Single supplement or not???

Hi Claire I have done five tours and have both shared and done the single supplement. On my first three tours, the single supplement was not available so I did share with other people. On the first two tours, there was only one other person to share with and sometimes we got our own rooms though I had no problems sharing with either of them. On my third trip, there were four of us and we were rotated in each town. Although, they were all very nice, I felt one was not very friendly and the other one snored so loud, it was hard to get any sleep. When the single supplement came available, I chose that route and have been pleased with it. Keep in mind that you will sometimes get a single room with a single bed and it can be pretty small. Sometimes, though the room is a double and you have lots of room. My only complaint with my last trip was that I paid the single supplement and turned out to be the only single one and I had still paid the extra. That said, I would still choose to have my own room but more because of me - it is nice to have some down time on your own. Hope this helps - Leslie

Thanks Leslie. I was leaning more towards getting my own room. You've convinced me. Claire

I have taken two tours as a solo traveler. Neither was Rick Steves. I did not pay the single supplement one either. On one tour I had my own room as I was the only single female. On the other I shared a room with another person. We got along fine and I had no problems. I would not pay the extra money. In the past I slept in hostles so one person sharing a room is no big deal to me. Every tours I have looked into ensure that you share a room with someone of the same gender. Wendy

Which tour are you looking at doing?

I am looking into the Best of Europe in 21 days. Claire

I took the Berlin / Prague and Vienna tour with RS and did not do the single supplement. We were rotated through different roommates. It worked out okay. One of them did snore, but I had ear plugs and so it wasn't an issue for me. I'm not sure if I would do the supplement or not. My experience was acceptable. Pam

Claire, I've taken several RS tours, and on a couple of them I was the only single traveller so had my own room without paying the supplement. I was prepared to share a room if necessary, but with each tour I found that I preferred having my own space. When the single supplement was offered, I decided to pay the extra charge to have my own room. I occasionally stay in Hostels when I'm travelling on my own so don't mind sharing a room on occasion. However, with the tours I prefer the privacy of my own room.

Let me answer this from the other point of view.....the tour directors. It doesn't matter if it's an RS tour or not, the answer is the same. (And believe me I've dealt with both type on my tours.) You can ask 100 people what they'll do and you'll get the same answers: what's right for them. There are some people who don't mind sharing a room and those that like the privacy of a room to themselves. You have to ask yourself what kind of person are you? There are some, me included, who prefer some space to themselves. With my own room, I can truly relax and not have to worry abut someone else, especially someone I just met. Some don't like to be alone and enjoy having someone to talk to. And for some, it's strictly financial. They don't want to spend the extra money for a single room.

To answer your question, if you do decide to avoid the single supplement and go the roommate route, it will be someone of the same gender. Years ago I attended a training seminar at the major insurance company I worked for. We ran our own hotel associated with our training facility. As I checked in on Sunday night, I saw the front desk person look at the index card with the room assignments, look at me, look at the card, then look at me again. Before he could say anything, I said, "I'll bet you have me rooming with a man." He said, "how did you know?" As a female with an unusual name, it happens to me all the time. I assure you this will not happen to you on an RS tour. I've taken three tours without paying the single supplement and had my own room on one tour and had very nice roommates on the other two. I have to admit I was a little leery of having a roommate as I do like some time to myself but did enjoy the roommates I had and we've stayed in touch and subsequently traveled together independently. You really don't spend much time in your room anyway, and the people I've met on tours have gone out of their way to be respectful of our time and space. Two other friends of mine were paired on an RS tour (didn't know each other before the tour) and became good friends and have traveled together to Europe three times since then. So you could have a very favorable roommate experience.

I have been on 1 non-RS tours & 2 RS tours, as a solo traveler. 2 times there was only one other female solo traveler, so we were roommates for the trip. Once there were 2 other female solo travelers There was a rotation of days with my own room, rooming with person A and then rooming with person B.) Out of the four ladies I roomed with, all were very considerate. As said before, there is not a whole lot of time spent in the room. I do it for financial reasons and so far, it has been a good experience. I do sleep like a log.

I've done three RS tours as a single. The first two did not have single supplement option, the third did but I did not purchase it. I have had mixed luck sharing rooms - for the most part, people got along. On one trip, there were only two of us so we always shared (that got old). On the other two, there were 3 or more singles who rotated - much better, and that way you only got the snoring roomie every once in awhile. You have to go in the right frame of mind and be more flexible, but I didn't find it that inconvenient. You can call the RS people and ask if there are other singles signed up for the tour. A friend of mine (male) went on one tour specifically because he knew he'd be the only guy and get his own room (he signed up at the last minute though). I will say if you buy the single supplement, make sure to make an effort to get to know the others on the tour. The people on my recent tour that signed up for the supplement were not as engaged with the group and it seemed like their tour experience suffered.

Hi Claire, I did the RS Heart of Italy in October 2009 and travelled as a single, no supplement. There were 2 other solo female travelers, one of them had opted for the supplement, so the other lady and I were roomies for the entire trip. What a wonderful experience it turned out to be! We got on famously, and both agreed we would travel again TOGETHER! Neither of us felt any obligation to hang out with the other, and on several occasions, we split up and did our own thing, either alone or with other group members. The lady that paid the supplement was also very happy with her choice. There were 2 male solo travellers on the same trip, they had some difficulties and I beleive they both wish they had paid the supplement and had single rooms. Which ever way you choose - enjoy your trip!