Small Group Tours for Singles Over 60

A different way to travel

You won't be the only one.

Nearly half of every group we run is made up of people who came on their own. By the second or third day, most will tell you it stopped feeling that way within the first afternoon.

Forty percent of the people who travel with Odyssey are travelling alone.

That's not a footnote — it's the fact that answers the real question anyone considering a trip like this is actually asking: will I be the only one? You won't be. Nearly half of every group we run is made up of people who came on their own, and by the second or third day, most of them will tell you it stopped feeling that way within the first afternoon.

Odyssey has been running small group educational tours since 1983. Eighty-six percent of our travellers come back for a second trip. Over 43,000 people have travelled with us. None of that happens by accident, and none of it happens because solo travellers are an afterthought — they're close to half the room.

Small by design

Six to fourteen people means the group has a shared rhythm, not a crowd to disappear into.

Expertly led

A Program Leader travels with you, supported by local guides who know each destination deeply.

Independent, together

Shared experiences and genuine free time — company when you want it, space when you don't.

The case for small groups

Why small groups work for solo travellers

Travelling independently, with company.A small group turns those into two complementary experiences, rather than two competing choices.

The reason isn't reassurance — it's arithmetic. A tour of six to fourteen people is small enough that everyone ends up at the same table, on the same coach, in the same conversation. There's no crowd to disappear into and no crowd to hide behind. On a bus of forty-five, a solo traveller can go the whole day speaking to no one. On a group of ten, that's not really possible — not because anyone's forcing it, but because there's nowhere else for the conversation to go.

It's the same feature that makes these tours work for everyone, solo or not: a Program Leader who knows your name by day two, a group small enough to build an actual rhythm together, an itinerary that isn't built around herding a crowd through a checklist. For a solo traveller specifically, that mechanism does something extra — it turns "travelling alone" into "travelling independently, with company," which are two very different experiences wearing the same description.

This isn't a niche accommodation bolted onto a product designed for couples. It's the actual shape of who travels with Odyssey, and the tours are built with that in mind from the itinerary out.

The rhythm of a day

What a solo traveller's day actually looks like

Meals happen together, at one table, most nights — not because it's mandatory, but because that's genuinely where a group this size ends up. Nobody is seated at a "singles table" off to the side; there isn't one. Breakfast is often looser — come down when you're ready, sit where you like — but dinner, more often than not, is the whole group together, because with six to fourteen people, that's simply what one table looks like.

Rooms are simple: travelling alone means a room of your own, plainly and without any apology attached to it. Some people travelling on our tours have known each other for years by the time they join a departure together; most haven't met before day one. Within a small group, that gap closes fast — shared meals, shared coach rides, and a schedule with actual downtime built in, rather than back-to-back sightseeing that leaves no room for anyone to actually talk.

A typical day mixes guided time with real free time. Mornings are often the structured part — a museum, a walking tour, a site that's genuinely easier to visit as an organised group. Afternoons open up. Some people rest. Some go exploring on their own. Some pair off and wander together. Nobody's free time is managed for them, and nobody's expected to spend it a particular way.

Confidence on the ground

Is it safe to travel alone?

This is, understandably, the question that sits underneath most of the others. The honest answer: travelling with a small group is one of the more common reasons people choose this way of travelling in the first place, not a workaround for a problem it creates.

A Program Leader travels with the group for the whole trip — the itinerary, the logistics, the person who's there if something goes sideways, so none of that lands on you alone the way it might travelling independently. At each destination, a local guide who actually knows the place joins for that stop. You're never the only person responsible for figuring out an unfamiliar city, working out a transport system in a language you don't speak, or handling a problem with no one else around.

Odyssey has been operating this way since 1983 — long enough that the systems around safety, from vetted accommodation to established local guide relationships, aren't improvised per trip. For a fuller look at exactly how that works day to day, see our dedicated guide on solo travel safety on small group tours →

Connection, naturally

Making friends, without trying

Nobody wants to be told to "just be open" on day one of a trip. What actually happens is smaller and less effortful than that: a group of ten people, eating together most nights, genuinely runs out of ways to stay strangers. By day two or three, you know who's been quietly wanting to visit this exact place for years, who's travelling to process a big life change, who just loves a good local market and will happily drag you to one.

It's not group-therapy bonding. It's closer to what happens naturally when the same small group of people keep ending up at the same table — conversation accumulates. Some people build a real friendship that outlasts the trip; most people build something lighter and just as real: a genuinely good two or three weeks with people they were glad to share it with.

Practical, not complicated

A few things worth knowing

Pack light and comfortably

Packing for a small group tour isn't meaningfully different because you're travelling alone. Comfortable walking shoes, layers for changing climates and the route's own packing notes matter most. Managing your own bags means packing light matters a little more.

Choose for pace and destination fit

Every Odyssey tour works the same way for solo travellers — group size, shared meals and a room of your own are consistent across the programme. Think instead about pace: a gentle Activity Level 1 tour suits a different traveller than a Level 3 hiking itinerary.

Start at your own speed

If you're newer to travelling with a group, a shorter, lower-activity tour is a sensible way to get a feel for how it works before committing to something longer or more demanding.

Common questions

Straight answers for solo travellers

Everything you need to know before taking the first step.

Will I be paired with a roommate if I want a room of my own?

No. Travelling solo means your own room, as standard.

Is it safe to travel alone at 70 or older?

It's one of the more common reasons people choose a small group tour in the first place — a Program Leader on the ground, a fixed itinerary, and a group of familiar faces around you every day, rather than navigating somewhere entirely new on your own.

How do solo travellers spend free time within the group?

However they'd like — some people pair off for an afternoon, some explore alone and reconvene for dinner, some stay with the group all day. Nobody's free time is scheduled for them, and nobody's expected to opt in or out of anything as a group decision.

How will I actually get to know anyone before the trip starts?

You won't, and that's fine — the group gets to know each other over the first few days on the ground, not beforehand. Shared meals and a small group size do the work faster than most people expect.

What should I pack differently travelling alone?

Not much. The main practical difference is managing your own bags the whole trip, so packing a little lighter helps more than it would travelling with a companion.

Am I likely to be the only solo traveller on the tour?

Unlikely. Close to 40% of Odyssey's travellers come alone — on most departures, you're one of several, not the only one.

What if I'd rather not socialise every single day?

That's genuinely fine. Free time is free time, and nobody tracks how you spend it.

Does a solo traveller get less attention from the Program Leader than a couple would?

No — the Program Leader's role doesn't change based on who you're travelling with. Every traveller in the group gets the same access and support.

Is a small group tour a reasonable first trip if I've never travelled with a group before?

Yes, and a shorter, lower-activity-level tour is a sensible way to start if you'd rather ease into it than begin with a longer or more demanding itinerary.

Continue exploring

Travel independently. Never travel alone.

Explore a small group journey built for curious travellers who want the world — and the freedom to experience it in their own way.

Explore small group tours

Odyssey Traveller has welcomed solo travellers, couples and friends since 1983.

Small-group travel, thoughtfully paced

Small Group Tours for Solo Travellers