Coach Holidays for Single Travellers

Last updated on June 21st, 2024 at 01:37 pm

Are you a single traveller?

Solo travel is on the increase and predicted to grow further, up from 19% in 2019 to 23%.

There are several coach holidays for single travellers.

Here are the main 3 types of coach holidays available;

If you are not sure which option suits you best check out this guide and find the perfect coach holiday for you.

Check out this guide below to learn more about the options if you are a single traveller looking to go on a coach holiday, and find your perfect trip.

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1. Coach Holidays for Single Travellers – What Type of Holiday?

How to go on a coach holiday if you are single?

As a single traveller you have three main options when it comes to coach holidays. There are dedicated single traveller coach holiday companies that just cater for single/solo travellers. There are regular coach holidays where a minority of the travellers with be single amongst the group. Some companies are now specific departure dates within their holiday program for single travellers i.e. everyone on board will be single/solo travellers.

When it comes to coach holidays for single travellers there are a couple of options to consider.

2. Coach Holidays for Single Travellers

These holidays are geared solely towards single travellers. That means everyone else on the holiday is a single traveller too.

There are no single supplements to pay and all the rooms are single.

Just You has coach holidays for single travellers all over the world. They have chauffeur pick-ups, tour managers and everything else you would expect on a coach holiday. Their prices are competitive when compared to the single supplements that you would have to pay with some other coach holiday operators.

Go Singles is another single traveller operator. They specialise in holidays for those over 50. Again there are no single supplements. They have a different range of destinations available, including India, Bhutan and Nepal. Again prices are competitive.

Coach Holidays for Single Travellers

3. Single Travellers As Part of a Coach Holiday Group

Many coach holiday operators will have an allowance for each departure date for several single travellers. Sometimes there can be a single supplement to pay, sometimes not. This will depend on the contract the holiday operator has negotiated with each accommodation provider.

For example, a company I worked with had 6 single places available on each tour, supplement-free. Each group was around 45 travellers.

To give an example. Saga Holidays has a tour departing in May to the Italian Lakes. Travellers can book as two sharing a room for �1599 per person. Single travellers can book this tour for �1779 per person. This makes the single supplement for the whole trip �180. This means there is likely a limited number of places available for single travellers on this departure date.

They also have a tour of Southern Italy and Sicily. This is available for �1369 per person sharing a room and the price is the same for single travellers. That means there is no single supplement at all on most of their departure dates. This means that the group will be made up of a mix of single travellers and people travelling with partners, wives, husbands, friends etc.

Coach Holidays for Single Travellers

4. Coach Holiday Companies Offering Single Only Departure Dates

As demographics change by having more single households, holidays are changing to reflect this. This means that many coach holiday operators are now offering the option of single traveller only departure dates on their tours. This means that for a particular departure, all travellers will be single travellers and all accommodation single rooms.

To take another example from SAGA. They offer a Southern Italy and Sicily tour purely for single travellers. This means that everyone going on the tour will be staying in their own single room. The price is �1689 per person. There is only 1 departure date available for 2022.

Coach Holidays for Single Travellers

5. Tours with Couples and Singles

For over 25 years I have taken coach holidays all over the world as a Tour Manager.

I have never taken a group of single travellers away, and have never worked for a company that does purely single traveller holidays. My experience has always been of groups which comprise the majority of travellers sharing a room along with a smaller number of single travellers within the group.

Having asked single travellers about their experiences here is what they have said about these types of holidays;

Most of the single travellers I have met found the thought of travelling with a large group of other single travellers a bit overwhelming. For some, this was because they were independent and happy to be on their own during the day, and perhaps join in with people for meals. For others, it was because they felt they were less ‘exposed’ travelling within a mixed group. They liked the company of others for certain parts of the day but were equally happy on their own.

Some single travellers felt there was less pressure to join up with other singles in such a group.

Some of the travellers I met on these holidays met as single travellers on a group tour and then started travelling together. I also met some groups who had met on a tour in a similar way i.e. they hadn’t known each other before they travelled together the first time.

Coach Holidays for Single Travellers

7. What to Expect as a Single Traveller on a Coach Holiday

The groups I travelled with always knew that a number of the travellers within their group would be on their own. The vast majority of these single travellers were invited along by other travellers at some point in the tour to join them. This could be for meals, for activities, or for free time.

Equally, people were happy if single travellers wanted to be on their own. In this way, they had the option to do whatever suited them with little pressure either way.

As a Tour Manager, I have also invited single travellers to join me at various times. For touring holidays this often involved hosting a table of single travellers and helping to introduce them to each other and the rest of the group. It felt great to see these people form their own connections and friendships during the tour.

That said, there shouldn’t be an expectation that a Tour Manager is there to accompany a single traveller. While any Tour Manager will do the best they can to help any traveller, they also have to balance the demands of the whole group.

Coach Holidays for Single Travellers

8. The Odd Few Problems

In 25 years I can probably count on 1 hand the number of times there have been any problems with single travellers on group tours.

Here are two of those experiences on tour;

A single traveller that wanted to spend all their time with one particular couple. The couple tried being polite in requests for some time on their own and eventually had to ask me to step in. The problem was really due to a lack of awareness by the single traveller.

A single traveller is unable to manage the holiday on her own. This was because she wasn’t physically fit enough to manage the tour. Being single meant she had to rely on me as the Tour Manager, the driver and other passengers to help her with things like luggage, hand luggage, getting on and off the coach and the excursions.

These problems were dealt with and worked around so they didn’t impact anyone’s holiday.

Generally, single travellers are independent enough to enjoy doing their own thing and perhaps catching up with the rest of the group at meal times.

Coach Holidays for Single Travellers

9. The Most Common Issue

The number one issue I have seen single travellers experience on coach holidays is that they have decided to share a room with another traveller, to save the single supplement.

This has meant people who don’t know each other that well have ended up travelling together.

Sometimes the people have known each other but being together all day and all night has just stretched their relationship to breaking point.

Some holiday companies allow single travellers to pay a lower rate if they agree to share a room with a fellow traveller of the same sex. This means they haven’t met until they arrive on the tour together.

Thankfully, given that single supplements have greatly reduced or in many cases disappeared these issues should be minimised.

If you are considering sharing a room with someone to save any sort of supplement then I would urge you to strongly consider whether the saving is worth it.

As a Tour Manager, I have had to arrange last-minute single rooms for guests during the tour. This can be costly to arrange with no guarantee so stressful for everyone involved.

I have also had to move customers to opposite parts of the coach when their relationship has deteriorated as a result of sharing a room. Sometimes they still had to share a room which must have made a very difficult end and start to each day.

Some travellers have felt pressured to do or not do certain activities based on what their roommate wants to do. This can make for a very stressful experience, especially if one person wants to avoid any sort of conflict.

As a Tour Manager, I have had to step in and try to help and calm these situations. It can be very difficult, with limited options to help in such situations.

Coach Holidays for Single Travellers

10. 3 Things to Consider

If you are considering taking a coach holiday as a single traveller then think about the following;

Do you want to travel with a group made up of entirely other single travellers?
Would you prefer to travel with a mixed group of travellers i.e. couples, partners, friends and singles?
If you are considering sharing a room to save a single supplement what is the cost saving? Have you shared your personal space with someone in such a way before? If not how are you going to manage expectations, boundaries and sharing the space?

Taking a coach holiday as a single traveller can be a great way to get the best of both worlds. The freedom to explore on your own, support from being on an organised tour, and the option to join in with others if you choose to.

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If you are looking for more help in finding your perfect coach holiday check out my Coach Holidays page