Food holidays for solo travellers: tastings, tavernas and a table to share

Food holidays for solo travellers work best when somebody else has booked the table and the chair opposite you is already taken. Spice Escapes runs small hosted group holidays where the eating is a big part of the point, from a tasting walk through Athens to a home-cooked lunch on a Cretan plateau, and a host travels with you so you are never the one asking for a table for one.

If you travel to eat, you will know the problem. Mezze and tapas are made for sharing, a bottle of wine is too much for one, and the best little places are the ones where a lone diner gets the table by the kitchen door. A group of around fifteen people, and some reach twenty, solves all three. There is always someone to split a plate with, someone who wants to try the place down the side street, and a host who knows where everyone is meeting.

Below are the holidays where food sits closest to the centre, with live prices and dates. If you have not been away with a group before, our guide for first-time solo travellers covers the first evening and how the days run.

Why food is better shared with a group

The meals people remember from a Spice holiday are rarely about the food alone. They are the long table where somebody orders one of everything and passes it round, the dish nobody could pronounce until the waiter helped, the walk back to the hotel still talking.

On these holidays you keep your freedom. Most days have open time, and if you want a quiet dinner by yourself one evening, nobody minds. What changes is that you never have to eat alone unless you choose to.

Athens, eighteen tastings and a rooftop

Ancient Athens is 4 nights with Jackie Whyte, and it starts the way a food holiday should: on the first evening the group walks to a local restaurant together to get to know each other.

The optional food tour is the one to book early. You meet a food expert and try more than eighteen things across the morning. It starts with a Greek coffee and a koulouri, the way most Athenians begin the day, then the bakeries for spanakopita and bougatsa still warm from the oven. There are three Greek dips, olives and good olive oil, Greek cheeses and yogurt, then soutzoukakia, spiced meatballs in tomato sauce. It finishes with mezze at a taverna: calamari, fritters with tzatziki, pan-fried pork and gigantes, with local wine or tsipouro alongside. Afterwards you can make your own way back, or settle into a rooftop bar with whoever you have been eating next to.

Dates: 10 Mar 2027 – 14 Mar 2027. From £579. Places: 16 places left.

Crete, from market stalls to a family taverna

Crete Discovery is a longer, slower week of 7 nights in two bases, Aghios Nikolaos and then Rethymno, with half board throughout so dinner is always taken care of. Lauren Fawkes travels with the group.

The food runs right through the itinerary. There is lunch by the sea in Elounda, and a day up on the Lasithi Plateau, where fields and orchards sit among the mountains and you relax in a family-run taverna over a home-cooked lunch. On the way west you stop in Heraklion with its colourful market, and later reach Chania, whose market is fragrant with herbs and spices.

This holiday is run by Living Crete, with Spice Escapes acting as agent. Dates: 5 Oct 2027 – 12 Oct 2027. From £1,499. Places: 12 places left. More Greek trips are on our Greece page.

Lisbon, pastéis de nata and the evenings to yourself

A Taste of Lisbon is a short break of 3 nights hosted by Pam Harte. Lisbon delights food lovers as much as history buffs, and the days are suggestions, never a timetable. One day is Alfama and Tram 28, the next is Belém, the riverside district with the Jerónimos Monastery and the place to try pastéis de nata.

The evenings are yours, which suits someone who travels for food. Try one of the traditional Portuguese restaurants near the hotel with a few of the group, or head into Bairro Alto. Airport transfers are not included because the metro is quicker, and there is a stop close to the hotel. Dates: 15 Apr 2027 – 18 Apr 2027. From £639. If you like short trips built around a city, see city breaks for singles over 50.

Puglia at New Year, five courses and a bottle each

New Year in Puglia with WingsItaly is 5 nights in Salento, hosted by Claire Dymond with WingsItaly, who meet you at the airport. The first evening opens with a welcome aperitivo and dinner of traditional Puglian cuisine and local wines.

New Year's Eve is a private aperitivo reception and a five-course gala dinner with a bottle of wine per person, music and dancing. A local celebration runs in the room next door, and last time guests drifted between the two. New Year's Day brings a traditional Italian lunch of regional dishes and local wines. Dates: 28 Dec 2026 – 2 Jan 2027. Places: 15 places left. For more festive trips, read Christmas and New Year breaks for solo travellers.

Rome and the Mediterranean, dinner cooked by the sisters

Mediterranean Cruising Italian Style with WingsItaly is 8 nights, hosted by Claire Dymond with Andrea of WingsItaly. You fly to Rome a day early, and the first evening has an optional group dinner, not included in the price, prepared by the religious sisters at a quiet restaurant in Palazzo Lante, a few metres from the Pantheon.

Once you board the Costa Toscana, your drinks package and gratuities are included. Dates: 6 May 2027 – 14 May 2027. From £1,928. Before you go, a few Italian phrases help at any table. More from Italy is on our Italy page, and you can browse all our culture and discovery holidays.

Your own room, and what it costs

Every holiday carries a single supplement or a cost for having a room to yourself. Our page on the single supplement explains how it works. If you would rather have every meal paid before you leave, read all inclusive solo holidays, and for the wider picture of travelling with us, see our over 50s solo holidays.

Questions people ask

Will I have to eat every meal with the group?

No. Most days include open time, and if you want a quiet dinner on your own one evening, that is entirely your choice. The difference is that company is there whenever you want it.

Are meals included on these holidays?

It depends on the holiday. Crete is half board throughout and the Puglia New Year includes its gala dinner, while the city breaks leave most meals for you to choose, with the group and the host to choose them with.

Can I join a food tour if I have dietary needs?

Tell us when you first get in touch, before you book anything. The team can tell you which meals are set and which you choose yourself on each holiday, so you know where you will have the most say.

Do I need to book the optional food tour at the same time as the holiday?

It is best to. Optional extras can have limited places, so booking them alongside the holiday is the surest way to get the one you want.

Will I be the only person travelling alone?

Very unlikely. Most people who book with Spice Escapes come on their own, which is exactly why the tables fill up so easily.

Tell us what you like to eat

If you know you want the Athens food tour, the Cretan taverna or the gala dinner in Puglia, the easiest next step is a conversation. Tell us what you like to eat and how much free time you want, and we will tell you which holiday fits. Claire Dymond hosts our Italian trips with WingsItaly and knows those tables well, and Rob Thompson, who owns Spice Escapes, is happy to talk you through any of the others. Get in touch with the team and we will find you a seat at the table.