To think holidays for singles are unaffordable

[Lemonfizzy]

I'm single, 35, and finding it impossible to find any kind of affordable solo holiday, and it's really getting me down. I haven't been away from my studio flat for 3 years. I work from home mostly too and I'm crawling the walls.

I only have a few friends and they all have partners they travel with, and a few have kids, and so none have the time or cash to go on holiday with me.

Currently looking at camping options but campsites are all very family/kid orientated - I'm looking for a quiet, relaxing break and think a loner middle aged woman like me staying amongst them will seem a bit odd. I don't want to share a dorm room in a youth hostel, and at some hostels the cheap private rooms are already booked up until autumn 2024!

Any tips or recommendations? My max budget would be £300-400ish for a week including transport (I have a car and a bicycle), food and accommodation. I live in Hertfordshire.

Would you consider going abroad? Last week I booked a solo trip departing in just under two weeks time for £450, this includes, flight, transfer, suit case and all inclusive food and drinks.

There are lots of cheap campsites about. Depends where you go. I rarely pay more than £15 per night for just me.

Many are very much against singles though. They might charge £40-50 per night then say that includes 2 adults and 4 children. Not much use for just me.

Your options will definitely be restricted, but your post hints to me that you are also just a little bit too fussy.
With your budget I think looking at camping is reasonable, you'll struggle with proper accommodation in the UK with that money for more than a few nights.

It's definitely harder to afford things on our own but it also opens up the type of thing we can do and the only limits are those we put on ourselves (which includes financial of course).

If you want to go last minute, don't be shy in calling accommodation up and seeing if they have any rates to ensure the places are filled rather than empty next week.

Good luck, sounds like you deserve a break.

Have you looked at 'private room' options on Airbnb?

What do you enjoy doing. It's possible to get a good holiday in that budget. Do you have a passport?

I would look for private AirBNB rooms, although they are not as cheap as they used to be. I'm going to France this summer and a single in a privately run hotel is cheaper than anything I can find in the UK.

Why not go abroad? Get a cheap flight and go. If you book far enough ahead you csn get reasonable small hotel or pension options. A town in France or Spain not too far from the coast may be good. When I was single I preferred small town abroad hols as I didn't feel conspicuos (sp?). I could walk around the town sit in a park, travel to a beach or another town.

For evenings, I ate dinner a bit early, then walked around the old town and back to the hotel for 10pm. I did have to book all very early, maybe 9 or 10 months in advance to get a good price.

Have a look online for the cheapest flights leaving from your nearest airports.

From there, look at Air B and B or booking.com for accommodation in area.

Yes I have a passport @LobsterBiscuit. Happy to go away in the UK or overseas, assumed UK would be cheaper. I used to travel a lot and lived in Europe at one point, but things haven't gone well for me financially since losing my job during Covid which is pretty gutting tbh.

I like hiking, cycling, reading, wildlife and nature. All free/very cheap stuff. There's a lot of street and neighbour noise where I live, I just want some quiet. Probably sounds insane but I just need some headspace and kind of don't really want to have to make small talk with anyone eg. a host or strangers in a shared room.

This for example, then look at campsites and small b&bs. Train travel is cheap and can be booked through trainline for Europe

There are lots of "pop up" campsites on Pitchup in the £15-20 a night range. They open for a month only, peak season. They tend to have showers and toilets, but no specific family facilities. As such, I've never encountered families there.

I'd put a bit more money into getting some good, comfortable camping gear and nice food where you are.

I just looked you can get a flat in Ilfracombe for a week or cheap flight into Girona and a place in Begur (Spain)

I think you need to just do a bit hunting OP, I'm sure you can get something.

Look at Skyscanner. Pick a country and look across a few months for the prices. Pick a cheap flight. Look at options for getting away from the airport on arrival and you'll be surprised most of the time! Paris is expensive, but Spanish or Italian places are cheap.

Also look at TUI off peak and consider things like 4 nights rather than 7. 10 and 14 nights are frequently the same price. Flights from Luton, be flexible on the dates and the website gives you lots of options. Couple of ideas attached.

I've travelled alone for 25+yrs and always on the cheap. Husband hates flying so I've been seen off for the last 9yrs and have receonegotiated that I'll be taking at least one trip on my own each year as I miss it too much.

Have a look at short trips on cruise ships as well - sailing in and out of Southampton. Surprisingly inexpensive some of them.

You can look at solo package holidays like EasyJet solo holidays, or deals on Expedia etc, plenty of options under £400 (if you don't want to do the leg work and book flights and accommodation separately).

I can't help with suggestions for a weeks holiday unfortunately. Im in a very similar position. When I consider dating I often question if I just want a default playmate/buddy fir holidays and events rather than a real meaningful relationship!
I hear you about the challenges of taking a week off and getting someone to join you but I've found 'mini breaks' are more doable, eg 3 nights in Praugue, Amsterdam, Kracow, Budapest...that type of thing.

You'd be doing well to get a hotel anywhere nice in the UK for that sort of money. Keep looking around for campsites, but have you also looked at private rooms in AirBnBs?

I'm also a solo traveller, and save up religiously for my one "posh" holiday a year! I could do it much cheaper, but I'm not really the camping sort!

You can look at solo package holidays like EasyJet solo holidays, or deals on Expedia etc, plenty of options under £400 (if you don't want to do the leg work and book flights and accommodation separately)
I booked with EasyJet.

What about this? A week in the south of France, next to the harbour, apartment so you can cook to save on food costs. A couple of packs of linguine in your bag will do you a few evening meals on your balcony if you buy pesto and nice cheese there. Crusty bread and meats for lunch don't cost too much. I bet you would find a couple of places to sit and have a nice lunch for not too much and wine is cheap as chips in the supermarkets.

Look at Skyscanner. Had a quick look there from Luton airport to "Everywhere" during the month of June and there are lots of options. You can get fares for under £50 return to places like Seville, Bologna, Krakow, even Thessaloniki in Greece.

For accomodation look up a few different sites, Booking.com, Expedia, Airbnb. You'll definitely find something.

You can fly very chaply from smaller airports around if you want somewhere out. Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, slovakia, Czech, Poland could be in your budget and have amazing nature

Other than the suggestions, would something less than a week long be another option?

Agree about the increased cost for people holidaying alone, and single people are not just younger people with bad luck in finding someone (or standards who won't accept just any relationship), but also widows and widowers.

I'm hiring a camping pod to get away for a few days this year. It ticks a lot of boxes for me, don't have to take the tent, secure, with people but 'not', and means I can spend the money saved on doing things and nice food.

I've mostly stayed in cheap hotels as a single. This has meant I've ended up staying next to brothels (Hamburg, Barcelona, Madrid,) or drug dealers (Berlin,) but you might get somewhere better if you go less central (I was very central in most of those cities.) I didn't actually feel unsafe in any of those, though. Considering apartments, as then you can reduce costs by doing your own food at least some of the time, which is cheaper than eating out every meal.

Many big or touristy cities have some sort of city card which often includes free transport in the city and free/reduced museum entries, though what you get varies, and you can save a lot after the initial outlay for the card. (Am currently on a 72h Reykjavik city card, which covers the main museums, all the public buses and the public swimming pools. Rvk is definitely not a cheap location, though.)

If you've no children and mostly WFH, then you're not restricted to peak season - outside of the school hols will be a lot cheaper. The weather can be great in September.

I'd be hunting on budget airlines and European cities.

I go Youth hosteling. People more likely to talk to you in a hostel than a hotel. And many have private rooms now.

Lots of adult only campsites, especially if you join camping and caravanning club.