Tour operators worldwide are offering special deals and waiving single supplements, showcasing options from a Balinese retreat to Amazon cruises and European tours, ensuring mental wellness and unique experiences for solo adventurers. Photo / 123rf
Tour operators worldwide are offering special deals and waiving single supplements, showcasing options from a Balinese retreat to Amazon cruises and European tours, ensuring mental wellness and unique experiences for solo adventurers. Photo / 123rf
According to a 2023 Skyscanner report, 45 percent of travellers are looking to escape solo within the next year, with nearly half saying it’s important for their mental health.
There’s no question that the solo travel market is growing exponentially. And finally, tour operators are responding by both waiving solo supplements (a surcharge for travellers who are alone, but using a space that would otherwise cater for two) and creating special promotions for those of us who are travelling alone.
Owned by Janine Hall, a Kiwi expat now based in Bali, Escape Haven already specialises in catering to solo female travellers. Most are drawn in by its yoga, surfing, fitness and meditation workshops, with packages that are all-inclusive of meals, unlimited spa treatments and transfers.
Escape Haven’s latest offer is a free night’s stay for guests who book a Bali Women’s Retreat week-long package before the end of October. You’ll also receive an extra US$100 credit to use on any of the resort’s healing or wellness services, such as chakra balancing, or a “letting go” ceremony held by a Balinese priest. With weekly retreats timed to coincide with Air New Zealand’s travel dates, the offer is valid for any retreat from September through till March.
Rainforest Cruises’ Delfin III in the Peruvian Rainforest
Discover the paradise of the Pacaya Samiria Amazon. Photo / Delfin Amazon Cruises
For solo travellers, being flexible on dates and booking last-minute can pay-off in a big way, with tour operators waiving supplements at the eleventh hour to fill empty rooms and seats. Case in point? Rainforest Cruises, a riverboat and small cruise ship package provider, is eliminating singles supplements for Peruvian Rainforest cruises aboard the Delfin III departing October 21, 31 and November 7.
The luxury boat has room for just 44 guests, creating an intimate experience where days are spent exploring the Amazon Park or the Nauta Caño Creek, home to silverback tamarillo monkeys and sloths. Meanwhile, nights are spent sipping pisco sours, taking cooking classes or admiring the boat’s artwork, handcraft by local women onboard the boat.
Cosmos Tours’ North American and Europe Tours
Booking last-minute isn’t the only option. The other strategy to snagging a deal is to plan far ahead. It’s becoming increasingly common practice for tour operators to set aside a dedicated number of spots for solo travellers on their itineraries—but you have to get in fast.
That’s the case with Cosmos, which is waiving the single supplement on select North American and Europe tours for 2024, including departures to Prague, Vienna and Budapest and the Canadian Rockies. Travellers are advised to book early, as only five “no single supplement” spaces have been set aside for each departure. Pure Trails New Zealand’s South Island Departures
Pure Trails New Zealand’s South Island Departures
Great Trail success: Lake Dunstan's ambitious engineering has attracted cyclists from around New Zealand. Photo / Central Otago, Supplied
For first-time solo travellers, exploring somewhat familiar territory can help you build the skills and confidence to go further and farther on your next adventure alone. If the South Island is on your list, NZ-based cycling specialist Pure Trails is waiving the singles supplement on its October and November departures, for a total savings of up to $545.
Choose from a six-day journey along the West Coast Wilderness Trail; a six-day exploration of the Queenstown area’s five most iconic cycling trails, including the Lake Dunstan Trail; or the Alps 2 Ocean trail running from Mackenzie Country to Oamaru. Looking to travel later this spring? Contact Pure Trails directly for more special rates.
Maruia River Retreat
Soak in the nature at Maruia River Retreat. Photo / Supplied
Maruia River Retreat may be in New Zealand, but you’ll feel like you’re a world away as soon as you set foot in the lush rainforest setting just outside Murchison. Not to be confused with nearby Maruia Hot Springs, the all-inclusive South Island wellness resort is known for its yoga retreats, which provide the time to reset and recharge.
Its popularity with solo travellers also means it frequently has special rates for those travelling alone. Current offers include the Reconnect with Nature package—which includes daily yoga and a forest bathing experience—starting from just $950 for solo travellers, a savings of $100. Likewise, the Personal Restoration Retreat—which includes breathwork, mediation and sound healing—starts from $3250 for solo travellers, a savings of $2250.
Australia Walking Holidays’ Classic Larapinta Trek
The Larapinta Trail is one of the trails open to independent walkers and is part of the Great Walks of Australia. Photo / Luke Tscharke
Australia Walking Holidays’ Larapinta Trek has become so popular with solo travellers that the tour company has now waived single supplements on its Classic Larapinta Trek in Comfort. Over seven days, you’ll walk over 70km of the 230km Larapinta Trail—which runs along the spine of the West MacDonnell Ranges—including summiting the 1,380-metre Mont Sonder and tramping through Ormiston Gorge and Standley Chasm. Every night, hikers return to the same eco glamping camp, which boasts hot showers, a heated dining shelter, and safari-style camping tents.
Departures start from $3585, with itineraries 100 percent carbon offset. From 2024, the tour operator will also be eliminating solo supplements on its Flinders Island Walking Adventures.
