Cheers,

Bob

I personally would not want to be 'paired off' with a stranger even if this brought the cost down, so would rather pay a bit more and travel with Just You.

Jaya

Me too, no way would i want to share with a stranger and happily accept the extra cost of one person paying for a room for that reason.

Mick

Cindy

Coming up to my 5th holiday in 12 days, the only time I share a room is when I travel with my daughters, they complain that I snore, chunter and fidget! Love my double beds in the hotels that I have stayed in knowing that if I want a cup of tea at 3 in the morning, I am not waking anyone up :P

Jan

Be careful what you wish for!

I did a "regular holiday" with Newmarket Travel last September, and paid a small supplement. The company had a no seat-swapping arrangement, so singles were paired on the daily coach trips., and at meals. Luckily my allotted partner and I got on well. However, there was one man who couldn't wait to get away from his allotted partner.....

No such problems with JY.

Cheap isn't everything.

Newdave,

I travelled with Leger last year and was stuck' beside a really obnoxious man for all the coach trips including the almost 24 hour journey there and back. 😞 I had other people looking out for me on the coach as they were concerned. I kept my distance as much as possible and luckily didn't have to sit with him at meal times.

Hopefully you have learned your lesson and will stick with Just You in the future!! Only joking...

This is the reason I rather go with Just You as I know that I will not have to share a room or be stuck with someone on the coach trips if I was paired off with another single traveller. I have shared rooms before, but only with close family - my sister and my niece. Would never ever want to share with a stranger even if I was offered a free holiday!

Jaya

I agree Jaya - I don't want to share with someone I don't know. I didn't mind when I was younger but not now. This is one reason why I haven't done the Kenya tour.

Cheers,

Bob

II wanted to go on the Kenya trip but not to share with someone

I did not know so I paid a bit extra for the 3 nights and had a

room to myself

Sue Southampton

They do not have the choice in solo friendly that JY has but are adding new destinations all the time and I'm going to go to China and India with them as they are half the price of the singles companies mentioned above. I also use them for regular tours (wide choice) and find there are always 7-12 singles on every trip and single supplements are reasonable.

One thing that irks me with most holiday companies is the distance some of the hotels are from the centre of the towns - I know it keeps the cost of the holidays down but the poor customer is lumbered with the cost of cabs!

I wouldn't mind if JY lowered the hotels a star and got more convenient hotels and also brought the cost down. I'm not worried about the size of a room as I only sleep and wash in it.

I also use another company now who does door to door pickup and includes the flight to London and even with the single supplement is cheaper than the singles companies mentioned in the first para. They are top notch and so far always have had 7+ singles.

Crystalbling (Hi Jenny - I met you on One Traveller Thailand) - I agree JY, Solos and One Traveller holidays/tours are too expensive for a lot of people, they just go up and up every year. After my Xmas trip I doubt if I'll be using any of them any more. I'll be using a company based in Dublin (also fly from UK) who do great tours all over the world who have started doing Solo Friendly tours with NO SINGLE SUPPLEMENT. You pay the same as if you were sharing with another person. If they can do it why can't others?? This company looks after you too - includes transfers, tour manager, etc.

They do not have the choice in solo friendly that JY has but are adding new destinations all the time and I'm going to go to China and India with them as they are half the price of the singles companies mentioned above. I also use them for regular tours (wide choice) and find there are always 7-12 singles on every trip and single supplements are reasonable.

One thing that irks me with most holiday companies is the distance some of the hotels are from the centre of the towns - I know it keeps the cost of the holidays down but the poor customer is lumbered with the cost of cabs!

I wouldn't mind if JY lowered the hotels a star and got more convenient hotels and also brought the cost down. I'm not worried about the size of a room as I only sleep and wash in it.

I also use another company now who does door to door pickup and includes the flight to London and even with the single supplement is cheaper than the singles companies mentioned in the first para. They are top notch and so far always have had 7+ singles.

