Picture it: a whitewashed terrace above the Santorini caldera, a cold drink in your hand and a table of people who all turned up on their own, just like you. That’s the whole idea behind Solos, and it has been since the very first trip, a golf holiday, ran back in 1982. This review looks at what Solos holidays are actually like in 2026, what’s included, what costs extra, what real travellers say and how the company stacks up against the other big names in solo travel.
Short version? If it’s your first time on a solo holiday, it’s one of the safest bets around.
Everything below was checked on the Solos website and on Trustpilot in October 2026. We’re not paid by Solos to say any of it, and we’ve included the small print the brochure doesn’t shout about.
Solos at a glance: the key facts for 2026
| What you’ll want to know | The answer (checked October 2026) |
|---|---|
| Who goes | 100% solo travellers, no couples or families |
| Typical ages | Groups are typically 40 and over |
| Average group size | 15 (golf groups 20 to 40, black tie balls 80 plus) |
| Single supplement | None, a room for sole use is included |
| Room sharing | Not offered |
| Who looks after you | A Solos Tour Leader, plus local guides on tours |
| Flights | Regional flights on most holidays, subject to availability |
| Financial protection | ATOL 4029 for flight packages, ABTOT 5206 for other holidays |
| Trustpilot | 4.8 out of 5 from 1,438 reviews |
| Head office | Whittington Hall, Worcester |
Who are Solos, and who runs the company now?
Solos is a UK tour operator that only takes solo travellers. The story goes that the founder was a keen golfer who wanted like-minded company on the fairways, so the first trip in 1982 was a golf holiday. By the late 1990s almost every holiday type you’ll see today was running.
Ownership has changed since then. Private equity house Stone Ventures bought the business in April 2019, and the same year Solos became part of The Hidden Travel Group, which is the company named in the website’s footer today (Hidden Travel Group Ltd, based at Whittington Hall in Worcester). Club Solos launched in Crete in 2014, the start of what are now called Solos Exclusives. In 2021 came the Solos Traveller Circle on Facebook, where past and future guests swap tips, and today the website lists more than 250 holidays across over 60 countries.
What kind of solo holidays do Solos run?
Pretty much every style of group holiday, all built for people travelling alone, with destinations right across the UK, Europe and worldwide. Here’s how the range breaks down:
- Solos Exclusives: small, often family-run hotels of around 15 to 25 rooms, or whole boats, where the only guests are Solos travellers
- Discovery tours: escorted solo tours with local guides, from Borneo to Canada
- Summer sun and winter sun: beach stays in Greece, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus and the Caribbean
- Walks and treks: graded walking holidays, from Hadrian’s Wall to Madeira’s levadas
- City breaks: short trips to places like Dublin, Bruges and Helsinki
- UK breaks, balls and events: Christmas markets, weekends in York and Bournemouth, and black tie balls
- Sport: golf, tennis and ski holidays
- Cruises and sailing: small-ship sailings around Croatia and Turkey, plus ocean cruises
- First Timers, Women Only Tours and last minute holidays, each with its own section on the site
Solos Exclusives: the Greek islands and beyond
These are the trips regulars rave about. Solos takes over a small hotel, so the pool, the bar and the taverna tables are all yours. The 2026 to 2027 line-up includes Santorini, Corfu and Halkidiki in Greece, Kotor Bay in Montenegro, sailing in Croatia and from Fethiye to Marmaris in Turkey, plus Caribbean stays in Tobago, Antigua and St Lucia.
If you’d rather not spend your first dinner working out who else is in the group, it’s the easiest way in.
Discovery tours, walking and active trips
Touring holidays run further afield, and recent Trustpilot reviews cover Borneo, Canada, Mallorca in Spain, Madeira and Puglia in Italy. A Tour Leader travels with you and runs the trip, while local guides do the expert talks. Be honest with yourself about fitness, though. Several solo travellers reviewing trips this October said the walking in Borneo, Mallorca and Madeira involved tougher climbs than they’d expected, and one hotel page we read warned there was no lift.
