Singles holiday for a 66 year old

[Suburbanqueen]

I am going to cash in a small pension and take myself off on holiday somewhere completely new to me.
I am recently divorced after a long and bruising marriage. Most of my friends are couples so a holiday might be tricky. Am thinking I would try a singles holiday. Not to meet a man but to be away with others in the same situation and where I coukd be safe. Never been away on my own before.
Has anyone got any suggestions of travel companies? How was the experience of a singles holiday? Did it feel sad or liberating? What was the group like? Any advice really.
Thanks

How exciting. How fit are you? A walking holiday? Or do you fancy a river cruise? Or something more adventurous?
I know lots of people who holiday alone. They love it.

I have travelled with “Just You” and had a fabulous time in Madeira. Riviera also do solo holidays. I enjoy it because everything is organised including trips. You just turn up at the airport and the rest is taken care of.

Good for you OP. Have a great time.

My mum is a not so recently divorced 60 something year old woman, very active, enjoys meeting people. She’s enjoyed cruises as they’re a good mix of alone and sociable time, but she does struggle with how the world is set up for couples or families. Cruises at least attempt to cater for couples, single meets, shared dining etc.

Exodus do solo-only holidays. They (and other companies like Explore) do group tours where normally half or more of the group consists of people travelling alone. It might be scary to start with but you will love it!

I'm not single but DH doesn't want to go to all the places I do, so I go without him. Where do you fancy? I'm excited for you!

The problem with planned solo holidays she has found (and any holiday really) is how they rinse single people!

HF Holidays excellent

My mum goes with Riviera - in the last year she’s done Itay, the Baltics and is going on a solo river cruise next month. She says they’re great - very friendly and she appreciates the flexibility , but also with your own space. Lots of excursions which again you can join or not.

I second Riviera river cruises. They do solo cruises so no single supplement. I’ve been on two and had a whale of a time on both.

Thank you everyone. I am not sure about a cruise although a river cruise might work. Those huge ones which look like skyscrapers terrify me.

I think I would like to do South America and I would have said Jordan but that's probably not too good an idea. A gentle walking break would work. I have had one knee replacement and the other one is going now. Ah, the joy of aging.

Passion for Cruises specialise in solo deals at no extra cost. They have lots of river cruises, including some hosted ones. They have very reasonable prices.

River cruises are nothing like ocean cruises. Those don’t appeal to me at all. A river cruise has a maximum of around 140-150 passengers and the solo cruises just half that amount as it’s one person per cabin. You meander gently along rivers, enjoying the scenery and stopping at interesting places. The first one I did was Avignon to Lyon and it was lovely. Last year I did the Seine cruise starting and ending in Paris which was equally good. One benefit of many of the European river cruises is travelling to and from the start and finish point by Eurostar which is so much nicer than the hassle of airports and flying. A river cruise is certainly something I shall do again.

This company sounded worth checking out.
https://www.onetraveller.co.uk/

I went to India with https://www.gadventures.com and there were lots of older women on the trip, I shared a room with a Korean lady whose husband didn’t want to come!

Just make sure you don’t pick the 18-30 something tours lol

Friendship travel. Small and very helpful.

I went with Friendship Travel. It’s a smaller company, that offer more of a personal touch. I highly recommend this company.

Thanks again everyone

I'd also recommend companies like Explore and Exodus where you join a group where many are travelling on their own but generally there's a group vibe and most people socialise, eat together. They have walking tours, cultural highlights tours etc. and do various trips in S America. The single supplement can be steep so if you're prepared to share a room with someone of the same gender and similar age then that may work. They have sales from time to time and special offers for no solo supplement.
Also, have a look at Headwater who do walking tours of different levels. If you are interested in 'gentle walking' be careful about the distances covered each day, ascent/descent and walking conditions. This information is usually listed on the trip page online.

How exciting for you!!

I've travelled with Exodus and with Solo's . Both good - as others said, with Exodus not everyone is travelling solo. I'm not confident socially, but always found some people in the groups that I got on with and always felt safe. I'm thinking of doing another Solo's holiday this year.

Check out Exodus’ website and see if their South America options appeal. I went with them to Vietnam on a cycling trip. I’m mid 50s but most of my fellow travelers were 60s…. But likeminded and it was a brilliant trip. I’d definitely use them again.