I went to Lake Garda some years ago with Archers. The hotel was very nice but as a single traveller I was put in a small room at the very top of the building. I and other single travellers were also placed at tables on our own in the dining room. Not an experience I would like to repeat. The holiday was also quite expensive and I paid a hefty supplement. I have been using JY since 2010 and I feel that, on the whole, their holidays are competitively priced. I live in Scotland and also have to factor in connecting flights and sometimes a hotel too. I guess that's the price of working my way through my wish list.

Hope this helps

Lesley

I feel sure that these holidays would have been much more expensive to do on your own

and not half the fun.I did a summer holiday this year on my own stayed at a very nice hotel

but no spoke to me more than to say Good morning sat in the resturant on my own went to get some food from the buffet the waiter cleared my table and reset it and took my drink away.I sat in the bar and no one talked to me even though it was obvious I was on my own. The whole experience made me feel very sad.and it cost me more than it would have for a JY holiday. I am going with JY for New Year to Andalucia I cant wait.

amy2003

is sitting there and your drink has been taken away so you have to find another table to finish your meal,

not only is this annoying but embarrassing as well. Unless you are a very outgoing person and can talk to strangers a lone holiday can be a miserable experience.

Dave.

I have been on three holidays with JY and I think on all those I have been on were good value, nice rooms, good food, and all the guides are most helpful and very good at there job. I have been on two Christmas and New Year holidays both of them were full of excursions and partys on Christmas Day and New Years Eve.everyone had a great time.

I feel sure that these holidays would have been much more expensive to do on your own

and not half the fun.I did a summer holiday this year on my own stayed at a very nice hotel

but no spoke to me more than to say Good morning sat in the resturant on my own went to get some food from the buffet the waiter cleared my table and reset it and took my drink away.I sat in the bar and no one talked to me even though it was obvious I was on my own. The whole experience made me feel very sad.and it cost me more than it would have for a JY holiday. I am going with JY for New Year to Andalucia I cant wait.

amy2003

Hi Amy

Your experience is the very reason I decided, after my husband died, I would never go on a holiday on my own. Out and about during the day may be OK, but I hate to eat alone.

I have been on both Just You and One Traveller holidays, mentioned in an earlier post. To be absolutely honest I do not think there is much between them on cost. You get what you pay for. One Traveller might just be a little more expensive, but when you are looking at £1200 + then the extra is so minimal it is not worth bothering about. At least that is what I have found on the holidays I have compared for myself. I have also sometimes found that a Just You holiday costs more than the headline price when room upgrades and excursions are added.

It is all a matter of personal choice.

Sylvia

Crystalbling (Hi Jenny - I met you on One Traveller Thailand) - I agree JY, Solos and One Traveller holidays/tours are too expensive for a lot of people, they just go up and up every year. After my Xmas trip I doubt if I'll be using any of them any more. I'll be using a company based in Dublin (also fly from UK) who do great tours all over the world who have started doing Solo Friendly tours with NO SINGLE SUPPLEMENT. You pay the same as if you were sharing with another person. If they can do it why can't others?? This company looks after you too - includes transfers, tour manager, etc.

They do not have the choice in solo friendly that JY has but are adding new destinations all the time and I'm going to go to China and India with them as they are half the price of the singles companies mentioned above. I also use them for regular tours (wide choice) and find there are always 7-12 singles on every trip and single supplements are reasonable.

One thing that irks me with most holiday companies is the distance some of the hotels are from the centre of the towns - I know it keeps the cost of the holidays down but the poor customer is lumbered with the cost of cabs!

I wouldn't mind if JY lowered the hotels a star and got more convenient hotels and also brought the cost down. I'm not worried about the size of a room as I only sleep and wash in it.