Walking holidays for solo travellers
Just You also runs guided walking tours in Europe just for people travelling alone. Every one comes with a room of your own.
UK breaks, balls and festive trips
Not every Solos trip needs a passport, and a Christmas market in Cardiff, a weekend in York or a black tie ball makes a gentle first solo holiday if a week abroad with strangers feels like a lot.
The winter brochure runs from November 2026 to March 2027, covering festive markets, beach escapes, walking, city breaks and ski trips. Last year’s New Year line-up included a Black Tie Ball at a Northampton hotel, a New Year’s Eve gala in Montecatini in Tuscany, Italy and a stay in Paphos, so it’s worth asking for the new brochure early.
Christmas and New Year with other solo travellers
If the Solos dates fill up, Just You has festive tours and New Year breaks for singles, with your own room.
What’s included, and what costs extra?
A real example shows how the pricing works. The 14-night Crete and Santorini Solos Exclusive (7 nights in Gouves, 7 in Perissa) was showing May 2027 departures from £2,062.50 when we checked in October 2026, and three of the four dates were already full!
That price included return flights with a choice of local airport, transfers (including the one between the two islands), airport taxes, a room for sole use in both hotels, daily breakfast, three taverna dinners in Crete, a welcome drink, the Solos app, a WhatsApp group for your trip and a Tour Leader throughout.
Not included: travel insurance, around £25 in local fees, the Greek climate resilience tax of €2 a night, air conditioning at €7 to €7.50 a day, optional excursions (Spinalonga from €60, for example) and a suggested €25 a week group tip for drivers and hotel staff. None of it’s hidden. It’s all on the trip page, but it adds up, so put it in your budget.
Flights from your local airport: regional flights are offered on most holidays from airports such as Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, East Midlands, Liverpool and Exeter, depending on the trip. Solos takes full payment for a regional flight at booking, and fares are set by the airlines, so they can change.
How a Solos holiday works, step by step
- Pick a trip and check its activity level, hotel notes and how many dates are left
- Book with Solos by phone or online, adding a regional flight if you want one
- Get your documents in the Solos app and join the optional WhatsApp group
- Meet your Tour Leader at the airport or hotel, often over a welcome drink
- Join the group for included meals and outings, or take time to yourself
Is Solos Holidays worth booking in 2026?
For most solo travellers over 40, yes. The things people dread on a first solo holiday (eating alone, paying a single supplement, being the only new face) are exactly what Solos is set up to solve, and the reviews back that up.
What Solos does well
- No single supplements, with your own room guaranteed on standard holidays
- Small groups, averaging 15, so it doesn’t feel like a coach party
- Everyone’s on their own, so no one’s a third wheel next to a couple
- Tour Leaders who get named and thanked in review after review
- Regional flights, so you’re not dragged down to Gatwick or Heathrow
- Published ATOL and ABTOT numbers, plus 24/7 support while you’re away
Where it falls short
- It isn’t a budget holiday, as the no-supplement room is built into the price
- Local extras such as air conditioning, taxes and tips push the real cost up
- Departures aren’t guaranteed, and if a trip is cancelled for low numbers, Solos isn’t responsible for flights you booked yourself
- Popular Exclusives sell out early, sometimes months ahead
- Hotels are mostly simple and family-run, which some reviewers love and others find basic
On the mix of men and women, Solos is upfront in its FAQs:
“We always try to achieve an equal balance of women to men.”
It can’t promise it, though. One more thing worth knowing: Solos is protected by ABTOT rather than being an ABTA member. ABTOT is a trust that protects the money you pay for holidays without flights, and ATOL covers flight packages, so you’re covered either way.
What do real Solos reviews say?
Solos holds a 4.8 out of 5 TrustScore on Trustpilot from 1,438 reviews, 436 of them in the last 12 months, and a similar 4.8 on Feefo. Five stars make up 84% of the Trustpilot reviews, and one star 4%.
