Hi. I have travelled a bit over the last couple of years but have always had a traveling buddy. I'm about to head off to New Zealand by myself next week and am having trouble booking tours (day or half day) or even tickets to attractions as a single person. Every time I go to book or purchase a ticket the website/s tells me that the minimum purchase is for two people! With solo travelers becoming more and more common I would have thought that tour companies would cater to their needs better, but it seems not.
I am the sort of person that tries to plan ahead as much as possible and book & pay for things in advance but I seem to have come up against this issue quite a few times in the last few days. It's really disappointing and not alleviating my anxieties about traveling alone. Has anyone ever had this issue before? Any hints or advice? stephinnic
Reply to this Hey Stephinnic,
I am from New Zealand sorry to hear that, I do travel alone but because I usually book my tours/experiences when I am in the country, I does not happen. I think you are right companies should make this easy. What experiences are you looking for?
Adam
Reply to this Hi Adam,
I was hoping to do some cultural activities like the Christchurch Maori Concert & Kiwi Viewing or similar. Thanks for responding.
Cheers,
Steph
Reply to this I would imagine that the tour companies simply require a minimum number of people in the group in order to make the activity financially viable, and it's quite possible that the booking website just isn't intelligent enough to recognise if other people have already booked so they impose the "2 person minimum" quota on each individual booking. You could always try contacting the tour company directly to see if that's the case. Also, unless these are activities that are known for getting booked up weeks in advance, you can probably wait until you get there - I know you've said that you like to plan ahead as much as possible, but doing things on the fly can be invigorating :-)
Reply to this Hello,
Explore small group adventure holidays are ideal for single travellers, as they allow you to meet and travel with other like-minded people. They are also extremely flexible, and allow plenty of free time for personal exploration. Travelling in a small group is also much safer then travelling alone - the additional security of travelling with an organised group with a tour leader should not be estimated.
There are three options for Solo travellers
1) Book any regular Explore trip and expect it to be roughly half solo travellers and half couples and friends travelling together.
2) Book a solo traveller departure: a regular tour where certain departures have been reserved for solo travellers (look for the 'S' on the dates & prices page)
3) Choose a Solo traveller tour where the itinerary and activities have been planned especially for solo travellers, with single rooms included in the price.
Thanks lot
Montana Marla
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