Friendship Travel Singles Holidays Reviews 96

I stayed at Casa Rosa, olhao as part of a painting retreat. Friendship travel organised absolutely everything and their customer service was brilliant. The hotel was exactly as advertised and such a special place to stay. The bed was the most comfortable hotel bed I’ve ever slept in, and I’ve slept in a lot! The food was fantastic and the staff outstanding. The tutor (Julie Ford) knew the team and area well which made such a difference to our experience. I would highly recommend using this company and rebooked immediately on my return for another retreat.

Just returned from my fourth Friendship Travel holiday, a very enjoyable stay at the Aquamare Beach Hotel in Paphos, Cyprus. Good, friendly crowd and an excellent host Yiannis who arranged everything for us. Rooms were spacious and comfortable with every amenity. Definitely worth paying a little extra for a sea view, the sunsets are beautiful and it’s nice to sit on the balcony in the sunshine. Booking was straightforward and pre-holiday info was excellent.

My first Friendship travel holiday. A fantastic experience. A painting holiday in Olhao.
From booking to arriving was straight forward and easy. A week before departure a phone call to make sure all was well. A zoom call ( organised by our fabulous tutor Julie) familiarised us all with each other and Julie set up a WhatsApp group and emailed us a list of materials we would need for our watercolour week. Arriving at Faro airport I was met by a driver who whisked me to the hotel a short drive away. The small hotel was very inviting and coffee and cake was available all day long. We meet our tutor Julie an hour before dinner which was in the hotel on a long table. The food through out the stay was excellent. I felt very looked after, we worked as a group in the classroom, sketching in the town - Julie was always on hand with advice and encouragement. I think the whole group has rebooked for next year.

This was my first time using Friendship Travel and Im extremely pleased with the service. I live in Germany and sent an email enquiry which was immediately responded to by Helen. That prompt response made me confident that someone was indeed going to assist me with my travel plans. Within a few days connecting flights were organized and the booking and payment process was easy and efficient. Maybe I've just become used to poor service but this interaction restored my faith in humanity. I'll definitely be using Friendship service again. Thank You!

Marrakesh February 2026….Never. Again.
What was meant to be an exciting first solo trip turned into a masterclass in how not to run a holiday. I stepped out of my comfort zone to visit Marrakesh, reassured by promises of support and a host throughout. Reality? No host. No welcome. No guidance, until we complained the first night and a tour guide appeared the next morning.
Communication was non existent. The phone in my room didn’t work—apparently “they never do,” which is reassuring considering the fire instructions tell you to use it in an emergency. Safety clearly isn’t a priority here.
The hotel itself? Questionable at best, suppose to be 4 *. A dangerously slippery shower floor, the shower hanging on a hook, and food that was borderline inedible—cold and completely unappetising. We gave dinner one chance and never went back. That should say enough.
Organisation was an absolute joke. We were handed the wrong itinerary (for an entirely different tour), while another group in the same hotel actually had a host—imagine that. We didn’t receive our correct itinerary until the day before we left. Yes, really.
Included tours? Hit and miss. One simply didn’t happen, with zero explanation. Another day that was supposed to be free was hijacked by an unexpected tour no one asked for. It felt less like a planned trip and more like complete guesswork.
The only redeeming factor was the people I met—some genuinely lovely travellers. One seasoned solo traveller of 20 years said this was the worst-organised trip she’d ever experienced. That alone speaks volumes.
To top it all off, they’re not affiliated with ABTA or IATA—something I discovered too late and won’t overlook again.
After all the complaints, the grand gesture? A £25 discount on another trip. Insulting, frankly. As if anyone would risk going through this again.
Avoid at all costs.

Along with 6 other solo travellers I went to Marrakech for 4nights in February. The first and last time I will use FT. They outsource to Complete Tours who were negligent initially and we were 24hrs without a host or contact. The hotel rooms were sub-standard and that is being kind. Five of us have pursued complaints but FT have displayed irresponsibility, unaccountability and unprofessionalism. Appalling experience.

First time I have travelled with Friendship. The service was great from beginning to end. Had a lovely short break in Seville. Hotel was central - and everything was in walking distance. Great host who knew her way around. Lots of places to see, good restaurants and bars. Good time had by all.

The Lanzarote Princess hotel is very nice and in a good spot with a few coffee and drinks bars in the grounds. Would have preferred a larger group. Emma the Rep. was very friendly and helpful.

I have been a Friendship traveller since 2009 and all experiences have been excellent. Hotels are of a high standard as are the hosts. Booking is easy and staff are friendly and efficient. I highly recommend Friendship Travel.

