Travel Agency With a Singular Mission

Carolyn Rice didn’t mind traveling solo. But when a friend placed a personal ad seeking a fellow traveler and ended up with a spouse, Rice thought, why not take her chances?

So Rice called Travel Companion Exchange Inc. of Amityville, N.Y., one of the few travel agencies nationwide catering to the 40% of Americans who are single, widowed or divorced.

The more than 20 singles’ agencies offer travelers of different physical abilities, religion and sexual orientation everything from help finding travel mates to tips on less expensive travel.

Rice sought a man who liked biking, hiking and active vacations. She wasn’t that impressed at first with Tony Janish. But Janish won points when he offered to drive 15 miles from his New Jersey home to a New York diner near where Rice lived. They hit it off and planned a Vermont skiing trip. A year later, the two were married.

Jens Jurgen, owner of Travel Companion Exchange, says he’s been the conduit for several marriages in his 14 years in the business.

“Travel and romance have always been connected,” he said.