Travel groups for solo seniors

Q. Can you direct me to some reliable organizations or Web sites for senior singles travel? I’m 65 and looking to travel with a group of other singles.

Jean, Newark, Calif.

A. Travel can be expensive, limited or lonely for singles, what with most of the travel industry viewing the world through the prism of “double occupancy.” But millions of active Baby Boomers are starting to hit retirement age … and many are single, divorced, widowed or married to spouses who don’t care to travel. So expect to see an ever-increasing array of tour and cruise choices.

Here are some options:

More than 5,000 singles of varying ages have traveled with O Solo Mio Tours (www.osolomio.com) since 1991. The San Francisco Bay Area-based company specializes in the European market, primarily Italy and Greece, and offers a mix of its own tours (10-20 people) and interesting itineraries from other companies.

“Our tours do not have an age restriction,” O Solo Mio manager Melanie Doorley said. “The average age range is 45 to 55, with some as young as late 30s and some as senior as 65 to 70-plus.”

The company helps match single travelers with roommates and will help them connect via phone or e-mail before their departure.

On the fall/winter 2008 schedule are five journeys, including one designed with the solo traveler in mind: There’s no single supplement for the “France Holiday Getaway,” Dec. 26-Jan. 3. The land-only price is $1,979.

In 2009, look for Ireland and Greek Island itineraries, as well as a California Wine Country trip that will include San Francisco and Napa.

Marking its 50th year of catering to Americans 50 and older is Grand Circle Travel (www.gct.com), which started in 1958 as the in-house travel agency for AARP. Both Grand Circle, which specializes in trips and river cruises, and its sister company, Overseas Adventure Travel, which focuses on small-group adventure travel, have high percentages of single female travelers.

For those clients, the company offers a roommate matching service and “travel pals” newsletter listings.

“Some matches have resulted in women becoming incredible friends and travel partners … nice for single women as well as for those who have been widowed and hesitant to travel alone,” said Priscilla O’Reilly, spokeswoman for the Boston-based company. Negotiating with vendors also allows GCT to offer low-cost single supplements, O’Reilly said.

For example, the single supplement starts at just $895 for a 21-day, $4,095 “Australia, New Zealand and Fiji” itinerary. Get on the GCT mailing list for early alerts on single-supplement pricing.