No one to go on holiday with? The group and the host are your company

If you have no one to go on holiday with, you do not need to find a travel companion before you can go. Spice Escapes runs small hosted group holidays for people in their 40s, 50s and 60s, most of whom book on their own, so the group and the host are your company from the first evening.

Perhaps you have been waiting for a while. A friend keeps saying "we must go somewhere" and never names a date. Your sister is busy with the grandchildren. Your partner would sooner stay at home, or there is no partner any more. You might have tried a travel buddy website and wondered whether you want a week with someone whose profile you read on a phone.

What Spice Escapes is, and what it is not

We are not a companion-matching service, and we do not pair strangers up to travel together. Spice Escapes is a UK tour operator that puts together mixed hosted groups of people travelling on their own. Groups are around fifteen people, and some reach twenty. Every holiday has a host who travels with the group and makes sure nobody is left at the edge of things.

So instead of one companion you have to get along with for a whole week, you have a table full of people to talk to, and the freedom to slip off on your own for an afternoon without letting anybody down. If you click with someone, nothing stops the two of you booking the next trip together. That is a far gentler way to find a travel companion than a profile on a website.

Why the group beats waiting for a friend to commit

• You choose the date. Pick the holiday that suits you and book it. Nobody else has to check a diary.
• Dinner is no longer the hard part. With a host and a group there is always a table to join.
• You are not the spare one. Most people in the group have come on their own, so you are not tagging along with couples.
• You keep your own space. You can have a room to yourself. That does carry a cost, and our single supplement page explains it plainly so there are no surprises.

If this would be your first trip without someone you know, our page for first-time solo travellers walks through booking, the flight and the first evening, and your first group holiday covers the days themselves.

Kraków: four nights with company at dinner

Kraków Discovery is a sensible first try if you have never travelled without a friend. It is 4 nights at the Best Western Plus Kraków Old Town, a few steps from Main Market Square. The days are left open, so you can wander the old town with two or three of the group or sit in a café by yourself.

There are optional trips to the Wieliczka Salt Mine and to Auschwitz-Birkenau. The second is a long and heavy day, and better not faced entirely alone. Your host is Jackie Whyte, there for all four nights, so there is company at dinner every evening. Dates: 26 May 2027 – 30 May 2027. From £589. Places: 9 places left. More like it are under our short breaks.

Lisbon: a short first step, with evenings you can share

A Taste of Lisbon is 3 nights at My Story Hotel Tejo, with a metro stop close by. The suggested days take in Alfama and Tram 28, then Belém and its pastéis de nata. The evenings are yours, a quiet dinner or the bars of Bairro Alto, and now you have people to go with.

One honest detail: airport transfers are not included, because the metro is the quickest way into the city. The joining information explains how to use it before you leave. Your host is Pam Harte. Dates: 15 Apr 2027 – 18 Apr 2027. From £639. Places: 7 places left. There are other short trips in our city breaks, compared in European city breaks for solo travellers.

Cantabria: for the quieter person who still wants company

Some people with no one to travel with are not looking for a party. They want peace in the day and a friendly face at night. Read, Relax and Restore: A Week in Spain's Green North is built for exactly that. You stay at Agara, a large house in Cantabria, and every room is sole occupancy, so there is no question of sharing a bedroom.

Breakfast, a light lunch and dinner are provided each day, with wine and beer you help yourself to. In the daytime you choose solitude or shared time: a book on the patio, a bike from the house or a self-guided walk. The evenings are where everyone comes together for home-cooked, family-style food, likely with a murder mystery and a literary quiz. Your host is Jackie Whyte. Dates: 6 Jun 2027 – 13 Jun 2027. From £969 for 7 nights. Places: 13 places left.

Read about Green Spain and Cantabria, see all of Spain, or browse our chillout holidays.

Lake Como: a host who plans the day with you over breakfast

The hard part alone is the in-between moments. On Lake Como Discovery your host arranges meet-ups over breakfast so everyone can talk through their plans, and in the evening the group gathers in the hotel bar to swap stories before dinner. Ferries run to Bellagio, Varenna and Menaggio whenever you want a day on the water.

You stay at Hotel Como, ten minutes' walk from the historic centre, with a rooftop pool terrace. Your host is one of our hosts. It runs for several nights. Dates: dates to be confirmed. From price on request. Places: ask us. See more in Italy.

If what you really want is a regular travel friend

Lots of searches for a travel companion over 50 are really about something bigger: wanting someone to go places with, again and again. A hosted holiday is a good start: you meet people on neutral ground and see how you get on, with nobody committed to anything. Our page on holidays to meet other singles goes into how friendships form on a trip, and our over 50s solo holidays show the whole programme.

Questions people ask

Can I just book on my own and join the group?

Yes, and most people do exactly that. You book your place, we send the joining information, and the host introduces everyone on the first day.

Will I have to share a room with someone I do not know?

No. You can have a room to yourself, and on some holidays every room is sole occupancy anyway. A room to yourself carries a supplement, which we always show before you book.

Is Spice Escapes a travel companion website?

No. We do not match individuals or arrange for two strangers to travel together. We run mixed hosted groups of people travelling on their own, and any friendships that come out of a trip are made by the people themselves.

What if I do not get on with anyone?

With a group of around fifteen there is nearly always someone you take to, and you are free to do your own thing whenever you like. The host keeps an eye out and will happily bring you into a plan if you look a little lost.

Is the host a personal companion for an older traveller?

The host looks after the whole group, sorting plans and bringing people together, but is not a carer. Tell us what you need before you book and we will say honestly which holidays suit you.

Stop waiting for someone else's diary

The friend who never commits does not have to decide whether you get a holiday this year. Pick one of the trips above, or tell us what kind of week you have in mind, and we will help you find the group that fits.

Get in touch through our contact page and ask for Rob Thompson, who owns Spice Escapes and hosts holidays himself. He will talk you through how the group works and who your host will be, so you arrive knowing at least one name.