A simple phone call to Friendship travel and my holiday was organised. I have used them several times in the past for holidays abroad, and they always been prompt for pickup at the airport & hotel. The in resort Rep`s have always been excellent with good local knowledge and helping singles get along without being intrusive. Essentially you get to have your holiday YOUR way, whilst at the same time make new friends of all ages

Just returned from Tenerife, in Puerto de la Cruz which I really liked. Good hotel lovely position. Host Emma was excellent. Would like a bit more organisation of days rather than doing it ourselves, albeit Tui rep in hotel to book trips. Small group of 7.

Booking a trip with FT was easy and effortless and fights from Edinbugh were easily arranged. I have travelled with FT before and the holidays have always been very good.
The booking date is approximate as I have not checked the paperwork.

My NileCruise with Friendship Travel holiday was most enjoyable and everything I expected.
My flight from Manchester to Cairo was on time. However the only negative of the whole holiday was when I was met by the FT representative in the airport.He was critical when I gave him the 25 dollars in singles to pay for the Visa ( he wanted smaller denominations for some reason ). I was taken to the luggage recovery carousel and left for 25 minutes by myself waiting for my suitcase( the last to appear ). He appeared saying he had been in the restroom and was keeping an eye on me. ( doubtful).
I met up with my fellow FT travellers ( 2 ladies and one man) the following morning at the Ramasses Hilton. Where we were greeted by Abdul our Tour Manager and guide for the rest of our holiday. Without question Abdul turned out to be the best, informative and caring TM I have ever experienced. I cannot rate Abdul highly enough..
We visited the GEM ( Great Egyptian Museum) and the Pyramids which were the first of many awesome sights we visited. Abdul was an ever present and gave a knowledgeable description of everything we witnessed.( he obviously loved his job and subject matter.)
We then took our flight to Luxor to pick up our Nile Cruise. Unfortunately our flight was delayed a couple of hours meaning we were very late joining the ship.
Next morning our group were introduced to four other travellers from another travel company ( Mercury) making a total of 8 ( 5 ladies and 3 men). This total group quickly became friends leading to a joyful experience.
The Nile cruise experience and the sights visited turned out to be one best holidays I’ve ever had. Enhanced by the ever present and available Abdul.
The highlights of the Nile section of our trip in my opinion were our visits to the Temple of Karnak, Valley of the Kings ( not to be missed )and last but not least Abu Simbel.
Overall this holiday, whilst tiring in parts was everything I expected and more.

This review relates to my recent booking experience with FT though I have travelled many times over the past 20 years with this company. I booked for a painting holiday in October in Portugal . I found Helen extremely helpful and she gave me all the information I required and answered my questions fully.

Had a fabulous holiday in Kenya . The staff at FT were great to deal with and the whole experience was wonderful . Would definitely book again.

The Friendship Travel holiday to Egypt was excellent. A good itinerary, well organised and efficient. Our guide was brilliant - very friendly, knowledgeable, helpful and kind.
The Ramses Hilton Hotel in Cairo was very comfortable and so was the Nile Cruise boat. The excursions were well planned and fascinating.

Avoid

Booked a holiday with this company over the new year period. Cost me over £3000 for 7 days .

I asked the office how many people were in this holiday group, they said 4 ( they lied )

When I got there , it was just one gentleman in the group. He was 98 years old, couldn’t hear properly or even walk far . As you can imagine, not a barrel of laughs .

I spoke to the Director when I got back and received £500 refund. So I still wasted £2500 on this holiday.

It’s not the first time it’s happened to me with this group and I will not be using them again.

Disappointing Stay at Lindos Memories (Now Named Lindian Dream Seaside Resort) – Friendship Travel Group Booking (April/May 2023). Whilst the review is a tad late, the reviews of the hotel have not improved over the past 2.5 years and Friendship Travel are still taking clients there.
I stayed for two weeks at Lindos Memories (Now Named Lindian Dream Seaside Resort) with Friendship Travel (half board) and, sadly, this was a disappointing introduction to the Mitsis brand and my first time with Friendship Travel.
Positives
• Beautiful location, generally peaceful except for frequent boat tours and weddings that dominated the pool/bar area.
• Reception staff were friendly, and the grounds, pool, and beach were well maintained.
• Pool bar food (not included in the package) was excellent.
Negatives
• Rooms are very small — realistically only suitable for one person.
• Half board dining was a major let-down:
o Meals often served cold.
o Orders frequently mixed up.
o Long waits (up to two hours).
o By the second week, the à la carte option was dropped entirely and replaced with a buffet offering smaller portions.
• When concerns were raised with staff and the Rep, the response was: “That’s the Greek way” — hardly reassuring.
• The General Manager was polite, but no improvements were made; issues persisted throughout the stay.
• Weddings dominated hotel facilities, leaving paying guests feeling like intruders on their own holiday.
Overall Impression
The service and food quality did not match the description or the Mitsis brand reputation. A real disappointment.

