Tour Operators Find Roommates-to-Go

If you’re looking for a travel mate, a number of companies that cater to young and young-at-heart adventurers can arrange roommates to avoid single-supplement charges. Many market their tours internationally, which means an English-speaking guide but a multinational group.

Roadrunner Treks, which is affiliated with Hostelling International, offers small group tours (averaging 13 people) in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South and Central America, Africa and the Middle East. Expect hostel-style accommodations and travel by minibus or four-wheel-drive. More than half of Roadrunner’s passengers sign up solo. On most treks, participants contribute to a food kitty, and group meals are prepared in hostel kitchens.

Roadrunner offers a 14-day “Cheetah Trail” tour in South Africa. Priced from $1,049, it starts in Johannesburg, finishes in Cape Town and stops in Kruger National Park, Swaziland, Durban beaches, an elephant park, an ostrich farm and the Cape of Good Hope.

The 15-day “Inca Trail” starts in Lima, Peru, and includes rain forest hiking, canoeing in the Amazon jungle and visits to Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca and Tiahuanaco. Prices start at $1,599. Contact Roadrunner/AmeriCan Adventures, 9741 Canoga Ave., Chatsworth, CA 91311; telephone (818) 721-6000, fax (818) 993-7941, Internet https://www.americanadventures.com.

Contiki Travel, a travel company for 18- to 35-year-olds, will arrange same-sex roommates for solo travelers for its tours of North America, Europe, South Africa and the South Pacific. This year, Contiki has added three regional tours in Europe, all offering twin-share accommodations. The new eight-day Morocco tour, priced from $610, circles out from Rabat to Casablanca. The eight-day Israel and Jordan tour visits Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Beit Shean, Petra and Eilat, starting at $1,025. And the new five-day Scotland tour starts from Edinburgh and visits Loch Ness, Glamis Castle (the setting for Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”) and the Isle of Skye before finishing in Glasgow. It’s priced from $590.

Contiki Travel is generally big-bus touring. This summer Contiki will operate 27 “superior” (twin-share accommodations) and 12 budget (up to four sharing a room) tours in Europe, and 19 programs in North America. Daily breakfasts, several dinners, escorted sightseeing, transportation and the services of a young tour escort are provided. For more information, see a travel agent or call (800) 266-8454, Internet https://www.contiki.com.

If you prefer smaller groups, 29-year-old Trek America operates camping tours for travelers 18 to 38 in the U.S. (including Alaska and Hawaii), Canada and Mexico. Average group size is 13. Participants provide a sleeping bag and kick in $35 per week for a food kitty. In major cities the group stays in centrally located hotels at an extra charge. New this year is a 14-day Mexican Adventure priced from $525, a 14-day Pacific Northwest tour (Seattle to San Francisco) from $633 and an 11-day walking tour of Monument Valley, Zion, Bryce, Arches and Grand Canyon national parks from $925. Call (800) 221-0596 or visit https:// www.trekamerica.com.

Holland is a terrific destination for cyclists; there are thousands of miles of dedicated bike paths. You could go hostel to hostel by bike carrying your gear, but if you’d rather join an international group, there’s Cycletours. This company has river barges that have been converted into floating hotels. Participants cycle all day, and their bed and gear meet them at the new destination each evening. There is a limited number of four-berth cabins in which solo travelers can book a bed.

Cycletours offers four-, five- and seven-day tours. Sharing a four-berth cabin (ask if it’s same sex or mixed) on a four- or five-day tour costs $250 to $280. Bikes and meals are provided, and a guide follows to help with any problems. During April and May, the “Northern Route” winds through fields of blooming tulips. Groups average 15 to 30 people and cover 30 miles per day. Contact Cycletours Holland, Keizersgracht 181, 1016 DR Amsterdam; tel. 011-31-20-627- 4098, fax 011-31-20-627-9032, Internet https://www.cycletours.com.