Solo Birder? Join Our Colombia Tours

Without Paying a Single Supplement

QUICK FACTS

The problem	The 'single supplement' - an extra fee solo travelers pay for a private room, sometimes hundreds of dollars
Our fix	Roommate matching: we pair you with a same-gender traveler so you share a twin room and skip the fee
Also	Our single supplements are modest by industry standards if you prefer your own room
Solo-friendly	Small groups mean you're never alone - you join a friendly group of fellow birders
No penalty	Join as one person and still get the shared group price per person
How	Tell us when you book that you'd like to share, and we handle the matching

 

Solo Birder? Join Our Tours Without Paying a Single Supplement

Some of the most passionate birders travel alone — and too often they get penalised for it. If you have ever priced a tour and found a "single supplement" tacked on to the end, sometimes running to hundreds of dollars, you know the frustration. At Piculet Birding we think traveling solo should never cost you extra, so we make it easy — and genuinely affordable — for the solo birder to join our Colombia tours. Here is how a no-single-supplement birding tour actually works.

What is a single supplement, and why does it exist?

Tour prices are almost always quoted per person based on two people sharing a room. When you travel alone, you occupy a room by yourself, and the tour has to cover the full cost of that room — so they add a single supplement to make up the difference. Across the industry this fee ranges from modest to eye-watering: on some tours it adds 10% to your total, on others it can effectively double the accommodation cost. It is not the operator being greedy; it is the arithmetic of rooms. But it does mean solo travelers can end up paying substantially more for exactly the same trip — and that never feels fair.

Our solution: roommate matching

The simplest way to avoid the supplement is to share a room — and you do not need to bring a travel companion to do it. If you would like to share, we will match you with another same-gender solo traveler on the same departure. You take a twin room (two separate beds), split the cost the way any two travelers on the tour do, and the single supplement simply disappears. It is the same approach the best small-group operators use, and it works beautifully.

Step	How our roommate matching works
1	When you book, let us know you're traveling solo and would like to share a room to avoid the supplement.
2	If another same-gender traveler on your departure also wants to share, we introduce you - a short note from each of you, so you both feel comfortable before agreeing.
3	If you're both happy, we book you into a twin room (separate beds) and neither of you pays the single supplement.
4	No match available? You simply keep your own room at our modest single-supplement rate - never an inflated one.

 

Prefer your own room? Our supplement is modest

Room-sharing is not for everyone, and that is completely fine. If you would rather have your own space — to recharge after long days in the field, sort photos, or simply enjoy the privacy — you can. We keep our single supplements deliberately reasonable compared with much of the industry, so choosing your own room never feels like a penalty. You will see the exact supplement for each tour listed openly on our Upcoming Tours page, with no surprises at checkout.

You're never really alone on a small-group tour

There is an emotional side to solo travel that pricing does not capture. Many first-time solo birders worry about being the odd one out — but a small-group birding tour is one of the friendliest ways to travel there is. You arrive alone and, within a day, you are part of a little community of people who share your obsession: scanning the same flock, celebrating the same lifer, comparing photos over dinner. Birders are welcoming by nature, and shared early mornings in the cloud forest build friendships fast. Plenty of our solo guests arrive not knowing a soul and leave with travel companions for future trips.

Why solo birders choose Piculet

Beyond the roommate matching, solo travelers tend to value the same things everyone does on our tours — and a couple that matter especially when you are on your own. Our groups are small, so you are always looked after and never lost in a crowd. We are a Colombian-owned, Cali-based team, which keeps prices fair and the experience personal. And because we run fixed set departures you can simply join, you get the shared group price without having to organise a private trip. For a solo birder, it is one of the most affordable, sociable, and stress-free ways to experience the world's most bird-rich country.

How to join as a solo traveler

Pick a departure that suits you on our Upcoming Tours page, then message us and mention that you are traveling solo. Tell us whether you would like us to find you a roommate to avoid the supplement, or prefer your own room, and we will take it from there — confirming your spot, handling any matching, and answering every question before you commit. Traveling alone has never been a barrier to great birding; with us, it is not a barrier to great value either.