Nervous first time travellers

Holidaying alone for the first time, without a partner or friend to share both the stress and the fun, is daunting. Although we’ve arranged holidays for tens of thousands of single travellers, we never forget this, and we’re here to help.

Some of the main concerns are dealt with here. Other questions are answered on our FAQs page. You can also visit our Chat Room, where you’ll find lots of other single travellers who were first-timers once, and who know exactly how you’re feeling.

Click here for further details – for first time, nervous travellers.

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 cheap 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 night club. Between you, your fellow guests and your Friendship host, you decide what sort of holiday you want to enjoy.

They will be a mix of ages, typically between 25 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, and for that reason 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 to break the ice and ensure that 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 Med 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.

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 make things go with a swing, but mature and professional enough to make sure that everyone is happy. Local hosts work in some resorts and visit our guests 4 days per week at meal times. These are clearly marked in the relevant hotel pages.

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 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 to 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 are famous for our Houseparties, 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 private pool and our own chef!

We work in partnership with the hotel owners – usually a local family – to run each intimate Houseparty 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 and sometimes two hosts are based at the hotel all summer. This makes a Houseparty a safe haven for first-timers and a boost to your confidence if you’ve never travelled alone.

A Houseparty 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 on a Houseparty, but the emphasis is always on friendship not romance! A Houseparty is not a wild loud party place for young people!

Currently the Forever Hotel Turkey, Casa Rosa Portugal and our Gulet Cruises are exclusive to Friendship Travel so we expect to fill every room. The Poseidon of Paros, Apollon Hotel in Zante and the Pal’s Hotel & Studios, Rhodes Greece – the hotel owners keep some of the rooms for their own guests, but operate a Houseparty style holiday for us with the menus, set up and systems set up with the owners and Colum the Friendship Travel MD, plus Mel our Overseas Manager. You can be assured a great holiday in any of these House Party style properties.

We have plenty of experience in putting together great holidays for single travellers and, on the rare occasion when things go wrong – such as the volcanic ash disruption in 2010 or yet another strike – we have robust operational procedures.

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

We truly believe we are the most caring and professional singles holiday specialist in the UK: try us! But don’t just take our word for it … Between 2012 and 2018 we were voted Best Small Singles Tour operator in the British Travel Awards, voted by over 100’000 people – this was a great success for us and lets new customers see they are booking with a great company. During COVID – we were listed by Which? Travel as one of the only 21 tour operators who ‘did the right thing’ and refunded guests promptly and looked after guests well.

There really is no such thing as ‘a silly question’ so do pick up the phone and ask the Friendship Travel team anything: 0289 446 2211