Group holidays for people travelling on their own

A hosted group holiday is a holiday you book as one person, and travel on as part of a small group with a named host who stays with the group for the whole holiday. Almost everyone on a Spice Escapes holiday has booked on their own; some come with a friend. Nobody is seated with anyone in particular, and what you do with your evenings is your own business.

Spice has been running holidays like this since 1981. Below is how they work: who comes, what the rooms cost, what the host does, and how to pick one.

What a hosted group holiday includes

Each holiday is a fixed departure with a set itinerary, a hotel or house booked for the group, and a host. Most can be booked with flights or on your own travel, and the holiday page shows both prices. Meals depend on the trip: some are breakfast only, some are all inclusive, and the page lists exactly what is covered before you book.

The group is small enough to learn everyone's name in the first day or two. The typical size for each departure is listed on its page.

Who comes

Our holidays are for adults. The minimum age is 18 and there is no upper limit. Most people who travel with us are in their forties and beyond, but that is who books rather than a rule, and groups vary from one trip to the next. Plenty of our travellers are married, with a partner who would rather not go.

What a group has in common is usually the holiday itself: the walking, the city or the ski week. If you are over 50 and want to know how much a particular trip asks of you, our page on solo holidays for the over-50s goes through it.

Rooms and what they cost

The price on each holiday is for a place in a twin room, shared with another guest. Sharing costs nothing extra, and it is how most people keep the price down. Two friends booking together can share a twin in the same way.

If you would rather have a room to yourself, you can on most holidays, and it carries a single supplement. The figure differs on every holiday, so we publish them all on our single rooms and supplements page rather than quoting an average. No holiday on sale gives a single room away free, and we would rather you knew that before you look.

What the host does

The host is waiting when you land, at the airport or wherever that trip begins, and is with the group until you fly home. They book the table for the first evening and make the introductions, so nobody walks into a restaurant wondering where to sit. During the week they sort the problems: a changed plan, or somebody who has done enough walking for one day.

Most holiday pages name the host, so you can see who is meeting you before you pay. Some hosts specialise. Jen and Jim have led walks for Spice members for almost twenty years and host our Cantabrian Walking Week. Claire Dymond hosts our trips with WingsItaly, including New Year in Puglia.

Time on your own is allowed. Nobody is expected to be sociable all day. Tell the host what you are doing, so nobody waits for you, and take the afternoon.

How to choose your first one

• Start short if you are unsure. Our city breaks are a few nights long, and there are 8 on sale now, from £549. Our page for first-timers' guide covers the questions most people ask before the first booking.
• Pick by what you want to do. There are walking holidays, ski holidays, relaxation weeks in the sun, and culture and history trips.
• Read the day-by-day. Each holiday page sets out what the days involve. If you want to know how hard a particular day is, ask; the host has done the trip before.
• Check the room. Decide if you will share or pay for a room of your own, and look at the supplement for that holiday before you fall for it.

Your money

Every flight-inclusive holiday is protected under our ATOL licence, number 9046, and payments are held in a bonded trust account until you have travelled.

A few of the holidays coming up

10 Oct 2026 – 20 Oct 2026 · 10 nightsIndia: Kolkata & The Lower Ganges River CruisePlaces availablefrom £3,48522 already going · 1 place leftSee this holiday →14 Oct 2026 – 19 Oct 2026 · 5 nightsLake Como DiscoveryWaitlist onlyfrom £99919 already goingSee this holiday →17 Oct 2026 – 24 Oct 2026 · 7 nightsMaltese ChilloutWaitlist onlyfrom £1,28816 already goingSee this holiday →17 Oct 2026 – 24 Oct 2026 · 7 nightsWalking Week on Italy’s Sorrento Peninsula & Amalfi Coast with WalkWiseWaitlist onlyfrom £1,33528 already goingSee this holiday →

Everything else on sale is on our holidays page, soonest first.

If you would like to talk through which holiday would suit you, send the office a message and we will come back to you.