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A single supplement is the extra fee a hotel, tour operator or cruise line adds when one person books a room priced for two. It ranges from a modest surcharge on small-group tours to 100% or more of the fare on some cruises, and you can often avoid or shrink it by sharing a room, booking a cabin built for one, or timing your trip. Below is what it costs, who waives it, and whether it is fair.
Policies and prices change often. We checked the sources below in October 2026; confirm current terms with the operator before you book.
What a single supplement is and why it exists
Most tours, cruises and packages are priced per person on the assumption that two people share each room. When you book alone, the operator still has to pay for the whole room, so it adds a supplement to cover the shortfall. As Lonely Planet explains, the fee covers the room costs that would have been paid if you were sharing.
Small-group operator Adventures Abroad describes how it is built: hotels rarely discount a double room by 50% for one guest, usually by only about 25% to 30%, and that difference multiplied by the number of nights becomes the supplement. That is one operator’s explanation, but it matches how the charge works in practice.
How much it costs
| Where | What to expect | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Small-group tours | Usually a flat extra per trip rather than a percentage. One Canadian operator lists $1,000 to $2,000 CAD per tour depending on destination. G Adventures describes its fee as modest. | Approach Tours, Lonely Planet |
| Intrepid Travel | An optional single supplement is available on most trips. The amount varies by trip. | Intrepid FAQ |
| Mainstream ocean cruises | Norwegian 50% to 100% of the standard fare, Royal Caribbean 100% to 200%, Virgin Voyages 100%, Carnival and Disney 200% with no solo cabins. | Cruise Critic |
| Hotels | Usually no separate fee. You pay for a single room or a double booked for one. Compare the total, because a single room in a luxury hotel can cost more than a double in a cheaper one. | Lonely Planet |
Cruise rates vary by line, ship and sailing, so treat those percentages as typical ranges rather than quotes.
Who waives it or avoids it
Tour operators
- Intrepid: rooms are twin-share. Solo travelers are paired with a traveler of the same gender, as shown by the gender marker on each passport. You can pay for your own room on most trips, and if you are the only solo traveler of your gender you may be given a room to yourself (Intrepid FAQ).
- G Adventures: uses the same pairing approach, with your own room available for a fee (Lonely Planet).
- Adventures Abroad: its Shared Room Program pairs you with a same-gender traveler, and on most tours it absorbs the supplement and gives you a single room at no extra charge if it cannot find you a match (Adventures Abroad).
- Approach Tours: runs a roommate pairing program. Solo rooms are limited, usually four per tour, so book early (Approach Tours).
Cruise lines
- Norwegian: Studio cabins designed for one person, with no single supplement, on many of its ships (Cruise Critic).
- Royal Caribbean: single-occupancy staterooms on its Quantum-class ships (Travel Market Report).
- Virgin Voyages: dedicated solo cabins on its ships, and regular promotions that waive supplements on double cabins (Cruise Critic).
- Holland America and Cunard: solo cabins on Holland America’s newer ships, and on Queen Mary 2 (Cruise Critic, Travel Market Report).
Fleets and cabin counts change, so check the current ship before you book. For more on cruising alone, see our guide to the best cruise lines for solo travelers.
How to avoid or reduce a single supplement
- Share a room. Ask whether the operator matches solo travelers, and whether it absorbs the supplement if no match is found. Expect to be paired with someone of the same gender.
- Book a room built for one. On cruises that means solo cabins. On city trips it can mean a single room, a capsule hotel, or a private room in a hostel. Always compare the total price, not the nightly rate.
- Watch for promotions. Some lines, such as Virgin Voyages, regularly run offers that reduce or waive the supplement on double cabins.
- Choose trips where lodging is a smaller share of the price. On activity-heavy tours the room is a smaller part of the cost than on a cruise, so the supplement hurts less. This is our reasoning rather than a published rule.
- Book early and stay flexible. Solo rooms are often limited, and off-peak dates cost less.
- Ask directly and get the quote in writing. Request the total price including taxes and fees, so you can check any charge at check-in.
For more ways to keep costs down, read our guide to traveling solo on a budget.
Is it fair?
Both sides have a point. Operators argue that a room costs the same whether one or two people use it, and that hotels rarely discount single occupancy by half. Solo travelers argue that pricing every room for two penalizes a growing group of customers, particularly on cruises, where supplements of 100% to 200% are typical on some lines.
Our view: a supplement that reflects the real cost of a room is defensible, but doubling or tripling the fare is hard to justify when the same cruise lines sell dedicated solo cabins without one. The practical answer is to book with operators that offer roommate matching or solo cabins.
Frequently asked questions
What is a single supplement?
It is the extra fee charged when one person books a room or cabin priced for two. It covers the revenue the operator loses because the second person is missing.
Do all solo travelers have to pay it?
No. Roommate matching, solo cabins, single rooms and occasional promotions let many solo travelers avoid it.
Is the single supplement the same everywhere?
No. On small-group tours it is often a flat amount per trip, while on mainstream cruises it can run from 50% to 200% of the fare, depending on the line and sailing.
Do hotels charge a single supplement?
Usually not as a separate fee. Hotels price by room, so compare the total for a single room against a double booked for one person.
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Hello, I am Jan, a travel writer based in the Czech Republic. I specialize in discovering and writing about my homeland—medieval towns, mountain hikes, the local pub scene, and off-the-tourist-radar destinations.
I also write about life as an expat in Czechia—just what it is like to live here, and not just visit. I write sometimes about other countries from the region: Slovakia, Austria, Slovenia, and Croatia.