Solo Female Traveler - RS Tour a good idea?

I have been in 8 tours as a single traveler. The tour members were of all age ranges. From the 20's to 80s. I do travel in the spring so a larger part of the group are retirees but I am not.

One one tour I was the only single traveler and another there were seven. Some were friends, or family groups and single travelers like myself. The only time I was alone was when I wanted to be. But I would suggest paying the single supplement.

These tours are very solo friendly.

RS tours have people who enjoy travel and do not need to be pampered or stay at a upscale high priced hotels

Probably a higher percentage of 'friendly' people on the tours than you would randomly meet on the street

As other have noted the tours have a wide range of ages and interests. If you take a tour and end up alone it will be because it was your choice to be alone.

YES, solo friendly. It won't matter what the mix is. With few exceptions every traveler whether with a friend or family member or solo, will want to interact with you on some level. A lot of posters have asked about age, but I think that age is also irrelevant. The location of the trip, the itinerary and the policy statement of RS creates a cohesive group. I think it will be important for you to be able to do things on your own if need be and then to play it by ear once you meet your mates. I spent time with everyone on the tour during group activities. I had plenty of opportunities to spend free time with people as well.
I actually love this way of travel because you have good company with people who share your dreams, and yet no one that you have to cater to or take care of. Win win situation.

Hi kelmarq, this question is also posted on the General Forum which might cause some confusion, you might want to delete one.

I've done 4 RS tours solo and enjoyed them all. As noted by others, there's a range of ages and singles, friends traveling together, and couples on these tours. Each group has a different "feel" but in general you can be as involved or not involved as you like. I liked traveling solo and I paid the single supplement because I really need some time alone at the end of the day.

I've done two RS tours as a single traveler. I didn't pay the single supplement and was paired with another single female traveler. In both cases, I was with the same woman for the whole trip and both were delightful. Sometimes we'd do things together, other times we split up either going on our own or joining others on the tour. As I understand it, if there were more solo females, we would have rotate roommates when we changed hotels. In one case, a male paid the supplement and it turned out he was the only male traveler. He would have been solo in any case without the added cost.

I've done 6 RS tours, 5 of them as a solo.
I've never taken the single supplement option and have always had acceptable, and usually great, roomies.
I'm older, and on one of my tours the only other solo was a young woman about 30 years. I know she would have liked more young travelers but she spent a lot of time with the young assistant guide during free time. She was welcomed into any groups forming for dinners or lunches.
Certainly as a solo myself I have never felt that the tours weren't solo-friendly. My roomies and I have done some things together and others separately but there was never any issue about that and we all felt warmly included by everyone else. It's a fun loving cross-section that takes these tours, in my experience.
The tours are a great way to build your travel skills and confidence. Lots of us do tours as well as independent travel.

I did a RS trip last year to Italy and am going again this year on another. Both solo. Although I do a lot of traveling on my own, it's nice once in a while to have a group to mingle with. I paid the solo supplement on both trips as I like to have my own space in the evening. Go - don't hesitate. You'll have a great time and never feel like an outsider.

My advice in a word is go! I've been on 5 trips now and will go on my 6th in Portugal. It varies how many other singles there are (usually women, fewer men seem to travel single). I was on one trip where there were 8 of us. There's a lot of variety in ages - as a rule- the longer trips seem to be a little older. I'm assuming this is because of either being retired or having more vacation. But the folks on the trip are there to spend time with other people, and are very friendly. I did have one trip where there were only 2 of us who were single but the couples were very welcoming and included me as well. As for families - there are specific tours for families - most kids on these trips are college or high school aged and can really add a fresh perspective. Travelling in a group is a lot of fun and I've met some great people who I travel with outside of the tours.

I was in my early 30s when I went on my first Rick Steves tour and was not solo on that trip, but I've done subsequent RS trips (Rome, Prague & Budapest, Paris, London) as a solo. They were all good trips, and I think you'll find the company very well run and organized. I say go for it. I think some of the city tours tend to draw a younger crowd because those of us working have less vacation time than many retired travelers, but if you definitely want to see a particular part of the world (i.e. Eastern Europe), pick the destination that most appeals to you. I recommend it. I think you'll enjoy it!

I have done 10 RS tours so far, all solo. Enjoyed every one. The other tour members are welcoming (for the most part) and you can always find someone to hang out with. You can also be alone if that is what you want. After the 3rd tour, I have paid the single supplement for every tour. I guess I might be set in my ways, but it is just more relaxing to me to have the quiet time in my room alone at night and not having to worry about who gets to shower first in the morning and all that. Also, some of the hotels on the tours still have key locks on their doors and only give out one key per room, which can cause issues if one wants to stay out later than the other and you end up waking your roommate to get in.

Just returned from the Best of Ireland in 14 days. We had two almost-30 very energetic woman on our tour. They were very active and popular with the rest of us. They mingled with everyone and joined in. Age is not the issue. Glad to be part of a like minded group is the most important feature a person can have.

That said, we have been on a couple RS tours where the older single woman didn't mesh well. They seemed unhappy in the presence of all the couples. I think they would have been unhappy anywhere. The tours are set up for everyone to become friends very fast.

Of the seven RS tours we have been on, other than the one where our two nephews in their 30's went along and others where children or grandchildren were along, we had exactly one solo woman under 30. The demographics are highly skewed toward an older group. The tours are great, but if having people your age along to socialize with is important it's more likely than not that won't happen. The tour office can tell you the ages of those signed up on the tour you are considering.