Single, But Not Lonely on the Web

For many solo travelers, the joys of exploring new landscapes and cultures are muted by loneliness and the dreaded “single supplement”--a surcharge that adds anywhere from 20% to 100% to the cost of a tour or cruise.

To be sure, most singles-oriented travel companies on the World Wide Web supply little more than a rehash of their print-based brochures. For the most part, Web and commercial online services offer plenty of sustenance for single travelers. Among the possibilities:

* The Thorn Tree bulletin board at Lonely Planet’s information-rich Web site (https://www.lonelyplanet.com) includes separate categories for travel companions, women travelers, and gay and lesbian travelers.

* Cruise ships and RVs, not kayaks, seem to be the travel vehicles of choice among devotees of SeniorNet (https://www.seniornet.org/), a national nonprofit group dedicated to building a community of computer-using adults age 55 and older. The “travel topics” area in SeniorNet’s RoundTable forum features an interview with Joan Heilman, author of “Unbelievable Good Deals and Great Adventures That You Absolutely Can’t Get Unless You’re Over 50,” plus several hundred postings from senior travelers.

* America Online’s recently revamped--and aptly named--Independent Traveler forum (keyword: TRAVELER) includes several resources for solo travelers. Most useful are the travel boards, with individual discussion areas devoted to women, gays and lesbians, singles and “travel partners wanted.” Though rival CompuServe doesn’t have a singles-only travel area, the online service’s popular travel forum (go TRAVFORUM) fields questions about everything from pick-up bars to what singles can expect on an escorted tour.

* Singles-friendly Club Med (https://www.clubmed.com) was one of the first tour operators to stake a claim in cyberspace, and the company’s jazzy Web site includes several interactive features that can help solo travelers find a compatible resort and a potential roomie.

* Singled Out’s new Web site (https://members.aol.com/singledo2/club.html) includes an intriguing offer: Travel club members who pay $25 per year can publish an online profile that includes a digital photo, e-mail and “snail” (regular) address, travel preferences and a link to the member’s personal Web page. When I came across the site two days after its launch, the pickings were decidedly slim: just two travelers.

* You won’t find any links to personal Web pages at the low-tech site for Connecting: Solo Travel Network (https://www.travel-wise .com/connect/connect1.htm). But Vancouver, B.C.-based Diane Redfern, whose newsletter is snail mailed to about 3,000 worldwide subscribers, uses her Web site to highlight an intriguing mix of trips. The list includes about 25 choices and is updated each month.

Bly welcomes reader comments; her e-mail address is Laura.Bly@latimes.com. Electronic Explorer appears monthly.