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ON OUR RECENT TRIP to Alaska, I was surprised by the number of solo women passengers. It turns out I shouldn’t have been.
According to a recent report from Road Scholar, a not-for-profit travel company geared toward those age 50 and older, a quarter of its travelers were single, with 85% of them women. That group included married folks traveling solo. It’s a growing trend. The Road Scholar study reported that 60% of the company’s solo travelers in 2022 were married.
Why would a married person want to travel solo? Among the women surveyed by Road Scholar, there were two major reasons: Either their spouse wasn’t interested in travel, or the spouses had different travel interests. We know couples where one of the spouses is eager to travel, while the other is a confirmed homebody. The third most-cited reason for traveling solo: Health issues limited travel for one partner.
The solo travelers I’ve spoken to like having an experienced company make all the arrangements and provide local support if things go awry. That preference, however, can limit travel options and may mean paying a premium. Many of these planned trips, especially cruises, seem to be based on double occupancy. I looked at prices for the same Road Scholar trip to Alaska’s Inside Passage that my wife and I took in September 2023. There are 10 trips scheduled for 2024. All 10 had double cabins available, but only four offered single cabins.
The per-person price for a double cabin for a late August 2024 trip was quoted at $10,499. A single traveler booking the same cabin would pay $13,499. Road Scholar will try to connect a solo traveler with a cabin partner, but there are no guarantees. The company says it’s designing more trips with solo travelers in mind.
Interested in traveling alone? There’s an enormous amount of information available. An article in Travel & Leisure lists the 14 best tour companies for seniors. Several were highlighted for their attention to the needs of solo travelers. Road Scholar has a page listing “singles at no extra cost” trips, while EF Go Ahead Tours has a special page for solo tours, as does Overseas Adventure Travel.
Here are some ways to trim costs if you’re traveling solo.
My wife has done trips with her girlfriends for many years. These have included “girls’ weekends” at the Jersey shore, Las Vegas, Boston, and several houseboat trips in central Pennsylvania and Arkansas. For some reason, I’ve never done a guys’ trip, although I’m thinking about it. Maybe it’s because of the extensive travel I did during my career. Some years, I was on the road for at least part of 40 weeks. Some of the travel was with colleagues, but much of it was on my own. I didn’t mind the travel too much, but I was always glad to get home.
I’ve been happily married for almost 42 years, plus Vicky and I dated for five years prior to marrying. After all that time, the thought of single life is daunting. Maybe traveling solo, while we still have our spouses and partners around, is good training for our eventual singlehood. In a HumbleDollar article last year, Laura Kelly wrote about how she and her husband are taking steps to develop and maintain their independence. To that end, they’re planning some independent trips in 2024.
Richard Connor is a semi-retired aerospace engineer with a keen interest in finance. He enjoys a wide variety of other interests, including chasing grandkids, space, sports, travel, winemaking and reading. Follow Rick on Twitter @RConnor609 and check out his earlier articles.
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I’m often able to offset the single supplement by declining the included airfare and booking my own using miles/points.
My wife and I did a lot of traveling in the US, Canada and Caribbean when I worked. These trips usually involved flights. After our last trip out West, she said she would never fly again. We can manage that in the US, but not overseas travel. I did a fantastic Holy Land tour solo with our church. The next year I went to Italy with my sister and her friends. I hated my wife was not there but was glad to make both trips.
At age 79, I may have one more overseas trip in me. I have been to 9 foreign countries, and two places I would love to go to are New Zealand and Hawaii. Maybe do both on the same trip.
There are cruise ships that cross the Atlantic and the Pacific…. Not my preference, but certainly an option for someone who doesn’t want to fly.
Thanks Jerry. New Zealand is on my bucket list. I hope you get there soon
Best.
As I’ve written, I took early retirement so I could travel, and almost all the ensuing fifteen years of travel was solo. I did take a few tours: Rick Steves in Europe, no single supplement if you’re willing to share, Intrepid in Asia and Morocco (ditto) and three pricier trips with the Smithsonian, GeoEx, and MIR. The first two also waived the single supplement if you shared. I actually prefer traveling solo – nothing to distract me from what I’ve come to see.
If you travel with a friend you are by definition not traveling solo. I haven’t used a travel agent since 2000, and arranging your own trips has become easier and easier with the expansion of the internet. I arranged my “Scotland to Saigon” rail travel in 2004 using Thomas Cook’s printed timetables, now you can do the whole thing on line.
If you stay in B&Bs (not AirBnBs), pensions and guesthouses, you are likely to meet up with fellow travelers. Same with Youth Hostels (no, you don’t have to be young, and these days they have private rooms as well as dorms). Taking day tours or walking tours is another way to meet people.
If you are hesitant to start traveling solo, a trip to Canada or the UK would be a good start.
Great tip in your last line. I travel solo to the UK every two years or so to watch footy (soccer to us Yanks, but I’ve picked up the local vernacular), and I’ve taken easy advantage of the UK train system for side trips to Scotland and Wales. It’s been great.
Just have to make sure the trains aren’t on strike. Like now.
Sadly, the British rail system hasn’t recovered from privatization. However, if the rail workers are on strike there are long distance buses. If you’re 60 or older doing a lot of train travel a senior rail card may be worthwhile – you don’t have to be a UK citizen or resident.
Three years ago a train strike scuttled our planned side trip from England to Scotland. It was frustrating, but we found plenty to do in London to make up for it.
Kathy, thanks for reading and you insight. I’m very impressed by people willing to set out on their own. You inspire me to want to travel more.
Rick, thanks for a very interesting article. I’m fortunate in that I was able to travel a good bit in my young and single years. Maybe I got it out of my system because now I’m a confirmed homebody.
My dear wife, on the other hand, has many faraway destinations on her wish list. Hopefully a compromise solution can be reached, or maybe she will become one of those solo female travelers!
Andrew, thanks for reading and commenting. I guess it’s important to realize no “one size fits all” in relationships and retirement. IFind what works best for you and your wife.
When I met my wife-to-be I was usually gone one weekend a month on camping trips with Scouts, and yearly for a week of Summer Camp. I stopped working with Scouts shortly before we got married. For the last 15 years or so, I have taken yearly trips “with the guys” for climbing, camping, backpacking, or whitewater rafting trips. At this point I’ve taken climbing and rafting off the list, but we’re tentatively planning a camping/hiking trip sometime this year.
I also travel without my wife to attend concerts and music festivals. Our tastes don’t overlap for music, so I generally arrange to go with or meet like-minded friends at the event.
That said, we have great vacations and adventures together, too. We spent two weeks traveling throughout Spain 4 months ago. It was a fun and fascinating trip, and we look forward to similar trips in the near future.
Jeff, sounds like it works great for you. Enjoy
The wife of a friend of mine used to travel solo before Jim died. Although she loved and misses him, she has a very fulfilling life without him. I never considered that the solo travel may be a contributing factor in her happiness.
I admire people who can move on with their lives. We met a very nice, very brave widow on our Alaska trip. She stated that all her married retired friends were traveling, and she could either sit around feeling sorry for herself, or get out and do the things she dreamed of. We adopted her into our little family on the trip.
Rick, you could be describing my wife and me. She’s the traveler, and has said she would be happy traveling solo to visit relatives overseas when she has that opportunity again. I’m not sure whether that’s an accommodation or a threat, but it’s motivated me to make plans to join her for at least a trip or two.
Edmund, thanks for reading and commenting. I wish you happy travels.