friendly" suppliers, such as Holland America, which charges a supplement of no more than 50% on its cruises. She also seeks vacation sites that may not charge single-traveler supplements, such as dude ranches--which might put up as many as eight people in a bunkhouse. She also books singles at spa resorts, which are particularly popular with female executives who need a break from stressful jobs, says Register. At Lake Austin Spa Resort (800-847-5637; www.lakeaustin.com) in the Texas hill country, solo travelers pay $1,090 for an all-inclusive, three-night package of fitness programs, spa treatments and a deluxe room--just $200 more than the price based on double occupancy.

Contiki Holidays (800-266-8454 and www.contiki.com), which operates escorted tours for singles between the ages of 18 and 35--including adrenaline-pumping excursions such as bungee jumping in New Zealand and white-water rafting in the Rockies--offers a budget option for travelers who don't mind sleeping four to a room. Contiki's 14-day tour of South Africa, for example, starts at $2,790, including airfare, with an extra charge of $160 for those who choose a double room.

Singles Travel International, a division of Beverly Hills Travel & Cruises (877-765-6874; www.singlestravelintl.com), organizes escorted trips for singles ages 30 to 60 and will arrange for roommates. But some tours offer a single room for just a fraction more, says president Tammy Weiler. Older hotels, particularly in Europe, often have rooms that are too small for couples and are sold to singles at a special rate. On a scheduled tour to the New Orleans Jazz Festival in April, Weiler is taking advantage of such rooms at the Omni Royal Orleans Hotel, which will cost single travelers a supplement of $100.

Occasionally a tour packager won't charge a supplement at all--if, for example, the trip hasn't sold out, says Bill Oster of Travel Navigator (888-665-0644; www.travelnavigator.com), which advertises singles packages over the Internet. But those deals are the exception, says Oster.

Go the group route

To help clients save money and gain companionship (though not necessarily romance), most firms that cater to singles offer to pair up roommates based on age and smoking preference, and possibly more detailed information, such as occupation and whether they like to stay up late.

Singled Out, the travel club operated by Twin Travel & Cruises (800-365-8003; www.twin-travel.com), has 700 members, most of whom are between the ages of 40 and 60. ("I find my most active people are that age," says Register. "Younger people want to sit on the beach.") If someone is looking for a travel partner to go to Paris, for example, Register can e-mail the request to as many as 100 club members.