Encounter Travel

01/11/2026

‘Solos Only’. Mexico 2027!

From Mexico City to the Caribbean coast, with a small group of fellow solo travellers.

Mexico City, Oaxaca, Puebla and the Yucatan Peninsula. Ancient pyramids, colourful colonial towns, swims in cenotes, a cooking lesson in a local family’s home, and snorkelling with sea turtles by the Caribbean.

‘Solos Only’
17 days
Maximum 16 travellers
October 2027

So where does Mexico sit for you? Been before, always wanted to go, or only just thinking about it?

See comments for the link to the website

Taking Expressions of Interest NOW

11/10/2026

‘Solos Only’. Croatia, Slovenia and Montenegro.

From Venice to Dubrovnik, with a small group of fellow solo travellers.

Slovenia’s alpine lakes, a three night stay in the seaside town of Opatija, and the historic coastal towns and cities of the Adriatic, including Split, Dubrovnik and Kotor.

Your own room throughout.

Solos Only
17 days
Maximum 18 travellers
13 September 2027
AUD $14,585 per person, own room

If the Adriatic has been on your list, have a look at the full itinerary in the comments below.

28/09/2026

Another amazing 'Solos Only' visit to Greece 🇬🇷

As another Encounter Travel group wraps up their Greek adventure, we thought we’d share a few favourite memories from our travels through this incredible part of the world.

Greece is firmly on the travel radar, and it’s easy to see why. Ancient history, fascinating culture, beautiful islands and landscapes, wonderful food, and that unmistakable European charm.

If Greece has been calling you, perhaps 2027 is the year.

We’re heading back in September 2027. Find out more via the link in the comments below.

20/09/2026

A 'Solos Only' river cruise group through the Rhine & Moselle Rivers, reaching Belgium.

Basel, Switzerland to Brussels, Belgium; 14 nights taking in highlights of Germany, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Belgium along the way.

Vineyard villages on the Moselle. Medieval towns on the Rhine. Canals, castles, and a very good reason to leave a little extra room in your suitcase.

Own river cruise stateroom throughout, and a group of fellow solo travellers to share it all with.

From $17,699 per person, solo occupancy, early booking price.
Early booking offer ends 13 November 2026.

Cruise the in style with a specially arranged group for solo travellers.

06/09/2026

'Solos Only' through Scandinavia with Finland!
This one's for solo travellers who want it all in a single trip.

Stockholm, Helsinki, Oslo and Copenhagen for the city fix. Finnish Lapland for something slower, discovering Sámi culture and a visit to a reindeer farm. Then Norway's immense sweeping vistas, including the experience of the Flåm Railway, one of Europe's great train journeys.

Small group, your own room throughout, and experience the midnight sun in the Arctic.

Travel Dates: 18 July - 6 August 2027
Price $19,985 own room
Maximum: 18 guests

Check the comments for a link to more details

04/09/2026

'Solos Only' boutique touring 5 days with a special highlight stay!

A relaxed journey along Tasmania's east coast, from Launceston to Hobart. Bay of Fires, Freycinet, Wineglass Bay along with an easy going pace and beautiful Wineglass Bay cruise.

Designed exclusively for solo travellers, you'll explore with a small group of no more than 14 people, enjoy your own room throughout, and settle in for two nights at Freycinet Lodge with a Wineglass Bay Cruise included.

Want to discover even more? Extend your stay with our optional Bruny Island day tour from Hobart.

Travel Dates: 3–7 November 2026
Price $4090 own room
Maximum 14 guests

Check the comments for a link to more details.

24/08/2026

Twenty years ago (24 August 2006), the website went live for an idea that was, to Justine, so obvious it seemed everyone else had missed it: a group of travellers who'd been glaringly overlooked.

Back then, there was no such thing as small group travel built just for people going it alone. If you didn't have someone to travel with, you went alone, joined a group dominated by couples, or you didn't go at all.

Twenty years on, that's changed. And we like to think we had a fair bit to do with it.

None of it would mean much without the travellers who've been part of it.

Pioneers of solo travel, but not alone. We've watched it go from unknown to something people know is possible. Justine looks back on twenty years.

26/07/2026

Our story went to print, worth a read for what's coming.

For us as a tour operator, and for travel agencies too, 1 October 2026 means a genuine rethink on how we handle credit card payments for airfares.

Here's the squeeze most people don't see: many airlines pay agents 1% commission, sometimes nothing at all. A few pay 3%, a handful manage 5%, but the big Australian carriers are not among them.

We sell their product, and when things go wrong we spend hours fixing it, with zero compensation from the airline for that time. Add the surcharge ban on top, and agents can no longer recover even the processing cost. I genuinely can't think of another industry that treats its distribution partners this way. Happy to be corrected.

Two in five travellers rely on free travel insurance offered by their credit cards, but travel agents say the surcharge ban threatens their ability to accept such payments.

20/07/2026

Travelling solo, it's often the connections that surprise you most, the ones you never saw coming.

19/07/2026

🤩 Up for the next round of fun in Sri Lanka. Departs 5 October | 14 days

Best of small group, 'Solos Only' touring.