Europe or long haul holiday? Choosing a hosted group trip on your own

If you are torn between a Europe or long haul holiday and you will be going on your own, the honest answer is that it depends less on the destination and more on how far you want the group and the host to carry you. Spice Escapes runs hosted small group holidays in both, so you can try a few hours' flight to Crete or Athens first, or go straight to Cape Town, the Maldives or the Ganges with a host who has done the hard part already.

You may have done Europe many times as a couple and wonder whether a long flight alone is a step too far. Here is how the two feel in practice with a group, and the holidays we run in each.

What really changes when you go further

A short flight in Europe is easy to recover from. You land, you meet the group the same day, and home is never far away. That makes Europe a gentle way to find out how you get on with group travel. Our guide for first-time solo travellers covers what that first trip is like.

Long haul asks more of you, with an overnight flight, a time change and a longer stretch away. It also gives you more. What makes the difference for someone travelling alone is who meets you at the other end. On our long-haul holidays you are met on arrival and looked after from then on, so the bit people worry about most, landing alone somewhere unfamiliar, is the bit we have already sorted.

Long-haul holidays cost more but include more. Every holiday we run carries a single supplement or a charge for a room to yourself, and our single supplement page explains how that works.

Long haul with a host: three holidays

South Africa, with a host who meets you at arrivals

South Africa Discovery is the long-haul trip we would suggest to someone nervous about the distance. After the overnight flight you are met in arrivals in Cape Town by our local host, Sue Giddings, who stays with the group for the whole holiday. The first afternoon is an orientation tour and lunch together.

The days take in Chapman's Peak Drive, Cape Point and the penguins at Boulders Beach, a day in the Franschhoek winelands, and an overnight at a private game reserve with a sunrise game drive. It runs for 10 nights, departing 29 Mar 2027 – 8 Apr 2027, from £3,499, and places are 9 places left. Read more about South Africa.

The Maldives, on a small wooden boat

Maldives Wildlife Cruise and Beach Chillout is the most different from a European week you could pick. Your tour leader meets you at the airport in Male and takes you to MV Felicity, a wooden boat that takes twelve guests at most. On your own, that means you know everyone on board quickly.

There is a whole day searching for whale sharks off Dhigurah, snorkelling with a spotter who checks how everyone is getting on in the water, and a quiet island stay on Fulhadhoo at the end with nothing scheduled. It is 12 nights, departing 27 Nov 2027 – 9 Dec 2027, from £4,199, hosted by Jonathan Banks. Availability is 2 places left. Our Maldives page for solo travellers goes into the boat in more detail.

India, by river from Kolkata

India: Kolkata and the Lower Ganges River Cruise is long haul at a slow pace. You are met in Kolkata and taken to the RV Kalaw Pandaw, which has just eighteen staterooms, so your home moves with you and you unpack once. There is a private visit to Raj Bhavan arranged for Spice Escapes guests and a rickshaw ride at Kalna to a Shiva temple ringed by 108 shrines.

It runs for 10 nights, departing 10 Oct 2026 – 20 Oct 2026, from £3,485, hosted by Claire Dymond with WingsItaly. Places: 1 place left.

All three sit under our worldwide adventures, and our page on escorted tours worldwide compares them as tours.

Europe with a host: three holidays to start with

Athens, for a short first try

To test group travel before a long flight, Ancient Athens is a good place to begin. It lasts 4 nights and opens with dinner together at a local restaurant on the first evening, which is the easiest way to meet everyone. The Acropolis and Ancient Agora with a licensed guide and a food tour are both there if you want them. It departs 10 Mar 2027 – 14 Mar 2027, from £579, with Jackie Whyte as host.

Crete, a full week with two bases

Crete Discovery is a week that feels like a proper holiday without the long journey. There are two bases, Aghios Nikolaos and then Rethymno, half board throughout so dinner is always taken care of, and a home-cooked lunch at a family taverna up on the Lasithi Plateau. It is 7 nights, departing 5 Oct 2027 – 12 Oct 2027, from £1,499, hosted by Lauren Fawkes. See more of Greece.

Croatia, for an island and a slower pace

Croatian Chillout takes you to the island of Lošinj, with half board at Hotel Punta and a boat day round the archipelago with a chance of dolphins. It is 7 nights, departing 1 May 2027 – 8 May 2027, from £869, hosted by Jackie Whyte.

For more of what we run closer to home, see escorted tours in Europe.

A simple way to decide

• Choose Europe if this is your first group holiday, if you would rather be home within a short flight, or if a week of sun, food and a group to eat with is what you need.
• Choose long haul if you have travelled before and want the trip you kept putting off, and you would rather go with a host than plan it alone.
• Do both in time. Plenty of people start with a short break and come back for something further away once they know how a Spice group works.

Either way, the company is the same. A host who travels with you, a group who are mostly on their own too, and the friendships that carry on afterwards. Our over 50s solo holidays and group holidays for people travelling on their own explain how that works on every trip.

Questions people ask

Is a long-haul holiday on my own a big step if I have only been to Europe?

It is a bigger step, but the parts that worry people most are the parts a host takes care of. On our long-haul holidays you are met on arrival and looked after by a host or tour leader throughout. Many people find it easier than a European trip they planned themselves.

Do I fly out with the group?

That depends on the holiday, so ask us about the one you are looking at. On our long-haul trips someone meets you when you land, so you are never left to find the hotel or the boat on your own.

Will I have to share a room?

You do not have to share. Every holiday has a single supplement or a cost for a room to yourself, and we will tell you exactly what it is before you book.

Which is better value, Europe or long haul?

A week in Europe costs less overall and is a good way to try a hosted group. Long-haul holidays cost more but are longer and include more of the days, the meals and the transfers. The best value is the one you will enjoy enough to come back from with new friends.

Talk it through with us

If you still cannot decide, call us. Tell us how far you have travelled before and what you are nervous about, and we will tell you honestly which holiday suits you. Rob Thompson, who owns Spice Escapes and hosts holidays himself, and the rest of the team are happy to talk through any of these trips. Get in touch with the team and we will help you choose between Europe and somewhere further away.