Sharing a room on a group holiday: twin, double or your own

Sharing a room on a group holiday with Spice Escapes is a choice, not a rule. Sharing a twin with another solo traveller of the same sex costs nothing extra, a double is for two people booking together, and a room of your own carries a single supplement that the holiday page prints. A Taste of Lisbon3 nights · from £639 sets all three out in one table, so it is a good holiday to see how the rows read.

This page explains what each room row means, how the names change from one holiday to the next, and what to check before you pick. If something in a table is still unclear, ask a person on our contact page before you book.

The room choices, as the holiday page prints them

Every holiday page lists its rooms as rows, and the price shown is per person, sharing a twin. The names differ a little from one holiday to the next, but they come down to four ideas:

• Twin share: two beds in one room, shared with another solo traveller of the same sex. The standard twin costs nothing extra and it is optional.
• Double, marked must be for 2: one room for two people who are booking together.
• Single, or sole occupancy: a room to yourself, with a single supplement added. The figure is different on every holiday.
• Female only twin: a twin row some holidays print separately. Two of the holidays below list one.

Sharing a twin costs nothing extra, and you can say no

The price at the top of a holiday page is per person, sharing a twin. Choosing the standard twin adds nothing to it, though a row with a better view or deck can carry its own supplement, and nobody has to choose it. If you would rather not share, every holiday page has a row for a room of your own, with its supplement.

How the room names change from holiday to holiday

The same four ideas wear different names depending on the hotel, the house or the ship. Here are five holidays, each read from its own table, so you can see how far the wording stretches.

A Taste of Lisbon: three rows, one supplement

A Taste of Lisbon keeps the choice simple. The table has a place in a double room that must be for two, a place in a twin share room and a place in a single room. The two shared rows say no supplement, and the single row shows the supplement itself. Pam Harte is the Spice host, and the live figure for each row is in the table on the holiday page.

Croatian Chillout: a view with every row

1 May 2027 – 8 May 2027 · 7 nightsCroatian ChilloutPlaces availablefrom £86921 already goingSee this holiday →

Croatian Chillout adds a view to each choice. There is a park view and a sea view version of the double, the twin and the single, and the sea view rows carry a supplement of their own. The holiday page also notes that the twin beds are two separate mattresses and bedding on a fixed base and cannot be separated, which is the kind of detail worth reading before you choose. The stay is half board at Vitality Hotel Punta, next to the town of Veli Lošinj, with a spa and an infinity seawater pool for the free hours. Jackie Whyte is the Spice host.

Read, Relax and Restore: the bathroom is part of the row

6 Jun 2027 – 13 Jun 2027 · 7 nightsRead, Relax & Restore: A Week in Spain's Green North13 places availablefrom £969See this holiday →

Read, Relax & Restore is the holiday where the row names carry the most information. It lists a twin share with shared facilities, a twin share ensuite, a double ensuite that must be for two, and a single with shared facilities or an en-suite single. The house, Agara, was a restaurant before it was renovated, and three of its rooms have a bathroom of their own while the rest share the remaining four. The page also says every room is sole occupancy, so in practice about two people share each bathroom. Choosing between rows is therefore a question of bathrooms as much as beds, and Jackie Whyte is the Spice host to ask about the room you want.

The Ganges river cruise: eighteen staterooms, a female only twin

10 Oct 2026 – 20 Oct 2026 · 10 nightsIndia: Kolkata & The Lower Ganges River CruiseWaitlist onlyfrom £3,48521 already goingSee this holiday →

On India: Kolkata & The Lower Ganges River Cruise the rows are a place in a double room or cabin, a twin share, a female only twin share and a sole occupancy cabin. The ship, RV Kalaw Pandaw, has eighteen staterooms, eight on the upper deck and ten on the main deck, and all share the same design. Every one is ensuite and air-conditioned around the clock, with a panoramic French window onto the river, and the page says early bookers are placed on the upper deck. The sole occupancy row carries the supplement, and Claire Dymond is the Spice host.

The Maldives cruise: seven cabins, and a supplement with its own name

27 Nov 2027 – 9 Dec 2027 · 12 nightsMaldives Wildlife Cruise & Beach ChilloutPlaces availablefrom £4,1998 already going · 2 places leftSee this holiday →

Maldives Wildlife Cruise & Beach Chillout lists a twin share cabin, a double share cabin, a female twin share cabin and a sole occupancy cabin, and the sole occupancy cabin carries a supplement of its own, named a sole occupancy supplement rather than a single supplement. The boat, MV Felicity, has seven cabins: three twins, two doubles and two doubles with bunks. Each has its own ensuite shower, basin and toilet. On land the rooms are split between deluxe rooms and pool view rooms, the pool view ones with an outdoor ensuite bathroom. Jonathan Banks is the Spice host.

Paying for a room of your own

A room to yourself costs more because it takes the space a second person would otherwise share. The charge is called a single supplement, or a sole occupancy supplement on the Maldives cruise, and it varies a great deal from one holiday to the next. The honest figure is the one on the holiday you are looking at, and every holiday that sells a single room is listed with its supplement on our single rooms and single supplements page.

Single rooms can sell out, and the holiday page shows whether one is left on your departure. If the supplement is what is holding you back, the twin share row takes it out of the picture, and affordable group holidays for one sets out the other ways to keep the cost down.

Where to start if you are booking on your own

If a group holiday on your own is new to you, our guide for first-time solo travellers covers the rest of the booking, and solo holidays for the over 50s shows what is on sale. For somewhere to begin, look at holidays in Portugal or the chillout and relaxation holidays.

Questions people ask

Do I have to share a room?

No. Sharing a twin with another solo traveller of the same sex costs nothing extra, but it is optional. Every holiday lists a room of your own as a separate row with a supplement.

Does sharing a twin cost more?

No. The price on the holiday page is per person, sharing a twin, and sharing adds nothing to it. Choosing a room of your own adds the single supplement shown for that holiday.

What does must be for 2 mean?

A double row marked must be for 2 is for two people booking together, so it is not the row to choose if you are travelling on your own. If you are on your own, look at the twin share and single rows instead.

Is there a women only option?

Some holidays print a female only twin share row, and the India river cruise and the Maldives cruise both do. Check the room rows on the holiday page you are looking at, because not every holiday has one.

Can I have a room to myself on every holiday?

Every holiday page has a single or sole occupancy row with its supplement, and the single supplement page lists them all. Single rooms can sell out, so if the row for your date says sold out, ask through the contact page.

See the dates and book A Taste of Lisbon online

15 Apr 2027 – 18 Apr 2027 · 3 nightsA Taste of LisbonPlaces availablefrom £63915 already goingSee the dates and book online for A Taste of Lisbon

For a question about rooms before you book, ask Pam Harte, the Spice host, through our contact page, or ask Rosie, the chat on every holiday page.