The numbers game

Which escorted tours would suit solo travellers or those going as a group? Katie McGonagle finds out

DESTINATIONS — ESCORTED TOURS

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If brochure prices are to be believed, we all come in pairs.

Like the animals on Noah’s Ark or the Brangelinas of the travel world, there’s no room for those who don’t come with another half attached.

But what about those who want to travel solo – either out of choice or necessity – and those who prefer to leave their partners behind for a holiday with friends?

An escorted tour could suit them both: for single travellers, it relieves the strain of organising every last detail, and means there’s always someone to share a glass of wine with over dinner, while groups of friends can tailor a tour to their own interests or join others who share the same sense of fun.

l SOLO SPEC IALI STS

The simplest solution for single travellers is to go with an operator specialising in solo tours. Just You and Solos guarantee the company of other solo travellers and a room with no single supplement, while mainstream operators offer

dedicated solo departures.Clients daunted by the prospect

of travelling alone can test the water with Discover Solos’ introductory weekends to sample the atmosphere, chat to tour leaders and meet other potential passengers. Next year’s UK-based weekends run on March 27 in Ipswich and April 15 in Hampshire, costing from £245 and £289 respectively.

Just You has seen such strong uptake in its tours – bookings are up 20% year-on-year – that it has increased its programme to 107 tours for 2015-16, introducing 38 new trips and an active range. These span from hiking and biking through Croatia to saddling up on a ranch in Arizona, and trekking through Nepal – along with new city breaks and popular destinations such as Cambodia and South Africa.

l ONE TO ONE

Mainstream operators are starting to provide more for the singles market too. For domestic

travellers, Grand UK Holidays’ Friendship Club tours carry no single supplement within mainland UK, and Crusader Holidays has added two-night singles breaks in Reading’s Wokefield Park or Staverton Park in Northamptonshire, with no supplement for rooms (from £209 or £259 respectively).

Shearings’ new Your Time breaks also forgo the extra room charge and include a home pick-up for coach tours or lounge pass and meet-and-greet for breaks by air to help reassure single travellers.

Cox & Kings’ range of singles tours introduced last year has proved so popular – it was the second most-requested brochure – that the operator has added new short breaks and tours in Europe to go with existing trips to India, Tanzania and Burma. The new options lead in at £595 for three nights in Marrakech or £1,045 for a six-night tour to Crete, including a twin or double room for single occupancy.

As well as singles-focused

TOP TIP Just You suggests holding in-store coffee mornings or afternoon teas to attract single travellers justyou.co.uk

DESTINATIONS — ESCORTED TOURS

54 • travelweekly.co.uk — 6 November 2014

TOP TIP Contiki offers 5% off for groups of four or more, 7.5% off for seven and up, 10% off for 10-plus, with an 11th place for free contiki.com

can seem an expensive option since many cabins carry a hefty supplement for sole occupancy. But while Riviera Travel usually reserves a handful of lower-deck cabins for solos, next year will see two sailings with no single supplement on any cabin, along the Rhone Valley on Swiss Corona and the Rhine on Jane Austen, departing November 2 and 3 respectively and starting at £1,099.

l SHARE D I NTE RE STS

Making sure solo travellers have something in common with fellow passengers is all about picking the right tour, and for Contiki, that’s determined by the style of travel. Sales and marketing director Donna Jeavons says: “Contiki trips are social by their very nature, as they cater to young people aged 18 to 35 who are looking for great travel experiences.

“Contiki offers a wide range of trip types, from High Energy adventures, Freestyle Camping for outdoor enthusiasts, In-Depth Explorer itineraries, skiing, festivals and sailing trips.

“Young travellers are therefore pretty much guaranteed to meet like-minded people with shared

programmes, some operators reserve a handful of departures for solos or waive their single supplement on certain dates. Titan Travel has some supplement-free departures to destinations such as the US on its Southern Sights and Sounds coach tour, or selected Christmas markets river cruises, plus reduced single supplements on its popular Splendours of India tour.

There was such strong demand from single guests for Kirker Holidays’ North Norfolk Music Festival that it dropped supplements (from £1,295 for five nights, departing August 16), and new four-night tour Houses of Northamptonshire and 11-night Albania, Greece & Macedonia have followed suit.

Cosmos Tours & Cruises does the same on selected departures of its Highlights of Morocco tour, with a free Marrakech extension, while Exodus has also begun highlighting one or two departures of its most popular trips as being best for solo travellers, including Discover Sri Lanka and Highlights of Northern India, so guests can be sure that there will be other singles in the group.

River cruising, meanwhile,

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interests and of a similar age, as they have opted to discover a destination in the same style.”

Special interest tours also make sure clients have something to talk about: Explore’s 10-day Wine, Walks and Tapas through Catalonia includes wine-tasting and a home-cooked meal with a Catalan family so there are plenty of conversation starters, while Ffestiniog Travel’s themed tours also sell well with singles, according to general manager Maria Cook.

She says: “Our special interest tour department creates itineraries around hobbies and activities – from railways, music and geology to gardening, history and art – so are targeted more at the individual than couples.

