babsy1039

Other than OAT are there any other reputable small group travel/tour companies that waive the single/individual traveler supplemental fee? I hope so, because it feels like a penalty each time one must pay a significant amount of dollars because they just happen to travel alone. Thanks for any input.

MmePerdu

Some companies waive the fee if you agree to have a same-gender roommate and none turn up for the tour. But you must be willing to share in case another single appears. I suspect that in many cases you'd have a room to yourself at the same price as sharing doubles.

There are also some companies that advertise a limited number of single rooms available with no supplement. You just need to shop around until you find one that makes these offers and have trips you want.

thursdaysd

This has been discussed before - do a search.

babsy1039

Thanks I will do that!

babsy1039

Hi again..did a search and unfortunately none of the responses were current with most being 7-8 years ago so I'm not considering those remarks as relevant to now.

So, again...please let me know what tour companies tend to waive the solo traveler supplemental fees.

Thanks!

thursdaysd

You're not trying very hard:

http://fodors.com/community/travel-t...supplement.cfm

Although the thread was started a while back it has several posts from 2012.

Did you bother to go look at the companies listed on the threads y ou did find? The companies that used to waive fees/provide shares probably still do.

suze

Just travel on your own. If you don't go with an organized tour group, there is no "penalty" for being solo.

babsy1039

thursdaysd...did go further and the only ones still doing it on a consistent basis are OAT & GCT other than that its random and contingent upon matching with another person and only operative when they cannot match you...there aren't any new ones seemingly out there that don't practice the Noah's Ark mentality!

MmePerdu

Sorry, I don't understand "random and contingent upon matching with another person and only operative when they cannot match you".

You pay no additional whether they find you a roommate or you have a room to yourself as long as you're willing to have a roommate. Are you saying you want a room to yourself guaranteed and are unwilling to pay extra for a single in a double room?

Here's a fairly recent article on the subject with suggestions of companies:
http://travel.nytimes.com/2013/03/10...anted=all&_r=0

doug_stallings

Look also at Smartours. I think they have low or no single supplements. They are similar to OAT in terms of their tours, but they have bigger groups. Also companies like Intrepid can work for you if you don't mind having a wider range of ages in your small group and are willing to take a roommate.

Finally, Norwegian Epic has single cabins that are small but excellent and a great value if you like cruising. And some river cruises (such as Avalon, Uniworld, and A-Rosa) waive single supplements during parts of the year. That's not exactly the same as a group tour, but it's a great way to travel and see a variety of places for a reasonable price.

babsy1039

Thank you all for you input...I've seen the NY Times article from March of this year and unfortunately, its focus is primarily cruises which I'm not interested in at this point. My preference is to not have a roommate. I've had a couple of truly hair-raising experiences and don't wish to put myself in that possible position again. So, I choose to be a solo from start to finish of a tour. I was just attempting to see who else, other than OAT & GCT positively sets aside a couple of spots per tour for solo travelers and waives the supplemental fee entirely.