Boldly Go Solo

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In preparation for being interviewed
on the BBC World's travel program, called "fast:track," I asked experts
if they knew of tour operators that waived or markedly lowered the
single supplement. (Who knew the BBC piece was going to involve a boy blowup doll?!)

Many
respondents told me about companies they knew or, or represented, that don't charge the single supplement. But I
know better than to believe that right off.

And indeed, after some
simple checking, it turns out that for many tour operators only waive the single supplement
if you're willing to share a room with another person signed up for the trip. I don't think that's what people
are looking for when they ask about the single supplement. But it's a
relatively common option and a saving grace for those looking to save money, and who don't mind sharing a room that they won't be spending much time in anyway.

Here are some other tips for avoiding the single supplement:

Find the real deals.

– Overseas Adventure Travel is eliminating the single supplement on its land tours and reducing it dramatically on small ship adventures. Without you having to share a room.

–
The BodyHoliday at LeSport on St. Lucia in the Caribbean built a wing with 29 rooms for single occupancy, all of them with queen beds. None of them ocean front, but hey, you can't have everything. The ocean's steps away, anyway.

– Tauck World Discovery is waiving the single supplement on some cruises in 2010, as it did in 2009.

– Uniworld River Cruises has a number of savings for 2010, including no single supplement
on select cruises, according to a story in The Washington Post. If solo
travelers book and submit a deposit by Jan. 31, the cruise line
will waive the extra fee for solo travelers on several European voyages.  

– Windjammer cruises out of Maine offers single rooms and no single supplements.

–
Red Mountain Resort & Spa in Utah has a deal running through
January 15 that waives the single supplement. It's too late for anyone
to scramble now to get that, but those deals may come around again. Or
you could try to negotiate for such a deal once the (arbitrary)
deadline is up in a few days. Which leads to my next tip…

Negotiate.

Wheedle,
whine or beg for a discount. Or just ask nicely. "Any deals I don't know
about?" If arriving last minute, ask for a discount and be willing to
walk away. If, that is, you have somewhere else to stay.

Avoid package tours altogether.

Book
your own travel and lodgings in hostels, bed and breakfasts or
guesthouses that have single rooms. Some B&B's run solo travel
specials from time to time. 

Enlist the help of a travel agent.

A travel agent can alert you when companies drop or lower their single supplements.

Be a savvy Web user.

Web
sites such as CruiseCompete and Zicasso have cruise and tour companies
competing for your business. Maybe there's still a single supplement
but maybe the total cost is low enough to zero it out. 

Become a member of a hotel loyalty program.

Even
if you don't use a particular hotel much, members probably are treated
better. And hotels might be more willing to lower prices or sweeten the
deal. (See negotiate above)

Book Last minute.

If you're flexible, use sites such as Lastminute, Lastminutetravel, Kayak and 11thhourvacations.

Shop around.

If you can't avoid the single supplement, at least try to find companies that keep them quite low.

Go off season.

You might think, "Why should I? Why should I be relegated to a less desirable season to get the deals I deserve?" Well, it's true for everyone, couples and families alike. I usually choose NOT to travel in summer, solo or no, because I don't want to fight crowds and pay high prices. Or get bumped off flights or frozen out of hotels I might want to stay at.

Do you have other suggestions for avoiding the single supplement?

(I've written up some of these tips before, but you can never hear them too much…I hope.)

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Photo: Tomascastelazo