Travel advice: The best deals for solo travellers

People travel alone for lots of different reasons but it can be difficult and expensive to find a suitable holiday. The cost of going solo can also be prohibitive with many prices based on two people sharing accommodation.

The best time to travel solo is in spring and autumn, when hotels are not so full and more likely to charge lower rates. Some tour operators will also have holidays that do not have a single supplement.

Travel Department has a small selection of solo holidays. They include trips to Spain, Italy, Prague, India and China. China and India are all about exploring and there are guided tours to places of interest, traveldepartment.ie, (01) 637 1650.

Walking holidays are a great way to enjoy a trip. Everyone is doing the same thing and has something to talk about over dinner. Shane Gray arranges walking holidays in the smaller Canary Islands of La Gomera, El Hierro, and La Palma. From time to time he can drop the single supplement, contact him on shane-gray.com and gomerawalking.com.

Travalue.ie at Navan Travel has a walking section and can do holidays with no or reduced single supplements. Next year it will have holidays in Spain, France, Austria, Germany and Italy.

If you like cooking, holidays that combine a stint in the kitchen can be great fun. GTI-ireland.com (01-843 4734), runs a number of holidays during the year in Umbria, with no single supplement. They are normally three- or four-day trips for about €699.

From time to time The Irish Times Travel Service has holidays with no supplement. Next March there will be a four-night escorted trip to Abu Dhabi. It will cost €979 and includes flights, four-star accommodation and cultural tours, (01-8085206).

Now that sterling has fallen, holidays with UK companies are better value, check out friendshiptravel.com and solosholidays.co.uk.

jscales@irishtimes.com