Has anyone had experience with Road Scholar? I’ve always been my own planner/tour guide and I generally travel solo, but I think I might enjoy a small group trip. They offer solo without an upcharge, something that’s difficult to find.
I don't, but I'm watching this for my own edification. I did a Club Med once and their singles fee was so high I let them randomly assign me a roommate. The week vacation with that guy was fine, but they assigned a roommate for an overnight stay in a hotel on the trip home, and the guy was so creepy I spent the night in the hotel lobby.
I’m sorry to hear that John! I didn’t know random roommates was a thing outside of hostels. In my younger days I often stayed in international hostels, and rooms of 4-8 people were sometimes co-ed. But I never had any bad experiences.
I understand that. Solo travelers never have gotten many price breaks, but that seems to be changing. I’ve seen more advertising catering to solos since the pandemic.
Interesting. So where might you go? I have to think that if Alaska is your starting point, options are rather limited, unless you take a trip to start a trip, and then take a trip to get back home. I would like to take a cruise, but think being stuck on a ship as a solo traveler might not be what I want.
I don't know Road Scholar as a company. But hubby and I took a goodly amount of group tours by bus companies. They used to be quite affordable but as with anything else, they are getting quite pricey for us. Went on one with my college roomy. She had her own rooms and the singles charge wasn't too much more. I took a great cruise trip to Alaska And one to the Bahamas. Cruises are good for people who love to eat. There was always food available. And debarking at ports for site seeing. With online motel reviews, I figure daughter or hubby and I might do road trips at this stage. I am still able to drive and would be fine going on my own as long as there were no break downs. I would not be able to walk for gas or anything. Hop yes. Walk, no.
I don’t know yet. I dread flights now although I used to travel internationally every year. You are so right about taking a trip to take a trip. It takes me longer to go to Texas to visit family than it used to take me to go to the UK from Texas. I looked into cruises recently. Norwegian has solo traveler rooms with only a small supplement, but I also don’t know if that’s what I want. I enjoy quieter/calmer situations than what I experienced on the 2 cruises I took my mother on in years past.
On our last cruise, we shared a table one night with a single lady cruiser. She said she was on her 11th solo cruise. I asked her what she liked about solo cruising and she said her husband had died on a cruise with her 12 years before and she felt "closer to him" on a cruise ship. Okaaaay.......
The one thing I shall always remember about my Club Med experience was all the people I met from Europe and South America. (This resort was on Martinique.) Every meal was buffet style, and you had Captain's Table type dining outside under a large covered area. We shared more laughs that we should have been able to considering our limited ability to communicate with each other. There were couples, and a lot of singles as well, so it was a nice mix. I think if I did a solo trip again, I'd seek out a venue with communal seating during meals. It was absolutely the highlight of each day for me.
That’s a good idea. I’ve experienced the same in several countries. Sometimes a bit of language barrier is quite freeing.