While cheaptravel options such as cheap airplane tickets, discount hotel rooms, discounttravel deals, and cheap vacation packages maketravel affordable, some would be solo travelers wonder if travel is really intheir future given that cruises, hotels, tours, and many other activities aredesigned and priced to favor couples, with Per-person, double-occupancy(PPDO) pricing as the norm.
Increasingly young and older people enjoy solo travel forthe freedom it provides allowing them to do whatever they want. While you cannot totally escape the solotravel penalty that hotels or tours frequently impose, there are ways you canminimize it.
The following are ways to embark on truly solo travel andnot the singles-matching system that so many travel operators try to sell,according to Ed Perkins:
Cruisesare increasingly catering to solo travelers as evidenced by Norwegian CruiseLines offering studio cabins specially designed for solo occupancy. The Norwegian Epic sleeps 128 solotravelers. Other ships feature anywherefrom 10 to 50 solo cabins. Rates areoften higher than half the standard PPDO rates for the least expensive cabins,but they remain good values so long as you reserve early.
If you are not interested in a smallersolo room, then consider booking late when cruise lines sometimes offer free orminor upcharges for solo occupancy of a conventional double cabin, particularlywhen a ship is not full within a month of its departure date.
Soloski trips are attractive to many who want freedom on the slopes. While you will likely have to pay the sameprice for your hotel room or condo that couples are able to split, everythingelse is priced basically per-person, with no special couples benefits. Pay for only your own lift ticket, meals, andequipment rentals.
Solotravel to Europe is appealing in part because you only have to purchase airfarefor one and many smaller hotels offer single rooms at a single rate, or you canopt for a single bed in a hostel. Singletrain tickets are available and rail passes provide even more flexibility thansolo air travel already does.
Considersolo travel tour options. Check outConnecting Solo Travel Network which is an Canadian based agency thatcompiles data on solo tours from assorted operators. Solo Trekker 4U tracks prices of solotravel options thereby providing a large, searchable database of tours andcruises. Women Traveling Togetherfocuses exclusively on upmarket solo occupancy tours for woman.
Solotravel in Asia can be attractive in part because prices on hotels just belowthe deluxe level in China and Thailand are low enough that solo travelers donot have to be concerned about paying the double rate as a single. Downmarket hotels tend to offer typicalhostel rates, with the cost of meals and necessities usually cheaper.
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