ETBD Tour - Roommate

@James ... Every RS tour that I have taken has never had more than one solo guy. They have always gotten their own room. The rest of the dudes have been with their wives or significant others.

My first tour was before RS offered single supplements. There was only one other single woman and she paid for her own room in all but one location, so I had my own room for all but 2 or 3 nights. My second tour I was paired with a woman who I am still friends with. We got along great. There were other singles and the guide asked after the first stop or two if we wanted to rotate and everyone said no, they liked who they were originally assigned. My third tour, there were three singles and we rotated so every third stop I had my own room. I liked my roommates but found it hard to sleep well due to snoring. On none of these tours were there any problems with roommates that James alluded to. On one tour, there were two single men who shared a room who did know each other before the tour. Yes, I would share again to save money, however, I also like the idea of having my own room for the reasons others have stated. I've just been too cheap to pay the supplement the last tour or two plus I've had good luck with roommates so would probably share again.

I have opted to share a room with a stranger on an RS tour and have not had any bad experiences so far. From my experiences on 5 tours, the people on RS tours are like-minded and easy to get along with. I have also had the luck of having my own private room because the only other female single chose to pay a single supplement.

Hi Claire,
I have shared a roommate on a tour (not RS tours, so apologize for that.) My biggest problem with sharing a room, was that after being with a group (12 people) all day I was very ready for some alone time in the late evening, and also in the morning. But that's just me! My roomie laid down the law soon after we were paired up (she had to be first in the bathroom, no reading after dark - not even a booklight, no snoring, no coming in after she'd gone to sleep, don't talk to her in the morning cuz she wasn't a morning person, etc.) I tried to switch roomies, but it didn't work out. I tried to humor her at first and then decided I wasn't going to let her ruin my trip and did what I wanted. Then it was REALLY tense. For my upcoming RS tour in Sept (Best of Europe) I paid the single supplement. Well worth it to me! It's a gamble, you might have a roomie you really get along great with. RS tours will rotate roomies too, if they can.

Claire, I haven't shared a room on RS tours, so my comments are only based on observations. I didn't pay the single supplement on a couple of tours, and was fortunate to be the only male traveller so had my own room every night. However, I have paid the supplement on the last three tours, and will probably continue to do that. There were a number of solo female travellers on one of the tours, and it appeared that not all of the "pairings" were amicable as there were some vociferous complaints. As mentioned in a previous reply, if there's more than one single of the same gender, roommates will be rotated every night or two so that one doesn't have to spend the entire trip with the same person. I've chosen to pay the supplement for many of the same reasons that Holly mentioned. I like to have some quiet time to "chill" when I get back to the room. I'd rather not have to adjust to the habits and demands of another person in terms of what time to retire, what time to get up, who gets the shower first or whatever. Requesting someone "not to snore" is ridiculous, as that's difficult to control. I'm often awake a bit later in the evenings checking on E-mail or updating my Diary, and I'm sure the clicking of keys and activity would be an annoyance for someone trying to sleep. Although the single supplement is a bit difficult to manage financially, I will gladly continue to pay it. Happy travels!

I've shared a room on five RS tours. It used to be that the RS tours did not even offer a single supplement option. If you were solo, you shared. On every tour that I have taken there have been more than two solo female travelers. If there are more than two solo travelers, you will rotate roommate assignments. One tour that I went on had three solo travelers so every third location I was in a single room. One tour had nine solo travelers; I never shared a room for more than two nights with the same person. In general this has worked out fine. The vast majority of people have been very courteous. Occasionally you get someone who snores or hogs the bathroom, but saving $800 is more important to me than having my own room. It probably helps that I spent many nights in youth hostels when I was younger. I do think it could be tough if there were only one other solo traveler whom you did not get along with. Fortunately, I have not had that situation. The rotation is a great thing in my opinion. Someone once told me that they called the RS office to get an idea of how many solo travellers had signed up for a tour they were thinking of taking in advance.

Hello, I have been on 7 RS tours and never paid for a single. I feel it's a bit expensive, even though I could afford it. I have had a single room on 4 or 5 of the tours since I was the only single male. Never had a problem with the roommates I did have.
I'm sure that roommate from hell is waiting somewhere down the line.

Wow, Holly, that sounds grim and bit intolerable. I'm impressed that you put up with it all. When you know that you are going to share a room with someone, bring ear plugs and bring an eye mask. That solves the early/late arrivals, the snoring and the book light. I'm a pretty easy going person, but I wouldn't have lasted with Holly's roommate! All that said, I too was a single on a Berlin, Prague and Vienna tour. We had an even number of singles and so started with swopping out roommates at the different stops. Then two of the singles decided that they were friends and so we were stuck with the last room mate. It was okay. I found other places for quietness--cafe, evening walk, dinner on my own. One of the singles on our tour did decide mid-way that she couldn't possibly room with anyone for one more night. The guide did find a single room for her. Who knows how much it cost. The mean part of me hoped it was a bundle. My nicer side was happy for her roommate who got a single at no charge. There were only three more nights. ; ) Pam

Did a RS tour of Paris in a week, had the same roommate the whole time, and got along wonderfully. I guess with my experience, we were settled in one place for the entire time, and with the exception of "group time"-i.e. visiting a museum or something as a group- we had free time to do what we wanted. My roomie and I were in and out of the hotel room at various times of the day and evening, allowing for some quiet time to relax. The only issue we really had is that she was cold natured, and I'm the exact opposite. But, all in all, I would do it again.

As several years have passed since going on the Western Europe in 21 days tour, and I only have wonderful memories of the experience, I guess room sharing was not an issue. At that time the option of paying a single supplement wasn't available. There were 5 single women, so every time we reached a new destination we rotated roommates and in rotation were given the single room. It worked for us. Mind you, we abided by the "Golden rule" ...which reduced the stress. In fact, never having heard of RS before planning that tour (serendipity!)I very much appreciated the fact that solos DIDN'T need to pay a single supplement. It was the only company that I investigated which did not require it. And it was one of the reasons I chose RS. And...thus I was able to afford to extend my stay in Paris after the trip :) An additional benefit was that, of the 5 single women, there was usually one (or more) that wanted to see the same sights/go to same restaurants that you did during the periods of free time. B/c we were no longer strangers to each other, it was easy to make those arrangements. It was fun to share discoveries. And for a directionally challenged person like me that was a big bonus too.
When I go on another RS Tour, I'll again opt to share a room with a 'stranger'.

A male friend of mine went on an RS tour and had to share a room with a stranger (I don't remember if he got to rotate roommates or not). It did not work out too well. He mentioned loud snoring, a noisy CPAP machine and being locked out one night.... If I ever go on an RS tour, I'll pay the single supplement simply because (like many have previously mentioned) I like the alone time, going to sleep when I want to, not having to wait for the bathroom, etc.