Flash Pack alternatives for solo travellers in their 40s, 50s and 60s

If you are looking for Flash Pack alternatives because you want a group where a host travels with you throughout, Spice Escapes is a UK tour operator running small hosted holidays for people in their 40s, 50s and 60s, most of whom book on their own. Flash Pack does a lot well, so this page sets out fairly who each company suits, with five Spice holidays that answer what Flash Pack travellers tend to love.

Spice Escapes has no connection with Flash Pack. Everything said about them here comes from their own website.

What Flash Pack is, in its own words

Flash Pack is a London company running group adventures for people travelling solo. Its founder writes that in their 30s their friends were settling down and every group trip felt too young or too old. Here is what Flash Pack publishes:

• Age bands. You choose a departure for ages 30 to 49 or 50 to 65.
• Mostly solo. Flash Pack says 90% arrive solo and 80% leave as friends.
• Small groups. Its maximum group size is 16.
• Room sharing. It says 75% of its travellers share, matched with a roommate through a questionnaire, and you can add a room of your own.
• Leaders and styles. Groups travel with local Pack Leaders, in trip styles such as chilled, challenging, short stays, wildlife and safari, and winter.

If you are in your 30s, or you want a matched roommate rather than paying for a room alone, Flash Pack is built for that and may suit you better.

Where Spice Escapes is different

Spice holidays are for people in their 40s, 50s and 60s, with no birthday that moves you into a different band. If you loved your Flash Pack trips and want to keep going as the years pass, there is no line here to cross.

The bigger difference is the host. On a Spice holiday a named host travels with the group, and on some trips local guides and crews join in for the specialist parts. The host notices who is sitting alone at breakfast and gathers people for dinner, so eating on your own is never the question. Groups are around fifteen people, and some reach twenty.

Every Spice holiday carries a single supplement or a cost for a room to yourself, and our single supplement page explains it plainly. Our flight-inclusive holidays are ATOL protected under licence 9046.

What stays the same is why people come. Most are on their own, nobody has to explain why, and the friendships are what people talk about afterwards. More in what makes a Spice Escape different.

For the wildlife trips you loved: the Maldives by wooden boat

Maldives Wildlife Cruise & Beach Chillout is the closest Spice answer to a wildlife adventure. You spend seven nights on MV Felicity, a wooden boat taking twelve guests at most, snorkelling with turtles, reef sharks and rays, with a whole day searching for whale sharks off Dhigurah. The last three nights are on Fulhadhoo, with nothing scheduled.

12 nights, 27 Nov 2027 – 9 Dec 2027, from £4,199, hosted by Jonathan Banks. Places: 2 places left. More under worldwide adventures and the Maldives.

For the challenging days: walking the green coast of Spain

For the more active trips, Cantabrian Walking Week gives you proper walking in good company. Jen and Jim walked the area themselves to choose routes from under three miles to nearly nine, coastal, river and forest. The pace is social, and Jim is happy to push harder for anyone who wants it. Every meal is included at Agara, a large renovated house, with local wine and beer to help yourself to.

7 nights, 9 May 2027 – 16 May 2027, from £999, with Jen & Jim. Places: 7 places left. More on Spain and northern Spain.

For the chilled weeks: a Croatian island in the spring

For a slower week, Croatian Chillout is on Lošinj, a little less known corner of the country. You stay half board at Hotel Punta, with a boat day round the archipelago, swimming in quiet coves and a chance of dolphins.

7 nights, 1 May 2027 – 8 May 2027, from £869, hosted by Jackie Whyte. Places: 13 places left. More under chillout and relaxation.

For the winter escapes: Iceland in a few days

Iceland Discovery packs a lot in. Entrance to the Blue Lagoon is in the price, there is a full day on the Golden Circle at Thingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss, and the Centerhotel Plaza is central, with a bar to sit in afterwards. The Northern Lights do not play to order, but you may be lucky.

4 nights, 12 Nov 2026 – 16 Nov 2026, from £1,065, with Jackie Whyte. Places: 3 places left.

For the short stays: a long weekend in Lisbon

If short stays fit your life best, A Taste of Lisbon gives you a host and a hotel near a metro stop, with Alfama and Tram 28 one day and Belém and pastéis de nata the next. Evenings are yours, a quiet dinner or Bairro Alto.

3 nights, 15 Apr 2027 – 18 Apr 2027, from £639, hosted by Pam Harte. Places: 7 places left.

Which one fits you

Flash Pack is likely the better choice if you are in your 30s, want a set age band, or want a matched roommate. Spice is likely the better choice if you are in your 40s, 50s or 60s and want a host with the group throughout and a UK team to talk it through with first. Our guide to over 50s solo holidays covers the wider range, and first-time solo travellers and your first group holiday walk through the first day.

Questions people ask

What is Flash Pack?

Flash Pack is a London company running small group adventures for people who travel solo, with departures for ages 30 to 49 and 50 to 65. It says its maximum group size is 16 and that most of its travellers share a matched room.

Are there companies like Flash Pack for people over 50?

Yes. Spice Escapes runs hosted group holidays for people in their 40s, 50s and 60s, and most people book on their own. A host travels with every group, and groups are around fifteen people, and some reach twenty.

Will I pay extra for a room on my own?

Every Spice holiday carries a single supplement or a cost for having a room to yourself, and we say so up front. The cost varies by holiday, so ask the team for the figure on the trip you like.

I loved my Flash Pack trip. Will a Spice group feel very different?

The heart of it is the same, a small group of people mostly travelling alone who become friends quickly. The difference is a host who travels with you and a team in the UK who know every holiday.

Talk to us before you decide

Tell us what you loved about your last trip, the wildlife, the walking or the people, and Rob Thompson, who owns Spice Escapes and hosts holidays himself, or anyone on the team will match it to a holiday and tell you honestly if we fit. You can also ask Rosie, our site chat, "Which holidays suit someone who has travelled with Flash Pack?" When you are ready, get in touch with the team, and we will come back to you with the holidays that fit.