The host Jayne was lovely and friendly, nice hotel, nice people and went with a friend. 9 people went. Just felt friendship travel and Jayne could have been more proactive and added more value. Storm Alice, affecting flight slots into Mallorca was out of FT’s control obviously but it meant in getting there 5 hours late on a Saturday and during late evening when I should have been there early afternoon…with a public holiday on Sunday too (unbeknown to us until arrival also), that we could not book full day trips until Monday meaning we missed a Monday trip ie 2.5 days later and over 25 percent of full day trips gone already with a week holiday. The host didn’t try and keep guests together and be proactive in recommending places to eat or trips to go on, that a majority would like, that we could do as a group and galvanising people to participate together. My experiences of attending many solo traveller holidays is that in resort hosts do this. Solo’s are brilliant at it and it means people stay together on more full day trips, more friendships by more contact with people on trips and more positive experiences of the holiday, so it will naturally get more repeat business because it’s in FT’s interests too. I think it’s absolutely necessary and essential on these types of single traveller holidays to avoid indecisiveness of people you don’t know and all sorts of issues in resort. If FT don’t do this, the group is bound to become more fragmented (as happened) and this defeats a solo organised holiday, as you can just book it yourself cheaper, meet people there, and not pay a premium to do so. Also the guests end up finding not the best restaurants and traditional things - for instance the night out meal was pizza in Spain, and the host recommended a 70s/80s disco night. Essentially you are paying for the host therefore to help travellers and try and make the group as one, as much as possible. Also good local knowledge which Jayne couldn’t answer if you asked her ‘where is the best Spanish restaurants in resort for the night out meal’, she wouldn’t know. I did do the organising for one trip myself on one day because I wanted to try and keep the group together and did actually book the trips for people in Palma, taking money and so on. I felt FT should have done this and should take provisional bookings before arrival to try and keep more people together in resort and in fact could have suggested and taken bookings when we were all late sitting on planes on the tarmac, to avoid the lost day trip days. Also the host could have suggested the trips at the main first meeting when we were all together, more assertively enquiring who wants to go on what from a list of 4-5 best trips, as a way to keep people together. I would book again with FT but I’d cover myself with going with a friend and to a nice hotel in case things go belly up a bit, as happened with the organisation of trips and keeping people together on this holiday, and on balance I had a good holiday (so this is a review of FT and the single travelled concept) because I did make sure myself that happened with a friend present and good hotel, and didn’t rely on any FT issues. If I hadn’t gone with a male friend I would have been the only man with FT not giving out details of the male / female split beforehand (which btw I think FT should do proportionately and not counter to GDPR) and so I suspect I would have had a bad holiday. Why? Because of this fragmentation and lack of activity on holiday. Also because the guests were older and not very active on day trips so I would have been doing stuff myself anyway. Finally, FT did not state correct easyJet letter flight codings, which I raised, keeping us informed of effects of storm Alice to issue of trips and other guests arriving (I emailed them telling them of the delays at airport rather than other way around) and for instance asking for insurance details after arrival, when you do the admin before arrival to cut down on things in resort to enjoy hols. What if someone had an accident before arriving at the hotel. FT need to put themselves more in shoes of guest experience so far as a single traveller concept is concerned and the overall engagement of the holiday if the wish is to add value. Only 6/10 mainly due to quality of the host - a very nice lady but disjointed in her ability to keep the group together and no great local knowledge, “selling” the appeal of the best trips, and a Spanish experience as a holiday. The other thing to say is it’s sad the Solo summer sun traveller holiday concept seems now to be the preserve of older less active people, because it’s an opportunity missed for companies like friendship travel.

Bad start -lots of hanging around for others arriving on different flights at different times.
The hotel was lovely and rooms were great .Out of season so quiet but would not be good with lots of kids in the pool. Food dull and repetitive-choice of two main courses. Restaurant more of a cafe and eating all meals there as well as drinks as bar by pool not open. Pool not open till 10am -would be better to clean it earlier than later. Only three meals for £1900 and food provided at breakfast and dinner on the cheap side.
Family run and staff excellent but- brown paper on the tables for meals?!!