September 3, 2024, 6:39 am | Read time: 6 minutes

The market for singles trips is booming – more and more organizers have corresponding offers in their programs. But does it always have to be an organized singles trip? TRAVELBOOK shows you how you can go on vacation alone, what alternatives there are to the tours offered by tour operators, and why “alone” doesn’t always mean “lonely.”

Sibylle Zeuch from the German Travel Association confirms to TRAVELBOOK that there is a “stronger demand for single travel, to which tour operators are responding with a corresponding selection of offers.” As there are more and more single households in Germany, this development is not surprising, explains Zeuch. According to a recent Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung (GfK) study, 40 percent of all German households are now single-person households.

Organized group travel

In one respect, a singles tour is no different from other package tours: Casual flirting, alcohol, and sunshine almost by themselves tempt you to get to know other vacationers. But who hasn’t heard the stories of how love under the palm trees is nothing more than a fond memory back home? On organized group singles trips, however, you are among like-minded people and your chances of finding the right match increase. But you only find out whether the vacation love lasts under different conditions when you return to everyday life.

Providers of sports and cultural trips

If you want to stay or get fit on vacation, you will find everything your sporting heart desires at frosch-sportreisen.de – whether hiking, kiting, or sailing. For example, the “Frosch Active & Fit Program” on Corfu: morning jogging and stretching, beach volleyball, or aqua fun in the pool will get your circulation going. You can also book mountain biking tours or surfing lessons right on the beach.

Study trips are also very popular among solo travelers. On studiosus.com, you will find more than 40 singles trips worldwide, such as a trip to Menorca. After a welcome dinner with the group and the tour guide, you’ll be out and about and getting to know the culture of the Balearic island. Every day you will go hiking together, explore country estates and visit museums. You can usually organize your own free time in the evenings, which often leads to you doing something with your fellow travelers.

Cruises

Cruises are also becoming increasingly popular among singles. The tour operator adamare.de, for example, lets single travelers cruise the world’s most popular waters, such as the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, or the Danube. The provider promises varied entertainment programs, party nights, and activities to get to know each other. However, the provider offers more than just cruises. In addition to many European destinations, such as the Balearic and Ionian Islands, it also offers long-distance trips to destinations such as the Cape Verde Islands or Mauritius.

Travel for single parents

Are you a single parent but still want to spend your vacation alone or even meet like-minded people? There’s a solution for that, too! Portals such as single-kind.de focus on mothers and fathers who want to combine family and single vacations. The Robinson Club also organizes a single-with-child room with a suitable program for one adult with one or two children aged 2 to 17 at numerous vacation resorts. This way, children are together with other playmates, and the adults can enjoy their vacation in peace and get to know each other.

Singles trips for seniors

There are also trips for seniors whose partner has passed away and who want to escape loneliness or pensioners who want to get to know the world in retirement. Guided hikes, language, yoga or golf courses, city trips, cruises, or cultural vacations – the choice is huge.

Special target group: mature women

Women who want to travel in organized groups but prefer to keep to themselves can find their dream trip at frauenunterwegs.de. In small groups with an average of 8 to 14 participants and a tour guide, women can relax with wellness offers, unwind with organized hiking or cycling tours, or explore foreign cities. Individual accommodation is also offered, many of which are run by women only.

For women over 40 who don’t want to travel alone and are looking for a younger man under 30, we recommend the “cougar trip.” On the first of its kind, 300 singles traveled from San Diego in California to Mexico on the Carnival Elation. The tour, where the cougars search for their cubs (baby animals), was quickly fully booked: This October marks the eighth time the Love Boat has sailed. The organizer is the cruise company “Single Travel Company.”

Women traveling alone

Traveling alone does not always mean being alone and certainly not lonely. Holidaymakers in happy relationships also travel without a partner, simply because they feel the need to or perhaps are hoping for an adventure – but these are often men rather than women. “The main reason why traveling alone is still not so popular with women today is primarily due to the prejudices surrounding this topic,” writes TRAVELBOOK blogger Ute Kranz on her blog “Bravebird” in the article “7 myths about traveling alone”.

TRAVELBOOK blogger Carina Herrmann also writes that she travels “alone and without compromise.” She is not obsessively looking for her prince charming, nor does she need a travel companion to explore the world. In her blog “Pink Compass”, she is annoyed by clichés in which the “man traveling alone is untamed, cool and living the dream of all his mates, while a woman traveling alone is running away from life and simply hasn’t found the right one yet”.

Nevertheless, traveling alone is not necessarily recommended for women in some countries. Ute Kranz’s tip: female holidaymakers should read the safety advice from the German Foreign Office beforehand or get an initial overview via the “World Risk Map.”

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Alternatives to organized group travel

There are a few alternatives for those who avoid organized group trips but don’t want to miss out on new contacts. “In private accommodation and hostels, you are more likely to make contact with other travelers or locals with whom you can do things together,” writes Ute Kranz, who recommends “couchsurfing,” among other things.

Here you can spend the night on the couch with like-minded individuals for free or at a low cost – with some luck, they might not only serve as hospitable hosts but also as tour guides, often without expecting anything in return.

This article was first published on April 4, 2014.