“Single room supplement prices are automatically offered within our pricing structure to encourage individual travellers as well as couples and larger groups.”

Logistics also play a part for those travelling to isolated regions or taking complicated journeys involving border crossings and long travel days. Journey Latin America suggests directing single travellers towards a cheaper and easier group trip rather than trying to tailor-make a complex solo journey.

Intrepid Travel, likewise, finds certain destinations do better with singles. Head of UK trade sales Spencer Neal says: “One of our most popular for singles is our Golden Triangle tour. India can be a daunting destination for single travellers and this eight-day tour offers the security of travelling in a group of up to 12 people. It also provides the comfort of having a local guide to provide advice on safe areas and activities.” A December 11 land-only departure costs £485 plus a single supplement of £115.

l GROUP TIC KET

Friends travelling together can be just as much of a captive market for escorted tours, whether they join an existing departure or upgrade to a private tour. Exodus senior product manager Tim Fearn says: “All of our trips are suitable for groups of friends travelling together, although we normally suggest that if your party is more than six people, you may be better off booking one of our Private Adventures. These offer the same inclusions as our small group trips, with a tour leader throughout, but you have the holiday to yourself, can choose your own departure date, and some elements of the

trip can be modified to suit your requirements.” Private tours are available on half of Exodus trips.

Undiscovered Destinations can price private tours at the same level as a group tour if there are six or more passengers, while Trek America and Grand American Adventures can tailor-make tours for eight or more. Grand UK Holidays’ sister brand Just For Groups! arranges about 500 holidays a year for groups of 10 people and more. Agencies can also use Just For Groups to create their own coach holiday, for example, and advertise it locally.

In China, all of Wendy Wu Tours’ group itineraries can be arranged privately for those who like the security of a private driver, local guides and pre-arranged accommodation and touring. Uneven numbers can usually be accommodated with three-person rooms if needed, albeit often with a rollaway bed, except for Yangtze cruises where rooms can only take two sharing.

Likewise China Links Travel can tailor-make its tours for any size of group, with twin or triple rooms if needed or – for those who want a more backpacker-style trip – its China Adventure, which uses shared accommodation.

TOP TIP Travel Indochina’s Insider Experiences – such as lunch at a Burmese nunnery – are a great conversation starter for

singles

Burmese nuns

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l FRI E NDLY FAC E S

Some tours are more inclined to accommodate friends than others, whether because of the style of travel or because they take big enough groups to absorb a few people who know each other without other passengers feeling outnumbered.

Dragoman’s overland tours can suit either singles or groups as travellers tend to mix easily and share accommodation in hotels or campsites, with group sizes of up to 22. Similarly, Intrepid Travel’s 18-39s brand Geckos is another popular choice for groups, incorporating free time in which friends can explore by themselves, plus camping and dorm-style accommodation encouraging travellers to mix freely.

Intrepid is also launching Independent Journeys, a collection of 21 of the operator’s most popular holidays redesigned for up to three people. Clients follow a set itinerary but can choose their own

departure dates and will be met by a local guide in each destination, which include Turkey, Morocco, Italy and Vietnam; tours start from January 1 with a brochure to be released in December.

Themed tours can also make a popular choice for groups, especially if agents target local clubs or societies with a tour to suit their area of interest. Kirker Holidays’ art and music breaks are one such example, offering a friendly atmosphere and often a larger-than-standard group size, having arranged exclusive art tours to St Petersburg, Leipzig and Lisbon in recent years.

Crusader Holidays can likewise cater to local societies with its UK-based breaks: popular options for gardening groups include the Chelsea Flower Show, Kew Gardens and the Splendours of Sussex garden break. TW

When Virginia Woolf wrote A Room of One’s Own, she

wasn’t referring to escorted touring, but she did hit upon

a key question for single travellers. While some are

happy to share a room with another solo passenger, others would rather pay

extra for the luxury of their own abode. We asked a

handful of operators how many single travellers they

take, whether they offer a room-share option, or if travellers prefer their own

space, what the single supplement might be. Many

of the supplements vary depending on hotel costs or the tour itinerary, so it’s

always advisable to check directly with the operator.

SIngLE SuppLEMEnTS ExpLAInEd

Tour operator Solo passengers Single supplement Sharing option

Back Roads Touring 15% Typically about 15% No China Links Travel 3% Typically 20% - 25% No (except on China Adventure) Dragoman 60% None – all shared Yes accommodation

Explore 50% £75 - £500 Yes Grand American 37% 4.8% - 48% Yes Adventures

Intrepid Travel 50% - 60% From 10% Yes Journey Latin 40% - 45% Typically 20% - 30% Yes America

Shearings – Typically 5% - 10% No Travel Indochina 31% From 13% Yes (except Gold trips) Trek America 70% None – all shared Yes accommodation

Undiscovered 65% Typically 10% - 20% Yes Destinations

Wendy Wu Tours 5% Typically 10% - 25% Yes

TOP TIP

diamond Rail Holidays offers free places or excursions for groups of 10 or more diamond railholidays.

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