The praise is consistent. Tour Leaders come up again and again, reviewers talk about friends they’ve kept, and a golf guest in October 2026 rated the value for money very good. Borneo, Mallorca, Madeira, Hadrian’s Wall, tennis in Corfu and golf in Norfolk all got glowing write-ups this autumn.
The complaints are fair too. A Madeira guest this month mentioned noisy building work by the pool and dinners that weren’t up to much, while a Puglia reviewer felt the hotel could’ve been better. Trustpilot says Solos replies to 66% of negative reviews, usually within a week.
How Solos compares with other solo travel companies
The three biggest names in UK group travel for singles all promise you won’t be the odd one out, but they work quite differently.
| Company | Typical ages | Average group size | Own room, no single supplement | Escort travels with you | Protection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solos | 40 and over | 15 | Yes | Yes | ATOL 4029, ABTOT 5206 |
| Just You | Mostly 40s to 60s | 27 | Yes | Yes | ATOL 11266, ABTA |
| Friendship Travel | Age-banded trips from 30 plus to over 70s | Small groups, no figure given | On selected trips | Yes | ATOL 6683 |
Just You runs bigger touring holidays to destinations like Japan, Canada and Sicily, and our full Just You review has the detail. Friendship Travel splits many of its trips into age bands, from under 50s to over 70s, and our Friendship Travel review explains how its hosted holidays work. Solos sits nicely between them, with smaller groups than Just You and a strictly solo-only rule. There’s more on how the different styles of holidays for solo travellers work in our guide to specialist trips for single travellers.
Don’t mind a mixed group of couples, friends and solos? Just You’s sister brand Travelsphere welcomes solo travellers on its escorted tours, with a wider choice of trips and dates, but a single supplement applies, so ask the cost when you book.
Before you book a Solos trip
Run through these first.
- Read the activity level and the notes on lifts and steps for your hotel
- Check how many dates are already full, and book Exclusives early
- Add up the local extras: air conditioning, tourist taxes, tips and excursions
- Ask whether your local airport is available and what it costs on top
- Book flights through Solos, so you’re covered if the trip is cancelled
- Get travel insurance as soon as you’ve paid your deposit
- Download the Solos app and join the trip’s WhatsApp group
- Pack something smart if there’s a gala dinner or ball on the itinerary
Still deciding where to go first? Our guide to the best solo holidays for over 60s has ideas from several companies, and our festive trips round-up covers the December dates that sell out first.
Solos FAQs
Do Solos charge a single supplement?
No. On standard holidays you get a single room, or a double or twin for sole use, at no extra charge.
What age are people on Solos trips?
Solos welcomes solo travellers of all ages, but says its groups are typically made up of people aged 40 and over.
How big are Solos groups?
The average is 15 people. Golf trips can have 20 to 40 guests and black tie balls more than 80.
Can couples or friends book together?
No, holidays are for solo travellers only, so there are no couples or families in the group.
Is Solos ATOL protected?
Yes. Flight packages are covered by ATOL 4029, and holidays without flights by ABTOT 5206.
Is Solos good for a first time solo traveller?
It’s one of the best places to start. There’s a First Timers section on the site, a Tour Leader meets you on arrival and everyone in the group is travelling alone.
When do I pay the balance?
If you book within 12 weeks of departure, you pay in full at booking. Solos takes debit and credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, standing orders and bank transfer, but not American Express.
Our verdict on Solos
Solos does the basics of solo travel in a group really well: your own room without the supplement, a small group of people in the same boat and a Tour Leader who makes that first evening easy. Go in knowing it isn’t the cheapest, that local extras add up and that the best dates go early, and it’s very hard to fault. You can browse the full programme on the Solos website and check the latest answers in their FAQs before booking.
Want to compare more companies first? You’ll find honest reviews, deals and trip ideas for travelling alone right across Holiday Alone, starting with our round-up of solo holiday deals.
