Wanderlust World Wanderlust World Cosmos is a well-known tour company with many options for budget vacations. On its website, the company boasts its "eight vacations for under $1,000." Tours are fully chaperoned and accommodate singles by matching them with a same-sex roommate in hotels. Tours go to more than 100 locations, and Cosmos advertises that many vacations cost less than $74 a day. Choose from overland and cruise vacations in North America, Africa and Europe.
Cosmos
5301 South Federal Circle
Littleton, CO 80123
800-276-1241
cosmos.com
This tour company specializes in tours for people 18 to 35 years of age. With that demographic, the company does plenty of catering to single people. For hotel rooms and other accommodations, the company will match singles with travelers of the same gender. Contiki is based in California, but offers tours in more than 40 countries. For the budget-conscious, Contiki has a special section of tours under $1,000. On top of that, you can get discounts for early bookings, and there are often coupons available on the company's website.
Contiki Vacations
801 E. Katella Avenue
Anaheim, CA 92805
866-CONTIKI
contiki.com
This Australian-based tour company offers affordable vacations with an ethos of sustainability and adventure. While the company offers about a dozen types of trips, some offerings, such as the Intrepid Short Breaks Tour and the Intrepid Active Tour, tend to attract more single, budget-minded travelers. As a general rule, the company will pair you with a person of the same sex for hotels and other accommodations. The company's helpful website allows you to rate a possible trip in terms of physical demand, culture shock and other features to find the trip that's right for you.
Intrepid Travel
P.O. Box 2781
Fitzroy DC, VIC 3065
Australia
613-9473-2626 (outside Australia)
intrepidtravel.com
There are some destinations out there that don't require a tour or a group setting to enjoy as a single person---even if you haven't done much traveling before. And the good news is, since those locations on the beaten track, you can often find last-minute deals and packages to get there. Places like Las Vegas, Cancun, Amsterdam, Australia and New Zealand can be great places for the solo traveler to seek adventure and meet some new friends. They're all singles-friendly, easy on the wallet and low on the culture-shock scale. Typically, you can find budget airfare for each of these locations at some point throughout the year.
If those places are still just too far from home, check out one of Forbes' "Best Cities for Singles." It might give you some ideas about what to do and where to go, right in your own backyard.