Group holidays abroad for people who used to tour as a couple and now go alone

If you are looking at group holidays abroad because you want the touring done for you, but you are now going on your own, Spice Escapes was built for exactly that. We run small hosted groups of people who mostly book alone, so you are one of many solo travellers rather than the single seat on a coach full of couples.

A lot of people find us the same way. They have done escorted tours before, often with a husband, a wife or a friend who did the booking, and they liked having everything arranged. Now they are looking again, alone this time, and the brochures look different. Every picture shows two people at a table for two. Below are five of our holidays that give you the looked-after feel of a tour without being the odd one out.

The worry nobody puts in the brochure

When people ring us about touring on their own, the questions are rarely about the sights. They want to know who they will sit with on the first night, whether they will spend the coach journeys next to an empty seat, and how much extra a room to themselves will cost.

Our groups are around fifteen people, and some reach twenty. Most of them booked on their own, so nobody is the spare one. Every holiday has a Spice Escapes host who travels with the group, makes the introductions on day one, suggests plans over breakfast and makes sure there is a table to join at dinner. If this is your first time travelling solo, our page for first-time solo travellers goes through the first day hour by hour.

Crete, for anyone who misses a proper touring week

Crete Discovery is the closest thing we sell to the escorted tours you may remember. It runs for 7 nights, with dates on 5 Oct 2027 – 12 Oct 2027, from £1,499. There are only two bases, three nights in Aghios Nikolaos and four in Rethymno, so you unpack twice rather than every morning. Both hotels have two pools and a spa, and dinner is included throughout.

The days are planned for you: Plaka and Elounda on the coast, a home-cooked lunch at a family taverna on the Lasithi Plateau, Heraklion and its market on the way west, Chania, the Souda Bay war cemetery and Preveli Monastery. The holiday is operated on the island by our Crete partners, Living Crete, with their own tour manager, and your Spice host is Lauren Fawkes, so you have two people looking after you. Places: 12 places left. More on the island is on our Greece page.

Ypres, a short tour with a guide and no airport

Many people who search for escorted tours want history with someone to explain it. World War I, A Journey of Memory and Meaning with Wings is 3 nights in Ypres, with dates on 8 Apr 2027 – 11 Apr 2027, from £1,019. You travel by Eurostar from St Pancras, so there is no airport and no flight, and you are met on arrival and taken to a family-run hotel, the Albion, run by a mother and daughter.

A local guide takes the group to Tyne Cot and the trenches at Sanctuary Wood. The Last Post sounds at the Menin Gate each evening, minutes from the hotel. It is a reflective trip, and having people to talk to over dinner afterwards helps. Your host is Claire Dymond. Places: 14 places left. See also Belgium.

Iceland, where the excursions are already in the price

One thing people like about escorted tours is knowing what is included. On Iceland Discovery it is spelt out: entrance to the Blue Lagoon, a full day on the Golden Circle to Thingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss, and a panoramic tour of Reykjavik. It is 4 nights, with dates on 12 Nov 2026 – 16 Nov 2026, from £1,065.

You stay at the Centerhotel Plaza in the middle of Reykjavik, which has a bar to sit in afterwards, and there is free time to explore on your own. We hope for the Northern Lights, though, as the holiday page says, they do not play to order. Your host is Jackie Whyte. Places: 3 places left, so ask soon if this one appeals. More on Iceland.

Lake Como, for when you want a looser timetable

Lake Como Discovery is the opposite. It is several nights based in Como itself, ten minutes' walk from the historic centre, with dates on dates to be confirmed, from price on request.

The ferries run to Bellagio, Varenna and Menaggio whenever you fancy a day out. Your host, one of our hosts, gathers everyone over breakfast to talk about plans and again in the hotel bar before dinner. Places: ask us.

Southern Spain, with an astronomer for the week

Chasing the Eclipse is 7 nights in the white hilltop town of Vejer de la Frontera, with dates on 31 Jul 2027 – 7 Aug 2027, from £2,899, built around a total solar eclipse in the company of Dr Matthew Bothwell, the University of Cambridge Public Astronomer.

Around the eclipse there is a week of southern Spain to share: a day in Jerez for sherry bodegas and flamenco, Cádiz by the Atlantic, a guided walk around Vejer, and perhaps dinner together at Casa del Califa. Your host is Rob Thompson, the owner of Spice Escapes. Places: 18 places left. More of our trips like this are under Culture and Discovery.

What a room to yourself costs

Every one of these holidays carries a single supplement or room-to-yourself cost. Our single supplement page explains how it works and what the options are. If you are over fifty and weighing this up, our over 50s solo holidays page puts the whole programme in one place.

If you want to read more first, what makes a Spice Escape different and your first group holiday are both worth ten minutes. For city and lake trips across Europe, see our guide to escorted tours in Europe.

Questions people ask

Is this an escorted coach tour?

Not in the usual sense. Spice Escapes runs mixed hosted groups of people travelling on their own, with a host from our team who travels with you, and some holidays add a local guide or tour manager for the days that need one. You get the arranged, looked-after feel of a tour with more free time than a coach itinerary allows.

Will I be the only person on my own?

Very unlikely. Most people on our holidays book alone, which is the point of how we run them. Couples and friends do come too, but the group is built around solo travellers.

Do you run tours around the UK?

Our holidays go abroad, to Europe and further afield, and most fly from the UK. The Ypres trip goes by Eurostar from London if you would rather not fly at all.

What if I am used to my partner doing all the planning?

That is very common, and it is exactly what the host is for. Flights, hotel and transfers are arranged, and once you are there your host suggests the plans and makes the introductions.

Can I bring a friend?

Yes, and you can share a twin room if you both want to. Plenty of people still come alone, so your friend will not be the only new face either.

Tell us what kind of tour you used to enjoy

The easiest way to find your holiday is to tell us what you liked about touring before and what you would change now that you are going alone. Rob Thompson, who owns Spice Escapes and hosts holidays himself, and the rest of the team will talk you through the dates, the groups and the room costs, with no pressure to book. Get in touch through our contact page and tell us which of these five caught your eye.