First Time Travelling Solo? Let’s Make It Easy

It’s easier to say what it is not. It is not about matching people up. It is not about doing everything together. It is not a coach tour for 40 people. It is not an 18-30-something club holiday.

A Friendship Travel singles holiday is whatever you want it to be. You can snooze by the pool all afternoon or sightsee till your feet bleed; enjoy intelligent conversation in the bar or bop till you drop in a nightclub. Between you, your fellow guests, and your Friendship host, you decide what sort of holiday you want to enjoy.

These terms are used interchangeably. We offer solo holidays for single travellers. So, if you want to travel alone, for whatever reason, you are a perfect match for Friendship Travel. If you wish to call it a solo or singles holiday, we don’t mind, we just hope you will consider travelling with us soon.

Not with Friendship Travel. First-timers can be naturally worried about travelling alone, but when you book one of our solo holidays, you can travel independently of friends and family, while joining up with like-minded solo travellers. If you want to travel solo but not alone, a Friendship Travel holiday is right for you.

They will be a mix of ages, typically between 35 and 65, though there is no upper age limit. We have guests from all over the UK and Ireland and from all walks of life. We understand that women are particularly wary of travelling alone, so women sometimes outnumber men on our holidays.

You may not meet your soul mate, but, like you, everyone is looking forward to a relaxing time and is happy to meet new people to chat about life, the universe and everything! Our hosts help break the ice and ensure no one is left out.

First-timers often book a weekend break or dinner dance in the UK as an inexpensive way to ‘test the water’. A European city break – typically a small group – is another good option.

Our fully hosted hotel holidays in the Mediterranean are also a great choice for your first singles holiday, because we take care of absolutely everything, from beginning to end. Long-haul holidays tend to attract well-travelled guests who are happy with the support of our locally-based hosts.

Also, our houseparty-style holidays are a great introduction for first-time solo travellers looking for a sociable experience.

We are famous for our House parties, which are among our most popular summer holidays, especially for first-time solo travellers. Why? Because instead of being a ‘special group’ in a large hotel shared with boisterous families, we take over or help organise a small and friendly hotel and make it all our own, so it is like staying in a big villa with a private pool and our own chef!

We work in partnership with the hotel owners – usually a local family – to run each intimate House party to our own tried-and-trusted formula. Everything is geared to our needs, from menus and meal times to bar hours and the way the furniture is arranged for sociable evenings. One or sometimes two hosts are based at the hotel all summer. This makes a House party a haven for first-timers and a boost to your confidence if you’ve never travelled alone.

A House party is friendly and flexible. There are always people to talk to and share dinner with. You can do as much or as little as you wish and that includes the freedom to say ‘no thanks’ to trips or a late night. There may be the occasional flirtation at a House party, but the emphasis is always on friendship, not romance! A House party is not a wild, loud party place for young people!

Currently the Forever Hotel Turkey, Casa Rosa Portugal, The Apollo Corfu and our Gulet Cruises are exclusive to Friendship Travel so we expect to fill every room. The Cavos Hotel Tinos – the hotel owners keep some of the rooms for their own guests, but operate a House party-style holiday for us with the menus and systems set up. You can be assured of a great holiday in any of these house party-style properties.

Friendship Travel Hosts are special people. We don’t call them Reps because they are so much more than that. Our Hosts are bubbly, young enough to keep things going with a swing, but mature and professional enough to make sure everyone is happy.

We also have local hosts, who work on-site at our resorts, and make time to visit guests four days per week, usually during mealtimes. You can check whether the resort you’re interested in has a local host on its hotel page.

Many of our Hosts have worked for Friendship Travel for years, some in our office before the lure of sunshine led them overseas. Our Hosts are steeped in the Friendship Travel ethos, know the resorts like the back of their hand and have good relationships with our hoteliers and the locals.

Hosts also know that holidaying alone for the first time can be daunting, so they go out of their way to break the ice, make introductions, and be a friend if needed.

Hosts are usually on duty six days in a week’s holiday, and arrange everything from airport transfers to checking out your accommodation. They are proficient wine waiters, entertainers and a font of local knowledge. They can arrange a variety of excursions, but don’t worry, they are not pushy and don’t go in for the hard sell.

It’s clear from talking to many of you that our Hosts make all the difference to your holidays. Their genuine warmth helps set us apart from other so-called singles ‘specialists’. If you haven’t holidayed with Friendship Travel before, we invite you to see for yourself what a great team we have.

We have plenty of experience in putting together great holidays for single travellers and, on the rare occasion when things are out of our hands, we have robust operational procedures.

We visit every destination we feature so we can share our first-hand knowledge with you. We have a team of Hosts who work for us season after season because they love their job. We are large enough for our air-inclusive package holidays to be ATOL-bonded, so your money is protected, but small enough to build personal relationships with our guests.

We truly believe we are the most caring and professional singles holiday specialists in the UK: try us! But don’t just take our word for it … We have been voted Best Small Singles Tour operator in the British Travel Awards on several occasions, voted by over 100’000 people – so those booking with us know they are in safe hands. During COVID – we were listed by Which? Travel as one of the only 21 tour operators that ‘did the right thing’ and refunded guests promptly and looked after guests well.