Boldly Go Solo

No single supplement?!

Whoa. Can this be true? A company called Overseas Adventure Travel, catering to travelers over 50, plans to eliminate the single supplement for all its land tours in 2009. And for many of its cruises, according to a USA Today blog entry.

But if you're not retired, be prepared to save up those vacation days. The group seems to run long trips - 13, 15, 17 days long and longer.

On another front, the company has found that the number of women traveling solo has more than tripled over the past five years. So it plans to launch a women-only line of vacations. That pretty much guarantees there won't be a lot of couples on those trips!

But I'm still marveling at the no single supplement thing. Is the travel world as we know it changing?

Silver lining for solo travelers in all this economic mess, says Budget Travel

If tour operators and cruise lines are having trouble filling slots in the near future, solo travelers may have luck in getting the awful, horrible (the word "dreaded" has become overused) solo supplement waived or lowered. So says Budget Travel at CNN.com.

I've written here before about the single supplement but I like to return to the topic any time I find useful tips I haven't touched on before. And sometimes to repeat tips for new readers who may not have gotten to all my previous posts. (What? Get crackin'! You still have 158 posts to go...)

A summary of some Budget Travel tips:

Book early.
As in six months in advance. Some companies waive the supplement for the first few people who sign up.

Wait until the last minute.
Hm. "But didn't you just said to 'book early?' " Yes, well, the closer to the trip it gets, the more likely a tour operator is to cut deals, if it's a choice between leaving a spot unused versus cutting a solo traveler some slack.

Negotiate.
Sob stories are good. Being friendly can work too. Small operators usually have more flexibility to offer deals that large ones.

Travel off-season.
This one's a no-brainer.

Develop a relationship with a travel agent.
If you're a regular cruiser, for instance, an agent who knows you can give you a heads up when there's a deal to be had.

Use a European operator
Europeans are not as accepting of the lousy, rotten (but not dreaded) single supplement. And they're more cost-conscious overall. Companies that cater to them take that into account.

The problem I see for Americans is that the weak dollar may make such trips more expensive overall than an American-based trip. Even when a single supplement is charged. So tread carefully.

Photos: Ellen Perlman. Snow carving festival, Jackson, New Hampshire. A fabulous cross country center.

Meant to inspire you to plan a winter getaway - either TO the snow or AWAY from it.

Vacation layaway. Reserve a spot on a cruise or a tour, then pay in dribs and drabs.

Speaking...again...of grim financial news...

If money's tight, or you don't feel comfortable dropping a lot of cash right now, how about paying for your next vacation in increments?

Were you ever the type to put money into a Christmas savings account (do they still have those?) or buy clothes on layaway? Now you can do it with vacations.

At least with the two travel companies that came up with the idea. You reserve the vacation you want with Gate 1 Travel or Gutsy Women Travel, (see my previous post on Gutsy Women) a year or more in advance, with a small down payment. Then you pay in bits, whatever amount you want, up to 45 days before the tour departs. That's when full payment is due. It's more like four months in advance if you reserved a cruise rather than a land tour.

Meanwhile, you get to lock in the price and the date you want. Of course, you're up the creek if something happens to the company between now and then...unless there's something in the fine print that says otherwise. Be sure to read carefully.

I've never been the type to plan that far in advance. But I have friends I know would jump on this type of offer. So here it is, for all you plan-way-in-advance solo travelers.

For the rest of you, tell me what you think. Gimmick? Or great idea?

Vacationing solo on a cruise to Greece, Italy and Turkey

A solo cruise to Greece, Italy and Turkey changed April Lutz for all time.

It wasn't the amazing ruins of Ephesus, Turkey, the best preserved classical city of the Eastern Mediterranean. Or the visit to Izmir, Turkey, dating back to 3000 B.C. Or the stop in her favorite place, Santorini, Greece, with its brilliant white houses and blue-domed churches built into a hillside that actually is a volcanic crater.

No, it was the realization she could strike out on her own. Book a solo trip. Deal with her nerves before going. Get over the fact she didn't speak the languages of the places she was going. Forget the fact she was supposed to go to Germany with her boyfriend...until they broke up three weeks before that trip.

She took what she felt was the easiest route to a solo vacation. She booked a reasonably priced cruise with Costa Cruises. With stops in Rome and Sicily in Italy, Patmos and Mykonos in Greece, and Izmir. After paying her money, she let someone else take over the details.

Jamming solo off the Maine coast

Sometime during my early 20's, my adventurous father treated me to a trip on a windjammer cruise off the coast of Long Island, in New York.

In those days, I wasn't traveling on my own. But I could see how easy it would have been to sail alone on a small boat like that and fit right in, no matter who else was on board.

Everyone pretty much does everything together. Sit up on deck. Eat below at a large table. Jump into the water when the boat anchors. It's a life of ease...(except for the captain and the crew, of course.) Although you're welcome to offer to help. Nah, I think I'll just sit still and watch the sun glisten on the water.

It appears the most active set of windjammers sails off the coast of Maine. A company called Windjammer Barefoot Cruises used to ply the Atlantic Ocean but they seem to be out of business. However, Maine is home to a large fleet of these traditional sailing ships.

Big-name newspapers around the world becoming aware of solo travelers

The Washington Post devoted an entire travel section to how to "travel wisely." It was directed at a Washington audience, naturally. But even if you're not from the local area, the info on "specialty" travel could be of great value. 

The "specialties" range from single/solo to volunteer to African American to gay and lesbian. Any of those categories could offer opportunities for solo travel. As could a section on traveling with pets.

The paper provided info on organizations and travel agents and listed Web sites and phone numbers.

The New York Daily News ran a story Saturday on the topic of solo travel. For the record, I don't much care for the term "solo-cation." But let the tour operators call it whatever they want as long as they're passing out deals.

Several of the deals are pricey, but the article offered a nice variety of trips, from cruises to hiking to beach vacations.

Just a few days ago, the Times of London also ran a story on "holidays for single travellers." Which in American English is "vacations for single travelers." Gotta love that British English.

The paper provided a long list of travel companies. I'm thinking it could be fun to be the only American on a trip for a change.

That's all for now. Cheerio until next time.

Photo: Ellen Perlman. The Washington Post Travel Section front page.