The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
BEST FOR SOLO TRAVEL
With pre-holiday socials, activities with like-minded people, and hotels offering no single supplements… it’s time to pack your bags
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UMBRIA FOOD TOUR Famous for its wines, cheeses, oils and truffles, Umbria is a top pick for a gourmet stay, and food is the focus for a seven-night Tastes of Umbria holiday with Solo. Activities on the itinerary include a cooking class and a performance of Mozart’s Don Giovanni in Macerata, as well as regional wine tasting and a walk through olive groves to sample the oil produced at a family farm.
From £1,209 half-board, staying at the four-star Hotel Antica Dimora Alla Rocca in Trevi. Departs August 3 2021 (020 8951 2900; solosholidays.co.uk) 52
HOUSE PARTY IN RHODES If highly organised itineraries don’t appeal, consider booking the more laid-back week aimed at single travellers offered by Friendship Travel, based at the midrange Stella Hotel in the hillside beach resort of Pefkos. There are no specific group activities arranged, but the host will suggest optional sightseeing excursions and relaxed outings to local restaurants on the nights when dinner isn’t included.
From £929 B&B departing Gatwick on August 18, based on a studio with a sea view and including three dinners (0289 446 2211; friendshiptravel.com).
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SUPPLEMENT-FREE HOTEL IN MALLORCA
The designer shopping and gleaming mega yachts at Palma, the island’s capital, attract a well-heeled, sophisticated crowd. Smart, harbourside hotels include the 361-room four-star Meliá Palma Marina. A 25-minute walk from the city’s historic centre, it has a spa and is a convenient base for excursions to Cala Major Beach. A 10 per cent discount is valid until October 2021 and applies to bookings made at least 21 days prior to travel. A supplement-free, premium room costs from £1,377 B&B, departing August 17 2021, through Classic Collection Holidays (0800 047 1066; classiccollection.co.uk).
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GULET VOYAGE IN CROATIA
Join a like-minded group on a voyage with Peter Sommer Travels on a seven-night Cruising the Dalmatian Coast: from Dubrovnik to Split, tour on a Turkish-style gulet in the company of an expert guide. Calling at Korcula, Hvar, Brac and the furthest flung island of Vis, the trip includes the opportunity to explore ancient Roman sites, archaeological museums and harbourside towns, with plenty of time for swimming and relaxation. From £4,530 full-board, including single supplement (or £3,585 if solo iiTrulli welcome: passengers are prepared to share a berth traditional stone with a same-sex companion). Departs houses in Puglia August 30 2021. Excludes flights (01600
888220; petersommer.com).
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CRUISE THE SIGHTS OF THE MED
New for 2021 is a 10-night Malta and Adriatic Jewels cruise, which is part of this year’s Welcome Back programme offered by Viking Ocean Cruises. Departing from the Maltese capital, Valletta, the Viking Venus ship sails across the Ionian Sea to Kotor in Montenegro, the Croatian ports of Dubrovnik, Split, Zadar and Sibenik before returning to Valletta via the Maltese island of Gozo.
Single supplements are waived on selected sailings including the departure on August 3 2021, which starts at £2,790 full-board (0800
458 6900; vikingcruises.co.uk).
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TOURANCIENT
GREECE
Olympia, Delphi, Mycenae and the Corinth Canal are among the highlights of a six-night Glories of Greece tour offered by Insight Vacations. The tour, in a group size of up to 24, starts in Athens with a visit to the Acropolis and the Arch of Hadrian before heading to Kalambaka. There are no supplements for solo ravellers. From £2,305 B&B, including five dinners and premium coach travel. Flights cost extra. Departs August 15 2021 (0808 231 4672; insightvacations.com).
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WALK AND TALK IN SWITZERLAND Single guests pay the same as couples travelling on a seven-night Alpine Arosa walking tour with Ramblers Walking Holidays, based at the four-star Excelsior Hotel at the head of the Schanfigg Valley. Stamina is needed for challenging walks of around 11 miles per day through mountainous terrain including the Weisshorn and Welschtobel valleys to small alpine villages and flower meadows. From £1,589 half-board, including an Arosa Card giving free travel on local cable cars and railways (01707 818352; ramblersholidays.co.uk).
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EXPOLORE THE RIVERS OF BORDEAUX
Wine, scenery and cuisine are the focus of a week’s Brilliant Bordeaux itinerary offered by Uniworld on its 124-berth SS Bon Voyage, launched in 2019, with broad sundeck and pool. Cruising along the region’s Garonne, Dordogne and Gironde rivers in this west coast region, the ship calls in at Fort Médoc, Cadillac, Blaye and Libourne with wine tastings, visits to farmers’ markets and walking tours along the way.
From £3,499 full-board, with no solo supplements on voyages departing August 1, 8 and 22 2021 (0808 273 6927; uniworld.com).
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TOUR PUGLIA IN
A SMALL GROUP
Any fears about holidaying with complete strangers are (hopefully) allayed by the pre-holiday get-togethers for guests before departure organised by One Traveller. Six places are still available on an escorted, eight-night Puglia tour which includes single room occupancy in four-star hotels in the hilltop towns of Ostuni and Lecce. Tour highlights include wine tasting, an olive oil tasting and an excursion to Otranto, home to an 11th-century cathedral and medieval castle.
From £2,450 full-board. Departs Heathrow on August 30 2021
(01760 722011; onetraveller.co.uk).
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GET SPORTY IN SARDINIA
Solo travellers, single parents and groups of friends are invited to kick off their holiday at Perdepera Resort on the island’s east coast with a sociable gettogether over dinner. This resort offered by Mark Warner has a large, sandy beach, villa-style chalets in shady grounds and two pools, one exclusively for adults. Activities include fitness classes, mountain biking, beach volleyball and water polo.RYA-approved courses in sailing and windsurfing, or LTA tennis coaching, cost £90 for four half days.
From £2,199 full-board, departing August 28 2021 (020 7361 8880; markwarner.co.uk).