Solo Travelers:
It is time to make plans for the holidays!
Here are our personal tips on how we have avoided being “home alone” for the holidays:
- If your timing is flexible, check out Thanksgiving rates. They are cheaper than Christmas and New Year’s.
- Look for deals for both airfare and hotels prior to Dec. 22 when holiday rates soar.
- For a solo ski vacation, look for deals when the slopes open. While the snow may not be as good as in the midst of winter, prices are lower.
- Try out winter rates in Europe a week after New Year’s. Paris in January reduces hotel rates by up to 50%.
- Take advantage of last minute solo travel deals. When schools are in session, couples and families may not be able to travel. That leaves the solo travel vacation deals without single supplements as some of the cheapest singles travel packages of the year. That makes for a perfect celebration.
Solo Travel Pricing Tracker-No Single Supplement: Introducing our free, unique search tool, Solo Travel Pricing Tracker.net: I began traveling solo during my student days. I have found that solo travel pricing has improved over the years. However, as all single travelers know, it can still seem, at times, like “One for the price of two”! My most outrageous excess charge as a single traveler occurred on a trip to China including a river cruise. I paid $7,500 as one person traveling alone. Couples/pairs per person paid only $5,000 each or 50 percent less. Worst yet? Doubles that took advantage of an early booking discount paid only $2, 500! That meant that I paid 300 percent of what they paid for the same trip.
Have you had it with high single supplements and surfing through conventional search engines?
- Tired of a million search results when you just want one solo travel deal that fits?
- Have you ever tried to figure out what the single supplement is for a solo travel vacation package that looks perfect?
- Have you been stymied trying to compare single supplements for similar trips offered by other tour operators?
The good news is that more tour and cruise operators are offering reduced or no single supplement offerings. The issue? Previously, search engines were little help for several reasons. 1. If you searched for a destination, published prices were still based on two. 2. Some travel offerings have no single supplement information but require a second step for individual travelers to make a request for such prices. 3. As a result, even if there were reduced rate single supplement offerings, solo travelers have had to work to identify the best options.
After my overpriced trip through China, I decided there had to be a better way. The solution? In 2017, we launched our free, patent-pending search tool, the Solo Travel Pricing Tracker. Its goal was to connect solos with our pre-approved network of tour, cruise and lodging providers offering attractive prices to single travelers. While the New York Times Travel called it a “welcome tool and handy”, there were additional updates needed. In Sept. 2020, we launched an updated, more user-friendly version of our original search tool separating tours/cruises from hotels and other lodging. Our search tool currently includes over 1,000 providers covering at least 20,000 trips.
Solo Travel Pricing Tracker-No Single Supplement: Top Solo Travel Deals:
BE SURE TO SCROLL DOWN TO THE END FOR UPDATES!
Our Solo Travel Pricing Tracker was launched to cover tours/cruises both worldwide and by geographic region. In Sept. 2020, we launched a premium version that is still free and user-friendly so that those traveling alone can quickly find no single supplement deals. There are two ways to search for such singles vacations. First, try our “Tours” tool for escorted trips and cruises/river cruises. Secondly, click our “Hotels” tool for luxury solo travel as well as cheap single traveler deals.
& Solo Travel Deals for Traveling Alone
Trip types include:
Active Sports Adventures
Budget
Cruises/River cruises
Food-Wine
Luxury
Safaris-Ecotours
Seniors
Solos-Singles Trips
Spas-Yoga
Volunteering
Women
Younger Travelers
Solo Travel Pricing Tracker-No Single Supplement: Pay Less for Solo Travel Vacation Packages:
The five solo travel pricing methods include:
- No single supplement specials-Always limited spaces-Book early
- Lower or reduced single supplements-Averaging 20% and less
- Sharing to avoid a single supplement-Includes providers that offer matched sharing
- Solo-priced lodging or on cruises-Single rooms/cabins may be small
- Single parent offerings-Primarily offered in Europe
Updates to Keep in Mind:
The uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and conflicting regulations within the United States and countries around the world will make prices more flexible for a time with special, flexible terms as to cancellation/refunds. However, these soft prices will not last. Many insiders see a post-pandemic surge, largely led be solo travelers. With such strong demand, it is logical that prices will increase. The lesson learned? This is a great time to book ahead as long as changes are possible.
