How to find a holiday where you meet people and never eat dinner alone
Most people who travel alone can manage the daytime. A coast path or a café with a book is easy on your own, sometimes better. The trouble starts at about half past seven, when the restaurant fills with couples and families and you are shown to the small table by the door. Plenty of us have done it once. Few of us want to do it seven nights running.
So the question to ask before you book anything is a narrow one. Where will I eat dinner, and with whom?
Why the evening matters more than the itinerary
ABTA's Holiday Habits survey for 2025-26 found that 19% of UK holidaymakers took a solo holiday in the previous 12 months, the highest level this decade. More people are going alone. That does not mean they want to be alone once they arrive.
Our view, after hosting weeks here since 2023, is that the evening meal does more for a holiday than any excursion. A shared table is where the walker who barely spoke on the path tells a story about her grandfather's farm. It is where a recently widowed man realises he has been laughing for an hour. We wrote more about this in why one shared table beats a big itinerary.
What to look for when you search
Brochures use the word "sociable" loosely. These are the things we would check.
Dinner is included every night and eaten together. If the price says half board, or dinner on three evenings, you will be on your own for the rest. Ask directly.
Someone is actually hosting. A host who lives in the house and cooks for you notices the person hanging back and pulls up a chair. A hotel receptionist doesn't, and isn't paid to.
The group is small enough to know. With a couple of dozen people at most, you have learnt everyone's name by Tuesday. A coach of fifty splits into cliques.
The day gives you something to do together. A walk or a painting class gives conversation a starting point without anyone forcing it. How to make friends on a solo walking holiday goes into this in more detail.
The single supplement question
A JourneyWoman survey of women over 50 (a self-selected panel, so indicative rather than nationally representative) found that 78% named the single supplement as the biggest barrier to travelling alone. Ahead of safety, ahead of money. That matches what we hear.
At Casa Agara there is no forced single supplement. Come alone and you can twin-share at no extra charge with a room-mate of the same sex, and if no match is found, the supplement is covered. If you would rather have a room of your own, that is an optional paid extra. Couples and friends book the same weeks, and they sit at the same table as everyone else.
How dinner works at Casa Agara
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The house is an 18th-century stone casona in Fresneda de Cabuérniga, inside the Saja-Besaya reserve, about an hour from Santander airport. We collect you in one of our two vans. Nobody arrives at a strange door alone after a long taxi ride.
Every meal is included: continental breakfast, a light lunch (at the house, or a picnic if the day is a walk) and a home-cooked dinner with vegetables from the garden. Rob cooks, and the menu changes nightly. On one real week the first evening was tapas and cava round the fire, then roasted salmon with buttery new potatoes. Later came courgette soup spiced with Ethiopian berbere before duck confit, a curry night with homemade lime pickle, and a Cantabrian mountain stew of pork and butter beans. Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free diets and allergies are catered for with notice.
The bar is free. House wine, beer and spirits are poured all day, and you help yourself. It sounds like a small thing. It changes the evening more than you would expect, because nobody is doing sums over a bill or wondering who ordered the second bottle. Only premium brands carry a charge.
On the Cantabrian Walking Week in May 2027, Jen and Jim Holgan, who have walked with Spice members in Scotland for almost 20 years, have scouted every route. They are volunteers, so you join them for a walk rather than being led. Jen keeps a leisurely pace. Jim will go further or faster if you ask.
What this holiday is not
It is not all-inclusive. Flights (an option on some weeks), travel insurance, optional excursions, premium spirits and a restaurant lunch if the group fancies one are all extra. The full breakdown is in what a hosted week actually costs.
Green Spain is green because it rains, so pack waterproofs even in May. Nor is this a singles event. Nobody is paired off at dinner. And if you want silence every evening, your room is yours, but be honest with yourself: the point of the house is the table.
Frequently asked questions
Will I be the only person coming on my own?
Very unlikely. Many guests come alone, and couples and friends join the same weeks for the company. Everyone eats together, so there is no separate table for solo guests.
Do I have to share a room to avoid a single supplement?
Twin-share costs a solo guest nothing extra, and room-mates are matched by sex. If no match is found, the supplement is covered. A room of your own is available as an optional paid supplement.
Is lunch included, or is it half board?
Lunch is included every day, either at the house or as a picnic on walking days. It is not half board. The only lunch you pay for is one you choose to eat in a local restaurant.
How far is Casa Agara from the airport?
About an hour from Santander airport, and roughly ninety minutes from Bilbao. Airport transfers are included, as is minibus transport during the week.
Is the walking hard?
Mostly it is steady rather than tough. Routes run from 4.3 km on Playa de Valdearenas west beach to 14 km through the sequoias of Monte Cabezón, and the one stiff climb is Bárcena Mayor to Alto de la Guarda, with 650 m of ascent. You will need full walking kit.
A place set for you
If an evening of good food and easy company sounds like the holiday you have been missing, have a look at the upcoming weeks. Every week at Casa Agara is booked through Spice Escapes, our exclusive booking partner (ATOL 9046), who can help with rooms and flights. We would be glad to lay an extra place.