I also use another company now who does door to door pickup and includes the flight to London and even with the single supplement is cheaper than the singles companies mentioned in the first para. They are top notch and so far always have had 7+ singles.

hi , only just found this post! I do remember you daphne, can you tell me the name of the company ased in Dublin pls? also the other companies you have travelled with? have you ever travelled with archers? im not being rude mentioning other companies as I have just booked a holiday with JUST YOU, but its always nice to get other feedback, yes daphne ONE TRAVELLER has got way too expensive now! some of their holidays are £3000 , that's ridiculous! I just wish the prices would come down as I love travelling too

traveldepartment.ie or traveldepartment.co.uk, they add trips all the time and have only started putting next years on. They're getting into the solos thing so I expect more for next year. With the conversion to £ from euro, makes them even better value. Never used Archers or Travelsphere (hear there are few singles on them) but use Titan who include door to door pickup, are expensive and have so far had 7+ singles. Riviera also top class but few singles. Sister and I are going to Egypt with Titan in March and managed to get 2 singles at no supplement. Saga singles are toooooo old I'm afraid. I'm going to Vietnam & Camb with JY in Dec and it's costing nearly £4.5k. I like to go away 5-6 times a year so in the future will only do one long haul whereas previously I did two, they're just too expensive with One Trav, JY and Solos. As I said in a previous post a few years ago you had to book up to 12 months to secure a tour but not these days and some of their tours aren't even half full

Soon it will only be an elite-ist (wealthy) group who travel with these singles companies.

I went with the Travel Department from Dublin four years ago before I discovered JY. I went as a single traveller and paid the usual single supplement. The holiday was to Italy and while it was a little cheaper than JY, I believe you get what you pay for. With the Travel Department, I was given a tiny single room, barely any bigger than the bed. I had to walk sideways to get to the window. This was after paying the single supplement! The hotel was a budget hotel and many people complained bitterly about the food - there was a set meal with no choice each night. With JY I have always got a double room to myself in a better class of hotel. I've looked at the Travel Dept website many times over the last few years, as it would be more convenient for me to travel from Dublin but they only have a small range of "solo friendly" tours - which is a different thing to a single travellers holiday; it just means there is no single supplement and you could still be travelling almost exclusively with couples, as on their other departures. Finally, they have a limited range of holidays - with JY the choice is so much better. I would prefer to pay a bit more for a much better choice, a double room and a better holiday experience.

Best wishes,

Bob

Curiosity has driven me to the Travel Department website, and I was amazed at their prices. However, a contact with them revealed that they use BA for long haul, and Easyjet or Ryanair for Europe. A quick pricing on a holiday based on Naples also showed that they were not that much cheaper for that one than "expensive" companies.

My opinions of both of the latter airlines have been given elsewhere on the JY forum and are not really suitable to be repeated. As I said earlier - you get what you pay for.

Sylvia

Sylvia: I go with them from Dublin and have usually flown Aer Lingus to Europe. They rarely use Ryan Air from Dublin and use other airlines besides BA from there for long haul. Going from Dublin for me cuts out an airfare to the UK and maybe 1/2 hotel stopovers. Trav Dept is limited from the UK but plenty of choice from Dublin.

On the subject of TMs, had one mediocre one with JY in the past and on the same trip one of the local guides wasn't great either. Went with Solos once. That trip was badly researched and the TM was like a sergeant major. Had the same fantastic TM on 2 One Trav trips to Asia recently.

I remember on my first JY Cuba Tours over half of the hotels were awful, with most of the group asking for changes throughout the tour. I did pity poor Leigh Britton who was a fab TM (must mention Feli who was the best and nicest local guide ever). Luckily I did a couple more JY ones where the hotels were OK tho some too far out, as you get with most companies.

My gripe is that the well known UK singles companies are getting very expensive and like Jenny (aka Crystalbling) I like to travel. I wouldn't mind dropping a * for hotels - Trav Dept sometimes gives you a choice.

As I have travelled with both JY (5 holidays) and The Travel Department, I would view JY as more upmarket - better hotels, better tour guides - just a higher standard all round. You get what you pay for and there are different levels of tours to suit different budgets. Many of the JY travellers like to have a good, comfortable experience and are prepared to pay. I would not like to see them downgrading the hotels they use or anything else about their holidays, and the fact that I travel from Dublin to avail of JY should speak volumes for my high opinion of them - it means fewer holidays but that is my choice!

Marie

Best wishes,

Bob

I tend to go for the multi hotel tours, and hotels can vary along the way, so please don't drop the standards.

Cindy