Some of the best deals in 2021 waiving single supplements are being offered by river cruises. With meals and many tours included, their cost can be very competitive with “a la carte” offerings.
Always compare whether airfare deals/upgrades are a cheaper price through your tour or cruise operator.
We always recommend travel insurance when going abroad. In 2021, it is more important than ever to buy premium Cancel for Any Reason policy. See this year’s update on the COVID-19 virus and its impact on the need for special travel insurance provisions at InsureMyTrip.
Looking for Best Deals for Solos: Hotels/Lodging:
Don’t always assume that luxury lodgings will not offer discounts for individual travelers looking for single occupancy rooms. Even the world-renowned Grand Hotel in Stockholm, Sweden offers rooms discounted for solos. Our targeted goal was to list a sampling of such properties where there was at least a 10% savings. However, we did find some discounts as high as thirty to forty percent. However, since prices change constantly with demand and change of seasons, expect to find variations.
Our updated search tool covers lodging around the globe identified by 20+ countries or regions. Categories include the following lodging types/styles:
Beach bargains
Budget options
Business hotels
Castle/chateaux hotels
Dude ranches
Luxury properties
Ski Nearby options
Spa-Hotels
Pricing Types:
The best lodging deals are based on “one adult one room” not the standard rack rate used traditionally in the United States. In contrast, in Europe, solo-priced rooms are of two types: 1. Single rooms or studios and 2. Standard or double rooms at reduced prices for individuals. We also include a category for “Top Value Deals”. They are included because their prices are really low while they still have solid positive ratings.
Updates for 2021: What to Look for:
- We are seeing unheard of low, low deals for solo travelers during the COVID-19 pandemic travel freeze. However, the time to book is now. Why is that? 1. Solo priced offers are always for only a limited number of slots. They my easily book up a full year ahead. 2. The 2021 super discounts won’t last forever as they result from the pandemic and providers’ need to attract travelers to return to the market and to also make up for the deep losses of the past 13 months. Time is short in light of two developments. First, with three COVID-19 vaccines now being offered in the United States in addition to others around the globe, we can see a return to “normal” or near-normal on the horizon. Secondly, with the achievement of “herd immunity” and control of the virus with the deployment of vaccines, United States’ domestic and foreign countries’ travel restrictions will start to fade away. My personal response as early as Nov 2020 was to grab the cheap, high-quality offers. I booked an Aug-Sept 2021 trip to six European countries, with flexible terms for changes and cancellation. While it could go either way between now and then, I locked in unbelievably low prices.
Look here for frequent news:
Check back often. We are constantly adding new listings. In the last month, we have added up to 200 new travel providers. You can go directly to this free search tool at the Solo Travel Pricing Tracker.net. You don’t need to register there to take full use of this unique search tool. However, if you would like to do so, you will notice of get special deals and other updates in addition to our bi-monthly newsletter available at our Home Page at SoloTrekker4U.com.
Don’t miss out! Go to our free search tool, and make up for all that lost time in 2020-2021!
More UPDATES:
Solo-Singles Trips LATAM-Caribbean
This month: Spotlight on Solo-Singles Cruises in Latin America and the Caribbean. Go to our SoloTravelPricingTracker.net to choose from 23 different tour/cruise operators.
We have just added new hotel deals in Europe. Remember to ask for “one room for one adult” not just “one room”. Most European hotels and bed and breakfasts reduce the rates for one traveler whether or not the booking is for a single room. If you like to have lots of space, be sure to ask about the dimensions of the guest rooms.
Recent additions to our solo-priced lodgings and other top value featured:
Top Favorites: France and Italy
Sunny Greece
Central and Eastern Europe: Slovenia and Croatia
Baltic Nations: Latvia and Estonia
Take advantage of the low, low rates for 2021!
Learn More:
No Single Supplement Deals-1,000+ Providers
No Single Supplements-5 New Solo Travel Search Tips
Deals and Steals from the Solo Travel Pricing Tracker
For more background leading up to the initial launch, see our 2017 post “Patent-Pending Solo Travel Pricing Tracker“.
