Friendship Travel

OUR SINGLE HOLIDAY CONCEPT

Freedom and flexibility for single travellers

That’s what Friendship Travel is all about.  The majority of our holidays are laid-back and unstructured.  Even on a tour or a ski holiday, you can choose to do as much or as little as you like: it’s up to you.  Here we describe the main holiday styles we offer across our summer and winter programmes, to help you choose the right one for you.

Friendship Houseparties for 2012

Our summer houseparties are legendary for their laid-back and relaxed enjoyment.  These are our most popular holidays, with the widest choice of dates between May and October.  Every hotel is different, from the simple family-run Era to the four-star boutique 4Reasons, so there is something for every budget, though all offer outstanding value in their class.   Typically, our houseparties include half board, with wine at dinner.

In the Turkish resort of Oludeniz-Hisaronu we have exclusive use of the Hotel Era (which is great value with its all-inclusive package), and in Bodrum we have exclusive use of the Blue Hotel in Turgutreis. Our Gulet cruises are also exclusive floating house-party style holidays departing from Turkey.

Non-exclusive houseparties, where we share the pool, restaurant etc with a small number of other travellers, are held at the 4Reasons Hotel on the Bodrum peninsula; a friendly family run Forever Hotel in Olu Deniz-Ovacik; at friendly Caesar’s Gardens Hotel on Rhodes; a beach front property at Aeolos on Paros Island Greece and at the delightful Villa Adriatica on the Croatian island of Brac.

What makes a House Party different to other hotels for singles? - At each hotel, a member of Friendship Travel management will have worked with the hotel owners and staff to ensure the systems and setup are suitable for singles holidays. This takes place before our first clients arrive and is reviewed each year to ensure we make changes after valuable clients feedback each year. A resident Friendship Travel hosts work hand in hand with hotel staff to ensure that everything from the bedrooms to dinner menus are just right for our guests, and create the unique Friendship buzz.

UK Breaks

Perfect if you’re a first-timer who isn’t sure what to expect from Friendship.  And ideal if you’re a regular guest who can’t wait to meet up with old friends.  The usual format is that your Friendship host arranges a welcome drink, at least one very good dinner – with wine – and usually an excursion.  We make sure there is free time to mingle, or do your own thing, as you please.  We also celebrate Christmas and New Year with memorable gala events!

European hotels

At the larger properties we feature in Portugal, Greece, the Canaries and the Cape Verde Islands, a Friendship Travel host creates our own group within the hotel – getting together at breakfast, for drinks and dinner for example – while taking advantage of the wider range of hotel facilities, such as swimming pools, bars, sports and activities.

European City Breaks

We arrange your scheduled flight – from your local airport if available – and pick you up at the airport.  Your Friendship host is on hand throughout the weekend to suggest must-see sights and typical restaurants where we might like to eat together.  As to sightseeing: you choose what to do, whether it’s a city tour, an art gallery or a nightclub.

Ski weeks

Our winter ski weeks deliver high-altitude fun with a houseparty atmosphere in catered chalet-hotels.  We include charter flights, transfers, breakfast, afternoon tea and dinner (with wine) as well as ski hosting.  You can ski as much, or as little, as you like, leaving plenty of time for that key ingredient: après ski.  These are active, sociable holidays hosted by resort staff who understand what Friendship Travel guests need.

Club-style Singles Holidays

For action-packed summer holidays we’ve chosen water-sports centres on Sardinia and Corsica plus a mountain activity resort in the French Alps, operated by one of the UK’s leading specialists.  At each resort the local staff make Friendship guests very welcome and help you to get the most out of all the sports and activities on offer.

Cruises

Throughout the year we offer a choice of holidays afloat.  Each one is very different in style, though in each case the excellent crew operates as Friendship hosts.

Our simple Croatian Island cruises are floating houseparties, the atmosphere created by the mix of single travellers and couples, typically 10-20 guests depending on the boat.  On Nile cruises, we form a Friendship Travel group on board the splendid MS Viking Princess, which accommodates up to 100 guests overall.  And we can tailor-make travel arrangements to dovetail with Mediterranean and Caribbean cruises on board NCL’s new EPIC, which boasts a dedicated single travellers’ lounge and 128 single staterooms.

Worldwide adventures

Why shouldn’t single travellers go long haul?  We have searched high and low to find single-friendly holidays where you can feel secure and don’t have to take out a second mortgage.  Each destination offers something very different, from the 5* BodyHoliday at Le Sport’s relaxing holiday to our exciting Kenya safari, so please read the individual holiday descriptions to see what is included.

On worldwide adventures, the resort’s own friendly staff meet and greet you and provide host support during your trip.  In this respect, the holidays are perhaps more suited to confident travellers who are happy to mix and mingle ‘unsupervised’.

Travel arrangements

For UK holidays, you need to get yourself to the hotel by car or rail (ask the office about parking or local taxis).

For overseas holidays, we can access a huge range of charter, scheduled and low-cost flights, including direct flights from your local airport.  Fares vary depending on where you are flying from, when you book and when you travel.   On most Friendship Travel holidays the flights are included as part of an ATOL-bonded package under our Civil Aviation Authority ATOL licence number 6683.  Please see each price panel for details.

On other holidays, flights are not included in the package, and we show a guide price, which may be lower or higher, depending on your choice of airport and when you book.  Usually, the later you book, the more the flight costs.  When you ask us to book a low-cost flight (for example with Ryanair or Easyjet) we pay for your seat using your credit or debit card.  In this case, your flight maybe protected by the Consumer Credit Act (please check your own card cover), you have not booked an ATOL-protected package.