Travel Friendly Websites for Singles

According to Peter Greenberg, travel consultant for AARP,  there are more single travelers than every before.   He states that, "roughly one in 10 leisure travelers travels alone, which means that there are millions of people out there who often feel ignored by an industry that generally seems to favor couples or families over solo travelers."

The travel industry is beginning to recognize how unfair it is to have  'double occupancy" pricing  for single travelers.   Three cheers for the companies that specialize in  single-friendly travel and serve that niche.   But it still is not "fair" for the traveler.  The problem is how to make it fair for both the single traveler and the vendor..

Intrepid Travel, for example, does not  charges a single supplement because they specialize in adventure trips for solo travelers, to places like Peru and Nepal. Neither does Adventure Women, which has been offering tours for adventurous solo women for 28 years.   In 2010 their trips include whale-watching in Baja, California, watersports in the Caribbean, and trekking on New Zealand’s South Island.

But before you get too excited,  you won't pay a single supplement with these companies, but you won’t necessarily get your own room either!  Sorry but that is not being single-friendly in my mind.   Having to share a room with a stranger is not my idea of fun.   If you know the persons and want to share a room then you could use the tradition "double occupancy."

If you like cruises,  your best bet is to cruise off season and watch for 1/2 off sales, there are cruises that are less than $50 per day based on double occupancy, but that is still less expensive than booking peak season and splitting the room.

When booking travel, always ask for single package pricing.  Even though companies  may not offer special pricing,  they will see a trend of requests if all single travelers start requesting these packages.

Let's face it, the majority of single travelers are female.   The following website is designed to help women find other women in a safe environment.   Goldengirlsnetwork.com , the (free) membership based web site is "owned, conceived and manged by women for women "     The goal is to match women for trips and lodging.   They have a "Share the Spare" section where women that have an extra room offer it to women travelers.   A random quick look through the listings shows rooms from $35 per night to ocean view rooms for $80.

Here are some additional reources from Peter Greenberg and AARP:

Absolute Travel will try to pair you with another single traveler if you ask.

Momentum Tours specializes in tours to Israel but also offers trips worldwide, and has a similar match-up program.

SoloLady.com is a great resource to find singles-only trips aimed at women. The great thing about Lane’s site is that it gives solo travelers information about trips that are not advertised, not commercial, and filled by word of mouth.

Solo Travel Network (www.cstn.org) is a membership-based organization that shares news, tips, tours and other information for single travelers.