Holidays without husband: go anyway, with a host and good company

If your husband does not want to travel and you do, you can go on holidays without your husband and still have good company every day you are away. Spice Escapes runs small hosted group holidays for people who travel on their own, so you book for yourself, a host travels with the group, and the people around the dinner table become your company for the week.

Perhaps he hates flying. Perhaps he has done his travelling and is happy with the garden, the golf club and his own bed. Perhaps you have asked so many times that you have stopped asking. Meanwhile there is a list in your head of places you still want to see, and it is not getting any shorter. You can love him and still want to stand at Gullfoss.

The guilt, and why it fades quickly

The first holiday without a partner tends to bring two worries at once. The first is guilt: leaving him at home, spending money on something only you will enjoy, wondering what people will think. The second is quieter. You have not been away without him for years, maybe decades, and you are not sure you remember how.

Talk the guilt through at home before you book. Plenty of couples find the arrangement suits them both. He gets a week doing exactly what he likes, you come back with stories, and neither of you spent a fortnight somewhere one of you did not want to be. A partner who will not travel is rarely a partner who wants you to stop.

The second worry is the one Spice Escapes is built for. You will not be wandering a strange city on your own wondering where to eat. Groups are around fifteen people, and some reach twenty. Your host makes the introductions and keeps an eye out so that nobody sits at the edge of things. Most people book on their own, so you will not be the only person without a partner beside them. If this is your first trip of this kind, our page for first-time solo travellers walks through how the first day usually goes.

A short first trip: Iceland, the place he would never go

Some husbands will happily do a beach in Spain and draw the line at anywhere cold, dark or volcanic. Iceland Discovery is 4 nights in Reykjavik with your host, Jackie Whyte, and it is short enough that leaving home for the first time does not feel like a big absence.

Entrance to the Blue Lagoon is in the price, so you can sit in the warm geothermal water with new friends rather than wondering whether to pay extra. There is a full day on the Golden Circle to Thingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss, and a panoramic tour of Reykjavik. The Centerhotel Plaza is central, with a bar to sit in afterwards. The group hopes for the Northern Lights, though nature does not perform to order. Dates: 12 Nov 2026 – 16 Nov 2026. From £1,414. Places: Waitlist only.

The city he finds too hot and too old: Athens

If his idea of sightseeing is ten minutes and then a sit down, a city of ruins and museums is exactly the trip you will never take together. Ancient Athens is 4 nights, hosted by Jackie Whyte, and it starts in the right way: on the first evening the group walks to a local restaurant together to get to know each other.

After that there is an optional tour of the Acropolis and the Ancient Agora with a licensed guide, an optional food tour with more than eighteen tastings from koulouri and bougatsa to gigantes and calamari, and an optional afternoon trip out to the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion. The hotel is a short stroll from the Acropolis. Dates: 10 Mar 2027 – 14 Mar 2027. From £579.

Something that is only yours: a painting week in Spain

For a lot of people whose partner stays at home, the real loss is not the travelling. It is the hobby that never gets room. The Spanish Drawing and Painting Break with Tuition is 7 nights in the north of Spain with tuition from Dale Scott, who teaches all levels, so a complete beginner is as welcome as someone who already paints. Sketch pads and a canvas are provided.

You stay at Agara, a twelve-bedroom house rather than a hotel, with local wine, beer and spirits in the house to help yourself to and a very friendly resident dog. Days out include seascapes on the coast at Comillas and San Vicente de la Barquera, a famous bridge at Barcena Mayor, and a picnic on the mountain pass to Carmona. Only some rooms have their own bathroom, and there is a supplement for one of those, so ask us about rooms early. From £929. Dates: 25 Apr 2027 – 2 May 2027. Places: 9 places left.

The long-haul trip you have waited years for: South Africa

Then there is the big one, the trip that was always going to happen "one day" and never did because he would not sit on a long flight. South Africa Discovery is 10 nights, and your local host, Sue Giddings, meets you at arrivals in Cape Town and stays with the group for the whole trip.

The days take in Chapman's Peak Drive, the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Point and the penguins at Boulders Beach, a day in the winelands at Franschhoek, and an overnight at a private game reserve with a sunrise game drive. Back in Cape Town you stay at The Vineyard, on the slopes of Table Mountain, with a spa and pools. See more on our South Africa page and the wider worldwide adventures. Dates: 29 Mar 2027 – 8 Apr 2027. From £3,499.

What it costs to go on your own

Every Spice holiday carries a single supplement or a room-to-yourself cost, and we would rather tell you that now than have it come as a surprise. It buys you a room of your own to close the door on at the end of a sociable day. Our single supplement page explains how it works and what to ask. If you are over 50 and want to see the whole programme, start with our over 50s solo holidays, or read what makes a Spice Escape different and our guide to city breaks for singles over 50.

Questions people ask

Is it selfish to go on holiday without my husband?

Wanting to see places he has no interest in is not selfish, and many couples find time apart does them both good. Agree how you will keep in touch, and let him enjoy his week too.

Do I have to be single to book a Spice Escapes holiday?

No. Spice Escapes runs mixed hosted groups of people travelling on their own, and what is waiting for you at home is your own business. You book for yourself and travel as yourself.

Will I have to share a room with a stranger?

You have a room of your own, and that comes with a single supplement or room-to-yourself cost. On the painting break most rooms share bathrooms, so ask us about the rooms with their own.

How long should my first trip without him be?

A short break of four or five nights is a gentle way to start, for you and for him. Once you have done one and come home happy, a longer trip feels far less of a leap.

What if I get there and do not click with anyone?

Your host is there to make introductions and bring people together over meals and days out. With a group of around fifteen people, and some reaching twenty, there is usually someone you get on with by the second evening.

Book the trip he will not take

You do not need his enthusiasm to go, only a little of his blessing and a holiday that suits you. Tell us which of these appeals, or what you have always wanted to do, and we will tell you who is hosting, how the days run and what places are left.

Ask for Jackie Whyte, who hosts both the Iceland and Athens trips, or anyone on the team. Get in touch here and we will talk it through with you, with no pressure to book on the spot.